Our Wedding was the culmination of so much… we went through a lot to get to that date, August 28th 2005. To say it was worth it doesn’t seem quite enough. Our date was changed twice and it was probably one of the most difficult things I’ve endured (due to the circumstances, not just the logistics of course). Because of that fact, neither Pete’s parents nor his best friend could make it out from England on the actual date. I offered many times to change the dates again but Pete wouldn’t have it. He was getting married on August 28th and nobody was going to stop him.

I was so worried I’d be one of those brides you see… you know those girls? Those girls that are so nervous and concerned with every detail that they miss it? They miss the whole day. I didn’t want to be one of those girls. I wasn’t sure how it would play out, after all, I’d planned the entire Wedding on my own and never had any drama because, well… being ME, I didn’t think to ASK anyone else’s opinion on what I wanted. It just all went along and my little (okay big) Wedding binder and I were quite a happy little couple. But when the day arrived, I felt no nervousness, no need to control anyone else… I was just happy. And I had a blast. Like, for real.

The ceremony was the most difficult portion of the day since I was in 4 1/2″ heels that were half a size too small and if you looked closely, you could see me shifting back and forth on each foot while I pulled the other one up and twirled it around a little to get some relief. But it really was perfect. Even with the intense pain. It was beautiful and fun and intimate and romantic… everything it needed to be to represent US. When we walked outside from our first dance to see the tables all set up around the fountain in the courtyard, white linens, flowers and candles glowing under the darkening sky, we caught our breath and declared it the most beautiful thing we’d ever seen.

Two days later, this northern california girl was transplanted into Brooklyn for nearly a year. And what a year it was. We thought it was some dimension of hell we’d been dropped into and I could still list the hilariously awful complaints about our apartment on Vanderbilt ave. But you know what? It still feels like home. And believe it or not, I miss it. I lived in the same house for 28 years and then 10 months in this crazy place in the middle of Brooklyn still feels like home. It was OUR place. Neither of us knew anyone there and it was us against the world. That apartment was our sanctuary, our life, our little nest. I still cry a little when I think about it. I’ll let you use your deductive skills to determine whether or not I’m crying a little now.

5 years. 5 years ago I married the sweetest man alive. I wish I could do it again.
xoxo,
D

Yes, that’s me dripping with vintage rhinestones that 5 years later… I’d wear again! Except maybe without the tiara that my friends wouldn’t let me take off, lol. In all fairness, the birdcage veil did need something under it. Okay, enough with the fashion talk. Images taken by Mary Murphy

Here are some highlights from their beautiful day…

Reading a special note from Mother to Son…

Sand Ceremony Fun…

One of my favorite moments of the day that I rarely get to capture…

Tara and Carlos sang to one another as the music played over the garden and the ocean which brought tears of joy…

A moment between Mother and Son…

That ended with a sly low-five…

Tara, you are STUNNING!

My favorite…

An amazing location I spotted on the way to the ceremony site…

What would a shoot with me be without a little passion…

When we returned to the car from our location, Tara realized she’d left her shoes in the road!

Party Time…

A lovely & personal touch, Wedding photos of the family…

Dancing as Husband & Wife…

A beautiful moment with the Father & the Bride…

Sassy Tara…

Mary was a bright light in my world, a riot of color. Her home was never quiet, never boring. Her style influenced me greatly and I was able to find myself in it. I’ve cropped more negatives and designed more Wedding albums than I care to remember but no matter what I was doing I always felt the purpose of gorgeous images and I was always happy about it. When I bought my first ‘real’ camera (Mamiya RB 67 – a monster of a camera and that’s just fine considering how beautiful the pictures that came out of it were) I could’ve come out of my skin with pride and excitement. Mary had taught me the basics and I would be testing and tweaking and testing some more for years. And if I’m being honest, I still am.

Mary made me laugh, she made me feel envious (and still does) over the incredible items in her closet, but mostly, she gave me hope. She never made me feel like photography was out of my reach. Instead she praised me with words like ‘innovative’. Mary even photographed my Wedding for next-to-nothing just out of the kindness of her heart. I can’t ever thank her enough for being who she has been to me.

After being mostly out of touch for several years she came across my website and declared to me in an email that she nearly DIED when she saw it. She wanted me to do a shoot for her and she was so incredibly proud of what I’ve done and that it was more than she ever dreamed for me. Um…. first of all, best email EVER. Second, of COURSE I’ll do a shoot for you!

Here’s my favorite…. (there’s more concepts and I’ll post more later but C’MON! I’m SO in love with this one!

Ps. Mary is currently working on a new website, I’ll post the link soon!

And another, and another. I had a shoot the day before and for some reason, my body refused to wake up. These are the times I pat myself on the back for never doing a shoot without a hair/makeup artist. That’s a built-in, guaranteed hour and a half of nap time. Yeah, you heard me. I straight up LAID down on the couch in the loft, pulled a blanket over myself and NAPPED. Okay, I didn’t exactly get to ’sleep’ per-se what with being 10 feet away from the action and having to offer mumbled opinions on how tousled I wanted her hair but I nonetheless made a total ass out of myself by napping on the job. I promised her very firmly that I would get ONE more coffee and I would be totally normal. And I was. Thank God.

Sarah was giggly and adorably understanding and when we finally started shooting… whoa. I didn’t expect what I saw through my lens and I was pretty darn stoked. It still amazes me… the pure magic of what happens between when the client walks in and when I finally click my shutter. I don’t know why I get to be so lucky as to witness something so spectacular, but I’m grateful. Sarah emanated beauty and grace (with a few giggles thrown in for good measure) and even though she was a photographer herself, she never questioned me for a second, she never offered a differing opinion, she never behaved like anything other than a sweet girl who was trusting me to make her look good. Amazing.

There were a few moments during shooting where I just had to stop and put the camera to my side and just plain freak out. Hopefully you’ll agree with me that in one of the shots below (her back is to the window), she is basically a dark-haired Blake Lively. Work it Sarah. I’m not mad at it.

Oh, and can we talk about Sarah’s fabulous Vintage leopard-print coat?

I never think too much about my clients being extremely nervous because it always goes away 5 minutes into shooting. Mainly because I’m usually acting like a huge dork, even when I’m really trying not to. But Andrea, she held out. She went for broke. She proved her sublime skills of nervousness and she takes the medal. I tried to hold her hand and breathe with her but I’m sure she just thought I was nuts. Although the room was warm and we bonded over our mutual sweatiness. She of course loosened up a LITTLE after awhile and when we finally got to the Hotel she was excited for every single idea I had. Even the one where I’d put her in a 70’s slip-teddy, fishnets and booties, stuck a giant flower on her head and make her pose. In public. Yeah, she rocks. By the time we got outside, even if she was still nervous, it didn’t matter. Her amazingly sweet and bubbly personality persevered and she was determined to live up to my vision.

And boy, did she. She posed half naked in front of passersby and mimicked every ridiculous move and giggle and expression I threw at her. And she made it one of my favorite shoots to date. At the end of the shoot as we were packing up, she folded her slim arms into herself and pleaded with her girly little voice ‘I don’t want you guys to gooooooooo!!!!’ I’m not gonna lie, I was tempted to buy myself a toothbrush, wash my undies in the sink and have a girls night. But I had to get home to my babies and to Pete so I kept that thought to myself.

Andrea, you’re one hell of a girl. And I consider myself lucky for having clients like you who are miraculously gorgeous and incredibly sweet at the same time. It’s not an easy combo to find and I feel so blessed. Thank you for choosing me to have this experience with you and for being so sweet and willing, even when you would’ve rather put on your bright pink fluffy robe and headed for the hills.

Emily, you are just inSANEly beautiful. Seriously.

See that? That’s fire eyes. And she KILLED it!!!

I’m so grateful for having this experience, for having Sarah and Greg be so willing to come along with me on this little journey and for being fully present. I learned so much in those 2 minutes. I learned how deeply Sarah loved Greg, how much she needed him… and I learned that I don’t have to be afraid to ask my clients to do something a little out of the ordinary. Because, well, who wants to be ordinary?

*all of these images are medium-format film images – Can you say Creamy Delicious Yumminess?*

I can’t really say why but I have some sort of innate respect for filmmaking and I generally don’t talk during movies and I definitely don’t fall asleep. In fact, several of my friends over the years have wondered why I was so ticked off at them the morning after watching a movie that they fell asleep during. Seriously. It gets to me. So I’m not sure what I was thinking making this poor man who just got off a 10 hour flight watch movies with me at midnight. I was in love, time didn’t exist! He made it through 200 Cigarettes just fine. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s friggin hysterical. Then I threw in If Lucy Fell. He started yawning. A lot. I tried to ignore it. Then it happened. His eyes closed and the light snoring started. Oh well I thought. It’s crazy late, he tried.

A day or two later I called my best friend at the time to tell her about how much fun we were having and everywhere we went and everything we did. And I told her. I told her casually. ‘and then he fell asleep…’ There was a sharp GASP on the other end of the phone. An intake of breath so loud I thought she’d gag. Then she said in a frightened and appalled voice ‘Does he know how much you HATE THAT?’ Oh boy. I’ve clearly got my priorities straight. I couldn’t help but laugh. At her, at myself… at loving the fact that another person now knows what’s really important to me. That’s a lovely feeling, knowing that someone knows that silly thing about you. And that they care. And yes, Pete still gets the evil eye if he even lays his head down during a movie. It’s just plain not allowed.

Here’s the cover – I thank an old friend for bringing this movie into my life. And you can bet I put it in the DVD player every-time I get sick. And NO, I don’t fall asleep.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into her while out shopping and a little dream of mine came true. She said ‘you know that little french clock? I’m selling it a long with a bunch of other stuff and I had a buyer but I remember you saying you loved it’. Oh Alyse, I could kiss you. Pete said ‘wow, that’s so nice of her to remember that!’ I replied, ‘True. Or maybe that just goes to show how much of a spectacle I made!’. But whatever the case, she’s mine now. The little french clock that I couldn’t forget.