Ahh, the holidays. Nothin' like it. The sound of screaming goblins. The smell of decomposing zombies. And my daughter son with a wig on. Yep.
Anyway, I'll get over my failure at parenting and my first-born's cross-dressing tendencies, no worries, but in the meantime enjoy some scenes from Portland this evening...
-Bruce
I went to get some stuff at AC Moore yesterday for the bridal show at the Seamen's Inne on Sunday (12-4 in Mystic!) And although they didn't have what I wanted (which of course seems to always be the case when I wait till the last minute) I did find this amazing magazine I've never seen before and I've just checked out the website too. OMG! It's fabulous!! I can't take the time to look into everything right now because I'm trying to finish editing a wedding, but check it out if you can, you'll love it.
Anyone want to guess where I'm going when the season is over? Okay, here's a clue...
A big thank you to my friend Marilyn for thinking of me, we are going to have a great time, can't wait!!
A little while ago I shot a fabulous wedding at the Branford House at Avery Point. Actually, that is my summer home and I just let people use it for parties and weddings. (Yeah, right, I wish!) Anyhow, the place is fabulous and if you haven't seen it, you really need to go take a look, it's now owned by the State of CT so the grounds are open, I'm not sure about the mansion itself, but worth the trip anyhow just for the incredible view of the sound.
Here's a photo of Joanne, she actually lives in Idaho but came out here to get married and what a great wedding it was! I'll have more on it soon, but I had to post this shot, right out of the camera, no editing whatsoever... the light was super yummy that day!!
We had a little party for the wee ones Saturday which really got me in the spirit of the holiday! What fun! It's not just the kids that love dressing up though, my niece's were awesome too! Here's a pic of me with Erin, you might recognize here from our website, but then again, maybe not! lol Check out her slide show to see how she looked a year ago, actually yesterday was their one year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time goes by.
I kept it kinda low keyed, but now I know I have to do it up right! I need more makeup! Black lip liner, glitter for my eyes... a wig perhaps??? I have to get to the Halloween store before Friday!!
Valeen
The Seamen's Inne in Mystic is holding it's first Bridal Show on Sunday from 12-4 and we will be there so stop in and see us, we'd love to talk to you about your plans! We'll have a show special and we're giving away a cool door prize too, so make sure you enter that as well! :) See ya there!
It was a pretty exciting morning here in Portland! Chris Serra, a gym teacher for Brownstone Intermediate School (5th and 6th graders) returned to work after an extended recovery period due to a car accident 3 months ago.
Staff, students, friends, and even his parents all got together to make sure his return was a memorable one. The kids were lined all along Main Street as he arrived in a limo, then they all followed him into the gym where they had hung tons of cards and letters and pictures. It was quite a scene! Here is a link to a story on the Hartford Courant along with some video. And another link to Melissa Pionzio's iTowns report here.
Chris is a great teacher and very popular with the kids so they were VERY happy to see him come back!
And making a cameo in the video is one of TSD's newest assistant photographers! Kate is a friend of Chris' and she was on hand to take a few pics (see below) this morning. Cool, huh?
Congratulations and welcome back Chris!!
-Bruce
With only a few days left till Halloween, I want to share some shots with you to get you in the spirit of things! (get it? spirits? lol) This one was sent to me by my favorite blog stalker, recent bride, new assistant photographer and super wonderful person, Kasey! This was at the Garden Barn in Vernon, CT which is a great place! Check out the slide show for Jaime and Patrick, we did some shots there before the wedding and it was great! Anyhow, amazing how they put so much time and energy into what they do and we just love it! Oh course Kasey had to send me one that suits The Sweetest Days theme. Don't ya just love it?
Oh, and check out the slide show on the website for Kasey and Jeremy , too!
Kate and I shot Kendra and Clint's wedding back on September 6th at the Eolia Mansion at Harkness Park. Despite the total monsoon that was blowing through the area, it was a wonderful evening. The Mansion is such a great place to shoot, one of my favorites! Kendra and Clint were so nice and the terrible weather seemed to have everyone in that typical "hunker down and roll with it" New Englander attitude ;) The party, after all, must go on!
Kendra was stunning...
Here is the link to your slideshow. And for friends and family here is the link to order pics from your online gallery on Pictage. If the link doesn't work when you click on it, please copy and paste this address into your browser:
http://www.pictage.com/423101
Thanks for a wonderful evening! All the best to you guys!
-Bruce
Can you believe I missed a golden opportunity yesterday on my post?? Kermit??? It should have been.... A Blog about a Frog. Right?? I missed an awesome title, oh well. LOL
Anyhow, we are all heading out to shoot a wedding today with the reception at Harkness in Waterford and I'm really looking forward to it. Our bride, Beth, works at a farm taking care of the horses and they will be there for the reception. How cool is that? I just love it when the animals come to the wedding, after all...they are part of the family too. :)
And I'm trying real hard to get a new slide show posted today before I go, wish me luck!
There were pumpkin guts flying all around my house tonite. One even lost an eye. I think he was playing with a Red Rider BB gun. Gruesome...
Apparently there is a little frog that lives at Eolia Mansion at Harkness Park in Waterford (hey, nice address!) and he had a special meaning for one of our couples who recently got married there. So when you watch the slide show for Kendra and Clinton, you'll know why the little froggy is there. :)
Okay, I tried for 10 days and made it a week... so I'm going to try again! I've just been crazy busy trying to finish editing the weddings we have been having so much fun at... as you can tell here! Me shooting Bruce shooting the groom (Jeremy) who's riding his bike (downhill mountain biker) on a golf course and almost, but not quite into the pond, and I think there was a bird involved there somewhere too! Awesome fun couple and we had a blast, the photos are almost done, so watch for the slide show coming soon! ;)
Ok well it's the wrong kind of ball, but hey what can I say? I guess that would explain why I'm sitting on the sidelines with a camera instead of coaching! Which is a nice change of pace, believe me!
Just a few pics from this morning's soccer extravaganza here in Portland, enjoy!
-Bruce
Ok, ok, I know Val and I have talked about our dress code probably a little too often on this blog. We like to blend in. It's the "unobtrusive" part of what we do. So we wear black and we joke about our ninja suits.
Did you ever have a friend that just takes everything a little bit too literally? Yeah, you know, that friend...
World meet Kasey, Kasey meet world. More about her later too ;)
-Bruce
Everyone needs a laugh right about now, check out some of the wedding stories that people submitted to "the knot", click here to read them. I do have to wonder how much to believe is true, but what the heck, it's some crazy stuff!
We've all seen the traditional bridal workouts offered for getting "in shape" for the big day, but I've come across something that is truly different. How about learning Swordsmanship? How cool is that! It's an intense aerobic workout using a wooden sword with lots of focus on core and upper body too. Send me a note if you want to know where the classes are!!
I have bragging rights.
Not once, in all the years that I've been shooting weddings have I ever had a Bridezilla. Not kidding. Not one. Ever. So when I thought about this post, I tried to find a cool picture of 'Bridezilla" and I couldn't even find that. :)
But I did find lots of stuff about the show, which I've never watched... I don't think I want to... and this hysterical picture of an actual wedding cake that someone had. (Oh, and I will say it wasn't one of my brides that had it either!!)
I set a goal that I would blog every day for 10 days.... I made it a week, I think... and then there was the weekend, and shooting a wonderful wedding and then I didn't get back to it for a couple days...you know how it is, but I'm going to try again! Wish me luck!
Thank you so much for letting me be part of your beautiful day... talk to you soon... V
Last weekend Joan and Ron got married, they came all the way from Texas! Such a great couple and honestly, Joan could not have cared less what the weather was like. But it did rain and we really wanted to try and get some outside shots at the Mystic Seaport. So in the rain and in the dark, juggling umbrellas and watching for puddles, off we went! Here's one shot that I really like, even though I've played with it a little (gotta love Photoshop for something like this). :)
Tomorrow I have the privilege of photographing my friend's daughter's wedding at Connecticut College! Her mom and I have been friends for a long time and is the events planner at the college, so cool! This is going to be such fun! Oh, I should add that my daughter is an alumni of the school and got married there a few years ago too, it's such a gorgeous campus and Harkness Chapel is one of my favorite places. Okay, gotta get the gear ready! :)
And before I forget.... no, that's not Bruce, although everyone is writing and asking if it is! Do you really think he would have frogs on his monitor?? LOL Another game tonight! GO SOX!!
We had so much fun with Karen and Paul, right in the middle of shooting their photos at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, the ice cream truck came by....ooooh, photo op and ice cream too!! Yummy!!
And he shares it too!!
Bruce was doing some work around the house and came down with the worst case of poison ivy ever! So no picture on this post, obviously... but send him some love if ya can!
I've been editing another gorgeous wedding and will have a new slide show posted soon but I came across this photo and I remember taking it because I thought it was just the coolest thing! I don't know about you, but I've got a fountain like this, that is loaded with sentimental value, but I can't see running it and I don't want to pack it away either. This was just an awesome idea and thought I'd share it with you!
