Renee and Pete's Winter Engagement Portraits

This season I will have the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous couple's wedding, and after spending time with them on their engagement shoot, I'd bet that their wedding images will be stunning. We began our shoot outdoors at my home based studio in the snow and it was COLD! Renee's rich magenta scarf reflects the main color of their wedding and looks so striking against the cool whites and grays of winter. I'm a sucker for colors like this, they really POP!

We continued our shoot on the streets of Rhinebeck, NY, which is one of my favorite places to take a stroll with couples. The storefronts are jammed with beautiful displays and we found one with the magenta and green that will be accent colors in their September 2011 wedding. I just love this storefront, and it's a good thing I didn't go in..I would probably come out pennyless!!

Yikes...good thing I didn't notice the "SALE" sign until later...I definitely would have been roped into a major prop-shop. Luckily, I concentrated on Renee and Pete and kept shooting! I can't wait to see how their wedding turns out. With Renee's sense of taste and style and Pete's easygoing nature, I'm sure it will be a photographer's dream. Congratulations guys!

Bridal Show at The Links at Unionvale

What a great turnout we all had at the Links' Februrary 27th Bridal Show. The weather was exceptionally nice for February, and the brides came out. The Links' Teri Stellato had 85 registered brides by the morning of the show, and who knows how many walk-ins!



Bridal shows are right up my alley: lots of people who are in the same business, old friends and new, and plenty of CANDY. I think they give the brides pumpkins instead of tote bags, there's so much sweet loot to be had!




I worked hard setting up my booth and I loved the finished look (aside from not having a big sign with my name on it, DUH!!). It was fun to have a slideshow running for the first time ever and if nothing else, the music sure entertained me all day long. I was in my own little red and black world:)

Hair by Annaleise getting the girls ready for the bridal show!

Chamonix's supplied the all of the dresses for the fashion show, but my favorite is still that little one on the hanger at their booth! How adorable it was, with purple flower petals all caught up in the tulle at the bottom!

A big hit with brides was Moxie Cupcakes, who I was lucky enough to be neighbors with. People came in droves to sample the delicious cupcakes and look at the stunning cupcake tower. I was lucky enough to get leftovers at the end of the show:)) Thank you Moxie!

Cupcakes in Vanilla, Red Velvet, and Moxie's signature Double Chocolate were available for the tasting.







Hair by Annaleise and gowns by

Chamonix made for an elegant

and current fashion show.


The hair was glamorous, in an old fashioned Hollywood sort of way, with

interesting and unexpected braids, rosettes and feathers.

The dresses were spectacular, and it looks like predictions were right: The mermaid style silhouette is IN this year, and it was very flattering on all of the girls. Also very popular were "puckering" or "pickups", and designs with unique accents like this one with one shoulder strap. Beautiful! Thanks to DJ Bri Swatek of Spinning With Style for the entertainment and for emceeing the fashion show.






An Affair to Remember had a lovely

booth packed with bling and all the latest trends in stationary and wedding details like champagne

glasses, flasks, and favors.

Lavender and Leaf's floral display was lovely. With springtime colors, they were certainly an inspiration for brides looking to plan their spring wedding bouquets.

The Pastry Garden had several very pretty cakes on display. As always, I love to photograph cakes but I almost forgot them!! They weren't within view of my booth and I found them by chance so I just had to get my camera back out at the last minute.

I especially like this one, with spring colors that reminded me of cotton candy , blue skies and

flowers in bloom!

If I didn't photograph a booth it was only because I, of course, had to tend to mine. I snapped the shutter in

between talking to all of the very nice couples I met, and some of my fellow vendor buddies. With such a great turnout, I didn't get much of a chance to wander off and take pictures of everybody and everything.

In any event, what a great show and kudos to The Links on their spectacular redecorating. Everyone agreed

it was tasteful and elegant!

Announcing BabyFusion

I am pleased to announce that I am now offering BabyFusion shoots. Adopted from the wedding industry, FUSION is the blending of still images and film clips to produce a multimedia experience that is moving and memorable. My feeling is that is a perfect way to look back on the stages of your baby's life and development. And So fun for me too!! What's better than an adorable little baby??

The Milestones in Life...

Looking back on 2010, I can see how fortunate I am in my life and my work. I had lots of time to ponder these thoughts over this dreary, bleak winter, and had so many opportunities that brought me such satisfation and joy!

Because weddings make up most of my business, you may not realize that I also enjoy photographing all aspects of people's lives. I came to realize how valuble this is in the fall of 2010,

when I was seriously injured and could quite possibly have been killed. I spent the better part of two months recouping, regrouping, and redirecting the focus of my work to include other milestones in people's lives. This brought me back to photographing children and babies, relationships, the very fabric of our lives and the reason we are are here.

This time in my life caused me to reflect on my own milestones, and how I wish I had done more to record them as they unfolded. As a photographer, I get the pleasure of making memories VISUAL for people to look back on and reminisce.

An infant's time is fleeting, and they are a constantly changing blessing in life. They reach a new milestone much more often than we do as adults. I urge everyone to preserve these precious moments through photography, even though time and money are often hard to come by. It's better to look back and be glad you did, than to look back and wish you had done more!

Splendid October Wedding

Everyone knows I am perpetually behind the 8-ball when it comes to blogging, especially after the rush of fall weddings!! But come wintertime, I do enjoy it and wanted to share this lovely wedding.

Kelin and James were married on October 16th of 2010 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel In Poughkeepsie, NY and had their reception at Christos in Poughkeepsie. Kelin is a dancer on a cruise ship and has the beauty and poise one would expect her to have. James, a piano entertainer also aboard the cruise ship, has the swagger and intelligence(along with a great British accent) of most musicians and they made for an easy-going pair with a flair for drama!

I love a bride that will HAM IT UP just a little and Kelin had no problems doing that whatsoever, and she laughed at herself quite alot whenver she tried to be serious!

The front of Mount Carmel Church in Poughkeepsie offers very little room to step back and take a group shot, but I so love seeing the steeple when I drive down Route 9 that I thought a fisheye lens would fit it all in and it did!!

Kelin's NOT cracking up in this picture...but that was only for a short second!!

Probably my favorite image of the day, as it captures Kelin and James just as they are, full of laughter and just strolling along. Done with all the hard work of the wedding day and on their way to party with their friends and family.

Christos was looking very nice, having been redecorated with very nice gold chairs and a light creamy paint. It is certainly one of my favorite venues to shoot at, since I love the grounds and the staff is just fantastic!

Here are a couple of very sweet moments, caught by my assistant Dawn, who will be getting married at Christos herself this year!

Thank you Kelin and James, for being who you are and making my job EASY. Wish we could do it all over again!

Christmas Kiddies!

I've had some cuties through my door this year to sit in front of my tree. Here are just a few of some of the cutest kids ever! (Not being partial...though one of them belongs to me!!)

Alisa and Derick August 6, 2010

Alisa and Derick were married on August 6th at Christos in Poughkeepsie, in the new pavillion that has been so popular with brides and grooms since it was built. They had a perfect day, not too hot and not a drop of rain. Alisa was lovely in her simple, flowing gown and bright bouquet. The bridal party was a great looking bunch, and the colors were beautiful together.

The guys looked great in their tuxes, and all wore matching black and white wingtip shoes which I really got a kick out of. It's nice to see groomsmen get into the spirit and put their own special touches on their attire! As you can probably tell, they were a funny bunch and were truly great sports throughout the whole process.

My new favorite place to shoot at Christos is against this simple brick wall, which gives me opportunity for a "different look" to some of the images, and so far the images have been fun!

Derick's wingtip shoes....ya gotta love 'em!!

I love weddings at Christos. There's always plenty of places to take pictures, the staff is great, and the new decor inside is beautiful and classy. Chris is more than accomodating, and I think this bride and groom really enjoyed their time there!

Congratulations Alisa and Derick!