Album Design

I have been having so much fun designing albums the past few weeks which is really crazy because I used to cringe even thinking about it. I think it was something along the line of 'writer's block', it can be overwhelming to decide the images, the design, what to keep, what not to include, wondering what the couple will like vs. what you like...whew! But then one of my brides told me to pick the images because she couldn't decide and when I was done, she loved it, no changes!! Oh yeah!!! Love that!! So I had a sample album delivered today and now have uploaded another, and another... this could get addicting! :)

So much going on!

I haven't blogged in a while, I know. So I'm going to get started again now, but so much going on I'm not sure where to start!!! First a big thank you to all those who sent me get well wishes, now 'all better' and getting caught up. Well, if there is such a thing!!

We shot a really wonderful wedding on Valentine's Day this year, is that romantic or what?? I'll blog more about the wedding shortly, but right now I'm putting together a small 'mom' album so that my bride's mother can take some photographs back home to Europe from her daughter's wedding. I found out that European weddings are somewhat different from American weddings, so I want to learn more about those difference and other cultures too. (It's on my to do list)

More posts to come... more news... a great season ahead... very cool stuff. :)

Just loving Monday!!

~Valeen

Best Wedding Venues in Connecticut

I went through some of the weddings that we have already booked so far this year and it's going to be a blast! Lots of places we've already worked, and a couple of new ones too. I'm totally psyched and can't wait! So anyone looking for awesome places to have their wedding and/or reception, check out these gorgeous venues. Gotta love it!! :)

Mystic Seaport and the Seamen's Inne, Mystic, CT

The Water's Edge, Westbrook, CT

St. Clements Castle, Portland, CT

Fisher's Island, NY

Lake of Isles, North Stonington, CT

Saybrook Point Inn, Old Saybrook, CT

Ski Sundown, New Hartford, CT

Harkness Mansion, Waterford, CT

Branford House, Avery Point, Groton, CT

Quidnessett Country Club, N. Kingstown, RI

Lord Thompson Manor, Thompson, CT

Tunxis Plantation, Farmington, CT

These are some of my favorite places for so many reasons besides the fact that they are all absolutely gorgeous! Like maybe the food is fabulous too?? Right Jeremy?

There are more places and vendors that I love to work with so I decided that I'll be adding a page on the website to help you with your plans. If anyone has suggestions and a good referral, let me know, ok?

Happy Planning!

~ Valeen Thivierge

Monday thoughts...

Love does not make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

~ Franklin P Jones

Memorial Day

We have had THE absolute best weekend! Two amazing weddings with great couples and families and I know you guys must get sick of hearing us say it but we really do love what we do!

We have some amazing photographs to share with you over the next few days from both weddings and I am totally stoked to get them posted so stay tuned!

In the meantime, have a wonderful Memorial Day and please please PLEASE it doesn't matter what any of us think about politics or war or ANY OF THAT STUFF all that matters is that if you have the opportunity to do so, please say thank you to a Veteran or an active duty service member for what they do for us. We don't ask you for much here at TSD, so help us out with this one ok? Cool!

We shot at the Seaport in Mystic today, what a place to be on Memorial Day weekend! Love this flag shot. Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

-Bruce

Mary and Martin

I had simply the BEST wedding on Saturday!! If this is any indication of how the season is going to be, bring it on! :) Mary and Martin are two of the sweetest, nicest, happiest people I've ever met, it was my pleasure to at their wedding. The Seamen's Inne in Mystic was picture perfect and the weather held out too... ok, maybe a bit of wind but it was still great. Here's a little preview to show you just how awesome it was!

So tell me something, do you think she's is excited about getting married??

One of my favorites! Does it get any better than this?





The dance floor was never empty and I know everyone had a fabulous time. (I love the fisheye effect on this shot)



All the best to you and talk to you soon!!

~Valeen

Destination Weddings

It's funny when you say that, your mind instantly goes to the beaches of the Carribean or Hawaii, right? But Mystic has actually become a destination wedding site, especially for those in love with history and magic of old New Engand. I've done several weddings over the past few years where the couple has never even been to Connecticut and they've gotten married here. I think that is so cool! I met with a couple today that had booked me a few months ago from Ohio! They are getting married here at the Mystic Seaport this summer and came to visit for the week and to take care of a few more details, so it was great to meet them in person. The season is looking absolutely awesome and on a perfect day like today, I just can't wait to get outside and shoot some brides (and grooms!). LOL

Seamen's Inne Tasting Event Photos

The photos for the Tasting Event we did at the Seamen's Inne are finally available. For those of you that attended and took a card with the link on it, that link now works. If you didn't get a card you can click here.

My apologies for the delay, we experienced some technical glitches (read that OPERATOR ERROR) that made me think the gallery was ready days ago when in fact it wasn't. I am a dope. I take all the blame. I need to take a remedial reading class...

Anyway, if you pre-registered you should find a coupon in your email for a discount on prints. Additionally there is a special 2 for 1 deal on prints until March 5th.

So there ya go! Sorry for the delay :(

Bruce

Seamen's Inne Tasting

Well we had a great time today in Mystic! It was awesome to see many of our couples and meet some new ones while we were there too! What a blast!

The Seamen's Inne does such a great job and takes great care to make sure everything goes perfectly (and it always does!). And just a quick shout-out to a couple of the other vendors that were there:

Charlene Lindquist, aka The Cake Lady was there with some many different cakes samples, each one better than the rest. Our favorite? Creamsicle! YUM! Her work is incredible as you can tell by some of the pics. And just so you know, Charlene is extremely busy and yet has NO website, so that should tell you something right there! If you want to get in touch, give her a call at 860/437-8666 and she'll take good care of you but I suggest you hurry because she books quickly!

Also wanted to mention McQuades Marketplace in Mystic who supplied all of the flowers and centerpieces you saw today. Gorgeous!

And special thanks to all the couples that braved the cold today and let us take their pictures! ;) I hope you got a sense for how we do our portrait and formal sessions, quick and painless right? See the results below ;)

I wanted to post just a few pics from today, the rest will be up in the online gallery in a few days. Enjoy and thanks again everyone!

-Bruce

 

 

Off To Work

Well we call it work but it's gonna be a BLAST! We're headed to the Seamen's Inne today for the tasting event for couples that have booked there for the 2008 season and we can't wait! We'll be chit-chatting with everyone, have some stuff to hand out, oh AND we'll have a sample of one of our brand-spankin' new products, CANVAS PRINTS! (Think "upscale, trendy, your-picture-printed-on-canvas and mounted-to-a-wooden-frame, ready to hang in an art gallery" kinda cool!) More on that later this week :)

If you're one of our Seamen's Inne couples that have already booked, please be sure to stop by and say hello! Also, we're taking pictures today too so let's have some fun and do a little mini-photo shoot! We'll put the pics up in an online gallery in a couple days for everyone to see and order prints if you want to. No pressure of course, we're mainly doing this because we thought it would be FUN!

See ya there!

-Bruce

Kimberly and David - by Bruce

Kimberly and David were married on September 8, 2007 and Val and I were anxious to add another wedding to our Seaman's Inne collection! A gorgeous location, a gorgeous couple, perfect late summer weather AND Val and I get to shoot it together which we all know by now is the BEST!! With a recipe like that, we're sure to serve up some tasty pics ;)

So here we go!
*********************

I was able to get some shots of the guys before the ceremony and this was my favorite...



Tucked in among the trees at the Mystic Seaport is the Greenmanville Church. The perfect spot for a wedding ceremony!











Did I mention the horse-drawn carriage? It just keeps getting better! ;)





After the ceremony and some formal shots, we were able to head out into the Seaport to have fun with Kimberly and David. There are so many great spots for pictures out there, it's almost overwhelming! The only drawback is Val and I never seem to have enough time to do everything we want to do. Have a look:













Kimberly and David, thanks so much to both of you, we had a blast! All the best!

-Bruce

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

...but who cares? Not Sherrie and David! The oppressive heat and humidity finally broke and just poured rain all day on Friday. So the ceremony was still on the North Lawn at the Seamen's Inn, it just got moved inside a tent, the groom bought lots of umbrellas for the guests and it was still perfect! Who says you can't still get great pictures in the rain?



I was humming "Singing in the Rain" when I shot this.....



Samantha, Ian and Jordan



A Peartini? Hmmmm.... I'm going to have to try that!





An awesome couple and family... thanks for letting me be part of your day!

~Val

A quick post!

I had a beautiful wedding last night in Mystic and we are heading out now to shoot in Vernon and New Haven today, I promise to catch up on some of the weddings from the past couple weeks... but for now, this was from last night... the Mystic River. If you want it for your desktop, send me a note and I'll send you the file! :-)

Jen and Jordan

I had a wedding in Mystic this past weekend and it was awesome! Isn't it crazy that we had that terrible storm last week and it even snowed and Saturday it was like Spring finally arrived, and everyone was enjoying it! There were a lot of people at the Seaport which just adds to the fun, especially when the bride and groom came through in their carriage, everyone just applauded and yelled their congratulations! What fun!!




Shared moments...



Jordan was a riot! The first time anyone has actually climbed up on those pilings, and that was before the ceremony!



I told the guys I wanted 'attitude'... they gave it to me!



The sweetest couple!



This one is for you Jen...



What an awesome smile!



The beautiful bride....



Thanks for letting me part of your wedding, everything was perfect! I'll see you soon!

~ Val
www.thesweetestdays.com