*Carolyn

This is a shot of the model lighting set up we use to get some really dynamic and cool looking images.

Francis doing a fabulous job second shooting in my absence.

The model lighting setup is great for a groom and his groomsmen. When used correctly, it makes them look super tough.

This shows the behind the scenes of one of the winning photos from our photo contest! When this photo was taken it was very windy. And that lighting set up, while it looks big, does not have much more than a light on the inside. That means the whole thing pretty much acts like a sail, so it is really important that there are two of us so that one person can hold it still. I am so impressed with Francis here because he is holding it and shooting at the same time. That ain’t easy. It usually takes me two hands. Nice job, Francis!

Paul chatting with the priest before Julia and Rich‘s ceremony. He always likes to introduce himself and be sure that he knows what kind of regulations there may be to ensure we are being completely respectful throughout the ceremony.

This wedding happened to be for a friend, so I got to wear my fun party dress

Gotta make sure we capture that dress in all its glory.

Paul climbed through that brush you see behind him to stand on the ledge in front of a dam (the bridal party is at the bottom of the dam). Everyone had a lot of fun being there. Thanks, Francis for capturing this moment!

Francis got this awesome silhouette of Paul shooting the bride and groom using the model light at Washington Rock State Park.

These next couple are from some engagement style shoots…. here we are testing out that back lighting.

Carolyn: a.k.a. the oh-so-mobile human flash stand.

Paul often uses me as model to test the light before we bring out the bride, that way the photos go quickly.

As you can see, I’ve gotten used to it. Now I just enjoy it and do different poses as he dials in the light. I think I look cool. Side note: do you like my boots? I bought and returned several pairs of boots before settling on these in my quest for the perfect flat boot. Paul thinks I’m crazy, but I know you ladies out there can relate!

Paul is using a reflector to bounce the light streaming through the window. This results in perfect soft flattering light on the bride.

Showing Jo, a bridesmaid, how to show her sassy side.

Christina and Cole were all for taking pictures outside despite the cold weather. We made sure to move quickly and keep her covered with that beautiful wrap as much as possible.

Check out Cole (the groom)’s face! This is possibly my favorite behind the scenes shot because Paul did not even realize that he captured this moment until afterwards – The groom is attempting to help his bride with her veil, utterly confused, until I jump in to save him. ha!

Every time Paul came near this little boy he would pose and then immediately ask to see the picture. He was too cute. Of course, he reminded us of our little boy who was at home with Grandma and Grandpa.

I’m not gonna lie, I had a little bit of dress envy. Christina’s dress was GOR.GEOUS. I was literally in the room by myself opening up her dress to get it ready for pictures and said OooOOoo. Out loud. by myself. Christina’s mom also mentioned that she happened to see it on an episode of Say Yes to the Dress just a few days earlier. And since that’s one of my favorite shows, it just made me love Christina in that beautiful dress even more.

Christina, you have such a fun and joyful spirit. It was such a pleasure to see you smiling and laughing all day.

Not to mention, you are absolutely beautiful.

Christina’s bridesmaids kept the mood light and peaceful as they joked, laughed, and supported one another throughout the day.

Every last one of these ladies was bringin’ it. I think the word is FIERCE.

Cole and his groomsmen have known each other since first grade!

The guys knew how to bring it too, check out these tough guy faces.

When Cole was waiting for his bride, we told him she was doing great and just how beautiful she looked. He said, I know it. This is his reaction to seeing Christina walk up the aisle for the first time. I love how he is in awe of her beauty.

Paul captured this little moment. Cole, you are hysterical!

This little guy stole my heart.

Married! Woohoo!!

Across the street from the church was this beautiful field. We chose this location before Christina told us that she grew up playing softball here.

Since it was freezing outside we snapped these photos super quick, while Paul set up the lighting equipment, I was giving direction. Everyone was more than willing to brave the cold to get some cool photos. You guys were awesome.

It’s easy to photograph a couple like Christina and Cole, they are so in love. It’s infectious.

We then headed over to The Palace where it was all decorated for Christmas for just a few more photos.

Christina plays softball. Cole was recently signed as a closing pitcher for the Washington Nationals. I’d say their cake topper is a perfect fit. Too cute! I have to admit, I was a little star struck when I first met Cole. I don’t watch much baseball, but knowing that he is a pro ball player, I got butterflies. The more time I spent hanging out with him, the more relaxed I felt because he is just an all around fun, nice, down to earth guy.

Being around Christina and Cole for just a few minutes, you quickly see how they just love being together. I love how easily he makes her laugh. Here they are having a ball as they make their grand entrance to their reception.

The first dance.

These guys know how to celebrate! The dance floor was filled all night.

Cole’s nephew was so interested in everything going on. He kept asking to see the photos we were snapping, and how could we say no to that adorable face? I guess Kris Abrahamsen of Elite Entertainment (by the way, this is the second time we’ve seen him in action and we were impressed both times, great job guys!) must have felt the same way we did as he let the little guy try out the equipment.

Christina prepares herself to feed her new husband a piece of wedding cake.

Home run!

…but not without pay back!

Cole got himself amped and ready to remove his new wife’s garter. He tossed off his sunglasses, warmed up his pitching arm, and got everyone laughing.

Want to see more? Click here to see the full set of images. You can purchase individual photos there as well.

Scroll down to the comment boxes where you can leave Christina and Cole a message of congrats! Congratulations Christina and Cole!

*Carolyn

Ceremony Venue: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton R. C. Church

Reception Venue: The Palace at Somerset Park

DJ: Kris Abrahamsen of Elite Entertainment

Melissa had a pop of color with these fabulous purple shoes.

Melissa’s beautiful dress was designed by Casablanca.

I love these Mother-Daughter moments. They’re the things memories are made of.

Melissa, you are absolutely gorgeous. Eugene is a lucky man.

Melissa and her lovely bridesmaids in their fabulous purple dresses, purple just happens to be my favorite color. LOVE it!

Eugene and his groomsmen having a good time.

Seriously, stop it with all this fabulousness!

Eugene was eagerly anticipating the arrival of his bride, can’t you see the excitement?

Mr. & Mrs.!

After the ceremony they headed over to the venue, the Lakeside Manor, for portraits of the bride and groom.

Melissa and Eugene made their grand entrance into the ballroom showcasing just how excited they are to be married!

Their first dance as husband and wife.

I love the way they look at each other, there is so much love in their eyes.

This is my favorite shot from the day.

Leave Melissa and Eugene a little love and let them know which is your favorite photo by leaving a message in the comment box below!

*Carolyn

Ceremony: Our Lady of Victories Church

Venue: The Lakeside Manor

Gown designer: Casablanca

DJ: Partners in Sound

Thank you to Kim of Daneene Jensen Associates for doing a fabulous job with Briana’s hair and makeup.

Briana, could you be more beautiful? Seriously, you are a gorgeous bride.

While Paul was photographing Briana and the ladies, our second shooter Francis was photographing Chris and the guys.

Briana and Chris tied the knot at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, PA.

Briana was escorted down the aisle by both her mother and father.

Yay! It’s official!!

What a lovely couple. Briana and Chris, you two are perfect together.

We have amazing brides. And they have amazing friends. As I said earlier, they were completely peaceful and joyful all day and even had fun venturing out into the snow.

These bright colored autumn leaves sprinkled with snow made for some great memories.

This is probably my favorite from the day. Some photographers could’ve looked at Mother Nature’s little snowstorm as a big stumbling block, but Paul really used the snow to their advantage and captured Briana and Chris in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without the storm. In Briana’s words the day was “perfectly imperfect” and I couldn’t agree more.

Briana and Chris’ reception was held at the Villanova Conference Center. During the cocktail hour, suddenly the DJ’s speakers went silent and all the lights shut off. Luckily the hotel had a generator and the wonderful staff quickly worked to run extension cords to provide power to the DJ. And this was vitally important as Briana was set on dancing up a storm the whole night. Once the power went out it was candle light only. Hows that for romantic? The rest of the night went off without a hitch, the power came back on towards the end of the evening, and the guests were able to stay in warm rooms while the snow continued to fall outside.

Their first dance as husband and wife.

Due to the loss of the power their DJ, Taz Sellers of Silver Sound DJs, kindly offered his phone to light the Maid of Honor’s speech.

Briana told Chris that he had to sing to her at their wedding…right after they met. So he did, singing Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban. When Paul told me that, I almost started to cry. Which either means I’m a sap or Chris has already got this husband thing down.

They had a little fun feeding each other cake. But no worries, there were no major casualties.

What a fun wedding! Seriously I don’t think I’ve ever posted so many dancing pictures. I think I need to invite you all to our next party…

So I said our couples and their friends are awesome earlier in the post… now they just got even more points in my book! Not only do I love dancings, as they clearly do, but I also love line dancing!

Paul thought this was one of the most unique iPhone cases he has ever seen:

Congratulations Briana and Chris! Leave them some love in the comment box below and tell them which is your favorite photo from the day!

Engagement photos: Click here

Ceremony: St. David’s Episcopal Church

Venue: Villanova Conference Center

Gown designer: J. Crew

Hair and Makeup artist: Kim of Daneene Jensen Associates

DJ: Taz Sellers of Silver Sound DJs

*Carolyn

Thank you to Alicia of The Pretty Fresh Face for doing a beautiful job with Julia’s flawless makeup.

This beautiful shot is Francis’ angle of Julia and her father just before she was escorted down the aisle.

I love these close ups of Julia and Rich taken by Francis.

First kiss as Mr. & Mrs. Stein!

While Paul took the photo above, Francis caught this moment below.

I was loving working with Julia’s veil. Besides my obsession with veils, Julia’s was a family heirloom!

After the ceremony we went to the Watchung Lake Park and climbed onto the dam.

Mike, one of the groomsmen, climbed to the top and walked across. I wondered how safe this would be, but I guess guys like a little bit of danger. Apparently it is much wider at the top then it looks.

Then rest of the guys joined him.

This awesome shot of Rich and his groomsmen is from our second shooter, Francis.

Once we are all off of the dam, Julia and Rich had some fun on their own at Washington Rock State Park , where the view is gorgeous. You can see NYC on a really clear day!

Julia, you are beautiful. And you, Rich, are one lucky guy.

Julia knows she’s lucky too.

Francis took these glamor shots of their beautiful rings and cake.

Their first dance as husband and wife.

Remember the sappy father mentioned in the proposal story above? He escorted his daughter to the floor for a lovely dance.

An intimate moment captured by Francis.

The entire dance floor was filled with guests dancing in unison to “Jai Ho” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire like they were right out of the movie. Very impressive.

Francis got a great angle of Julia and Rich as their guests lifted them in their chairs.

Leave some love for Julia and Rich! Just leave a comment in the comment box below and let us know what your favorite photo is from their wedding day!

*Carolyn

Ceremony: St. Mary-Stony Hill Church

Gown designer: Allure

Makeup Artist: The Pretty Fresh Face

Portrait Locations:

Watchung Lake Park, Watchung, NJ

Washington Rock State Park, Greenbrook, NJ

Meredith and Kevin planned a gorgeous intimate fall destination wedding on Cape Cod. The wedding ceremony was held at the Kelley Chapel, right behind their venue, the Old Yarmouth Inn in Yarmouth Port, MA. All which was just a few minutes away from Gray’s Beach, a perfect location for pictures. Meredith and Kevin, we are so happy for you, congratulations! Enjoy!

The fabulous wedding gown by David Tutera

I love your shoes, Meredith.

As they were getting ready for the wedding, Meredith was playing showtunes on her iPad as her and her mom belted out songs from the likes of Les Miserables. You ladies are so much fun.

Then she snapped a picture of Paul and posted it on facebook. You can find the photo she took on our facebook page here. Thanks, Meredith! Gotta love technology.

Big thanks to Hairapy for doing a fantastic job with Meredith’s hair and makeup. Hiring a professional makeup artist can make a difference in the photos while helping the preparations to be more stress free. And we love our brides to have stress free wedding days.

“accept uncertainty”

Meredith, you are stunning.

A photo shoot with Meredith is not complete without a little silly fun…

I love it when couples leave each other notes! So sweet and romantic.

Caught!

Meredith having a little fun.

Meredith, seriously, look how beautiful you are. You’re working it.

Mr. & Mrs. Plunkett!

In case you were wondering, I heart the harp. It’s totally angelic. I knew you were just dying to know that I wanted to take harp lessons as a child after seeing Harpo Marx on I Love Lucy. Paul spoke the harpist who told him that she started learning when she was only 12 years old, and that to truly learn it takes 10 years! Not sure I would’ve lasted that long. I’m glad there are people like her out there who have more musical talent than I to play beautiful music for the rest of us. So in conclusion, I think it is lovely that you had a harpist at your wedding.

Meredith and Kevin rejoicing in their marriage! Woohoo!

Gray’s Beach was just minutes away, and a perfect location for portraits.

Paul used a light diffuser to get that amazing lighting on their skin that just makes them look awesome.

Kevin carrying Meredith over the threshold. The tides had changed since Paul had scoped out the area earlier in the day, so Kevin carried his bride over the muddy areas to the dry sand. What a chivalrous gentleman.

You two are awesome. Beautiful. Happy. So in love.

First, they fed each other politely.

Then Kevin got her right on the nose!

And naturally, she had to get him back.

If you would like to view the full set of images or purchase images, visit Meredith and Kevin’s event page by clicking here. Just click on “Launch” underneath the title “Purchase photos”.

Meredith and Kevin it was such a pleasure getting to know you two and an honor to be a part of your wedding. We wish you all the best! Congratulations!!!

Friends, family, and blog readers, what’s your favorite photo from their wedding? Let us know and leave Meredith and Kevin a little love in the comment box below. And if you are the random lucky one, you will get a $10 giftcard to iTunes, just for fun.

*Carolyn

Engagement photos: Click here.

Event page: Click here.

Ceremony: Kelley Chapel

Portrait location: Gray’s Beach, Yarmouth Port, MA.

Venue: Old Yarmouth Inn

Gown Designer: David Tutera

Florals: Margaret Parker Florals

Hair Stylist & Makeup Artist: Hairapy

*Carolyn

If you want to know when the blog post is up, please stop by and check in at Meredith and Kevin’s wedding page

Melissa looking radiant.

Melissa and Juan Manuel had a nice ride in this classic Rolls Royce.

The bridal party had fun riding on the kid-size merry-go-round.

Remember this photo from the preview? Click here to read the back story behind the photo.

This is probably my favorite photo from the day (or maybe its one of the night shots… you can see them towards the end of this post). You guys look awesome, and the car looks pretty cool too. Total glam shot.

Their first dance as husband and wife.

The wedding was on the same day as the birthday of the Father of the bride. Melissa and Juan Manuel  honored this special man by singing him “Happy Birthday” and watching him blow out the candles with all their guests.

Juan got to play DJ…

and Melissa got her turn too. When you’re the bride and groom, you’re cool like that.

They decided to take a few minutes out of the reception to get a few night shots on the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge. We think it was well worth it.

What is your favorite photo from Melissa and Juan Manuel’s wedding day? We would love to hear it. Just write a comment in the box below. Congratulations again Melissa and Juan Manuel!!!

Ceremony: St. Magdalen de Pazzi R. C. Church

Venue: The Inn at Lambertville Station

Portrait Sites: Historic New Hope & Ivyland Railroad and New Hope-Lambertville Bridge

Dress Designer: Bill Levkoff

Florals: Scott’s Florist

Hair Stylist: Hair Port Raritan Salon

DJ: Ultrax Disc Jockeys, Mark Klatskin

Sonia and Dan are a perfect match. They started off as classmates, which grew into a friendship, which grew into a relationship, and now are finally husband and wife! Sonia first met Dan at Timothy Christian School in front her locker, but didn’t really become friends until meeting a second time at Autumn Blaze, a Christian concert held at Zarephath. They didn’t realize how compatible they really were. Dan was unsure of Sonia’s “loud vivacious” personality and Sonia was unsure of Dan’s “quiet introverted” personality and had not yet come to appreciate his blonde highlights. After many adventures together, prom, traveling, mission trips, they grew close, and after graduating the relationship deepened. Almost a year into their relationship Dan schemed to get Sonia back to their meeting place – her high school locker. It was there that he popped the question and asked her to be his bride. Sonia said “yes”, after recovering from shock, and now they are happy to be spending the rest of their lives with their best friend. Sonia and Dan, we are honored to be a part of your wedding day! Enjoy our favorite photos from a perfect day for a perfect couple.

* Carolyn

Sonia surprised Dan by sending him a gift and writing him a letter that she sent over with her brother as he was getting ready for the day.

After the beautiful ceremony, the newlyweds set out for Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ where they were photographed. Paul is always super over prepared, so he did some research ahead of time and found this great spot with awesome light and architecture.

I love this shot. Sonia’s reaction to seeing her first wedding photo straight out of the camera is priceless. We love making our brides and grooms feel this awesome. Thanks, Francis, for capturing this image and second-shooting with Paul in my absence.

Sonia looking oh-so gorgeous on her wedding day.

Here is one of my favorites, you might recognize it from the preview.

Before going to the reception, they went to the beach for more pictures with a new feel… ah, I just looooove the good old Jersey shore. The kind before the TV show.

Sonia and Dan changed into traditional Indian garments for a traditional milk ceremony to honor Sonia’s heritage.

Sonia’s family then performed a traditional Indian dance.

And then they had a good time…

This picture tells the story of my life. And probably many other women as well.

It was SO hard to narrow down the pictures to this small set for the blog post. There were so many great photos to choose from! Sonia and Dan, you look absolutely amazing and so in love on your wedding day. We are so happy for you, congratulations!! We would love to hear what your favorite photo is from the day. I know Sonia and Dan would like to hear it too, just leave a comment below!

*Carolyn

Venue: Branches

Dress: David’s Bridal

Florals: Adel Stemen