Congratulations to Marissa and Vishesh whose contest entry we couldn’t resist!  Check out The New York Times “Love Story of the Year ” that they created to submit their contest entry.  I can’t wait for their Amelia Island, Florida wedding at the Ritz.  In fact, I love their story so much that we will also be shooting an engagement session this Spring in New York City.   It will be so fun to finally meet these two and since I lived in New York City for so many years, I’m thrilled to shoot their engagement pictures where it all began for them.  Their East meets West wedding will be an incredible visual feast.  I am so excited and amazed that I really did end up creating my dream assignment!  Giving IS Awesome!

Sylvia and Jonathan started my year off right.  These two are both so sweet and pleasant to be around.  It was so obvious how dearly their friends love them and how in love they are with each other.  They certainly planned a gorgeous wedding.  We began the day at Sylvia’s parents house to get some shots of her and her bridesmaids getting ready.  Then they took a limo ride to St. Augustine’s for the church ceremony.  After the couple had a receiving line at the church, we went to the Hartford City Hall for portraits.  These two did their homework and knew that City Hall is an amazing backdrop for pictures.  Perfect for a Winter wedding.  We then moved a few short blocks to the Society Room for their candle lit reception.  The Society Room is a very elegant venue with 35 foot marble columns and an exquisitely muraled ceiling.  The ambiance is reminiscent of the Great Gatsby era.  The historic Society for Savings Bank building, still houses the banks vault and makes a wonderful conversation piece in any brides album.  Needless to say, we had some fun with it.  Congratulations and thank you for including me in your day Jonathan and Sylvia!

Who says that the Winter months are slow.  I’m a “Type A” personality so keeping busy is natural for me.  When I am not working, I’m dreaming up a personal project or attending a workshop to further my education and networking with other wedding professionals.   I started the New Year at Mystic 5 a fantastic event that has been put on for 5 years by Walter Van Dusen .  The line up of speakers is just amazing and it’s such a fabulous way to start out the New Year.  I left feeling as though I might implode, silly terminology for “majorly inspired”.  2010 is going to be a fantastic year.  During one of the presentations, I got to be a part of Joe Mc Nally’s hands on approach to lighting on the fly with small strobes.  Joe’s career has spanned 30 years and his work is simply remarkable.  I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to step up their game in an intensive learning enviroment.  The photo below shows Walter in the foreground and me and my new friend Ritchie (who traveled all the way from Germany) gawking at his laptop.  Fun to be a part of.