Monthly Archives: February 2010

Sanibel Harbour Wedding: Aboard the Sanibel Harbour Princess with Anne-Marie and Todd

When Anne-Marie first emailed about her wedding, dad knew immediately that she was his kind of bride.  She described herself and Todd as a laid back couple, she said they were looking for candid, whimsical pictures,  and she said that she was most excited about dad’s shoe images.  That won dad right over!  Their wedding was really special and romantic.  Todd set everything up for Anne-Marie.  He booked the Sanibel Harbour Princess, a yacht at the Sanibel Harbour Resort and Spa, for a private cruise.  There was just the two of them, the crew, and dad.  The captain married Anne-Marie and Todd in a short ceremony and then the newlyweds enjoyed the sunset from the observation deck before their gourmet dinner of steak and lobster made by the chef on board.

Dad was truly honored to be part of such an intimate and romantic celebration.  Anne-Marie and Todd are incredibly kind and caring people, and so much fun as well!  They are going to have a wonderful life together as husband and wife.  Thank you so much Anne-Marie and Todd, and we wish you all the best!

Cozumel, Mexico Wedding: Cruise with Jamie and Tommy

Two and a half years ago, dad was in New York to photograph the fabulous wedding of Shannon and Duane.  It was one of dad’s favorite weddings!  The church was gorgeous, dad had lots of time to take the bride and groom around for pictures, the bride grabbed the mic for an impassioned rendition of “Ice, Ice Baby”at the reception, wedding crashers were invited in to come party with the family, and the bride and groom met up with dad just after sunrise the next morning to jump in a lake in their wedding attire!  But of course more importantly Shannon and Duane are kind, down-to-earth, fun people and dad really enjoyed spending time with them and their families.  He was happy when he got the news that they were expecting and we all got to meet Shannon when we were visiting New York and dad photographed her maternity session.  She had her session on a rooftop garden in Rockefeller Center where she worked and we even got a quick  tour of a few of the studios in the building!

When Shannon told us that her sister Jamie was getting married on a cruise, dad really wanted to be there to share in another important day for this family.  He felt very blessed when things worked out and he was able to join Jamie and Tommy and their close family and friends on a cruise to the Keys and Cozumel for the wedding!  Things were all set for the wedding day when the ship docked in the Keys, and then for more pictures the next day in Cozumel.  Then a week before the wedding, Jamie got the news that the ship was canceling the stop at Key West!  Mom says the email Jamie sent out says everything about what a wonderful couple Jamie and Tommy are.  They told everyone, “When life gives you lemons, add Tequila and head straight for Cozumel!”  Because everything was planned for that stop, Jamie and Tommy had to put everything together again for a wedding the following day at Cozumel.  It was wonderful to see how positive they were when many other couples would have let the stress bring them down.  Instead, Jamie, Tommy, and all of their guests squeezed those lemons and limes and it was Tequila time!

Shannon and Duane’s little girl has gotten so big!

Partying as the cruise begins:

The wedding day!

Jamie and Tommy walking around Cozumel with dad before the ceremony began:

The ceremony at a hotel in Cozumel:

Jamie had a nautical theme and the bridesmaids all carried beach balls instead of bouquets (much easier to get through customs than flowers!)

Khaki and navy are so pretty together.  The groomsmen wore navy shirts and khaki pants.

Enjoying the Mexican sun:

Jamie’s parents trying to get Tommy to behave himself during the garter removal:

Jamie and her dad taking a swim.  Mom thinks Jamie should have worn the flippers around the rest of the day!

Jamie and Tommy taking the plunge…literally!  Soon after this, almost everyone was in the water!

Mom’s favorite picture because she says it summarizes the day perfectly.  Beautiful and romantic, yet you can tell it was quite a party too!

Thank you so much to Jamie, Tommy, and their family and friends for having dad there to share in such an wonderful trip.  He had a blast and said everyone was terrific!  Congratulations newlyweds, and we hope your future holds all the happiness, beauty, love, and celebration that your wedding did!

St. Augustine Wedding at The White Room: Jenifer and Ian

Valentine’s Day is the day to celebrate romance and the kind of love that quickens your pulse, fills your heart, brings tears of joy to your eyes, and lets you find happiness in everything from doing the laundry to watching a bad movie just because you are sharing those moments with the person you were meant to be with.  We love being in the business of love!

What a terrific day to blog the wedding of Jen and Ian!  Everyone who sees them together can see how in love they are.  Their wedding day definitely was romantic and emotional and a celebration of everything the future holds for a young couple in love.

Jen and Ian were married at The White Room in St. Augustine.  Dad photographed Ian’s sister’s wedding (hi Erin and Bill!) and was so happy to share another special day with this wonderful family.  The couple had Cassandra of Flaire Weddings and Events as the wedding planner.  Dad enjoyed meeting and working with her and said she did a great job.  The groom’s mom Denise did an amazing job on the flowers for Erin and Bill’s wedding so mom and dad were looking forward to seeing what she put together for Jen and Ian.  She did not disappoint!  The flowers were all beautiful.

Jen and Ian had a first sight before the ceremony.  Many couples think that breaking tradition this way takes away the emotion of the moment but often the opposite is true. You have time to take it all in and hold onto each other and the moment, which is exactly what Jen and Ian did.  Ian turned around and saw his bride and as they hugged each other Ian couldn’t stop smiling and Jen began to cry.  Dad said it was very sweet to watch.  Dad then walked around with Jen and Ian for their bride and groom pictures.  When dad did their engagement session in New York City, they had security stop them from taking pictures at a couple places so of course they had to follow tradition on their wedding day as well!  Luckily Jen knew who to talk to and it didn’t stop them this time.

It was raining that day so the ceremony had to be inside, but it came together really well.  A guitarist played music on a small balcony and the couple shared their vows by strings of white hanging orchids under a delicate lace chuppah.  The breaking of the glass which ended the Jewish ceremony was made even more fun because the groom (and all the groomsmen) wore black and white Chucks for their shoes!

At the reception, Andy of High Fidelity DJ was the DJ and Classic Cakes made the cake.  Mom thought the way that the couple had the guests sign in was very unique.  There were two ink pads shaped like leaves next to a big poster of a tree with empty branches.  The sign said, “Please leaf your thumbprint and sign your name to our family tree.”  It is going to look great hanging in the couple’s home.  During the reception, Ian took the mic and serenaded Jen, which dad said had Jen and many of the guests teary-eyed.  How sweet!

The newlyweds will be headed to Spain for their honeymoon soon.  Congratulations Jen and Ian!  We wish you much happiness and ever-growing love in your marriage.

Tampa Engagement Session with Amy and Evan

Dad met up with Amy and Evan for their engagement session at the University of Tampa.  The forecast called for rain that day they moved the session to earlier that morning and it was lucky they did!  Just as they were finishing up it began raining.  Dad enjoyed spending the morning with such a sweet couple and he will see them again in April for their big day!

Celebrating 6 Months

Raegan and Todd have a little girl who was born just one week after our little sister.  It is lots of fun every time we get to see them.  They are terrific people and if they lived closer we’d have tons of play dates!  Dad photographed their daughter’s 6 month session and said it was a great time.  We love seeing how much their little girl and our little sister grow together!  We can’t wait until the next session!

From her newborn session:

And now at 6 months old:

This is one of mom’s favorites.  What a funny expression, and what beautiful blue eyes!