Boy, what a month… this must be our busiest month on record.
Every minute of every day/week has been spoken for. We are looking forward to November when things slow down considerably. We don’t have much time to type a lot of things, but again, since most people look at images here, we’ve included a whole bunch…. Enjoy!

Model shoot at Hasselblad event in Boston (No model shots, we didn’t’ setup the lighting therefore didn’t want to use photos that weren’t our own) Shots were taken with a Hasselblad H4D50, HC 35-90 and Broncolor Verso pack:

Engagement session to the couple above:

Jennifer and Joe got married at the Fairmont Battery Wharf next to the North End. The hotel is beautiful and well appointed. If you have under 100 guests for your wedding, we highly suggest using this space. Not only is it beautiful, but they give you waterfront view suites, and the staff are probably the best in the business.

The background is wonderfully appointed and gives a very classy look to any wedding.

Well as luck would have it, the Madonna Della Cava Feast was going on at the same time. We had a chance to bring them into the feast and get some great photos. All the old Italian ladies giving her unwarranted marriage advice, donating to the Madonna, the entire band started to play here comes the bride as they were walking down Hanover street. It was magical.

Jennifer couldn’t help but get emotional as they started to play ‘Here comes the bride’ down Hanover street. She didn’t cry during her ceremony though

Jennifer and Joe didn’t know it at the time, but they got a chance to have their photo taken with the infamous ‘Lorena from Pizzeria Regina’s’ They should cherish this photo!

Lauren and Jayson were another fun couple, not having loads of time, we brought them to some of our favorite locations downtown. As you can see, we all had a great time.

Time is at a premium right now and because there isn’t too much time to write too much at the moment, here are a few photos that have come from the last few sessions. Enjoy!

The day of the wedding, we got to see, first hand, not only the love they had for each other, but also the love their parents had for them. Such a warm group of family and friends. They are quite lucky and we were so pleased to be there and photograph such an event.

Nothing more to add for now – take a look at the photos!

For now, we simply need to get through 2010. What a year – Newport mansions, Boston Waterfront, beautiful private clubs, booked for the entire year. It’s been fantastic. We are now soon to enter July. This is where we earn our stripes, especially considering the heat

Here are some recent shots that we adore:

And to folllow that beautiful day was an equally beautiful one, with Myra and Jackson at the Astor’s Beechwood Mansion in Newport, RI.

Myra was stunning and we were lucky to have the opportunity to capture her infectious laughter, her wide smiles and her happy tears, on camera. She and Jackson compliment each other in so many perfect ways and how fortunate that we got to witness that type of devotion to each other. And another first – Myra was the recipient of the best maid-of-honor speech I’ve ever heard. A beautful tale of their friendship and all the years that took them to where they are, today.

And finally a quick sneak peek at a great wedding at the MIT chapel:

As Boston wedding photographers, we’ve had the good fortune of working at a number of the private clubs in and around the Beacon Hill area and these spots, which almost always have the most regal, elegant interiors mixed with old-time Boston charm are usually, almost seemingly purposefully, understated in their exteriors. Most people will amble by, never realizing what those walls have seen and heard over the course of history.

The Union Club is one of these treasures of Beacon Hill and was the wedding destination for Jen and Steve. Dark wood, red velvet, massive windows and a view of Back Bay that rivals most, if not all of the spots in Beacon Hill and the Downtown Crossing area. They were a perfect fit here and committed to each other, officially, after many, many years together. From the quiet, private ceremony to the very public dance party that ensued, their wedding was one that will, surely, go down in the Union Club’s history books.

Forget the run – a Boston Marathon Wedding will make you sweat.

Luckily, Sandy and Henry were the picture of cool. From the beginning of the day when he, in traditional manner, asked for her hand in marriage until they were introduced into their 500 guest reception as Mr. and Mrs., they were calm, confident and crazy in love.

Here is a sneak peek into their day:

We shot at the airport for a few hours and then headed to Boston for a few more. Enjoy!

Frank Doohof and Amsterdam Vacation

Note: We are leaving for The Netherlands today to visit Frank Doorhof and take a mini-vacation in Amsterdam. If you need us for anything, shoot us an email and we’ll respond quite quickly. Or ‘quickly indeed’ as Frank would say.

Enjoy a sneak peek at what we shot that day:

Winter photography in Boston can be challenging….color tends to be a bit drab and nature is still asleep for a few more weeks but we love catching all that people tend to overlook. The nooks, the corners, the crevices – that’s where the good photos are. Jen and Neil were so excited to explore the unseen and we’re happy to share a few. Can’t wait for August and we’re anxious to see what sort of ‘flashy’ situation Mr. Cervone concocts!

Let’s thank the great Almighty people for making this monumental moment possible. And Giselle Bündchen’s helicopter flight instructor.

Stacey Howe states: “Let’s celebrate the newly-married, Mrs. Cagwin’s wedding! She’s been married for months now and we haven’t celebrated yet!”

Please.

Right there, that should have been my red-flag. Stacey Howe would never allow such an important event to go uncelebrated. She celebrates like she gets paid to celebrate….she specializes in it. Brendan couldn’t have chose a better person to involve in his well-planned, thorough, Excel spreadsheet-laden proposition. They’ve never even met….but her legend precedes her.

“Meet Mipsy and I at Copley and we’ll head up to Top of the Hub and wait to meet the Almighty ladies, in all of their post-pedicure fanfare, and we’ll celebrate the newly married Emily!”

Stacey baits the line, and I bite. We meet, because I’m always up for some Almighty interaction. We 3 head up to the 52nd floor & we check-in with the hostess (who, in retrospect, seemed a bit bajiggity.) She struggles with where to seat us and I make the brilliant suggestion to seat us near the window while we wait for the rest of the group and despite other people lingering at the bar, waiting to sit, she ok’s my suggestion and we settle in.

We chat about teaching. India. Running. Ex-girlfriend’s coffee cups. It wasn’t necessarily deep conversation, but it was important, nonetheless, as girlfriends always work to know their friends on a deeper level. And the whole time, I’m thinking “How long can a dang pedicure take? They’re just a block away, for God’s sake….”
Mustafa, the TOTH manager, swings by our table and asks how things are and shares a pair of binoculars with us, saying “Ladies, you have a great view and we like to share binoculars with our customers so that they can enjoy the scenery from this high up.” Nice touch, I thought. Sounds reasonable.

So, Stacey oohs and aahs over the view…..takes her time looking around. Melissa does the same. She’s excited and she’s pointing things out. They finally hand the binoculars to me and I gaze out a bit. Look some things over. Put them down for a minute so that I could get back to gazing at my wine. Then, they point out that “Look! A helicopter is coming this way!” So, I look. I see it coming. I’m not all that overwhelmed – I mean, it’s not like it’s Air Force One flying in the airspace between the Hancock Tower and the Prudential.
But, I notice it’s coming in quick and as it begins to get closer to the windows, I can make out the word “Marry”, so I immediately say “Oh, look! Someone’s getting proposed to.” and I hand off the binoculars so that Stacey can see. And she pushes them back at me and says “Yeah, it’s you!”

Natalie: “Huh?”
Stacey & Melissa, in unison: “That’s Brendan! This is for you!”
Natalie: “For who? Wait…what?”

…and then, with my mouth hanging open and sheer confusion all over my face, Mustafa comes over with a big sign that reads “YES” on one side and “NO” on the other and everyone tells me to stand up and respond to him! To put the sign up against the window and tell him YES! Photographer friends appear out of nowhere and are snapping each dim-witted look on my face.
Everyone in the Top of the Hub is standing up and clapping and waiting. BRENDAN is outside, in a helicopter, hanging in mid-air with a sign that reads “Natalie – Marry Me!” and I still am just standing there – punch drunk and speechless.
Finally, I make it to the window and I put my hands up to the glass and I hold that YES up high. He waves – and he flies away.

People are clapping. Two photographers are shooting at me (now I know how you feel, brides) and I’m dazed. Stacey tells me that Brendan is landing the helicopter at Logan and coming over right away. I wait. Champagne appears. Hugs. Shrieks. Questions. Congratulations.
…and finally, he was there. Wearing the same DC sweatshirt that he was wearing when he left the house earlier that day, telling me he was going to wash his car. The same sweatshirt he was wearing when he weaved a web of perfectly organized fibs – all with the plan to enact the most epic of proposals. And epic it truly was. TOTH staff noted that this was the very first helicopter proposal where the man was outside the window, waiting, ever. They almost exclusively get planes with banners.
More clapping. Kisses. Huge, silly, loony-looking smiles. He’s on his knee with the most perfect ring for me – a ring I couldn’t believe he was capable of choosing himself. An ideal blend what he wanted for this moment and what he knew I would want for myself.

The hoops that were jumped through, the walls that were scaled, the roadblocks that were overcome to make this possible cannot be explained. City permits for helicopters. For landing at Logan. Police permits for flying an aircraft between two buildings. My words cannot truly do it justice – he had it all figured out, down to the smallest detail.

And today, we spent the day in Montpelier. Killington. Woodstock and Rutland. It was a perfect day of aimless driving with no plans, that followed yesterday’s perfectly planned, perfect day. One year ago today, we were in Derry, Ireland and I sat there at dinner, wondering when this would ever happen. And now, I’m thinking that this year went by way too fast. Don’t miss out on enjoying the moments with the person you love, preparing to enjoy future events. It’s taken just 24 hours for me to realize that, now that I’m faced with preparations, all I want to do is enjoy the moments.

So, now….a Boston Wedding Photographer is just….a bride. And a groom.

So, Almighty & Emily – it was because an opportunity and a celebration were dangled in front of me that I was coerced over to TOTH, so keep on being your bad selves.

We’d like to take a minute to thank everyone that made this possible. Stacey Howe, Stuart Matsumoto, Melissa Mips, Don Lavange, Amol Patankar, Jessica Lavange and lastly, but surely not least, Mustafa @ Top of the Hub Restaurant. Also, the FAA, BPD, Boston Properties and probably Homeland Security (You can take the undercover van off our property, now).

Our friend Serjeo of Boston for crafting the perfect, fine hand sculpted diamond ring: Serjeo of Boston

Our friend Stuart of Metropolitan Helicopters: Metropolitan Helicopters.

Mustafa Hadria(Manager Top of the Hub Restaurant): Top of the Hub.

…and most important of all to Brendan, for choosing me – and for hovering and waiting for me to say ‘YES’.

Finally, the Photos & Video:

Preparing for takeoff from Marshfield, holding my 5DMKII with 14 2.8II and Rode Videomic:

Coming in over Quincy:

Here we come over South Boston:

Destination Top of the hub!:

Amol is shooting away, Stuart is questioning how i talked him into this:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Whoa, a plane in the background. Good timing Don!:

Tiny, but still visible:

I was told the whole restaurant gasped. Then they stood up and cheered:

Visual Trickery, we are less than 400FT away from the Prudential and about 800ft away from the Hancock building:

Stacey telling Natalie, check that out, it’s a helicopter:

Natalie doesn’t see her name on sign, tells Stacey someone is getting proposed to:

Natalie learning it’s me on the Helo and it’s she getting proposed to. Notice deer in headlights look:

Dumbfounded:

Dumbfounded and excited?:

Natalie Excited, TOTH’s Mustafa looking on in background:

Probably questioning why i wrote ‘yes’ and not ‘no’ also.:

Don Joking with Natalie:

Natalie trying to catch her breath, and Don shooting away with his 500mm:

Natalie still comprehending:

Looking back out at us, still comprehending:

Giving Stacey Howe of NewBalance a big hug:

Stacey and Melissa of NewBalance enjoying the view:

First thing first, call mumma :

Can’t believe what just happened:

Can’t believe what just happened:

Said Yes/No sign:

Finally arrives from landing at Logan and driving back:

The ‘proper’ on-knee proposal:

Admiring Ring:

Loves the ring! Score!:

Symbol Photography Proposal 3 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.

Symbol Photography Proposal 1 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.

Symbol Photography Proposal 2 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.