IRIS Photography -- The Blog

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:

Shelley's Family Portrait Session, Hartford, CT

What fun shooting Shelley's family at Elizabeth Park in Hartford which I love for the varied backgrounds in a small walking distance!   We shot in the early morning which was really nice for light and for awake kids...despite a long trip the previous day.

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:

Martha's Vineyard Family Vacation

Well July was a great time with several vacations and turning 40!  I'll try to blog several of the events in between weddings!

I'm not a morning person at all but driving to the ferry at Woods Hole at dawn is really nice:

Four-year-old Sebbie:

Two-year-old Jude:

Grandpa Dean and Jude!

We rented the same house as last year near Menemsha:

We happened to be out there the same time as our friends Liz and David who hosted us all to cocktails and a bonfire on the beach on a beautiful night:

Mike likes his wine...

This was the first time I'd been on the Vineyard for July 4th:

Mike's shot of me and Seb:

Guy Wolff for Napa Home and Smith and Hawken

We were recently hired to photograph potter Guy Wolff in his Litchfield studio for Napa Home and Garden and for their submission to the Smith and Hawken catalog.  If you have been in Smith and Hawken, you will probably recognize Guy's beautiful pots.  If you are ever in Litchfield, the studio is worth a stop where you can buy his pots direct.  Here are a few of the pics from a very interesting assignment:

 

Leslie and Warren Published in Wedding Vow Magazine

We are very excited to see one of our favorite pictures from Leslie and Warren's Inn at Longshore wedding get published in Fairfield County's Wedding Vow magazine...yay!

Leslie and Aaron's Maternity Shoot

What fun to shoot Leslie and Aaron during their first baby experience!  We have a lot of experience shooting together now after their engagement and wedding shoots, so I knew Leslie would be up for anything!  My husband always says pregnant women's faces look so beautiful so it's nice to be able to capture that for the, although I was pretty belly focused too!

 

 

Sally's Family Portrait Session on the Lake

What a great location to shoot Sally's family with her husband and two spitfire daughters!  I loved the dock and canoe and the pink fishing pole!  At one and four years old, their expressions change so fast and it makes for great pictures!

Thanks guys!

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":

 
 

AGWPJA Award from Katie and Michael's Wedding in Avon, CT

I submitted this image of Katie's bridesmaids for the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association Spring Contest and just found out it placed 12th for Getting Ready.  Yay! 

Judge's Comments:  1. A little surprise in the lower left corner takes this image beyond a "reflection" photo. Good seeing and sense of timing by the photographer. The soft tones and subtle vignette keep your eye focused on the right side of the frame until your eye is surprised by the face in the smaller mirror.

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!

Kim and John's Family Portrait

What fun shooting Kim and John's family with Mayalin at 3 years old and CJ at almost 7 months!  We did a little bit inside and a little outside at their home:

Kim, thank you so much for contacting me...it was so nice meeting your family and I hope I will see you guys around! 

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!

Max at 11 Months!

What fun to shoot little Max at 11 months old with his parents Julia and Mead!  We found so many great spots in and outside of their home!






Julia's mom, Parnell, joined us and I'm so glad she did!


She noticed Max trying to eat hostas and led us to this shot (and of course I also have some of him trying to eat them!):





Thank you guys!  What a beauty!

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 :) :

Photo in this Week's Time Magazine - May 26, 2008 Issue

Just a quick post to say we're very excited that our Time 100 Gala photo of PepsiCo's Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi is published in this week's Time Magazine ... page 2, lower right.   

The Time 100 Most Influential People Gala in Manhattan

Well it was another amazing year at the Time 100 Gala in NYC  for the Time 100 Most Influential People last Thursday evening.  This is my third year shooting the honorees and their Swarovski award and it is such a privilege to cover this event.  Here are a few highlights....

Robert Downey Jr....my brother saw Iron Man and said it was great:

Lance Armstrong:

The incredibly warm and funny Suze Orman (she did pick up this super heavy award!)  I highly recommend her books and have bought The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke for everyone I know who is leaving college and starting their career!

Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker, the founder of the Susan G. Koman for the Cure organization.  She is the sister of Susan Koman.  What she's done with Race for the Cure is amazing to me.

The lovely Senator John McCain.  His character is just oozing out of him.  I photographed him first in 2006 and it was so interesting to see the change just two years later - everyone cheered when he came in, Secret Service is now with him full time and were there as early (or earlier maybe) as we were:

One of the Swarovski sponsors, Kim, with the Senator:

Thanks so much to James from Access Hollywood for picking up my back-up camera to take a photo of me shooting him.  For those interested in the gear, I shoot this kind of job with my Canon 5D, a 24-70mm, a bracket, my 580 Speedlite flash, and a Canon flash battery on my waist to improve my flash recycle time.  I'm bouncing off the ceiling and Time has already set up two big hot lights on either side of me.  While the honorees eat dinner, I edit the pics on my laptop and provide them to Time and Swarovski that night.  I'm then able to go to the last 1-2 hours of the party which is really nice!:

Herbie Hancock performed at the event:

I  had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote Eat, Pray, Love among many other things as well as her charming father and Uncle Nick (not pictured).  She just gave me her website address and I encourage anyone thinking about writing, or photography for that matter, to read her thoughts on writing...the link is here.  I have often said "why not me".   

Senator George Mitchell and his wife:

Lorne Michaels from SNL - the SNL crew performed a skit that night:

Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy created Guitar Hero for Playstation and more - if you are a mom and haven't heard of this yet...get ready!  My best friend Robin tells me she's the drummer when she plays with her kids!

Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo...incredible woman:

Rupert Murdoch:

The only man who has made me cry I was laughing so hard lately...thank you Judd Apatow for 40-Year Old Virgin!:

Judd, Chris Rock and Gayle King at the party:

Mariah performing:

Great working with these guys year after year and meeting new people.  Hi to Steve and Burl from CNN, James from Access Hollywood, Peter and Talia from Rubenstein, Jamel from wireimage.com, Scott from the Secret Service, and all the Time people (especially Cindy and Greg!),  and of course the wonderful Swarovski sponsors, Kim and Erin.  Here's a few pics pre-event:

Greg Galant from Time Inc who covered the party for Time:

Cindy Murphy from Time and Bill Shauck, the hit of the night!:

Kim and Erin from Swarovski:

I'll end on just a couple of personal notes about NY - a city that I'm utterly in love with, partly because lovely unexpected things always happen there.  Post-party I'm piled in a cab with a bunch of Time people headed back to the hotel for the after-party and I sneeze like 8 times in a row.  Everyone says bless-you but I hear a "bless you" from outside the cab -- I stick my head out and it's the cab driver in the cab next to us as we are stopped at a light.  Then I take a bus home to Hartford and at the end (11 pm Friday night), the driver comes on and says in a very soft voice "I just want to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day...and if you are not a mother I still want to say that to all the women because you are all our mothers - the mothers of earth"...and the bus clapped and it was a very sweet moment.