Aaron + Elyse = FuN

Before I had met Aaron I had heard much about him from my very good friend Elyse however nothing could prepare me for the copious amounts of fun he brought to the table the day we did their engagement shoot in Central Park, NYC. He made me laugh so many times it was nearly impossible to concentrate on "maintaining a romantic mood", lol. Actually they both provided my lense with a lot of great moments . . . so without further ado . . .

oh and there's a music video too . . . surprise :-)

And this makes it even sweeter!

The Perry Family Music Video

Over the weekend we had a party for my friends the Perry's and we surprised them with this video. A few days before the party we did a portrait session to capture Melissa's belly before she gives birth to her first son. So enjoy the show!

Sunil + Toral.....The Video :)

Shoes Anyone? | Fort Totten, NY

Have you ever seen the movie UP? That question was posed to me a few days before Mary and Frank promised to be each others love forever. Mary wrote me a beautiful e-mail in response to my question of what feeling she wished me to capture on her wedding day. This is some of what she wrote me . . .

"I saw "UP" tonight and as silly as it may sound, it totally made me realize how awesome life really is and why I want to be alive. On Saturday, I want you to capture love. I want you to try and capture a pure love. My flower girls are my babies I love them all and I want lots of shots with them and I want you to capture the innocence of them as well and the connection and bond that Frank and I have for each other. I asked God for someone who has what I need and who needs what I have and Frank has been all of that and more. I am convinced that God has brought us together for so many reasons and I want you to capture friendship and silliness and intensity. Frank is my best friend and my true love."

Mary epitomizes the character Ellie in UP. They both possess the amazing energy and passion for life and all things in it. To give you an idea of the excitement of Frank and Mary's world, after their ceremony she walked up to me with the biggest smile and asked if I minded we stop by a store called Love My Shoes (on our way to the reception at Fort Totten) so she could pick up a pair of flats because her feet were hurting in her high heels. I heartily laughed and said as long as I was permitted to trail behind her with my camera in this adventure I will go anywhere with her! So check out a few of the images we captured along the way, a fly on Mary and Franks wall!

Yes, Mary is just a wee bit taller than her flower girls! She's a cutie petutie!

Here is our Love My Shoes Excursion! The customers in the store did not think this was for real!

Everyone in Frank and Mary's wedding were willing participants for a good time! That is her father in the left image on the far right...he was so awesome!

Toral & Sunil | Addison Park, New Jersey

Unbeknownst to a beautiful woman named Toral, who flew to India to be with family, she met the love of her life. He is tender. He has a quiet strength about him. He knows what he wants and he makes sure he gets it but never demandingly so. His name is Sunil. She is sweet. She has a deep respect for him and it flows from her eyes to the fingertips she gently touches his face as she softly kisses him. They are beautiful together. They are truly happy. They are Toral and Sunil.

Baby Portraits

This is Tanner whom we photographed over the summer at the beach. About two weeks ago we took him and his parents up to Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York and photographed them again. We had a lot of fun in the autumn leaves which were so beautiful. Tanner loved all the new things he saw around him, but he especially loved Scott. Everywhere Scott went Tanner followed with his eyes. It was hysterically cute!

Jay + Lauren = F u N !

So for those of you who are just dying to see what Jay & Lauren look like, you know you do, here they are. Who is Jay and Lauren you may be wondering? Why they are the amazingly awesome couple I spoke about just below this blog entry, you know, the ones who wrote such sweet things about Scott and I :-) So a few weeks back Scott and I decided last minute to go to this street fair in Brooklyn called the Atlantic Antic which is an annual extravaganza of food, art and interesting peeps. We invited Lauren and Jay and they happily joined us, gladly dumping their daunting task of writing thank you cards. It was a perfect and still evening as we strolled on the promenade in Brooklyn Heights waterfront and along the way we happened to stumble across some fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge and South Street Seaport. Jay jokingly said if he knew ahead of time it would have been this perfect of an evening, he would have proposed to Lauren that night on the promenade. It's ok Jay, I'm pretty sure Lauren likes the original version, lol! In conclusion, now y'all have met the sweet faces behind those sweet words below = )

W O W ! ! ! This is A MA Z I N G !!!

Last night Scott and I hung out with a sweet, trendy, artistic couple named Jay & Lauren to chat about their wedding which will be at Spring Lake, NJ on the beach next June . . . Amazing - we can't wait! Our personalities clicked right away and I could tell my girl Lauren and I would get along perfectly. It's funny how every time I meet a new bride they always seem to reflect some aspect of my own multiple personality, LOL - last night she was my Rock Star Side ;-)

Anyways, we had so much fun and there wasn't even any alcohol involved! They left our studio with such enthusiasm about our art and how happy they are for Scott and I to be able to photograph their wedding, but then it got even more fantastic! This morning I awoke to the most unbelievable e-mail I've ever received and I thought I'd share it with the world - in fact I may even just frame it on my wall because this is what I want to make every person we ever meet feel! Here is the magic they wrote . . .

"Hey Catherine,

Lauren and I just wanted to thank you and Scott again for taking the time last night. We were in love with both of your guy's work just from what we had seen, but left last night completely blown away after getting to meet the two of you. The work you both do, as well as all of the effort behind it is fantastic.

We are so excited to have you guys a part of our wedding. Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you again on Friday.

Jay and Lauren"

Thank you Jay & Lauren - I struggle to put into words how genuinely excited & honored I feel to be to be spending time with the both of you and to capture your amazing wedding!

Engagement Shoot in Fort Totten, NY

This coming November we will be photographing Frank & Mary's wedding at Fort Totten, NY. But before that happens, we did an Engagement Shoot there just before the sun set. The weather was perfect and of course they are such an awesome couple because they are fun and laid back and love to have fun. They were so easy to capture because they truly love each other and their comfort level was enormous! We had a blast by the Throgs Neck Bridge and we even "borrowed" an old lady's double bicycle for a photo opp...how could I resist a rickety red vintage bicycle? It was awesome!

Providence | Rhode Island

Last week my husband Scott surprised me with a trip to Providence, Rhode Island and then Cape Cod, Massachusetts to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. We left on a Saturday afternoon and arrived in Providence with a voracious appetite deciding to stop into Ruth Chris Steakhouse for some, you guessed it, steak (sorry to disappoint my vegetarian readers). It was amazing, needless to say, and as I sipped on my Orange Citrus Mojito I noticed along the river banks I was looking out onto fires being lit and learned that we happened to catch the WaterFire event. After dinner, we walked along the riverbank, taking in my favorite scent of burning wood and watching the many hundreds of people walking along the oil lantern lit paths and listening to live opera, we were transported into a different time and felt as if we slipped back into the early 19th century. I noticed a young couple embracing under a tree and I was so moved by their illuminated silhouettes that I couldn't help but take their picture happening to catch it at the perfect moment the gondola drifted peacefully by. It was an amazing evening.

Baby Portraits | New Jersey

About a month ago I was hanging out with my friend Jason and his wife Emily, who happened to be the first bride and groom I've photographed... in their beautifully lush backyard of Pompton Lakes for a summer afternoon barbecue. The air was heavy and sweet with a smokey yet honeysuckle like scent that only summer could bring to ones olfactory senses. There were lots of people there and so as usual I drift off into my own world with camera in hand ready to capture anything that may catch my visual imagination. Then she appeared in front of me, a vision of beauty with her crystal blue green eyes which made me think of my trip on the Mediterranean Sea some years back and put me in a trance causing me to follow her wherever she willed. Her name is Milan and these are but a few glimpses of what I caught.

Come to me, my love . . . Sevgilim, bana dön. | Prallsville Mills, Stockton, NJ

The Turkish language is, in my humble opinion, a beautifully spoken and romantic sound. Before Alp and Aydan's wedding I had not really been exposed to it much, however, that day certainly made up for lost time!

The day was steamy, dripping with water droplets that seemed to float in midair, probably the hottest of the year and yet that seemed to barely effect anyone because the beauty of Aydan in her wedding gown took everyone's breath away. With a rustic feel and vintage backdrop of an old water mill, they wed at Prallsville Mills in Stockton, NJ which sits alongside the Delaware River. Here are but a few of our favorite images captured that lovely day.

Portrait of a Lady

A few years ago a sweet young girl walked into my piano studio eager to learn to play piano. Every week I was always touched by her meek and humble countenance and I often thought in the back of my mind how beautiful she was not only on the outside but on the inside . . . a lesson my mother always ingrained in me which was the most important quality anyone could achieve.

Well, eventually Elizabeth had to discontinue her piano lessons and I had on occasion wondered what ever became of her. My answer came in a surprise phone call from her mom who had asked if I could do a portrait session of Elizabeth. She wanted to surprise her daughter for her Sweet 16 and knew Elizabeth would be extra excited once she saw me pull up in my Mini Convertible with camera in hand ready to do a Diva Session :-) And boy was she right! Despite the many mosquitos out that night - Elizabeth was a such a pro and one would never guess that during the session we were getting eaten alive! Oh, what we do for beauty . . . Check out some of the amazing images we captured on that warm, sorta-kinda-humid evening.

Family Portrait Session

This Monday I had the privilege of photographing the most beautiful little 9 month old boy named Tanner along with his mom and dad. It was a perfect sunny day at Point Pleasant, NJ and we walked along the boardwalk randomly catching glimpses of a typical summer day. I hope you all love the images as much as his mom and dad do, and of course me too! :-)

SOHO Wedding | NY Wedding Photographers

This is the wedding that kicked off our season this year! We couldn't have asked for better weather or people on May 18, 2009. What an honor it was to share the joy, happiness, & beauty of this day with Mary + John! The day began at the Soho Grand Hotel (www.sohogrand.com) , NY's premiere boutique hotel, it was here that Mary + John first saw each other on their wedding day, and from there we took a bus tour of lower Manhattan jumping out and capturing beautiful images along the way....Here is a little taste! More to come on our website : www.dove-photography.com ........So stay tuned!

Love at Lake Champion

Lake Champion . . . where is that you ask? It is the most amazing, beautiful and diverse area of Upstate, New York where you must drive through winding mountainous roads that seem to only appear in BMW commercials. There is where a very artistic couple named Shawn and Sarah wed. Here are a few shots of our perfectly sunny day complete with a sparkling exit!

Gerry + Miia

On Saturday, May 23, 2009 a gentle Scottish soul named Gerry married a beautiful and vivacious Swede named Miia! And what a gorgeous pair they make! We had sooooo much fun taking pictures all over town. Miia was really up for anything and she and Gerry really did do anything I told them, which is amazingly awesome for any photographer with imagination! I think they were just so happy to finally be together and married after a long distance relationship conducted mostly over Skype! Can't you just hear the softly sung words of Napoleon Dynamite's older brother Kip . . . "I love technology, but not as much as you, you see." Ha, ha, ha, I crack myself up. Anyways, here are a few sneak peaks at what we captured!

Yes, it's true, that is rain, and she totally loved it!

How many brides do you know will kick around a soccer ball before their reception?