IRIS Photography -- The Blog

50th Wedding Anniversary at the Town & Country Club, Hartford, CT

I recently had the honor of shooting a lovely 50th wedding anniversary party at the Town & Country Club in Hartford. 

It was great going out to the house first and setting up a portable studio for a set of formal photos of the entire family.  While we shot many formal photos, I also love the lighter moments:

 
Then it was on to the Town & Country Club for an intimate private party. 

 

 

 The girls humored me with my posing for one of my favorite pictures:

  

 

Thank you for being so welcoming and warm.  It was a pleasure meeting your wonderful family.

Leslie and Brian's Wedding at the Fairfield Hunt Club in Westport, CT

It was such a pleasure to get to know Brian and Leslie and meet all of their wonderful friends and family - photographers and travelers included!  

Brian and Leslie got married at Trinity Episcopal church in Southport, CT:

The ladies all had unique dresses in navy and custom hats which were lovely to photograph! 

Brian and Leslie decided to see each other before the wedding:

Leslie's sister:

We did  a 5-minute run to the waterfront in Southport and I'm so glad we fit it in for a special few moments and pictures pre-wedding:

We had the pleasure of meeting Brian's sister, Abbie Flynn, who is a great wedding photojournalist out of Houston and I hope we will meet again!

The reception was held at the Fairfield Hunt Club  in Westport, CT.  The flowers were amazing and were done by Elegant Effects in Floral Design:

The hats came off as the dancing started:

 
The band was Eight To The Bar and there were some amazing swing dancers including Leslie's sister...I have never seen a couple dance so fast:

The Hunt Club has a cool vintage bar in the back:

Who did that...

Thanks so much for having us and thank you for sharing so much of yourselves with us...we loved capturing and being a part of your story!

Susan and Shannon's Wedding at the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford

There was so much happiness and love at this wedding...we were so honored to be there .  Susan got ready at her childhood home in West Hartford with her sisters, her mom and family.  I loved seeing the bedroom she grew up in...the bed was so small and it seemed so sweet that she slept in it the night before her wedding.

I loved how Susan's eyes filled with light in this picture: 

The dogs got to experience at least part of the day!  :)

Shannon and his dog:

Mike shot Shannon's family at his home where he got ready:

The ceremony and reception were at the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford:

Shannon wanted to get married on the 18th hole and having it happen at sunset was beautiful light:

I love this shot that Mike took of Susan stepping out to walk down the aisle...

The flowers by The Flower District in Glastonbury were so beautifully done and fresh that I kept smelling them as I walked around.  The tables were done in silver.

Shannon's father gave the blessing:

 

Thank you for having us...

Jessica and James' Wedding at the Hill-Stead in Farmington

I love how every wedding has a different feel and Jessica and James' wedding was so wonderful to photograph...their artistic backgrounds showed throughout the entire day.

Jessica got ready at the Farmington Inn with friends and family:

Jessica got her hairpiece from Etsy.com ... I don't know if you've checked this site out, but it has a lot of handmade, unique items for brides but also for all sorts of different products created by artists...I got my sons little handmade travel art totes.

Jessica then went to the Hill-Stead pre-ceremony:

We found the cake waiting in the kitchen!

The guys got ready at the Hartford-Farmington Marriott:

The ceremony had many special moments designed by Jessica and James including passing the rings throughout the guests.  The ceremony was in the barn at the Hill-Stead.

The tables were decorated with pumpkins, cloches, and James' art:

James' mom:

Jessica's mom had the great idea of shooting each guest's portrait at the end of the receiving line.   James' brother gave us one of the more interesting poses!

A huge highlight was the bride singing Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man":

   

This family band calls themselves "The Vanderettes" and included Jessica's dad:

Jessica then sang a song she wrote and published with her girlfriends:

...and James played harmonica.

Thank you guys...great time and great meeting your friends and family!

Heather and Chris' Beach Plum Inn Wedding on Martha's Vineyard

What a great wedding on Martha's Vineyard with Heather and Chris...thank you so much for welcoming us to spend the day with you and your families!

Heather grew up coming to the Vineyard and got ready at her parents' home in Oak Bluffs:

Chris' mom just before the ceremony which was at Trinity Church, right off Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs:

I love Heather's mom getting a kick out of the ring bearer:

Heather and her brother during the receiving line:

I don't know why but I love this photo...maybe the colors of Heather's grandmother's hat with the Ocean Park Gazebo...

We took Heather and Chris' formal photos at the Ocean Park Gazebo and I loved the inside of the roof and the shakes with the formal wedding clothes:

Then it was out to Menemsha for the reception at the stunning Beach Plum Inn with all the tables set in navy and silver:

A favorite shot from Mike.  The cocktail party was in a tent:

The dinner was held inside the Beach Plum Inn with an attached tent to allow for maximum seating.  Heather and Chris picked the Beach Plum specifically for the view and light at sunset.  So, as dinner started, the sun started to go down.  This shot of the blessing looks totally photoshopped to me but it's barely touched...the light looked this amazing all through dinner and just made for a beautiful, beautiful setting.  The other thing I want to point out is that in the attached tent, they had swagged a striped yellow and white fabric on the underside of the tent, making for a beautiful tent ceiling:

The light, the setting, the cake at sunset...amazing!

 Then, everyone headed down to the lower tent for a great night of dancing!

and a little bonfire!!!!!

Thank you guys for a lovely experience!

Kylle and Will's Wedding, Beach Plum Inn, Martha's Vineyard

We  just shot two weddings in three weeks on Martha's Vineyard, both at the Beach Plum Inn in Menemsha, yet both completely personal and different.  The first was Kylle and Will who we had the opportunity to travel from Edgartown to Oak Bluffs to Menemsha with during their day!

Kylle got ready in Oak Bluffs with her girlfriends:

I loved these printed bridesmaid timelines which matched all her paper:

 

Kylle and Will got married at St. Elizabeth's church on Main Street in Edgartown:

I loved shooting Kylle and Will's bridal party...fun, funny, great group of friends!

We took family and bridal party pics at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown:

 

This is one of my favorite images ever...Kylle and her family rented this gingerbread house in Oak Bluffs growing up every year.  I loved the colors and we've just added it to our splash page on photoiris.com!

 

The reception was at the lovely Beach Plum Inn in Menemsha:

 

The tables were decorated with a Martha's Vineyard theme including different locations around the island on mini-road signs.  The flowers were done by Louise Sweet at Flowers on the Vineyard.  Wedding planning services were provided by Julie Hatt from Vineyard Weddings:

Kylle and Will did a make your own candy bag table:

Kylle and her lovely father:

It was a wonderful, wonderful wedding ... thank you guys!

Erika and Joe, The Riverhouse at Goodspeed, Haddam, CT

Great getting to know Erika and Joe's warm families on their wedding day which took us from Unionville to The Riverhouse at Goodspeed in Haddam.

Each table included a card with a donation to the Labrador Retriever Rescue of Connecticut:

The cake was from Cakes by Donna and here's the reaction to the cake by the flower girls wanting to devour it!

A quick late night portrait session:

 I love this intimate shot taken by Mike:

Matthew and Florence's Engagement Photos - Boston

I'm not sure if we should call it an engagement shoot or an anniversary shoot!  Matthew and Florence were married five years ago and always wanted an engagement shoot but didn't do it until now.  We feel great that they chose us to do this for them.  Mike and I had a great time shooting and getting to know them in Boston on a beautiful summer evening.  We did a pretty wide walking tour to cover favorite places of theirs and iconic Boston landmarks.   Thanks guys - it was a pleasure getting to know you.

Erin and Chirag, Ann Arbor, MI - Christian Ceremony

Erin and Chirag's Christian ceremony was held on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor where they met.  The colors didn't stop today with a beautiful combination of coral, brown, and yellow...and sunflowers everywhere! 

Erin and Chirag decided to shoot all their portraits before the ceremony, which gave us several hours to explore the campus...

The parasols were so great for photography, but I must be attracted to quirkiness...this is my very, very favorite (Erin...your hands are perfect!):

The ceremony and reception were held at the Michigan Union with the cocktails in the University Club:

What a great party ... the dance floor was packed until after midnight...this was an amazing group of dancers ...from the kids who had all the moves to at least 10 couples who knew the actions to Thriller...we loved it and loved photographing it! 

Erin and Chirag - thank you for including us in your wonderful event!  We hope you are having amazing adventures in Thailand and beyond!   Talk to you soon!

Erin and Chirag, Ann Arbor, MI - Hindu Ceremony

Shooting our first Hindu ceremony was wonderful.  While we had prepped ourselves on the elements of the ceremony and what to expect, we want to thank Chirag's family and friends' as they helped us and pointed out key things not to miss.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for our next post of Erin and Chirag's Christian ceremony...

Erin and Chirag, Ann Arbor, MI - Hindu Ceremony - Erin Gets Her Wedding Sari

Wow .... what an amazing experience to photograph Erin and Chirag's Hindu/Christian Wedding in Ann Arbor, Michigan!  First, thank you so much for hiring us...it was such a pleasure meeting you and your families!

This wedding will take several posts so I really want to begin with the fascinating process of the women preparing Erin for the Hindu Ceremony.  From the fabrics to the jewelry to just witnessing such an intimate ritual was so interesting and wonderful to photograph:

   
  

 

 

My favorite:

 

Tune in for more of their two-day wedding over the next few days!!!

Whitney and Bill's Wedding at Rocky Neck

We had a great time shooting Whitney and Bill's wedding which was a wonderful mix of snowboarders, the ocean and Whitney's laugh. 

Whitney and Bill got ready at the Mystic Marriott:

 

Mike may have taken the strangest wedding portrait of the groom ever:

The wedding and reception were held at the Rocky Neck Pavillion which was a WPA depression-era building with amazing architecture.

Party shirt:

 

This is one of my favorite pics (even though it's posed!)...the St. Michael's College pic:

We snuck away for a late night portrait session:

 

 

...and some late night dancing...

One of my favorite moments...the end of the night...Bill picks up Whitney and spins her around:

Kathryn and Oliver's Summer Solstice CT Tent Wedding

I love how every wedding is unique and Kathryn and Oliver's was no exception - it had an elegant country feel to everything and we definitely got some great and unique pictures (look for bride kissing her (frog) prince and the groom on a rope swing over the Farmington River!)

Kathryn got ready in her parents' home where the tent reception would be held:

The flower girl literally ran down the aisle!

After the ceremony, we went with the bridal party on a detour to shoot in a tobacco farm...
 

While we were taking photos, Mike was making the rounds at the cocktail party:

Leave it to Mike to strike up a conversation with www.petethebutcher.com and take a portrait of the pig for tthe pig roast!

Meanwhile, we made our way back to Kathryn's parents' home for the family photos and the party!

Every table had a barn board sign saying "solstice" in a different language. 

 
Dinner was delicious and included fresh cornbread.  It was catered by The Savory Palate in Manchester:

 
We were taking a few pics with Kathryn's girlfriends when a new man came into the picture...how many people kiss a frog on their wedding day!

We were going to do a small shoot down by the river and ended up having about 30 people go on the walk - it had a great feel and incredibly beautiful light.

Here is one of my favorite pics of the day...I just felt it captured this elegant country girl side of Kathryn...we'll see if she agrees!

Some more favs:

And here's Oliver, the groom .... yay!

The tables were decorated with seating tag-tied pears and little paper bag favors.  Inside the bags were little jars of local honey and maple syrup --- great idea!

OPM (Other People's Music) was the band and for late night dancing...the jukebox!

I'm so happy we were able to sneak away for our late night portrait session...I love the quirky, romantic, summer camp feel to these pics:

and a beautiful view as the party goes on...

Beth and Kevin's Wedding at The Bond Ballroom, Hartford, CT

I love how many traditions and cultures we have in America and that weddings are one of the places we really get to see them in action.  This was a fun, fun Irish wedding - we had a great time with Beth, Kevin and their friends and families.  Thank you guys!

Beth got ready at her home with the ladies:

   

Meanwhile, Kevin and the guys got ready at the Homewood Suites at The Bond.  I love these two shots from Mike:

The ceremony was at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Hartford.  Second-shooter Mike was actually baptized here as a baby...I guess things come full circle sometimes! 

While we waited out the rain, we took a few portraits in the church...

Then it was off to the Half Door Pub for the bridal party photos.  This was where Kevin and Beth first met.

And this is the table where they met:

 
Then it was on to The Bond.  Goza, a local Latin jazz band performed throughout the cocktail party ... they were great!   They also play regularly at some restaurants in Simsbury and Avon...I plan to go with Mike tthis summer!

 

If you are not Irish, you may not know the name of this song that Beth's friends performed but take a listen here...you've heard it before...it's called "Wild Rover":

 
 

Agnella and Stephen's Wedding, Fairfield, CT

 .We loved Agnella and Stephen's wedding which was all about family and close friends and had such an intimate feel (which tent weddings are great for, by the way).  Agnella got ready in the house she grew up in with help from her sisters and her parents:

Stephen had his sisters stand up for him:

The moms:

We then went to Agnella's aunt's to shoot their portraits...what a beautiful location for pics:

There was some sacrifice for this image but it's one of my favorites!  Thanks guys!

Agnella and her sisters:

Yes, those are real sheep...

The reception was held in a tent at Agnella's parents' home...their gardens made a beautiful setting for the event:

We had sun, storms and rainbows....magic...thank you to the caterer who told me there was a rainbow outside the tent!:

This is the second wedding in a row with a dessert bar with their favorite desserts instead of a cake!  These are one of my favorite desserts ever and are available at the L'Estrada Bakery on Park Road in Hartford if anyone's mouths are watering...Portuguese Egg Custard Tarts!

Sisters: 

It was a night of great dancing! 

Mike did some long shutter speeds and I loved how everything went pink!

The band was Harbor Lights out of NYC.  They were excellent at reading the crowd and getting everyone involved in a very classy way...here's one of the leads giving Agnella the spotlight:

It was so beautiful when we walked away at the end of the night...

Agnella and Stephen, thank you again....it was great spending time with your families!  Thinking of you guys in Istanbul!!!  Congratulations!

Amy and Brendan - Hillstead Museum, Farmington, CT

What a lovely wedding this was at the Hillstead.  I had never shot there before and it was just so relaxed, classy and comfortable and Amy and Brendan added a lot of personal touches to make it truly unique.  Amy got ready at the Hillstead and I loved their bridal room for portraits and the fresh roses in Amy's hair:



 


The Maid of Honor:

Amy walked down the aisle to the guests all singing the Beatles, "All You Need is Love" - AWESOME!  Also, I think Amy laughed the entire wedding.


Amy and Brendan did a receiving line, then we took the family formals in the gardens.  My favorite shot of Mike's:


For Amy and Brendan's portraits, we took a walk around the house:



The reception was held in the barn/theatre adjacent to the house. 




I've now been to two weddings in a row with no wedding cake ... may be getting more popular (will blog the other wedding next week).  Instead, Amy and Brendan's family members each made the dessert they are know for and Amy had these beautiful cards printed up, telling the story of each.  It was such a great personal touch:




We ended on a little late night portrait session:



Thank you guys for beautiful night!

Mary and Peter's Wedding - Brantwyn Mansion, Wilmington, Delaware

As I said in the last post, it was such a pleasure to shoot Mary and Peter's wedding at the Du Pont Country Club's Brantwyn Mansion in Delaware.  Thank you guys!
We started at Peter's mom's home for the ladies hair and make-up. 

Mary's sister, Sally, made all the jewelry for the wedding.  You can see her website here if you are interested in custom jewelry for your wedding or yourself.


We then went on to Brantwyn for the final getting ready and the fashion  portrait session (see blog post below).  Sally and Mary's mom, Christine, helped lace the dress.


I wanted to do a dark portrait of Mary and her sister - this room was perfect:


Meanwhile,  Mike is shooting the details and the guys.  I love that he finds his way into the kitchen as they are shucking the oysters!


Mary gave Peter canvases of two of their engagement images as a wedding present:


Peter and his best man:

The ceremony was in the back yard, sunken garden of the mansion - the light was amazing:


Mary's brother sang Con te Partiro:




I love that I can see Mary's Grandpa in the very back...and who is that guy jumping in the back (probably hard for you to see on the blog!)!:



Formal Bridal Party:

Not so formal Bridal Party!

 
Peter and Mary in the garden:




Their first dance and the toasts were held on the lawn:


The cakes included a construction-theme groom's cake which was later cut by a sword that was presented to Mary by her grandfather!  I think they cut the cake to "It's a jolly holiday with Mary"!


I still love to watch the parent dances...here is Peter dancing with his mother, Joy:




Post Mary's Spirit in the Sky speech:


Then I found myself late night in the raspberry room!





Meanwhile, Mike found himself on the porch!



Evidently, Peter's Aunt Bonnie is an artist and leaves her mark as a sheep which Peter has discovered on the guest signature board!


This is one of my favorite shots of the night where my flash bounced off the wall to light up Mary:


There are so many more I love...but this blog post must end sometime...so I'll end with our late night sneak-away portrait session - Ken and Sally came along for the ride!

 
 

Thank you guys - you are both lovely!

Mary and Peter's Wedding - Fashion Session - Brantwyn Mansion, Delaware

Mary and Peter's wedding was so special for us - we shot Mary's sister Sally a few years ago and have become such good friends with Ken and Sally since meeting them that I've met Mary and her entire family a number of times over the last few years.  So it was so awesome that Mary asked us to shoot her wedding and getting to know her and Peter over the winter...and I love that she was into doing a fashiony bridal session beforehand.  We spent some extra time before the ceremony taking the time to play in Brantwyn Mansion in Wilmington:







 

 

Stay tuned for the wedding post...

Congratulations to Colleen and Manoli - Welcome Baby Ava!

We'd just like to congratulate two of our nicest clients, Colleen and Manoli (whose wedding we shot last June) on their beautiful new baby girl, Ava.  Here are two favorite pics they sent...thank you guys for keeping us in the loop!








Here's a little memory lane :) :

John and Rei's Wedding, Beverly Hills, CA

Well at the end of our Route 66 trek was the wonderful wedding of my brother, John, and his now wife, Rei!  It was held at an amazing place right in the middle of Beverly Hills.  We were in the wedding, so I just grabbed some shots as a guest, but here are some favorites:

The rehearsal...John and Rei practicing their recessional:

then it was off to the Tiki Mermaid for a cruise around Marina Del Rey and the rehearsal dinner!

The next morning...Sebbie was the ring bearer ... his first tux!

Lori and Abbey:

Our Jude:

Sebbie and Uncle John:

As guests, we actually had to time to stop at the BH sign!

John and Rei's fun friends:

I really wanted to make a portrait of John and Rei while we were there and we had about 5 minutes...Greystone Mansion had this old gate with perfect light...I love how they turned out!

Right place, right time:

Friends and Family...

Rei, GREAT meeting your family!

A few portraits of my lovely niece, Abbey:

Me, John, Rei and Mike:

I know Rei's finger looks kind of weird here (let's just leave it as motion) but I love this shot of them driving away with the light bouncing everywhere:

Katie and Michael's Wedding at Tower Ridge in Farmington and Avon

What a wonderful first wedding of the season!  A beautiful day and a truly nice couple.  Thank you Katie and Michael for everything!

Katie got ready at her parents' home in Farmington:

Katie's mom helped her get dressed:

This is one of my favorite photos of the day...I loved the style and colors of their home with the style/color of the dresses:

Katie and Michael got married at St. Patrick's in Farmington.  The anteroom was beautifully lit for those few minutes before they ceremony begins:

We shot the family portraits in front of the church then were very close to Miss Porter's School for Girls, which is perfectly New Englandy for a mini-street shoot with the bridal party:

Then it was on to The Pickin' Patch in Avon.  I actually pick fruit there in the summer and thought it would have a number of great backgrounds ... I love that when we showed up Katie and Michael had brought these great boots for braving the fields!

Meanwhile, Mike went ahead to Tower Ridge Country Club to shoot the details. 

Here is my favorite:

The Stroll and the Conga were dancing highlights!

Michael's niece:

Overlooking Hueblein Tower...this is Michael's "golf" shot:

Some final portraits:

Sharon and Ben Published in 2008 The Knot Best of Weddings!

In yesterday's mail came a copy of The Knot's 2008 Best of Weddings and I was thrilled to see this photo from Ben and Sharon's Astor's Beechwood Newport wedding make it in under the "must have shot:  the wedding party"!  I was contacted by The Knot who had seen the photo on the blog and they weren't sure it would make it in until they did they layout.   This was such a fun shot to shoot and I love flairs!

Welcome Baby Austin!

It's so wonderful to be at the beginning of someone's marriage as their wedding photographer and to see their lives and families being built.   Congratulations to Michelle and Ed on their first baby, Austin, and thank you for sending in some photos!

Here are two pictures from their beautiful wedding at The Bond that the three of us are in agreement that we love!

Congratulations guys!  Thank you for keeping me in the loop!

Mary and Peter's Winter Engagement Session in Hartford

What a great time shooting Mary and Peter's engagement session!    It was great getting to spend time with you guys and I'm really looking forward to coming down to Delaware for the wedding!

Thanks for braving the snow too...here's a little behind-the-scenes: 

Congratulations Tom and Marisa!

Just wanted to say congratulations to Tom and Marisa!  I was so pleased to get the following picture via email from Tom and Marisa welcoming little Isabella!

Congratulations guys!  I still have great memories from shooting your wedding!

Please check out talented Tom's latest work (music) too on youtube.