Engaged: Kristen & Dennis

What do I love about summer? Well I love the care free attitude I have and the soaking up the sun with friends thing. Maybe these are the exact reasons I have been behind on editing and especially behind on this blog. It has not gotten as much love as I had hoped for but I have been enjoying my summer, maybe a little too much. I have been able to spend time with gorgeous couples, brides, kiddos, and families.  What better way to spend the summer then running through fields, getting copious amount of bug bites and enjoying time on the beach ALL with my camera and beautiful people. This summer has really been so kind to me.  Now to the REAL reason for this blog post, Kristen and Dennis.

I meet Kristen at the Northern Maine Bridal Expo in February and had the pleasure of photographing her and her seriously hilarious fiance, Dennis this July for their engagement session. I have never had a couple who constantly laughed through their session... well that is because I have never meet someone like Dennis. Kristen cannot stop laughing with Dennis starts talking... seriously he is beyond hilarious. He had me laughing just as hard as Kristen. I can say confidently that Kristen will have permanent smiles lines after she marries Dennis. It will be impossible to not. Kristen's story of her and Dennis was way too amazing not to share.


How did you and Dennis meet?

"Our story in a ways is pretty neat......We met through a mutual friend about 5 1/2 yrs ago,  we had gone out in a small group and the next thing I know Dennis was being introduced to me.  He danced with us all night and was constantly blowing bubbles (gum), so all night long I was bursting his bubble (literally). We began talking online and would call each other every once and a while. For 2 years he asked me to go out to dinner with him and I wouldn't.  I wasn't at that point yet where I was ready to settle or be too serious.  He was always there for me though, if it was to vent, laugh, or have a conversation about remodeling.  Then one day out of the blue I called him and asked if he still wanted to go to dinner sometime - I hadn't talked with him in a while so I didn't know if he was seeing someone or if he even cared anymore.  He quickly came back with "I'll be home tomorrow what time works for you"  That was end of July 2009, we started dating Aug 6th 2009 and have been inseparable ever since. "


How did Dennis propose?

"The day he proposed was pretty special!  I had "shopped" online for about a year to find "my perfect ring".  I would email him the links and put an FYI in the subject line....little did I know he was keeping them!  I will never forget the day before he said he had to run to town and always asks if I want to go but this day he didn't, so I was like can I go, he shot me down with a VERY quick "NO!".  But I didn't think anything of it at all.  The next day December 11th, 2011 we got up and I just wasn't in the best of moods AT ALL!!  We headed to my parents for dinner, as we do just about every Sunday, and yes, I was still cranky.  We played Wii and got all done dinner. My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, cousin, and nephews were all there so I came in the living room sat down in front of the window.....then out of nowhere Dennis comes over gets down on one knee and I say - "What are doing?" (Still cranky) then reality hit and the tears started flowing.  The bad mood quickly went away!!  To this day the only part I remember him saying is "Will you marry  me?" By far the best day of my life."

What do you love the most about Dennis?

"There isn't anything that I don't love about him!!!  Since we had been friends for a while before so I knew I could trust him with anything and everything that I did or said.  He's everything that I have been looking for - smart, funny, trusting, loving, caring and the list could go on for miles on end.  He truely is my best friend and I could never imagine my life without him!!"

 Seriously how sweet can a couple be!?

 

Still bursting his bubble... literally. 

Kristen and Dennis will be married this Saturday, August 25th! 

I wish them a VERY happy and fun day.  

CONGRATULATIONS!!

To see more of Kristen and Dennis' engagement session please click here

Chandler Family: Four-legged Companions

I have the biggest soft spot in my heart for dogs. I have always grown up with a family dog(s) and who doesn't love the friendship you can have with such a loving and caring animal. I am guilty of talking to dogs in a baby voice... especially around my own fur baby, Zaida. There is nothing like seeing the joy and love in a dog's eyes.

The Chandler family have two adorable fur babies. Their black lab, Glen,  is still a puppy and is FULL of energy! He was everywhere during our session but we were able to get him to calm down to get some gorgeous photos of him. He just about drove his family crazy trying to get him to corporate. He even managed to roll himself in duck poo! We also discovered that Glen wasn't wild about water... his dad throw him in and he was out in 2 seconds flat. Their other adorable family member, Nia, was so sweet. She was loving and not wild at all. The complete opposite of Glen. She seemed to naturally pose for photos and didn't run away! She also managed to get into some trouble like Glen... the duck poo was popular with these two. I am glad I didn't have to ride in the car with them home. :)

Oh, and I was guilty of talking to Glen and Nia in the classic fur baby talking voice! 

 To see more of their session please click HERE

A Photographer Never Stops Learning: Second Shooting

They say that you never stop learning, that you should learn something new everyday. Luckily, this is true for me and is especially true in the world of photography. Since I am fairly new to the wedding world, second shooting is a perfect way for me to expand my knowledge and to practice! Samantha at Samantha Marie Photography was ever so kind to allow me to second shoot for her. She had a gorgeous bride and groom and very fun wedding party to photograph. Samantha and I exchanged many messages... even about what we would wear! She is seriously SO awesome. We worked together like we had been doing so for years! I think we were only a "photo bomb" to each other a couple times and we moved around like we had ear pieces in. Talk about amazing! The experience was so beneficial and I can't thank her enough for allowing me work with her.

Lindsay and Shawn are seriously the cutest couple. Since I was second shooting, meeting them before hand did not happen. I was a little nervous about this but it worked out GREAT! They were comfortable in front of the camera and extremely laid back. Samantha was so lucky to get such a fabulous couple!! Lindsay and Shawn, thank you so much for being so fabulous and not minding that there was more than one camera pointed at you ALL day!  Congratulations and best wishes to a happy marriage! :)

To see more photos of Lindsay and Shawn's Wedding please click HERE

Engagement Session, Summer Classes, Moving and Surviving the Heat

Since I have been MIA lately, thinking about writing a blog post has stressed me out. How exactly do I normally start these things? What if it's horrible and no one wants to read it? I can get a little to concerned with the little things in life sometimes. Maybe you thought I was on some wild vacation where internet didn't exist... that definitely would have been way cooler than what I have done for the past month. I like to go to college year round- yes, call me crazy. Seriously. This summer is by far the busiest to date. The crazy part is it is half over! Wow! Not only did I take summer classes but I also moved from Old Town to Orono- not to far away but I have way too much stuff and moving was a struggle! I just recently was able to unpack my room and now it actually looks like I live here. Oh yeah has anyone else been dying with all this heat?! Holy, it has been miserable!

With all of this craziness going on, I want to thank all of my wonderful clients who have been SO patient with blog posts and photo deliveries. I can't thank you enough for understanding and I promise I will get caught up VERY soon. :)

Now on to the best part of this blog post. Just a little over a month ago I got the opportunity to photograph a gorgeous couple. Simply gorgeous. Everything about them is perfect. The way he looks at her, the way she looks at him. Talk about L-O-V-E. A kind of love you see in a movie. Tina and Travis have a long love story, starting a little over 7 years ago. November 2004 to be exact. Travis' best man, Bud, who is Tina's cousin introduced them. Their first time hanging out consisted of Tina watching the boys and their friends skateboard. More time spent together, a long phone conversation and a few weeks later on December 19th 2004 they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Then on December 19th 2011 Travis popped the question and Tina said YES! Despite all of the bugs attacking us we had an amazing session on a perfect summer evening.

 I just love the fact she took off her sandals and stayed barefoot for the majority of the session

To see more of Tina and Travis' Engagement Session click HERE

Recital: Craig

"Seriously, I have no black pants here.... are they are at home?"- The first sentence I spilled to my Mom with horror in my voice over the phone. Her response, "You must have them with you! Did you really bring them home!?" The answer to this was: "Yes, of course I would leave my black pants at home on the ONE night I need them. I probably figured I wouldn't need them for anything, well apparently until now." So, as I had a slight panic attack, I literally escaped into my closet to find something black.  I pulled out a LBD (little black dress), checked with my roommate for reassurance and headed to the recital. 

(I don't normally wear all black to any of my sessions but since this was a performance it was absolutely necessary)

To give you a little background, I met Craig a little over a year ago when he conducted an orchestra for my dance class. There has never been a question in my mind about how talented he is! It was a true honor to capture him doing what he does so well. Let me tell you how organized and awesome he is,  we both detailed how he wanted his recital photographed.... including a drawing on paper. AH-MAZING.  I am a visual person so it made my day to be photographing someone who was the exact same way.

To see more of Craig's Recital click HERE

2012 UMaine Grads leave with a bang

Spending four nights with 2012 UMaine grads during Senior Week was such a privilege and honestly SO much fun! Knowing many of them made the events even better! This class sure knows how to have a good time and they know how to fill their steins! Each night resulted in many laughs and there was never a dull moment... random speeches at the F**king Catalina Wine mixer, to the dance moves at the
Bear Brew, singing the Stein song, oh yeah and meeting the Campus Cutie of the week.  

Congratulations and good luck with whatever lies ahead for you! 

 I believe Nate has a picture like this from EVERY night of Senior week

These girls made the cutest senior shirts to wear for the Tavern Trot! 

 Campus Cutie working his title with these two beautiful ladies! 

To see more photos please click HERE

Random Monday: Grey's Anatomy with a life lesson

If you have had a chance to read my About Section of the blog you have seen that I have openly admitted I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. So much that when Patrick Dempsey was in Maine for his annual cancer benefit road and bike race, my parents and I stood in line for 2 hours so I could meet him. Yeah, that's right, I met McDreamy, there's proof. The addiction has caused me to skip out on plans and schedule my life around 9pm on Thursday nights. I can count on one hand how many times I have missed an episode. As season 8 wrapped up, I was left with many unanswered questions, just like all the other thousands of viewers. I know this because I creep look on the show's fan page on Facebook frequently. Airplane crash, residents relocating, and possibility more deaths?! What more could the writer, Shonda, write for one episode?! Even though it has been days since the season finale I can't stop thinking about how heart wrenching the scene was when Mark confessed his love to Lexi, as she lay pinned under a huge part of the airplane debris. As Lexi laid there dying, Mark finally admitted to her he has loved her along and always will. In her last few moments, he started planning their future: babies, marriage, you name it he said. Right then and there, not even 15 minutes into the show, I was a ball of tears. I am tearing just thinking about it now!

WARNING: If you sappy like me I recommend some tissues if you watch this scene.

The topic of this post has absolutely nothing to do with photography (in case you were hoping or wondering). It has to do with love and life. This episode clearly demonstrates you need to let the ones you love know you love them. Don't keep it to yourself and say it often. After Lexi died, Mark even admitted he waited too long to tell her. We unfortunately don't realize it's too late until it's too late and there is no going back. Just remember that life is extremely unexpected and you don't want to live with the regret of losing the one you love without telling them how you truly feel. This is a life lesson that is too often learned the hard way.

All you Grey's fans out there... what will YOU be doing on Thursday nights now!?!?!

Wedding Planners or Not?

When thinking about planning a wedding it makes my head spin! How do brides do it? I haven't had the opportunity to walk down the aisle yet (I can wait a few years!) but the planning seems crazy! I envy brides and their families for the hard work and hundreds of hours spent into creating their fantasy wedding. Sometimes planning with family can be beyond stressful, so why not involve a professional in the planning? If you are a bride contemplating whether or not to hire a wedding planner I highly recommend it! Let me reword that, I strongly suggest hiring a wedding planner. Not only will they take stress off of the big day, they will help you from day one of hiring them. They will help coordinate your creative team (photographer, cater, makeup artist, baker etc.). I can't explain how helpful a planner is on the wedding day for a photographer, I can't speak for other vendors but for a photographer, they are pieces of gold. Wedding planners are also extremely good at fixing problems ASAP.  If a problem was to arise on your wedding day, I can rest assure your wedding planner will have it fixed before you may even know. They are serious miracle workers and let's be honest who wouldn't want their own Mary Fiore, minus the falling in love with the groom part. There are many wonderful wedding planners in Maine (Weddings by Holly, Events by Jenni and Paradis & Foster Events LLC ) to just name a few. These super organized and amazing people can take the stress and worries away and give you the day you have always dreamed of.  

I watch every bridal show around. Friday nights are devoted to Say Yes to The Dress and to My Big Fat Gypsy wedding. When I am not watching wedding shows, my addiction of the TV network Bravo appears. After watching my girl Bethenny rock snowboarding this week, I started watching the new show that came on directly after it. The Wedding Party, a show strictly focused on weddings and in particular a famous wedding planner named Kristin Banta. Oh my! Amazing! She is fabulous! She has an incredible team that works with/for her and they make wedding dreams come true. I will definitely be watching this season! If you want to see beautiful and extremely unique weddings tune in on Monday nights at 11:00pm, you won't be disappointed! Oh yeah, sorry if you aren't a night owl like me, I am a late night TV watcher! If you're asleep by 11:00, I am sure you can find it online to re-watch.  :)

This is Kristin! She is gorg isn't she!?

Just in case you missed the Mary Fiore reference

Up and Running and McCrum Grandchildren

"I clicked and then it didn't bring me to the right page." That is the concern I got many times in the past month. To all of you, it seemed like I had given up on this whole blogging thing, when it was actually just a secret that I was hiding from you! :)

My blog has been down because of the renovations! I have hopefully made the blog more informative for you and more organized! It has taken awhile to get everything perfect and the way I wanted. A big Holla out to the people who helped me create exactly what I wanted. I couldn't have done it without them! I have caught up on blog posts and  I will be posting more sessions soon.

Photographing children can always be a little bit of a challenge, with these cousins a laugh was contagious which made the job fairly easy. Not to mention, the mom's were fantastic at getting them to corporate. Riding on a gator through the woods for this session made it even better! We visited the special stream, returned a ball to the neighbors that survived the Northern Maine winter, and managed to get a little wet because of the damp ground.

I can't get over their precious faces!   

 

Newborn: Clara

When I was reaching out to find a newborn to photograph Clara's mom spoke up months before she was born. I was thrilled! I agreed to meet them at their home for her newborn session a few days after her birth.

I managed to get lost on their way to their house... the GPS on my iPhone didn't let me know the street they live on is a one way! Luckily, Clara's Mom saved the day and gave me directions over the phone in my desperation. When I found their house, I realized I had passed the house 2 times already!

Clara is extremely lucky to have a big sister, Lucy. Who also grabbed her camera and helped me take precious photos of Clara! Clara was a snuggler and not only did I get to photograph her but I was able to hold her; made my day!

Welcome to the world Clara!

To see more of Clara's session please click HERE

Love: Kacey & Ashton

Talk about two people who are obviously in love. They have been together for years and are coming up on their anniversary! What better time to get photos taken! Kacey contacted me about doing their photos months back- her best friend was my roommate (Karlie). Ashton was very busy with the UMaine hockey team where he served as the manager and was on the road a lot with the team... this leading to us having to wait till the spring. I am so glad that we waited! The trees were in full bloom and it was a gorgeous sunny day, where we didn't have to worry about being cold at all!  Karlie helped out as my assistant and was able to get the two of them laughing before I could even try; assistants are totally awesome! :) 

To see more of Ashton and Kacey's session please click HERE

Samantha: 1st Birthday

Samantha has turned one! If you have been a follower of this blog or my facebook you have seen her many times! Her mom has continued to pick me to document Samantha's year. I am so grateful! I have grown to love this little girl so much! She is full of smiles and giggles, in my eyes that is perfection. She has changed so much since his newborn session! It is hard to believe she is the same little baby! For this session I baked a cake with pink frosting and at the end of the session we let her have at it. Her mom hadn't even sat her down completely before she grabbed a hold of the candle (no flame of course) and started licking it. She was hilarious with this cake! She first licked it and then dug right in and smeared it all over her face. Once, she had enough of the cake she flipped the plate over with the cake and started chewing on the plate! At the end of the session her two dogs had some birthday cake too! It was a sharing occasion. She had two of the cutest outfits! All themed around being 1. Pink and tutus were the theme! Loved it! Happy Birthday, sweet Sam! xo

To see more of Samantha's session please click here

 A photo from Samantha's Newborn session, just days old in her Daddy's hands.