I cannot look at Laurie and Sean’s photos without tearing up… even months later. They are so incredibly in love, so very good to each other (and good FOR each other) and the outpouring of love between their families and friends amazed me. Laurie’s Dad, who is just the absolute sweetest man, was diagnosed in July with a brain tumor and an incurable cancer called glioblastoma (GBM). Needless to say, it was an extremely emotional day. After Laurie danced with her Dad, her younger sister danced with him as well and let me tell you, between these two dances, there was not a dry eye in that entire room. I ended up sobbing like a baby and having to go outside to compose myself, where I found many guests doing the same. What amazed me the most was that through all of this, everyone managed to find the strength to have a fantastic time and the day was still filled with a lot of laughter and silliness. I cannot express how much I have enjoyed getting to know Laurie and Sean and their families, how blessed I feel to have been a part of their special day and most of all, I am so thankful that they have become my friends. <3

Thank you to Aurora and Morgen for all of your help! =)

Let me start out by taking you through the backstory here… I met Vivian and Michael several years ago… shortly after we moved from St. Louis, MO to Fairfield, CT. Vivian worked with my husband and I had met her a few times. We were invited to their wedding and lucky me, I had been second shooting for a wedding photographer and had just gotten my first DSLR! I went as a guest… a guest who didn’t really know anyone there. I barely knew the bride and I had not met the groom. I decided that my camera would keep me occupied and I would feel less awkward about knowing no one there. As it turns out, I didn’t feel awkward at all and I had a great time - I didn’t take many photos at all (by my standards anyway) but I got a handful that I absolutely loved and sent them to the happy couple after the wedding. They loved the photos and we kept in touch, even though Vivian no longer worked with Sean, chatting here and there over the last several years. They had been trying to get pregnant for two years and I followed along on their journey, knowing that it would happen for them. It had to. They are amazing people and it just HAD TO work out for them. Well, after a long, very difficult road they finally got their wish. When I first heard the news it was vague… you could tell that they wanted to shout from the rooftops and celebrate their news but they were still being cautious so as not to jinx anything. I wasn’t entirely sure that Vivian was pregnant because the news was that vague, but Vivian finally mentioned me doing a photo shoot for her in a few months and I asked if she meant a maternity session. She confirmed that yes, she would be needing a maternity session. YEA!!! I was so excited for them - not only is this an amazingly incredible event, but for Vivian and Michael it was something that they had been wanting so badly and they had been through so much to get there. Vivian also asked me if I would be willing to photograph the birth of their son as well. Um, YES, PLEASE! I had been wanting to photograph a birth for a few years and had not gotten the opportunity due to C-sections.

In December we met up for their maternity session on what turned out to be a randomly gorgeous and warm day. We had fun taking photos and chatting while Vivian’s son Darren and Jaedyn played hide from the grown-ups and Legos. Vivian looked fantastic and she and Michael seemed to be enjoying every minute of the long awaited pregnancy. They still would not divulge the name they had chosen for their “monkey” as they so lovingly referred to him. Little did I know at the time that only Vivian, Michael and Darren knew the chosen name and somehow even Darren, who just turned 9, was able to keep it a secret!

Fast forward to January 19th. I had just changed into my pajamas and walked back to the living room to find a missed text message at 12:39 AM - it was THE text from Vivian:

“off to L&D, contractions are coming pretty strong”

Such a sweetie - I told her I am always up super late and don’t ever feel bad about calling me in the middle of the night! I sent her a text back (which she didn’t get to check for several hours) and got dressed, grabbed my stuff and headed out the door. The hospital is about an hour from me so I arrived at 2 AM through the emergency department and waited to be let in. And I waited. And waited. I finally arrived to her room around 2:20 AM and she was in quite a bit of pain but handling it like a pro. Vivian did awesome! She asked me about my experiences with childbirth and an epidural. She ended up deciding to go with an epidural because she was having front and back labor that had her in a tremendous amount of pain. Michael’s mother and I stepped outside for the anesthesiologist to place the epidural. She was very nervous so we talked and paced the halls together which seemed to help. When we were allowed back in the room the epidural hadn’t fully taken effect yet but it wasn’t long before Vivian was calm and even smiling again. We all decided to try to relax and hopefully get a light nap in while things were calm. We were all just settling down… I was sitting across the room from the monitors, kind of zoning out and staring at them and I started noticing the baby’s heart rate fluctuating quite a bit. I kept a close watch on the monitor - just staring at it, a little nervous but not wanting to say anything for fear that I would jinx something. Suddenly the baby’s heart rate dropped very drastically and then came up and plummeted right back down. My eyes widened. My body tensed up. Michael looked over and saw the look on my face and I pointed to the monitors, not wanting to alarm Vivian or Michael’s mom too much. Michael walked over to the monitor just as the nurse came in to see what was going on as she was watching the monitor too from her station. Michael’s mom and I stepped out while they checked Vivian. We were out in the hall for what felt like forever, waiting, nervous, scared. We weren’t being allowed back in. We were both shaking, but I tried my best to hide it and calm her. I kept walking to the door to listen and I finally heard the nurses getting Vivian ready to push… WOW - already?! I told Michael’s mother that I was pretty sure her grandson was about to make his appearance and encouraged her to stand by the door so she could at least hear his first cry. We stood at the door for a moment and then a nurse finally invited us in, with some restrictions on where we could be and when I was allowed to photograph. Totally understandable. The next few minutes will be etched in my memory forever. The birth of my daughter was absolutely, without a doubt, the best day of my life but I was quite sick and don’t remember a lot of it. It was a different kind of amazing. Witnessing the birth of someone else’s baby was just incredible. I cried, I remembered things I had forgotten about Jaedyn’s birth, I sat there watching, happy and sad at the same time that I won’t be experiencing that first hand again. I cried some more and smiled a lot. I was so happy for them and so caught up in the magic that I almost forgot to pick the camera back up (I wasn’t permitted to take photos until the baby was stabilized) and take a photo of the clock - which read 5:21 AM. They got the baby stabilized and I stood back, documenting everything. A few minutes later the doctor asked if they would finally be willing to tell us all his name - they laughed and told us - it’s Gabriel Michael. Gabriel was 7 pounds, 2 ounces and is a beautiful, healthy boy. Shortly after his arrival home I visited again (twice), camera in hand of course!

Please enjoy this slideshow of Gabriel’s birth story… but be sure to grab the tissues before you hit play!

(P.S. Please be patient while the show loads - one of my pet peeves is a show pausing to continue loading once it’s already playing!)

Vivian and Michael: Thank you so much for inviting me to share in and document such an amazing and intimate part of your lives. I am so honored and blessed to have been able to do this for you and I am so happy for you guys! From the bottom of my heart - CONGRATULATIONS!

Darren: Congratulations to you too! You are already an awesome big brother!

I just couldn’t wait to share my two favorite images from today’s newborn session! Lots more to come soon!

I know I may be a little bit biased, but seriously, ISN’T SHE SO STINKIN’ CUTE?!

Another long overdue post… Dayna & Jim! Dayna & Jim were married October 3, 2009 and were referred to me by Renee & Rob - they were getting married just weeks apart! Dayna & Jim had some issues with their original reception site and ended up having to change venues along the way… I couldn’t imagine a better place for their wedding though! Everything happens for a reason! They had such an elegant, fun wedding and they were surrounded by an amazing group of family and friends who really love to dance, apparently! The ceremony was at the gorgeous Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, CT, followed by their reception at the Apawamis Country Club in Rye, NY. The architecture and decor at the Apawamis was gorgeous! The detail in the ceilings and chandeliers was incredible and really set the mood for an elegant reception. We had a rainy day but thankfully we did manage to sneak outside a little bit (avoiding the mud and puddles so Dayna stayed looking fresh, of course!). ETA band did a fantastic job, as always, and kept everyone on the dance floor all night!

Here are just a couple of my favorites from the day - be sure to check out the slideshow!

And this gorgeous shot of their first dance, courtesy of Aurora:

Congratulations again, Dayna & Jim and a huge thanks to Tara and Aurora for teaming up with me once again!

Ah, at long last, Rob & Renee’s wedding which was back on September 18, 2009! Rob & Renee are SO much fun. No, I really don’t think you understand. They are an incredibly awesome couple who you just feel instantly connected with and they will make tears stream down your face with laughter. When you hang out with them your face hurts from smiling and laughing. THAT kind of fun.

I first “met” Renee over the phone… we chatted about her wedding, her relationship with Rob, photography, and well, just about everything! We got along fabulously over the phone - so much so that I think we talked for about 2 hours! I was so excited to photograph her wedding - and I hadn’t even met her or so much as spoken to Rob yet! This summer came time for their engagement session and I finally got to meet them both. Rob’s silliness quickly won me over and Renee is just overall amazing. What’s even more awesome? They referred their friends to me as well who were getting married just weeks after them and they’re awesome too! =)

Renee & Rob were married at The Candlewood Inn in Brookfield, CT and they had a gorgeous outdoor ceremony by the lake. Immediately after the ceremony, just as we’re setting up to take some photos outside, the sky turned black and it got super windy and a bit chilly but we didn’t let that stop us! I loved the ominous looking background and we worked through it, of course! Unfortunately the amazing sunset that followed happened DURING the introductions, first dance and toasts so we couldn’t get them back outside for that, but we managed to get a little bit of it peeking in through the Candlewood’s beautiful arched windows anyway! The reception was great and WOW can Renee ever dance! I don’t recall seeing her off the dance floor all night! Congratulations again, you two! I can’t wait to hang out again!

Just a couple of my favorites - don’t forget to check out the slideshow too!

Thanks to my girl Aurora for second shooting for me once again!

Okay, okay… I know I’ve been neglecting my blog (or at least posting business stuff on it)! I’m working on getting all caught up on blogging in the next couple of weeks - PROMISE! Some things just take precedence over blogging… like, oh, I don’t know, family, health and sanity! Things are looking up around here and Dad and I are both feeling better. Doctor’s appointments are slowing down considerably and other than the fact that it is FRIGID outside, I’m feeling good about life. =) Thank ya’ll so much for your patience, thoughts and prayers while I dealt with life’s curve balls over the last few months! Now - keep an eye out - blog posts are coming your way!

I have heard a lot of people recently saying how happy they are to put the past year or past decade behind them and I’d have to agree. While normally I am not one to think much of the New Year, this year is different for me. The past decade and year have brought both amazing times and incredibly trying times for me and I am hopeful that things will start to turn around for the better in 2010. Some of my best memories of the past decade:

-I started dating my husband in early 2000 after two really bad relationships back to back

-We moved to South Florida (it felt so good to be back at home in the Sunshine State!)

-When my husband asked me to marry him in September of 2001

-Moving to St. Louis, MO in the summer of 2002 (which did not seem like fun at first!)

-Making the decision to pursue my dream of one day being a photographer

-Marrying the love of my life in October of 2002

-The birth of my daughter in 2003

-Making the decision to pursue wedding photography and getting my first job as a second photographer

-Starting my own business in 2005 (exciting and terrifying at the same time!)

-Vacationing with my Mom and Step Dad in Sedona, AZ. I haven’t traveled a whole lot and going out west was an amazing experience!

-My first and only time snowboarding - something I never thought I would do or want to do after growing up in Florida! Of course, at the end of the day I was *sure* I had broken my butt and too embarrassed to go to the doctor and say “Hey, I think I broke my butt”!

-Finally getting answers about my constant excruciating headache in late 2007

-Finally feeling some relief after my third surgery in 2008

-Being awarded The Knot Best of Weddings for 2008/2009 and Wedding Wire’s Bride’s Choice

-Buying our first home in January 2009

-My Dad finally moving in with us so I can spend more time with him and do my best to keep him healthy

-Finally having a house that feels like a HOME

-Realizing what an amazing family I have and what an absolutely incredible little girl we are raising

-On the very last day of the decade I was more proud of my daughter than ever before - at only 6 years old she saved my Dad’s life. Her quick thinking, good memory, caring nature and quick action got him the help he needed before it was too late. And through it all she remained more calm that most adults would! I am so incredibly proud of her!

Just a sampling of things I would rather forget:

-Terrible work environments in the early 2000’s when I worked just to pay my bills (good riddance to that!!!)

-Too many loved ones dying

-An incredible amount of pain and misery while countless doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me or how to make me better

-Too many times to even count that my Dad was in the hospital and in really bad shape. Relatives on my Dad’s side showing up on my caller ID would immediately cause me to panic.

-Car accident the summer before our wedding which turned my life upside down, made my head a LOT worse and started the massive downward spiral of debts piling up

-Swallowing our pride and moving in with my in-laws in CT to avoid bankruptcy, pay off our debts and save to buy a house - thank goodness for family! Luckily this one, as hard as it was, turned out for the best.

-Being diagnosed with a “rare and incurable” condition - hopefully that will change and they will find a cure!

-Months of my life that I was in so much pain that I couldn’t function

-Surgeries that were supposed to make me feel a lot better and only made me feel worse

-Coming to the realization that my head will probably never feel good

I am looking forward with a positive outlook and I’m hopeful and excited for what this year will bring. This year, in fact, in 2 weeks, I will also leave my 20’s behind me and enter the world of the 30 and up crowd! Most people (women especially) freak out about getting older, particularly the milestone years, but I am actually excited about it. After all, turning older is a lot better than the alternative! Besides, at 29 I am still regularly carded for cigarettes, alcohol and EVEN LOTTERY TICKETS! Can’t feel bad about that!

Here’s to a happy and HEALTHY 2010!

I hope that ya’ll had a fantastic holiday! We hosted our first Christmas in our first home with our family and had a wonderful time! My hubby made an awesome meal and we did a lot of work to the house so it finally felt like a HOME. Between it being our first Christmas in our first house, finally having my Dad here with us, and things coming together to make our house really feel like a home, it truly was the best Christmas ever. What made it even more special was that my 6 year old daughter Jaedyn told me a couple of weeks ago, before there was ever a gift under the tree, that it was already the best Christmas ever! That girl knows what Christmas is all about!

Santa was here!

Okay, yeah, I stayed up ridiculously late Christmas Eve photographing my tree. I expected that Jaedyn would sleep at least a little bit late since we got home so late from CT on Christmas Eve but I was sadly mistaken. It’s a good thing she got up early though because I thought it would be a fabulous idea to wrap all of the clothing I got her separately so that she’d have more fun opening tons of gifts…

Since I was already shooting at very long exposures, I decided to play a little more…

Christmas Morning!

What kid doesn’t love hot chocolate? And a S’mores bonus?! Sweetness squared.

Dad opening some warm fleece pants - he just moved here from Florida so the theme for him (and always me too!) was keeping warm!

I just LOVE the look on Jaedyn’s face here… I would swear she’s saying “Oh no you didn’t! Just what the hell do you think you’re doing with MY blanket on?!”

Yes, we were all VERY tired.

Now that’s one happy puppy!

My adorable nephew Nolan in the hiking backpack carrier we gave him for Christmas.

Uncle Sean giving Nolan a test drive…

Jaedyn’s big gift from Mom and Dad this year was guitar lessons. My baby wants to be a rock star so badly it hurts and she absolutely loves her Ukulele that my Mom bought her a few years ago so we felt it was very fitting. Since we want to be sure she likes it and that we’re getting the correct size for her, we are waiting until she tries a lesson or two until we buy her a guitar, but one of our guests brought his! Lorelie is my brother-in-law’s mom, though we know one another through other avenues as well since baking and decorating wedding cakes is one of her many talents! She gave Jaedyn a coin belt (worn in belly dancing) for Christmas and her husband Scott brought his guitar and kept Jaedyn glowing with excitement all day. Jaedyn and Scott sat down and she wrote songs for Scott to play while he taught her a few things and let her strum the guitar a bit too. She had the most awesome time and we all enjoyed listening to the two of them play and sing.

Lorelie and Nolan cuddling and listening to the musical talents of Jaedyn Thomes and Scott Carvey.

“No, Scott. You missed a chord. See? Right here…”

Happy holidays! I hope that you all were able to enjoy a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Catching up on some long overdue blog posts is my New Year’s resolution!

The last few months have brought some great blessings and difficult trials in my life and it feels like I’ve been caught in an avalanche. Many of you know that I have struggled with my own health issues and it is a never ending, constant battle for me. I have intracranial hypertention which is a rare condition with no cure. Basically I have too much spinal fluid trapped in my head and it compresses my brain, optic nerve and ears and causes me a lot of constant pain and other fun issues. I’ve had several surgeries to help but it doesn’t completely fix the problem. My last surgery (a shunt in my brain) was almost two years ago and the past 6 months or so my symptoms were increasing with a vengeance so I was on the hunt to figure out why. After some aggravation, tests and seeing 3 of my doctors, they did finally manage to help my symptoms with medication enough that I can deal with it again.

Just as I started to get some relief, my Dad finally moved in with us from Florida. He is a Type I brittle diabetic (meaning that he is insulin dependent and his blood sugars and incredibly unstable) and a double amputee. I had been asking him to move here for months as I was desperately worried about him (he was constantly in the hospital). I am an only child and I am very close with my Dad so it was extremely difficult for me to be so far away, knowing that he wasn’t doing well and I couldn’t do anything to help. Just 3 short days after he got here he was admitted to the hospital for a severe bone infection and was there for almost 2 weeks. Since then we’ve been dealing with daily trips to the hospital for continuing IV antibiotic therapy and what feels like constant doctor’s visits. I am so incredibly thankful to have him here, knowing that he is getting the best care we can afford and the fact that my daughter, husband and I are able to spend time with him every day is such a blessing. I am so much less stressed now that I actually really know what is going on with him and can do something about it.

The last several months have certainly brought their challenges but I will prevail, as I always do. I truly believe that which does not kill us only makes us stronger. A couple of weeks ago I was pushing myself way too hard to juggle everything and I ran myself down, caught my daughter’s cold and then got very sick. I got a reality check that I am not in fact super woman. I can’t afford to let that happen again - I have too many people depending on me!

All of this to say, I appreciate your patience (and thoughts and prayers too!) during these tough times and while it may take me a bit longer to respond to e-mails and phone calls, I will still be working and still accepting bookings, I will just be a little slower to respond for a little bit. Family is always priority one and they really need me right now - if I run myself down I won’t be any help to anyone!

I hope that, especially during this holiday season, each of you thinks about the real heart of this message - family first. It is so easy to get caught up in work, errands and life in general and take the things that really matter for granted. Please don’t make that mistake. Seize this moment. Yes, this one, right now. Step away from the computer and spend some quality time with your loved ones. I’ve been so busy with everything else that I’ve neglected my amazingly supportive husband the most… I’m taking this opportunity to go and curl up next to him.