But back to my more recent travels. And to start with, hitting the streets and sites with Christine and Joe, who actually no longer live in DC, but it seems just might have left their hearts there, although their current NYC home’s not such a bad second choice. With their upcoming weekend’s wedding in the chapel at Fordham U, followed by the reception at one of our favorites, The Country Club of Darien, I thank them for both the initial inspiration to make the trip as well as the fun tour of some of their old haunts. See you soon, C&J.

For Part Two of my day in DC (truth: it was actually the first part of my day), I connected with Alyssa and Kevin at the Washington Monument (pre-earthquake damage). Having photographed Alyssa’s sister Katherine’s wedding to Brian just a few years ago, and of course getting to know her very special family just a bit, I was honored to be invited to join them for their upcoming October wedding at The Inn at Church Landing, in Meredith, NH, close to where the family spends lots and lots of time. And what fun we had in our travels through the streets of DC, all just a warm up for their New England autumn celebration. Can’t wait, Alyssa and Kevin!

Tomorrow being their wedding day, with their reception at The Inn at Longshore, and with a zero percent chance of rain, I thought there was no better time to share these photos, and to wish the two of them years and years of happiness, and just the right mix of sun-filled days with some fog thrown in for all of those great photo opps to follow. Looking forward to tomorrow’s exciting celebration.

Diana and Sean met, of course, at Fairfield University in 2001, on her first day of college. She was a freshman on the women’s tennis team and he was a junior on the men’s team. They were acquaintances for almost 2 years, but finally were able to spend a lot of time together during their Spring training in Arizona in March of 2003. When they returned they were inseparable and began dating shortly thereafter. Sean graduated a month later and moved back to N.J., but not for long. He was back visiting Diana four days later and quickly landed a job in Connecticut.

On June 13, 2009 Sean surprised Diana by proposing on a private catamaran sunset sail on Cape Cod, they bought their first home together in Fairfeld and are busy planning their wedding for July 2011 in Westport. Naturally our “e” session together, which could not have been more fun, covered all the bases, or should we say, all ends of the court, from their beautiful new home to the campus (and courts) of Fairfield U., to the beach nearby. Their story is one of love, laughter, and truly best friends. To this day their friends joke that it was a match made in heaven. I think we’ll all clearly have to agree. Can’t wait for their wedding next summer.

From Dumbo (directly under the Manhattan Bridge overpass, for those not in the know) to Hoboken, Central Park to Battery Park, there’s never a lack of great locale, and never a photo session without the unexpected bringing something extra special to the mix.

And what could be more special than spending the afternoon exploring their Long Island City neighborhood with Julie and Adam. With their wedding plans set for Tappan Hill in October, and the mid-May weather at its finest, we walked and talked, got to know each other a bit better, and took (I think you’ll agree) some beautiful pictures together. More of the wonderful story of Julie and Adam, of course, to follow.

Back “in the day”, when I was an advertising and magazine photographer with a studio in NYC, one of my long-time and most wonderful of clients was a kids’ fashion catalogue called Brights Creek. Allie’s dad and my good buddy Arnie was the Senior Product Manager and at its peak, we spent as many as forty days a year together taking pictures in the studio of the latest (in ’80′s) kids’ clothing. And while most of the kids were actually models, each of us managed to, at times, sneak in our own kids to the mix, including young and adorable Allie.

But enough about the past. A bit about Allie and Justin today, and how they first met. Allie’s best friend Andi went on the Birthright trip to Israel in July 2009. When she returned she told Allie that she met the perfect guy for her, that they had so much in common, both went to and loved Penn State, both were Jewish with close families, and that their personalities were extremely similar. Allie was finishing up her masters from Penn State, and Andi informed Allie that this “perfect guy” was going to be at the Penn State football game the last weekend of September. She gave Allie his number, she called and introduced herself, and asked him if he and his friends wanted to meet at a bar for a few drinks. They ended up doing just that, at a bar called “The G-Man”, and the two instantly clicked. They met a few times that same weekend at various bars and restaurants, and they’ve been together ever since. She would make the long drive from PSU to Jersey City, where Justin was already living, and he would make the same trip in reverse to see Allie. They were engaged on February 6th, 2010 on a skiing weekend at Hunter Mountain in Upstate New York and their wedding will be taking place on Memorial Day weekend 2011.

So while all my relationships with my brides and grooms is special and “personal” for me, once in awhile I have the unique opportunity to work with a couple with whom there’s already a long history, whether it was the fact that my dad had photographed their parents’ wedding, or that I’d had a personal long-standing friendship with the family, as in the case of Allie and hers. So its with great anticipation that I eagerly await the wedding of Allie and Justin next year and with great excitement that I share with you these pictures of our day spent on the streets of Jersey. Enjoy.

“We both grew up in Trumbull but never went to school together because we were five years apart. I was living in Atlanta after college and he moved there for a job. We were each on “JDAte” and saw that we were both from Connecticut, so we got in touch and realized we were actually from the same town and figured we should meet up. I thought he was nice but too shy, so I didn’t pursue it again, and he took the hint, but a few months later we started “IM’ing” and met up for drinks-where I talked AT him for a couple hours and decided he is a great listener, I should date him. So we started dating at the same time that he got a transfer to the NYC office, and about 8 months after he moved I followed him back home.

I had already had my mom get the “dirt” on him before we went on our first date, so I spent the whole dinner pretending to randomly ask if he knew certain people from Trumbull, knowing fully well that he did, and then watching his surprised reaction as he discovered how many people we know in common ”

I mean, how can you not love these guys? I know I do, and I can’t wait until their wedding on the 17th. Stay tuned!