A beautiful early July day, prior to all of that month’s intense heat that followed, hard to find a more beautiful bride than Stephanie. And who better to greet the newly married couple on the steps outside the church than Steph’s adoring 2nd grade class (who didn’t love their second grade teacher, especially if they looked anything like our bride?). With their reception by the water at the Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club, their’s was an endless evening of fun and celebration, including a round of both a tarantella and a hora, and that was just to get the party rolling. With music by the fabulous “Play by Play” of “Faze 4″, and a hearty helping of memorable speeches and “performances” by friends and family, it was truly a night to remember. Congratulations once again to both of you, Anthony and Stephanie.

We first met the two of them at Sarah’s sister Jennifer’s wedding two years ago. Sarah grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Doug in Syracuse, NY. They had met in Boston back in 2004. When it came time to take our family portraits, Doug was right in the mix (as was Sarah’s other sister Molly’s soon to be fiance Jeff-and whose wedding we’re photographing next June). So all indications were that I’d be getting a call in the near future. And here indeed we were.

Married at the beautifully elegant and understated Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, on a picture perfect nearly-summer day, Sarah could not have been a more beautiful bride. Her gown, from the extraordinary Alison Fischer from The Plumed Serpent in Westport, was a Monique Lhuillier (“Edie” its name). Silk satin organza with a chantilly lace corset bodice embellished with seed pearls and delicate ribbon details (Alison’s description, of course, not mine). She also had all of her accessories custom designed by one of Alison’s accessory designers to further show off the fantastic details on the gown. The broach on the back of her dress, as featured in our photos, was beyond spectacular.

With non-stop music by Leigh Henry and his band Celebration!, the best location, a magnificent gown, two wonderful families, and the charming and adorable Sarah and Doug. How special was this day! Very special! Congratulations to both of you.

In so many ways it was a day filled with special details and special meaning. Ali, as you can see here, was a gorgeous bride. Her Judd Waddell gown from The White Dress by the Shore (“silk mikado fit to flare with alencon lace accents”) was customized by the extraordinary Beth Chapman (her quotes) with straps designed by Ali, incorporating lace from the gown and beading from her mother’s wedding gown. Her veil had been her mother’s, which she surprised her with as she was getting ready.

Once in her gown, Ali met John in her mom’s backyard, where they strolled out to a very small “island”, connected by a very short bridge, for a quiet moment before our family portraits. All before heading off to the church and cocktails and reception at the Inn at Longshore. Surrounded by friends and family, and some amazingly cute Irish dancing nieces, it was a non-stop celebration of life and love, the memories of which I’ve hopefully done justice to below. Congratulations to Ali and John.

on their picture perfect Spring wedding day.

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.

A rather typical blustery April day, lots of sunshine, but winds whipping around the sound, we managed to take the bridal party outside for a few photos and then returned inside for the family pictures and the beautiful ceremony by the water. Adding to the special nature of the day for both Jordana, Brad and me, one of the officiants was their good friend Diana, soon to be a rabbi, and whose wedding I also photographed. Particularly significant in that it was Diana’s first time officiating at a wedding, and amazing job that she did, standing alongside her mom Donna, whose extraordinary voice graced the ceremony as well. In fact it was a day surrounded by some of my favorite people, brides and grooms whose weddings I’ve previously photographed or the parents of couples who I’ve worked with or both. What could be more fun.

And the total pleasure of having the opportunity to photograph Jordana and Brad’s wonderful wedding day, a non-stop celebration of love and laughter and family. Thanks to both of them for including me. Looking forward to sharing many more memorable events with all of you.

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.

They met at a camp fair in Westchester (NY). They were both recruiting for their respective camps. They talked for only a few minutes, but then two months later at the Tri-State Camp Conference in Atlantic City (how fun does that sound?!) they really got to talk, at which point Ashley suggested to Dan that he ask her out sometime, which of course he did-later that night. She knew Dan was the one the first time she was at his place and saw the inside of his refrigerator. He had it filled with ginger ale…she had mentioned to him that she has a very sensitive stomach on one of their first dates, so he went out and stocked it, just in case. The rest is history, and camping.

We met on their wedding day at the very chic Bryant Park Hotel, where Ashley and the girls were getting ready. From there we strolled across the street to Bryant Park, which was just starting to really come into bloom, for photos of the two of them and their outrageously fun bridal party. While my original vision might have been to get the entire group on the little carousel in the park, at the risk of making a lot of little kids in line cry, we opted for some great moments with just Ashley and Dan. From there off to the ceremony and reception, all of which took place at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, overlooking the Hudson River. It was a beautiful early Spring day, if just a bit windy. Ashley, glowing in her gorgeous Monique Lhuillier gown, her sister Hayley, with her own wedding planned for next year, flawlessly functioning not only as maid of honor, but as wedding planner extraordinaire, and Dan with his ever-present charm and cool.

As the sun set over the Hudson and Ashley and Dan exchanged their vows, I couldn’t help but think that this was truly a match made in heaven, in this case “camping heaven”. Congratulations Ashley and Dan.

“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!