Nov
09
Sammy is a super great young lady whose bat mitzvah we photographed this fall. This was so different from my bat mitzvah and so much fun. Not only did she showcase her knowledge and talent during the morning service at the synagogue, she performed two dance routines during the reception and gave a speech about her family and friends during the candlelighting ceremony. Sammy is definitively gifted- full of spark, energy, intelligence and thoughtfulness. We had a wonderful time working with her.
We started our day with family portraits before her bat mitzvah ceremony in Needham.
After the service, Sammy’s guests had lunch at the synagogue. Everyone reconvened that evening at the Blue Hill Country Club in Canton. A few more portraits before the reception….
The party got underway after a fabulous cocktail hour for the adults and mocktail hour for the kids. Then dancing, dancing and more dancing. Sammy’s brother kicked it all off.
Then Sammy made her grand entrance and did her first dance routine with these two professionals. Her theme for the evening was based on Tiffany and Co, so she surprised all of her guests by popping out of a huge Tiffany’s box. And then going right into the dance. Of course the song she danced to was Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. She looked amazing.
The hora followed. Everyone in the family had a turn in the chair, but Sammy was first.
Sammy and her dad had a special dance all to themselves….
Well, almost. Some of Sammy’s friends busted in about half way through and they kicked it up a notch- this was planned, of course, but a surprise for the guests. Sammy did her second dance number during this portion of the evening.
The end of the evening came faster than anyone could say "Sammy & Company." But it was clear that all of the kids had a great time.
If you would like to see more from Sammy’s amazing day, you can view her mitzvah PicFlick here.
Sep
15
Yelena and Rob, aka Roberto, aka Rob-meister, aka the Groom, aka…. you get the picture. Rob is a man of many names (according to his Best Man/Brother) and although I made a few of these up, I still find it extraordinarily appropriate because he is also a man of many faces. My personal favorite, though is the special look he reserves for Yelena. When he looks her way, it is clear that nothing else exists. And Yelena gazes right back at him with warmth and love. These two are magic.
My first post took us through the ceremony and the start of the portraits, so here I bring you up to speed with the rest of the evening. After a few family, bridal party and couple’s portraits inside the Copley Plaza Hotel. We took a quick spin outside to capture views of Boston by daylight.
Then back inside to the Oval Room for their fabulous party. We kicked it off with their first dance.
See how he smiles while he snuggles up to her…
Once the dance floor was open by our bride and groom, the guests took over and danced all night long.
Yelena and her dad enjoyed a few moments during their father-daughter dance.
And then the wildness of the horah. I LOVE the horah. I love being right in the middle of it. I love the movement and excitement and the joy and thrill of it. I love that first moment when our bride and groom get lifted up …
and all of the emotions they have while they up in the chairs…
and then the relief when they are back on the ground. It is like a lifetime in a few quick moments. Fabulous!
Rob and Yelena were a blast while up in the chairs and just as much fun when on their feet again.
The party atmosphere continued. Rob got down with his mom.
Towards the end of the evening, we stole a few moments with Yelena and Rob to take some photos outside on Copley Square with the city lights around them. First one with the Boston Public Library in the background and cars streaming by.
And then one amidst the square’s beautiful flowers with the Trinity Church, the John Hancock Tower and the Copley Plaza in the background.
Finally a quintessential Copley Plaza shot.
Really, there are simply tons more to share. In fact, we went a little overboard on their slideshow because Yelena and Rob’s wedding was really just too beautiful. We couldn’t help ourselves. So definitely check it out.
And now a chance to thank all of the wonderful people who helped make Yelena and Rob’s wedding day amazing.
First, Lindsay Picciano and the crew at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Many kudos to you!
And the rest of the fabulous folks involved in their day:
Hair and Make-up by Svetlana Stavtsev
Gown by Vera Wang
Bridesmaids dresses from Flair Bridesmaids designed by Anna Elyse
Groom and Groomsmen’s tuxes by Classic Tuxedo
Cake by Cakes to Remember
Floral Design by Stapleton Floral
DJ Mark Dixon
Maxim Lubarksy and Band for live music
Invitations and Save the Dates by bridesmaid Laura Parrish
And last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to Yelena and Rob and to both your families for including us in your extraordinary day. We are so glad we could be a part of it!
Stay tuned for some great photos from their rehearsal dinner aboard the Odyssey.
Jun
15
Welcome home, Lisa and Scott!
They just returned from what looks like an amazing honeymoon in Paris and Morocco. Gotta love Facebook, cause it allowed me to see pix from their grand adventures. Now, I can’t wait to hear the stories. For now, I will focus on sharing the photos from their beautiful wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Boston.
In my last post, we saw images from the getting ready to the portraits in the Public Gardens through their tea ceremony and western ceremony. Everything was perfect. The music throughout their celebration set the right tone. We went from classical string quartet to jazz to Lion Dance drummers to an all round great band and then DJ. Clearly music was important to Scott and Lisa and it definitely brought another layer of magic to their day.
The Lion Dancers kicked off the reception. It was so much fun. The colors and movement are certainly a site to see. They definitely brought smiles of joy and excitement when they entered the ballroom.
Dinner followed their entrance. And Scott steals a quiet moment with Lisa. So sweet!
Their first dance…
The speeches were awesome. I already knew Scott and Lisa were perfect together, but then I learned why their friends thought so as well. Turns out they both dream big. When Scott was in elementary school and all of his friends wanted to be a fireman, he had aspirations of being a CEO. Too cute! Lisa had similarly lofty goals. And each of them is making their dent on the world now, Scott just graduated and will be a praciticing doctor. Congrats, Scott! And Lisa is a lawyer helping people with their estate planning. The other piece that impressed me is how much they both value their friends. You can totally see how they all adore each other. And both Lisa and Scott have known their best friends since they were in grade school.
Then there was even more fun. The cake cutting and, even more importantly, the tasting.
The horah- this was one of the events Lisa was really looking forward to. Looks like it was a blast.
And then lots more partying. Don’t worry all these peeps are doctors, so if they drop Scott, they can take care of him.
Sneaking a few more romantic moments at the end of the evening….
What an all around amazing day! We are so grateful that we could be a part of it. Lisa and Scott, thank you so much for choosing us.
And a huge thank you to all the professionals who added their expertise and talent to create such a fabulous event:
Jennifer Nicholson and the incomparable crew at the Hyatt Regency in Boston
Teresa Fung of Mimosa for her floral design
Paul Therrien of Boston Uplights
Montilio’s for the wedding cake
Greg Capozzi and the talented jazz musicians of CZONE
Christopher Vuk and the exceptional string ensemble of Boston String Ensemble
The Gund Kowk Chinese Lion Dance Troupe
Also want to note the fabulous folks who helped with Lisa and Scott’s look for the day:
Hair: Lypor Leung
Make-up: Katrina Hess
Lisa’s Wedding Dress: Kenneth Poole
Bridesmaids’ dresses: BCBG
Groom and groomsmen’s attire: Joseph Abboud
And a shout out to those who helped with all of the paper products:
Invitations: Cartier
Save the Dates: Etsy.com
All other stationary: lots of hard work by DIYers Scott and Lisa
If you want to see more from Scott and Lisa’s Boston wedding, check out their engagement session, sneak preview and slideshow.
Jan
07
While having a multi-generation mini-family like Karen and Willy‘s is so much fun, we also love our smaller mini-families. We have tons of these. Today I wanted to send a shout out to a bunch of the two generation mini-fams.
First mini-fam:
Sepi and Homan traveled from New York to get married at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. They had an amazing Persian wedding ceremony followed by great food and endless dancing. We definitely wanted to capture their city sensibilities during the portrait session.
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Nov
03
This weekend, I photographed Juliet’s bat mitzvah celebration and I had one amazing good time. Juliet and her friends were full of energy. I am still exhausted simply from being in the same room as them. They danced, they played games, they laughed, they sang. It was so much fun.
To kick off the sneak peak, here’s one of Juliet during the hora.
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Oct
08
Party time!
I am thrilled to share the reception portion of Jesse and Ariana’s wedding day. As you may recall, they held their ketubah and bedeken ceremonies in the Berkeley Botanic Garden and then celebrated their huppah ceremony on the Brazilian Room patio, all in Tilden Park. The reception continued immediately following the ceremony. Because we took the formal portraits down in the Botanic Gardens, Ariana and Jesse were able to kick-back and enjoy the cocktail hour.
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Jul
21
We wanted to share a quick taste of what’s to come for Jon and Shosh. They had an absolutely amazing wedding. Their ceremony was at the Fourth Street Summit Center (run by the Fairmont) and the reception was at the new San Jose City Hall. We had so much fun with this crew and we can’t wait to share all the details.
In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak. This was during the end of the Horah. They stole this kiss while all their guests danced around them.
You can also check out their engagement photos on our blog here and the slideshow here.
