Angela & Bryan got married at The Meadowlands in Darien, Connecticut.  This beautiful venue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The house has undergone a major renovation since I last shot there and is more gorgeous than ever.  Angela & Bryan had both their ceremony and reception on site.  Festivities Events coordinated and catered the affair on what was probably our last gorgeous weekend this Fall.

Wedding Coordinator/Catering: Festivities Events, Wedding Gown/Hairpiece: Sposa Bella Bridal Shop in Fairfield, Ct., Flowers: Liz DeFeo of Rudy’s Flower Shop, Wedding Cake: Kristen Vidoli of Fairfield, Ct.

The Eolia mansion at Harkness State Memorial Park is such an elegant venue reminiscent of yesteryear that it is the stuff that little girls dream of for their fairytale weddings.   I’m amazed at how I discover something new about it each time I shoot there.  Christina & Karl had an intimate wedding celebration in September featuring some of my favorite vendors.  Andrea Marano and her team did Christina’s makeup, Michael from Coastal Gourmet provided the event planning and gourmet food, Yumiko Fletcher of Hanna Floral Design created stunning floral arrangements and bouquets, David from Powerstation Events provided the music that kept the party hopping and the paper goods were designed by Kristine’s Paperie.  I had the incredibly talented Anna Sawin second shooting with me and it was such a lovely day that it hardly felt like work.  Everyone had a smile to share or a happy tear to shed.  Congratulations Christina & Karl!

Anna captured the two above shots with stellar grace from her side vantage point.

Some of Karl’s coworkers found the perfect way to decorate their ride!

The Carousel at Lighthouse Point is officially my new favorite venue!  As Jennifer and Jonathan described the DIY details for their wedding to me, I’m certain that I felt butterflies of excitement.  I mean what’s not to love about this venue.  I’ve wanted to shoot here for a while, in fact the last time I had visited was just about the coldest day we had last Winter.  The carousel was built in 1916 and is a rare and exquisite example of American folk art.   Although there were more than 10,000 such carousels in operation in the 1920s, the Lighthouse Park Carousel is one of less than 100 in use today. This venue combines the chic elegance of a loft with a beachy (I want to go back to Summer camp) style.  Any venue that has a lighthouse, a working vintage carousel and gorgeous views of the ocean is heaven in my book.  What a fun night, I can’t wait to go back!  Congratulations Jennifer & Jonathan!

The girls looked on to help with jewelry choices.

Ahhhh…approval!

How fun is this place card table for a beach wedding,

And flip flops to keep the ladies comfortable!

I love the scale of this image.

Raise your hand if you like cupcakes!

The carousel almost steals the show.

A gorgeous sunset backdrop.

Dustin & Susan are both wine enthusiasts and have traveled the Connecticut wine trail to visit many Winerys. I was happy to hear that they wanted to shoot their engagement session at Jonathan Edwards as I love North Stonington and had not yet been there myself. We had one of those amazing days with gorgeous blue skies and pillow puff clouds. You just can’t get better. We wandered the fields, vineyard and even got access to the wine distillery to take pictures amongst the various barrels. These guys just didn’t stop smiling all day, and that was even before a glass of wine. I’m really looking forward to their upcoming July wedding!

I had so much fun attending Justin & Mary’s “Walk Through a Wedding” workshop last Thursday.   It was a great experience to literally walk through the entire wedding process with the talent and brains behind the Marantz machine.  And… these guys truly must be superhuman.  They just returned from their nationwide “Spread the Love” tour, spoke at WPPI in Vegas and are remodeling their new home from the ground up.  Both Mary and Justin give back to the photography community on so many levels.   Did I mention that they also head our Pictage user group meetings monthly?  It was an awesome day networking and sharing with other photographers.  I learned a few things that will change how I approach my shoot days and can’t wait to start implementing my new tools!    Our models were one of Justin & Mary’s totally adorable couples getting married later this Summer as well as some fellow photographers who stepped up.  The reception part of our day was held at The Guilford Yacht Club.  I had never shot there and the view is lovely!