We all had such an relaxing and amazing time at one of my very favorite places, the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz NY. What a step into a time warp this place is! I have been thinking about taking my team here since the first time I came with my ladies, Beth and Candice a year back, and was so excited when the stars aligned and we all had the time to make it up together… well minus Erik and Mike (who were dearly missed) We skated (see below) well, I got pushed around in a chair- I am a major ice skating scaredy cat! To be fair, the last time I skated I broke my ankle sooo…. I play it safe and regal and get pushed around like the Queen of England! That’s how I felt anyway…

Dave, who is really our 9 year old son Jack in a 6’1″ man body  most of the time… loves being silly. Here he almost really bit it after faking this fall… I, of course, had to shoot it!

The C10 Studio Ice Capades !!

Katie and Julie were our ice dancers for the afternoon!

The ladies of the studio!! Dave feels left out….and so…. he ices us! Or me!

Dominique comes barreling in on the chair! Watch out ladies!

OK. So if you have ever been to Mohonk then you have been privy to some really amazing old tyme portraits that grace the walls throughout the property. They are absolutely beautiful to look at and so interesting to read the captions of… So we were inspired to create some portraits  that reflected the look and feel of Mohonk… I hope those of you that have seen them agree that they do! Jared, Rebecca’s husband, was a willing subject!

I really could have photographed all day, and it was probably best that we did our portrait session at the very end of our stay…! Otherwise I would have not really relaxed. Once I started shooting I couldn’t stop! Inspiration was around every corner, every little well lit nook, or random second floor balcony!

This red couch was one of many that adorn the halls of Mohonk!

Seriously, this one main hall was such an inspiring place to photograph in. There was light in so many places, and textures and nooks to spare!

You wouldn’t know it was actually quite cold here at this point!

I LOVE these rocking chairs, and have been hoping to work them in since the first time I came here!

This area was a gram slam score of a find! I was inspired and motivated and challenged like I haven’t been in a long time… plus it was like a million degrees there! I pushed  the limits of my camera to 4000 ISO and was sweating to the oldies while standing on chairs and using lenses I hardly ever use… yea, it was a nerdy photographer’s dream!

I can’t decide which treatment I like more, the color or the black and white…

BLAH!!!!! (that’s my freak out noise!)

Still keeping things stern… are my BFF Dominique and her husband Rick! Bringing it back 50′s style!

As Dave would yell…. CHECKERS!!!!!!

Nothing like a pipe and a fire! Or schmoke and a pancake!

Dominique, Rick, Jazzy, Jue, Slatie, Dave, Becs and Jared … thank you so much for such and amazing three days, it was exactly what my heart and soul needed!!! I love you guys!!

XOXOXO

It was a rush too, knowing I was shooting for the cover of The Connecticut Bride Magazine- and a big guessing game as we waited to see what image was chosen! I am thrilled with this cover, and am so so happy to see my great friend  and talented jewelry designer Kelley of Aquinnah’s super dope locket bracelet! I loved it so much I bought one for myself… and the earrings! I loved it SO much, my team got me a two strand locket necklace for Christmas! Yes. I am obsessed. So many mini spaces for pictures!!!!!

So there was this red door, see… and there was this girl with red lipstick! And shoes…. and signage! And a floral wand! TONY!

The beauty for the day was so clean and fresh and perfect! Go Dana Bartone & Company!!

Hands down one of my FAVORITE images from the day- the best part is that she was just standing in the doorway waiting in-between shots and I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw her there…. can you see why???? Her head band, that bouquet, her lips, that bracelet!!

The shot where her legs are up is a risky one, but I am so happy we took the shot it is so cute and fun! And sparkly! Hope from A Little Imagination Cakes always triesto hide from me….!

Hello Kate Spade sparkly shoes!!! For the bouquet (isn’t it sweet and perfect and amazing!) shots below I snagged a pillow that was on board to bring in the red stripes to help support our nautical feel for the shoot!

The above picture? Whaaaaaat!!! One of our locations was the Griswold Inn in Essex- amazing food, and character to spare! A must-stop-by-and-visit if you are in Essex!!

This little tiny slice of blue wall was such a perfect spot to photograph our model with her stunning hair and lips!

This spot had potential but yuck spotty dappled light… the solution? Two super sweeties aka Catie Bane and Miss Amy of Dana Bartone lent a hand man handling my ginormous diffuser to help me get the shot below! Thanks ladies!!

Our team for the day:

floral art: Tony Palmieri of Datura A Modern Garden

art direction: Candice Coppola of Jubilee Events

fashion and styling: Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore

hair and makeup: Dana Bartone and Company

tasty sweets: Hope Wright-Martell of A Little Imagination Cakes

pretty paper: Nichole Tremblay of Coral Pheasant 

My assistant and behind the scenes gal  for the day was the hard working Rebecca Hales!

Get your copy of The Connecticut Bride Magazine on newsstands now!!!!

Our super fun  in WHITE launch party on Wednesday, January 11th was a rousing success! To quote my husband Dave, it was a ‘rager!!’ We can’t thank our amazing group of friends, business associates, colleagues who braved the style taboo of wearing white before labor day!!! Or after Memorial Day? Whatever! We appreciate the support of all of our friends in the launch of this exciting new adventure! Here are some of my favorite photo booth pictures from the suaree that my husband Dave took!

Meet my fellow In White team members!

The White Dress by the Shore

Jennie Fresa Beauty Library

Beneath the Gown

Vintage Cinema

Jubilee Events

Coral Pheasant

The vision of our night was made possible by fellow In White compadres Candice Coppola of Jubilee Events and Nichole Tremblay of Coral Pheasant- what a stunning evening!!

The biggest thank you and credit goes out to our talented team of creatives who truly made in WHITE’s launch such a success! From the talented gourmands at A Thyme to Cook, the gorgeous Sperry Tent and it’s transformation by Ryan Designs, the stunning white floral decor by Datura: A Modern Garden, the rockin’ band and electric violinist from Elan Artists, the delicious prosecco from VOVETI, the stunning white jeweled cakes from A Little Imagination Cakes, the comfy (and warm) white chariots from Gateway Limo, and our cute and fun props from SayCheese for our black and white photobooth!

Big, BIG thank you to Miss Julie our studio associate photographer for shooting the event- check out her photos here on event jubilee.com!

Thanks again for supporting us all, it really means a lot!!

XOXO

I have been thinking long and hard about doing a video on the studio, to show what we are all about without being too melodramatic or taking ourselves too seriously whilst straddling that very fine line of not being too unprofessional in the process! It’s a thin, badly drawn line at times for us photographers and we have all been known to dilly dally around it what with having access to so much of our personal lives online, via Twitter, Facebook and peeking old school into my windows! See, my thing has always been, love my work, love me, and we will make sweet sweet music together! Yet I struggled with exactly how to show the fun side of us, and the sweet side, the sentimental side, and my smooth dance move side? My I love my team and my family side, and my home, and my mom’s rose bushes and all of my favorite vendors side. All of it is me, all of it is us. And so, Enter the amazing Jim Altieri of Vintage Cinema, and my bff and studio manager Dominique. And Ke$ha. Or as James Van der Beek says ‘K-E- dollar sign- HA’ Check the video here. (it’s listed on my site right under my picture it’s called ‘studio video’)And don’t take it too seriously, just laugh at how foolish we all look, and at how much fun we all had making it! It’s actually fun to watch Ke$ha’s video “Tik Tok’ before and then watch ours to see the similarities!!

So we set up this whole wedding for the video, and then my great friend Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore asks me if we are going to stop in the middle of filming and renew our vows. Huh? Are we? Aren’t we? Well, it seems like common sense when it was asked out loud, right? And so, not even 3 weeks after the initial wedding idea -yes, you heard right- we planned this ALL in less than THREE WEEKS!!! .. .Dave and I renewed our vows in front of friends and family in our back yard! On one of THE hottest days ever in June. It was June 9th to be exact- and there was the craziest storm ever (or what would start the trend of crazy storms this summer!) that day! Temps hit over 100 degrees!

Here is me washing up after shooting our first part of the video, where we have to look like we just woke up after a night of craziness….

*photo disclaimer here: for my wedding part our official photographer was the super amazing Sara Code Kroll of Growing Tree Photographer, now located in PA! She has been an unofficial part of my studio family from the beginning and I couldn’t think of anyone better than Sara to catch the spirit of our team, since she was such a big part of it!! We just LOVE her eye, and her spirit and miss her so terribly now that she has moved! Sara, I can’t thank you enough for doing this for the studio, but also for me and Dave. It means so so much to have these images of my family, my friends and more importantly of my love. I look through these images and am so moved, even now, almost 6 months later.

Since most of the guests here were photographers we asked them to bring their cameras, however- this whole project was TOP SECRET!! So while they were coming to a party here, they did not know what it was until they showed up! I love surprises!! I tried my best to credit everyone properly ,as there were many, many of CT’s most talented photographers who contributed images to my cache of images: Mike Romano- one of my favorite photographers and people in the world!!! And my crew of super talented ladies-Katie Slater, Jasmine Balgobin, Julie Morawski all of Carla Ten Eyck,  Rebecca Hales of Hales Studio, Renee Descoutures, Eric Langlois of RAW Photo Design, Anthony DeCarlo of DeCarlo Photo, Paul & Krystal McNerney of Studio Foto, Danielle Fuller of Beyond the Lens… thank you all so, so much from the bottom, top, middle and sides of my heart!!!!

And, this is THE biggest blog post in the world!!!! It’s BIG BIG BIG…. to go with how full my heart feels, and how happy I am, and what a great year I have had. Thank you for taking the time to look through this…!

Catie Bane of Dana Bartone and co, my girl, my sweet sweet friend and stylist did the honors on me! Catie is responsible for my pink hair as well… she is a master!

Love this!

Miss Julie was getting all dolled up by the talented Miss Lauren Perry of Dana Bartone!

It’s like The Wizard of Oz here when the lipstick goes on… my favorite part!

Ta-DA!

Dave and I decided to do a first look in our front yard- since the back yard was still getting all done up for our ceremony etc…. we opted to have everyone there with us on the porch but still felt like we were all alone!

Mike and Sara tag teamed this- I love both of their perspectives!

But mostly? I love how Dave keeps his hands firmly behind his back!! What’s up Mr. Ten Eyck!!

I can’t tell you how much I love my dress. I emailed Beth and described this- tea length 3/4 sleeve and she immediately said SIRI!!!! I look and feel like Oprah!!

A favorite. Makes me all teary! Dave and Georgie have been dancing like this forever- they call it Giant Steps…

Sara’s take!

Hey Datura!!!! Tony created all of the floral art for our day… it was so amazing!

Enter: our moody son!!

Now you KNOW I had to shoot even though it is my vow renewal…. please!!

The amazing drift wood tables, couches and lanterns were all by our buddies Erik and Christen at Ryan Designs in Rhode Island! We just adore them so much!!!

Our friend Barbara Foley of Perceptions Jewelry in Rhode Island created all of my maids’ jewels for our shoot!!!

I sweat my back yard so much….!!!! and all of these amazing people! All of these maids dresses were courtesy of The White Dress by the Shore!!

That Nikon there was my college workhorse at RIT…ah the Nikon FM!

Candice set up our table with things that we had- my china from our wedding, cameras that I have, our silver… Renee got this amazing shot of Jack after he pepped up!

Our boys. Now, Erik aka Easy E was having a baby that week so we knew he and Jen couldn’t make it so we planned ahead and ordered a cardboard cutout of him so that he could be there in paper spirit! He is now still in the studio aptly named aper Erik.

I shot some details the day after, since we had the storm of all storms and our ceremony was rained out!!!

I used my Mom’s old dress form and put my dress out by this mimosa tree that my Mom had been trying to get to live for years… it is now thriving in our back yard

My Badgley Mischka flip flops were perfect- dressy-ish casual with color and style! On my favorite CT pillow courtesy of uncommongoods.com

Our favors were handmade by my hauntie Donna- her almost famous pepper jelly!!!

Queen Anne’s Lace, peonies and garden roses. period!

We set up the altar table again the day after and I shot it… it was set up as a dessert table / day of the dead altar / table that had people that I love on it and wanted to honor! My family and my studio!

Cupcakes by Hope at A Little Imagination Cakes!! She is AMAZING!!!!!!

This picture is my Mom holding me on the day I was born.

The Wonder Woman and Batman pez were our original wedding cake toppers!! Right near a shot from our big exit from our wedding almost 13 years ago! By the amazing Jaime Greene!!

We decorated a blue atlas cedar tree- the very type of tree that I gave Dave as our wedding present- he gave me a mountain bike… yes we bought what we wanted LOL!! The words are all things that contribute to a successful marriage! yes, RODNEY!!!! Our cat, he really helps.

This now iconic image by the dope Sara!! We have used this for all of our print ads this year!!! There is a sneaky little element here… see if you can find my guy Jack in here!!!!!

Giving Mike the stank eye as per usual!!!

head piece by The White Dress by the Shore!!

This makes me heart ache!!!!

Dave made this swing just for our vows…. sadly, this tree has since been knocked down from the various storms we have had this year- I only saw this yesterday and it made me so sad! But not us, we are still standing tall! ish.

This is my BACK YARD!!! I love it. And that husband of mine too… he is something else!

You can see the mad scramble to cover everything with tarps!! There is a storm a brewin!!!!

We didn’t forget about jack… he was still a little moody…

So we wanted to wait it out, but our officiant aka another bestie Susannah who read at our first wedding- had to go- so we made it happen on the porch!!!! It was so perfect!!

I love these crowd shots- I didn’t see anyone but Dave the whole time it was great to see where everyone was!!

paper Erik!

This shot was by Eric Langlois of RAW Photo Design! These marked as mine are all a mixture of all of the above mentioned photographers!!! DeCarlo, Danielle, Studio Foto

Dave took charge and said since I am always in charge he would like to go first! Got a rousing laugh from everyone for sure

I was a total sap when reading my vows. We have had quite a ride… and thinking about what to say to someone who I have been with for almost 15 years… it’s pretty deep when you stop and think about who we were then and who we are now. I thought about the man he was back then and the man he is now, and can I just say he gets better with age. He loves his family so much. We are so lucky to have him in our lives and now a part of the studio! I love how my sweet son is there, comforting his mama while I struggled to read my vows…

Amongst the sweetness there were some jabs on his obsession with organic food and… the Central CT Snow Snakes!!!!

These two shots were by Anthony DeCarlo… love them!

We had pizza trucks!!!!! So perfect for our vibe, and so yummy!

The only big bummer was this big tree that fell on Susannah’s car as she ran off to a graduation!!!! I told you the weather got crazy!

Ok. We had a fog machine… that SOMEONE (mary Altieri) got a little buck wild with!!!!!!! Set off the fire alarms n stuff. It was epic!

And then the rain cleared up…. and we headed back outside!!

While finishing up filming, and dancing and eating and having fun!

DANCE PARTY!!!!!

Miss Krystal preggo with Miss Penny!!!

My second, by main red bearded friend, Mike!!!

Catie Bane’s little lady Arianna…. !!

Dave and the Ryan’s probably talking about surfing

Photos by Krystal!!

I love this shot that Krystal took of us!!!!!!

love times one million

Yes. It was still 100 degrees and yes Georgie has on flannel jammies!!!!

Eric Foley acting a fool… like always!!!

Thank you for reading this, and looking at these pictures. They are so personal, and make me so happy. I am so so happy to finally share them with everyone and tell my story…! I can’t thank everyone enough for all of their time, energy, love and patience in doing this. Mostly Dave. Thank you for standing by me, and for weathering our storms and being the better couple because of it. Thank you for supporting me and my crazy career choice / love…. thank you most of all for being the best father in the world to our children!!!

XOXOXO

Credits:

video: Jim Altieri of Vintage Cinema

photography: Sara Code Kroll of Growing Tree Photography

beauty: Dana Bartone and Company

wedding dress: Siri courtesy of The White Dress by the Shore

bridal jewels: custom made by  Aquinnah 

brides maids dresses: The White Dress by the Shore

floral art: Tony Palmieri of Datura a Modern Garden

coordination: Candice Coppola of Jubilee Events

cupcakes: Hope Wright-Martell of A Little Imagination Cakes

lanterns, couches, tables: Ryan Designs

maids jewels: Barbara Foley of Perception Jewelry

flower girl dress: The White Dress by the Shore

Carla’ shoes: Badgley Mischka

CT Pillow uncommongoods.com

additional photographers: Hales Studio, RAW Photo Design, Beyond The Lens, Studio Foto, DeCarlo Photo

But.

We had no plans to do any part of our editorial shoot here. We have a tightly packed schedule with little to no room for any squiggle room. So the idea of even shooting our model here is not even in my brain, because we truly have no time to.So why even think it?

But.

I sigh in my brain and wish we were shooting here later, and just keep snapping my detail shots. Taking in the texture, the faded colors, the hibiscus tree. The dogs.

Until all I talk about is this surf shop. With the enthusiasm I tend to show every now and then…. It’s ‘Dude.’ this and ‘Whaaaaat.’ that. I’m pretty sure I am making everyone sick with it. So then on our way to another part of the shoot we make a rash and potentially costly risk- we decide to drive the other way from where we are supposed to be and head towards the surf shop to shoot our model Michelle before we show up at our other rain forest location. Tricky business, right? But man. Am I SO glad I did. I took some of my favorite shots here that I have ever taken in my life. Paired with the extreme heat and the rush of having NO time to do this was absolute, pure bliss. My best work is made this way, under the gun, total hurry hurry hurry oh my god we gotta  GO type of situation. Which leads me to this.

Ultimately, having patience, and knowing when to just say screw it and forge ahead can be a tricky thing to balance. Here I am at our first shoot, minus my pink hair for a spell, hurrying. And sweating. A lot! Being risky. Saying screw it.

We had Tony’s (of Datura A Modern Garden)  amazing bouquets on site so we had nothing here of his, which was the biggest bummer. Instead I picked a hibiscus from the bush for a pop of color here. I love this picture so much, and am so happy to finally be able to share it! Dress courtesy of Bath Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore, coordination by Candice Coppola of Jubilee Events!

And then. This spot spoke to me from the corners and I heard it so clearly… and Michelle heard it too! Amazing beauty by the equally amazing DD Nickel.It was like 100 degrees here with 100% humidity. Does Michelle look sweaty? Nope!

Which brings me full circle to here. The being patient part. The hoping I will make it back there to shoot a real wedding. These images of Mandi and Dan are  from this Friday- our 11-11-11 wedding in Costa Rica. And Dan is a surfer… so naturally  I had to come back to my spot. And Pico, who owns it was super generous and in pure ‘pura vida’ style opened his place to us again. ‘My house is your house.’

These two are cracking up at what a spaz I was being about this smoky crazy light. Properly called: chicken light. While we were shooting some of the guys threw some meat on the grill and cooked their lunch. The courtyard filled with smoke and the smell of grilled meat. Paired with the crazy light? Chicken. Light. !! BOOM.

Yeah. Mandi and Dan had modeled for me many a time back in the states so to shoot their actual real life wedding was a bit surreal. During their first look? I cried like a huge baby. Sobbed. Almost couldn’t gain control. This is how much I adore them! Yes, Jim has video, oy.

Just had to share. And to get you all to learn to listen to your gut. Screw it? Or be patient? Only you know, and sometimes you will be wrong! But sometimes…

Welcome to our new and improved and WAY better to look at studio blog!! It’s been a long time comin’ to say the least- and we all couldn’t be happier with the way everything turned out. I have been wanting to change things up for almost two years and when I thought about who I would love to have a major hand in the way everything looked the choice was clear: my good friend, past client and super duper talented designer lady friend Nichole Michel of Coral Pheasant! I had no kind of eyes for anyone else, I just crush so hard on absolutely everything this talented lady designs- so when I asked her if she would hook up the C10 studio with an overhaul and she said yes? Well, I was one very happy lady!!

The next round of thanks goes to my husband Dave for being my web task master and tirelessly working through the many (many, MANY) revisions and whims of one crazy boss lady (yes, me)! Dave teamed up with our friend and fellow Central CT Snow Snaker Ginger – our Word Press Smarty Pants guru. Man, this lady knows her stuff! And lastly, big techie shout out to the Coding Heads from the UK way- way to code it up for me!!

Now some housekeeping! One of the hallmarks of our studio is letting every photographers own voice be heard and what better way to do this for them, and you. How? To see only Erik’s blog posts, just click on his picture up top! Same thing for me, Julie, Katie and The Team! Jazzy and Dave will have some posts heading our way and are featured under the ‘Team’ badge. To get back to the main page just click on the home button up top!

***

Now here is what I wanted to be the real first official post partnered with the new look of the site…So things are changing here and not only with the look of the studio blog (which finally can showcase Miss Julie, YAY) but with the way we are tightening up our studio systems and improving the way we do things for our clients. It is all good, and we are all embracing it wholeheartedly.

Some of you know last April my husband Dave was unexpectedly laid off from a job he had for 6 years. It came as a complete and total shock to us both. See, Dave is a dream employee. He is incredibly hard working, and loyal. But most importantly he is so positive. It’s almost annoying! Now, I was of the belief that if I worked with my spouse we would be pretty much buying a one way ticket to divorce court! Seriously! Some of you out there know what I’m saying. We tried sort of working together early on in my career and it didn’t really work, to say the least. So we both never really thought it was an option to think about it again. Until last April, when out of necessity we made it work. Well, we didn’t have to try very hard- because Dave jumped in with all his appendages and tackled his new job with excitement and a positive attitude.

After Steve Jobs passed last week I, along with many others, watched the commencement speech he gave at Stanford and really heard what he said about loving what you do. I sure know that I love what I do, but what about everyone that works with me? (insert many jokes here Mike, go on) I wanted to make sure that everyone was happy and challenged and felt like they had a creative outlet. Most importantly I wanted everyone to feel appreciated. Enter: the C10 Studio Employee of the Month!!

So every month now we will all write in and nominate who we think is the most deserving of this honor- and honor it is- this team is one hard working group!

Here is what some of my peeps had to say about the winner:

“I think he has such a positive attitude and has really added a lot to the team. He is also really good at keeping us focused when we are being dumbasses. “

“I elect Dave. He is new to the studio and has taken his job very seriously and with lots of enthusiasm. I appreciate having him as a production manager and keeping such good track of things. But most of all he has to put up with all of us women. And for that he deserves a butt load of dark and stormies.”

“I’m nominating Dave.He’s a very hard worker and so easy to get along with. So willing to pitch in and help out when needed and eager to learn new and efficient ways to improve things around the studio. Dave has jumped in and is totally on

board with doing anything that will improve and make Carla Ten Eyck

Photography better.”

“My vote is for……. DAVE! My reasons……..he has to work for his wife, ’nuff said!!!!!!!”

There was one vote for our cat Rodney (Mike!) which was discounted. The chad was still hanging on that one!!

Dave. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for not only working with me but with as much enthusiasm and positive energy as you have. It means the world.

Can we say nepotism! Can’t wait to see who steps it up for next month’s…!!

XOXO

So what many of us crafty photographers end up doing is making some type of video that shows us either photographing a wedding, or talking about how different we are, and what we end up bringing to your event that makes us a better choice than the next guy- well, all without really saying that, outright anyway. But you get my drift. Some of these videos are super high end cinema verite, and should go straight up to the independent movie theaters. For real. And then there are the melancholy bo boly videos, that are all deep and meaningful, and… deep. And meaningful. Which works great! But I wanted something… a little lighter. So for a while I have wanted to have my video out there that showed not only who I am but who my studio was.

And so who are we? Aside from being a pretty hard working group of folks- we are silly, fun, and like to have a good, hard belly laugh. All of us! Laughter is the glue to our lives, when I really sit and think about it. So why wouldn’t that be what our video would be about?

HA! Just wait. And watch what the incredibly, amazingly talented Jimmmmaaaayyyy aka Jim Altieri of Vintage Cinema (vintage-cinema.com) did when we let him have his way with all of us! And.. the ‘don’t quit your day job’ is for me! I’m a much better photographer than video star. Fo. SHO.

*stay tuned for the full post of our vow renewal that sprang forth from the loins of this video shoot! True, long, lasting love amongst the silliness!

Watch Jim Altieri’s Vintage Cinema craziness video HERE via Vimeo!!!

The image below by my girl and amazing amazing photographer Sara Code-Kroll of Growing Tree Photography! Look at me micromanaging!!!!

Please, please pretty please take a sec to click on the link and vote!

Click HERE: or copy and paste this link to your browser for the very informative info from Jaime and Carter: http://www.greensforgain.com/

or go directly to the Gain site via Facebook HERE or copy and paste this link to your browser: http://apps.facebook.com/gainmillionbucks/pages/Enter.php

You can only vote once a day every day until August 1, so let’s all start now!!

I am preeety sure Jaime will take us all on a tropical vacation with her and Carter when they win!!

XOXO

this was from their wedding in Kansas I shot a few years back, come ON, those socks alone deserve the prize!!

Here is a little behind the scenes from our second day of shooting (yes, we did two days of shooting, with 6 locations total) Not only that, but we got to feature my hometown of Hartford CT in all six locations! Yes, I love traveling all over the world for these shoots, and I still will, but to be able to highlight my city of Hartford like this was a dream come true for me! It’s nice to not have to look far and wide for inspiration, but to be able to find it right in your back yard!

One of the most interesting parts of doing these shoots is seeing what gets chosen for print. We all hedged our bets on what would make the cover, since we knew we were shooting for it, and below was the winner! The funny part about this was that this spot wasn’t really a location we were banking on, but as I was shooting in the big window upstairs at The Society Room, I saw how the light was falling on Rebecca’s face as I stood off to the side and thought it would make a great beauty shot for Dana Bartone! One of the trickier things about doing this is also having to shoot not only for the publication and what they need, but for each vendor that is participating! Good thing I love multitasking, it’s exhilarating! yes. I’m a nerd, I know.

** all behind the scenes for this post were shot by the lovely Jasmine and Julie!!!

Here i am shooting a bouquet for Tony of Datura.

Creating a scene with emotion, action and having ti all fit into the theme of what we are going for is such a rush! Candice had this vision of us doing a shot that had an old school feel with rice being thrown outside of City Hall. So Since I am familiar with Hartford City Hall, I knew just where to shoot this. When shooting rice throwing, it’s important to have a darker background so that the rice can actually be seen! And yes, we (or should I say Billy!) swept up EVERY piece of rice after our shoot! We are bird friendly people!
This hat made it’s rounds!

Good hygene is important as we all work VERY closely!! JImmmaaaayyyy coming in fro some shot snuggle time!

At weddings and engagements I do NOT show my clients any shots in camera. But at shoots it is very important to make sure we are getting what we need and want, since this is a collaboration and I need to make sure I am representing everyone’s work the way they want it! The best part is how much trust all of my friends put in me, it makes doing this even more fun.

The hardest part of this rice shot was timing all of the rice throwing properly! And not throwing it too much in front of them… tricky stuff! Who knew!

A little encouragement is always good!

And direction. I am so sexy I can barely stand myself!

Beth Chapman is the master of making sure nothing is out of place!

My girl Amy of Dana Bartone, working her magic!

And laughing. Always lots and lots of laughing!

Here is the Day 2 team! Who is Dodie on the phone with??

My favorite part of the Day 2 shoot was being able to work with my daughter Georgie. She was a flower girl model and had so much fun!! Seyenah, Dodie’s daughter was our other model and for us BFF’s to watch our girls do this was not only fun but touching. I got a little choked up! The bonus to having G there? SNUGGLE TIME!!! Why doesn’t Mike snuggle me like this when we shoot??? LOL!

Another of my childhood BFF’s, Susannah came by to observe, encourage and help during the tail end of Day 2. Everyone just loves her, she is so positive and helpful!

Seeing Tony swinging from trees is normal in my world!

Seriously?

Mom’s on the job! I am awesome at removing splinters btw.

The girls just love Kelley!

Dodie takes the job of reflector holding very very seriously!

CT Bride Magazine Shoot from Jim Altieri on Vimeo.

Big thanks to all of our on site vendors!!!

my amazing team of Dodie, Julie, Jasmine and Dave for all of their help on and off site!!

floral art by Tony Palmieri of Datura A Modern Garden, and his team (amoderngarden.com)

fashion and styling by Beth Chapman of The White Dress by the Shore and her team of stylists (thewhitedressbytheshore.com)

beauty by Dana Bartone and Company (danabartone.com)

planning and coordination by Candice Coppola of Jubilee Events and her team of ladies (eventjubilee.com)

video by Jim Altieri of Vintage Cinema (vintage-cinema.com)

Julie is accepting bookings for the 2011 season and is already booking into 2012!! Go Julie! Contact the studio if you are interested in learning more about having Julie for your wedding!

What got you interested in photography?

My journey started when I was 3. Just kidding….

I have always been interested in composition in one way or another. In college, I studied Studio Art and spent a lot of time painting and drawing. Fast forward a few years…One fine day I was looking for something to do, so I picked up my point and shoot and walked around town with it. I tried to be as creative and crazy as I could with my little camera. That’s when it happened. I realized “Wait a second, THIS is what I should be doing!” Sort of like a light bulb went off, that really happens, I swear. So cool. I have been obsessed ever since, in a good way of course.

My favorite cupcake is…

Homemade Funfetti cupcakes with Funfetti frosting from a can. Oh man are they ever yummy.

The best part about my wedding was…

My extremely dreamy husband…and the gazillions of daisies, oh and riding in a VW bug to the ceremony. (Someday when I get married, this will be the case for sure)

The first dance song at our wedding was…

Ingrid Michaelson “The way I am” I am going to sing the girl parts and that dreamy man I spoke of earlier is going to sing the boy parts.

Describe your family…

Ridiculously supportive, adorable, and hilarious. I love them so very much.

My favorite place to vacation is…

The beach, any beach really.

When I am driving in my car, I am listening to…

Jack Johnson, Beyonce, Beastie Boys, Ingrid Michaelson, Dispatch, Etta James, and Reggae.

If I had a full day all to myself and money was no object, I would…

Hang out in Bali, just for the day. I would lay in the sun collecting freckles, listen to tropical music, drink a fancy drink, and then head home.

My favorite thing to order from China House is…

Chicken and Broccoli, but my real favorite part is reading the fortune cookie.

If I could photograph any person, dead or alive, it would be…

Marilyn Monroe without a doubt. Or Abraham Lincoln.

If I could only shoot with one lens it would be…

70-200mm

I can…

Daydream, snap photos, make you laugh, come up with awesome nicknames, whistle, and laugh…a lot.

I can’t…

Sing, lie, or cook.

My motivation in life is…To make people smile.

My top five favorite movies are…

Moulin Rouge

Little Miss Sunshine

Love Actually

The Adventures of Pipi Longstocking

Chicago

My favorite television show is…

Dexter. Can I have one more? Ok, American Idol.

If I were to teach something to someone, it would be…

Be passionate about something. Anything. Find something that makes you so happy, you can’t even stand it.

My favorite pair of shoes is… My flip flops

My favorite pizza is…The yummy homemade pizza that I make, it’s the one thing that I can cook and people will actually eat.

I love…

My dog Walter

My lovely family

My cute besties

My super supportive, adorable friends

Laughing until my stomach hurts

Photographing people in love

My camera, Ethel

Sunshine

Jammin out to good tunes

Telling corny jokes

Being surrounded by so many inspiring people. AHH!

Getting goosebumps