Posted by: ROB & KATHLEEN View More: DESTINATIONS & TRAVEL So after giving you a quick sample of some of our shots from California (many more to come, including Saryn & Dave's engagement session!), here are our shots from our little photo adventure out into desert to a Nevada ghost town. Sounds a bit random, doesn't it? How did we end up there? Well, really it's a simple answer. When Rob has an idea to do something he goes full-force. His philosophy is that if you want something bad enough you find a way to make it happen. (One of the many, many things I love about him.) And Rob wanted to shoot in the desert. Finding the town to go was the product of some very successful networking with a great group of people. On our second night in Vegas we got together with our fabulous friends from Collages.net for dinner, drinks and tons of discussions. The dinner was hosted by Collages.net CEO Kevin Casey, COO Norm Racine, Director of Marketing Deirdre Ruttle & Marketing Manager Abbey Saloiye. Like all get-togethers with Collages.net - there was plenty of food (usually Italian - Kevin's favorite) and lots of laughs. Gathered at the dinner were some incredible photographers (and fellow Collages users) from all across the country - Nick & Liz Corona from Corona, California, Pete Wright from Richmond, Virginia, Dustin & Sophia Meyer and Ross & Kammi Bothwell from Denver, Colorado. One of our favorite parts of attending conferences like these is getting to talk and connect with fellow photographers. And this dinner was especially significant because Collages always seems to bring together like-minded photographers that are energetic, focused and excited to build their own businesses and helping fellow photographers along the way. We talked about photography, the wedding industry and our ever-expanding C.L.A.S.S. groups. (Expect to see many more C.L.A.S.S. groups popping up throughout the country. If you're interested in starting one in your own area - let us know!) During the dinner, Pete mentioned to us that he had spent the afternoon doing a session out in a Ghost Town about an hour outside of Vegas. Rob's ears immediately perked up - he has been wanting to venture outside of the city just about every year we have been to WPPI. (A year or two ago he was this close to talking me into taking a trip out to see the Hoover Dam, but I was exhausted and decided instead to take an incredibly long nap. Clearly not the best decision as we have yet to see the Hoover Dam. There you have it - I have admitted Rob was right about something - in writing, on the blog. I think that earns total bonus points.) So as much we enjoy our time in Vegas, we have been intrigued by the mountains and desert surrounding it and dying to see what's beyond the strip. Dustin & Sophia were equally as interested and within just a few minutes it was all set. The four of us met the next morning, grabbed a rental car and after a quick stop at In-and-Out, we hit on the road. To say it was a bit of a departure from driving in the Northeast is quite an understatement. You just don't see roads like these in this part of the country - long, flat, straight stretches of highway that pretty much had to be the inspiration for the movie Cars. But thanks to the wonders of iPhones, GPS, and Dustin's navigation skills we found our way to the ghost town. That, too, seemed like a real-life version of Cars - old, broken-down vehicles, abandoned buildings and barns, and even a crashed airplane that was part of a movie production. It was one of those places you probably saw pictures of before, but never really thought you'd see it in person one day. We were joking on the way out that this is how most horror movies start - an innocent drive out into the middle of nowhere, never to be seen again!! But once we meet the sweet couple that ran the town, our minds were put at ease. (And we stuck together...just in case). We probably could have spent the entire day in this area taking shots of the cool buildings and surrounding landscapes. The day trip was exactly what we needed - time to get to know Dustin & Sophia even better, to shoot just for fun (something we love to do), and time to clear our heads and recharge so we could take in even more back in Vegas. Plus, now we have some awesome shots to display in our kitchen!

Posted by: ROB View More: DESTINATIONS & TRAVEL As photographers we photograph primarily people. Whether it is a wedding day, engagement session, a birth or simply a headshot it is people that fill our frames. When we are not photographing people we love to photograph landscapes, nature and objects. We arrived to California last week after a long flight across the country, picked up our rental car and sat in traffic on the 405 for quite a while. After all it was nearly 5pm on a Friday, what else did we expect. We had made a reservation to one of our favorite restaruants; Dukes in Malibu (which we highly recommend for both the food and the view!). Since we knew we would be in traffic we made the reservation for much later in the evening. As we made our way onto the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, I was really itching to photograph something and since we had the time, it quickly became a goal of mine. It was a gorgeous day and we were both a little restless from the day of traveling. At the first opportunity we could, we went across the highway and turned onto Santa Monica Beach. It was a great way for us to escape the traffic and breath in the salt air - which to me is incredibly relaxing. I grabbed one of our cameras out of the case and threw on a lens. Since we are always trying to better ourselves I thought it would be fun to photograph some landscapes with a lens that I would not normally grab for in this particular instance. I chose the 70-200 f/2.8 and headed out onto the beach for have some fun. I absolutely LOVE black and white photographs so I decided to share all of these images with you in just black and white. The first 4 images are from the day we arrived, the last 4 are from the day after. Hope you enjoy!

Posted by: ROB View More: DESTINATIONS & TRAVEL As many of you all know we were away for about a week. We had a destination engagement session with one of our amazing couples, Saryn & David out in Santa Monica, CA. Just WAIT until you see their session. Kathleen and I actually photographed it as a 2-part session starting first with a night shoot on the Santa Monica Pier followed by an early morning shoot the next day on the Venice Canals and at Venice Beach. Seriously they are a fantastic couple and we simply can't wait to share with you some of their images! After spending a couple of days in Southern California, we took a short flight into Las Vegas to catch up with a ton of photographers from all over the world for the annual WPPI Conference. It was really great to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and just enjoy all of the energy that is created when 11 thousand plus photographers get together all in one place. Kathleen and I were also SO excited to find out that an image of ours from Dagney & Michael's Wedding placed in the WPPI 16x20 Print Competition! On the day before we left, Kathleen and I along with our friends Dustin and Sophia from Dustin Meyer Photography in Austin, Texas decided to rent a car to get out of the city for a little while. We drove about an hour outside of Vegas, down a road that almost didn't exist to a ghost town deep into the mountains for a little photo adventure. We will be putting together an entire post about this place (because it is just that cool) but just had to share a quick image that I found as we were uploading everything that we shot. The ghost town was filled with so many things; old buildings, cars, gas stations, a plane and plenty of weird things... all things that make up a photographers dream. Not to mention that it was insanely beautiful up in the mountains and the views were breathtaking. It was the perfect way to get away from the hustle and bustle of Vegas. We hope that you all have been enjoying your week! If you are a new engaged couple and don't yet have photographers for your wedding, be sure to give us a call or send us an e-mail. 2011 is starting to schedule vert quickly. If you are a 2010 couple, our amazing associate Sue still has some dates available. We too are have opened up a few dates, so contact us soon! Be sure to check our blog often, we have plenty of great things coming up, but for now enjoy this image from our ghost town trip.

Posted by: ROB & KATHLEEN View More: WEDDINGS Some people spend their entire lives looking for that one person. The person that would understand you, laugh at your jokes and appreciate all those little quirks that make you "you." It's a tall order. The lucky ones find that person. The REALLY lucky ones, well they find that person early on in life and start an adventure together that they know will last a lifetime. Ally and Jason are two of the really lucky ones. They met while they were in college and even though they were young at the time, they were wise enough to realize that what they had found in one another was something really special. From the moment you see them together, you know there is no doubt that they are supposed to be a couple. They just fit together. Not only do they make each other smile, they also make each other stronger. The morning of their wedding both Ally & Jason had a fair bit of nerves (like most people do) and opted for a "first look" before the ceremony. Ally had been getting ready in the bridal suite of the Society Room and when we told her that the time had arrived for her to go see Jason, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was much the same for him. From the moment that Jason heard Ally's heels approaching as she came up to meet him, he relaxed. When she put her hand on his shoulder, Jason turned, smiled, and took her hand so he could spin her around to admire her dress. Ally laughed while she twirled around and showed it off a bit. In less than a minute, all the nerves had dissolved. Any stress they had been feeling melted away while they spent a few minutes of the afternoon together. They separated again right before the ceremony. This time only a few nerves came back and those too quickly went away the moment Ally's hand was placed into Jason's and they were staring into each other's eyes once more. Neither of them particularly liked being the center of attention but loved one another so much they put that aside to declare their love in front of their family and friends. That public declaration no doubt gave hope to those in attendance that had yet to find their own special person. Hope that one day they too will be one of the lucky ones. Just like Ally & Jason. * * * We started the morning right at the Society Room of Hartford The ballroom looked even more stunning than usual because Ally & Jason had brought in an extensive lighting set-up done by the lighting specialists and DJ team at Audio Media Solutions. The lighting was used throughout the whole day from the ceremony straight through to the reception, changing at different points to reflect the mood of the particular event or moment. After saying hello to Mike & Erin from AMS we stopped to chat for a few minutes to the amazing Elisabeth Zemetis from Blush Floral Design who was putting together a gorgeous tree-branch display complete with twinkle lights for the ceremony back drop. As all of the hustle and bustle was taking place in the main ballroom getting it ready for the ceremony & reception, we headed back to the bridal suite to meet up with Ally & her girls. They had just returned from a morning of beauty, with hair done at Headline Hair Designers right in Hartford, and make-up by Janice Raccio from Naomi's Salon. Like pretty much everything in the Society Room, the bridal suite is an elegant space with tons of beautiful lights and some dramatic windows that were couldn't wait to incorporate into some shots. Once Ally had been helped into her Vera Wang Bridal Gown by her mother and bridesmaids, we were ready to take full advantage of that window taking shot photos of her right in front of it. The feel of the room mixed with her flowers, dress and gold accessories gave a romantic and vintage feel - so of course we grabbed a few shots in film as well to complete the look. The ceremony took place on the dance floor of the ballroom, with white stars splashed across the room and the twinkle light branches glowing behind Ally & Jason as they said their vows. They party vibe picked up right away with the dance floor filling up from the moment the reception kicked off. Ally & Jason spent nearly the entire night on the floor surrounded by their friends and singing their hearts out to all of the favorite songs. When the last song played, Ally wrapped her arms Jason's neck and they held each other tight right in the center of the dance floor. The night was over, but their adventure together was just beginning.

We have been to the Society Room once before Allison & Jason's Wedding, actually we were there just one week prior. Even though we had photographed at the Society Room before, this was our first time in the bridal suite. We arrived a few minutes before Ally & her girls got back from their hair and makeup appointments. Luckily Elisabeth from Blush Floral Design had already brought her flowers.

Allison's shoes were a classic gold shoe which you will soon see is the perfect compliment to her gorgeous Vera Wang Gown.

Ally's dress was incredibly beautiful. Kathleen captured this shot of her girls helping her with some last minute touches...

...as I captured this one a minute or so later.

{FILM} Once Allison was ready, Kathleen and I couldn't wait to start taking some bridal shots. We started by capturing this shot of Allison with medium format film. Such a classic and timeless image. It is one of my personal favorites from the day. There is just something about film that is so special...

The window and furnishings in the bridal suite provided some really perfect backgrounds to show off how great Allison looked and how wonderful is her smile?!

How perfect is the lighting and this space? Kathleen and I were beyond excited photographing Ally here.

The simple designs through her dress combined with the subtle colors of her bouquet made for such an elegant look.

Stunning!

Right before heading out to see Jason for their first look Ally took one more look in the mirror - after all she wanted to make sure she looked perfect for her soon-to-be husband.

Jason was more than excited to see Allison for the first time on their wedding day. We photographed their first look in front of the the old bank vault which always makes for a fun and unique location.

Jason could not stop smiling as he gave Ally his first kiss of the day.

Even though it was really cold (under 20 degrees) Ally & Jason were all about coming outside with us. The front doors of the Society Room are, well, really awesome. This is my shot...

...and this is Kathleen's at about the same moment.

We spent some time taking photos as Ally & Jason walked up the cobblestone street...

...followed by a couple simple and relaxed portraits.

Before heading in we just had to get a couple more photos by the doors. I love how they look in black and white.

{FILM} We also grabbed one more medium format film shot. Allison was certainly a trooper, she was in a strapless dress and didn't once complain about the cold. So great!

Once back inside Kathleen grabbed this photo...

...as I caught this one. The chandeliers and lighting throughout the Society Room are really fun and we love incorporating them into as many photos as possible.

Right before their ceremony we got the whole wedding party together, back in the bridal suite.

These are the moments that really make up a wedding day. Kathleen waited upstairs with Allison & her Dad (as he wiped away a tear) right before walking into the ceremony.

I love these two moments!

Both Allison's Father and Step Father walked her down the aisle.

Jason was so relaxed and content as he looked into his bride's eyes.

There was so much happiness and smiles as they exchanged their vows and their rings.

This was our first time photographing a ceremony at the Society Room. We really like the space and it made for a unique and intimate ceremony location.

Their first kiss as husband and wife!

Ahhh, we really do have the best job in the world. We get to spend our days with people on their happiest days. :)

The staff at the Society Room are really amazing, they transformed the room from a beautiful and intimate ceremony location to a grand reception spot in no time at all. The lighting professionals from Audio Media Solutions did an outstanding job lighting the room as well. I know we say it all the time but we highly recommend using uplighting especially in large venues. It really transforms the room and adds so much to the mood.

A couple bird's eye views of the table setups.

{FILM} By now you all know our obsession with lighting and chandeliers, I captured this shot with film.

Details! :)

We really loved how the lighting from Audio Media Solutions illuminated the tables...

...and their cake.

{FILM} This is a shot of the cake Allison & Jason used for their cake cutting. I captured this shot with film at 1/15th of a sec at 2.8 hand held.

As their favors they had hot chocolate for each of their guests. So perfect for such a cold day.

We LOVED their first dance...

...I mean look how happy and into each other they are.

Kathleen captured this shot...

...as I captured this one at about the same moment. I love the moody lighting.

Ally danced with both her Dad and Step Dad and Jason danced with his Mom.

How great is this cake cutting moment?!

They were really nice to each other as they fed each other a bite of cake.

{FILM} We just had to share one more film shot above the room from above.

Ally & Jason - thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your day. We hope you had an amazing time in Cancun!! ~Rob & Kathleen~

Posted by: ROB & KATHLEEN View More: VENDORS So this is probably not the post you'd expect to follow our previous one, but here it is. We spent the afternoon in a room filled with cakes - literally. Wall-to-wall cakes. (Not too worry, we hit the gym before we went. We are well aware of our temptations.) I know what you're thinking - "where were you and how can I go there too?" Well that's the good news, you can totally go there yourself and, if you're a bride, you can order a stunningly gorgeous custom wedding cake in the process. It's the showroom of Ana Parzych Custom Cakes in Cheshire. If you haven't seen her work before, allow us to introduce you to her art because that's really what these cakes are - pieces of art. Which makes sense actually because Ana studied art and graphic design before getting into wedding cakes. She works side-by-side with her husband Garry who does quite a bit of the baking himself while also running the business side of things. It was great to get to talk to them over the course of the afternoon - we always love to see how fellow husband-and-wife teams work. We had worked with Ana & Garry this past May and we were absolutely blown away by their talent. They build completely custom cakes based on whatever their couple is looking for - Ana even does sketches of the cake beforehand and works with the couples one-on-one to make THE perfect cake for them. So when Garry got in touch with us earlier this month and asked if we would come by their showroom and takes some pictures of their cakes we said yes without hesitation. Not just because we love cakes, but mainly because we just love working with other artists that have pride in what they do, which they totally do. As a result they are in high demand - working throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York as well as international destinations. They even had a wedding in Dubai this year! That was our lovely afternoon, spending time with another husband-and-wife team and photographing some gorgeous cakes. One of the many, many reasons we love what we do. The fact that they also sent us home with small cake of our very own was a total bonus. (I know...I'm setting the alarm as we speak to wake up for the gym tomorrow!) So without further ado, here are some of Ana's cakes for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to leave Ana & Garry some love in the comments, or with a phone call to make your own cake. Delicious!