One thing I love about photography is getting to experience situations and see portions of other people's lives and careers that I wouldn't normally get to see.  Recently, I had the pleasure of shooting Connecticut State Representative Andy Flesichmann's 2008 campaign photos, including portraits and candids at a recent political meeting in West Hartford. 

Andy is the State Representative for the 18th District in Connecticut and is serving his seventh term in the House.  Andy serves as Chairman of the Education Committee, Chairman of
the Appropriations Subcommittee for Elementary and Secondary Education,
and is a member of the Joint Committee on Government Administration
& Elections.  You can learn more about his campaign here.

 I just did a dream commercial job a few weeks ago, being hired by Swarovski to document the reinstallation of their Sputnik chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.  They had all the crystals refurbished for the upcoming 50th anniversary of Lincoln Center.  I got the opportunity to shoot the entire  four-day installation and felt I was documenting a piece of history in a city I love!

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!

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:

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:

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.

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'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!

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…

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!!!