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?

Bombay Dreams

This will be the most pictures I have ever put onto the blog at one time . . . I'm sure most of you won't mind scrolling down. How could you? Do you see the colors, the emotion, the joy, the fun we had shooting Navina and Kyle?

What an adorable couple these two were. In her own words, by the end of the evening she said, and I quote "I had people coming up to me after the wedding commenting about how hardworking, professional, nice, and funny the four of you were." Four you ask? Yes, it took a team of us to cover all the goings on at the wedding! We certainly had plenty of photographic opportunities with all the people and rituals and food, oh the food! Well, suffice to say, if you love Indian food then you too would have been in culinary heaven. Savory spices and mouth watering sauces were available in abundance as was the amazing beats that played whilst we danced around the crowd pushing the boundaries of our creatively mezmorized minds.