Alison & Steven Engaged: Greystone Manor, Cape Neddick, Maine

Chicagoans Alison and Steven had never set foot in Maine when they decided to set their September 2010 wedding here. Both had fallen in love with the state's craggy coast the moment they saw the images I took of Emily and Liam's wedding at the Greystone Manor in Cape Neddick (just north of York) featured on WeddingBee.com. And, it just so happened that Steven was scheduled to hike the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail, starting in Georgia in March of next year and ending atop Mount Katahdin in Maine ifive or so months later. What a better way to end such a walk (Steven has dubbed it "the hike of love") than with a wedding? Sight unseen, they hired me, rented out the stately Greystone Manor (a favorite wedding spot) and went to work planning their classic Maine coast wedding, complete with a lobster bake dinner.

Last weekend, they flew in for a few days to see the place for themselves for the first time, have a volley of vendor meetings, and enjoy an engagement session with me. What a better place to pose than the Greystone, the owner of which graciously allowed us to shoot there. Such fun we had exploring the grounds and though Alison and Steven admitted to me prior to the session that they dreaded being before the camera, I think these images speak to how relaxed they quickly became. I cannot wait for this wedding!

And Emily & Liam, I am relieved to report we saw not one flash of lighting, nor did we get hit by any hail!

We started down by the water. I think one of Greystone Manor's most awesome attributes is these private piece of rocky beach. Though Steven hails from Oklahoma and Alison from central Pennsylvania, they both looked at home here, with each other. This first image is perhaps a favorite from the shoot, because it captures the nerves that naturally come with the start of a session such as this, but at the same time, that excitement of being in such a beautiful place, with someone you so love, making your engagement official!















We then moved out of the sun and whipping wind up to Greystone's porch.


Alison had asked me about what to wear for the shoot, and I suggested she select clothing that was reflective of her personality, and that would fit into the setting. She couldn't have picked more perfectly, and I especially loved these playful green heels.


Who doesn't adore that moment, just before a kiss...


I love finding creative ways to get different looks in the same place. From the rocks by the water, to the stone of the estate. What a nice backdrop those walls made.


And, we ended the shoot in this little window nook. I love how intimate these images feel, even though the manor is so magnificent in size and stature, especially with only three of us on the entire property.

The STD you actually want to get...

Their acronym is certainly unfortunate, but save the date cards (STDs) are anything but.

These announcements, sent up to a year in advance alerting guests to your impending nuptials, are a thoughtful yet simple way to get the word out that you are getting married, and soon! If many of your guests will be traveling for the wedding and needing to make airline and accommodation arrangements in advance, save the dates are especially helpful (especially if your wedding is in a popular destination, like on the Maine coast in the summertime, when rooms may book early). Seeing these are likely the first official correspondence your guests will receive regarding the wedding, the save the date can be invaluable in making that first impression and setting the tone for the style of the wedding to come. Lately, my mailbox has been at the receiving end of a flurry of save the dates from my 2009 couples, and I feel like I have such a better understanding about them and their vision for the day from just this little piece of paper. (I especially appreciate the magnets filling the front of the fridge, as they remind me every day about the upcoming wedding, and they are very useful.)

They are also an ideal way to put your engagement imagery to work, as Samantha Warren Weddings' couple Susan and Jeff did here. You might recall I shot their top of Sugarloaf mini engagement session in April, and they asked me to create a save the date using the photographs from that. The card I created (you can see the front below and the backside has all the details and the address of their wedding website where guests can go for more information) is reflective of their color scheme -black and white- and their wedding style -elegant yet simple and fun. Because their wedding will be in the winter, I had the cards printed on pearl paper, which gives them a nice sparkle, much like freshly fallen snow, and we purposely did the engagement session on the mountain in the winter. The cards, which are 5 x 7, will be delivered in white envelopes (though this could easily have been designed as a postcard).

You can read what Martha Stewart says about Save the Dates here and The Knot's insight here, but I encourage couples planning late 2009 (fall and beyond) and 2010 weddings to consider sending out save the dates if they have guests coming from afar. There are so many creative options out there for save the dates, but if you'd like to include images, do contact me soon to schedule your engagement session.



As a wedding guest, do you appreciate receiving save the dates? How far in advance do you like to get them? And what's the most unique save the date you've seen or heard of?

Shooting the shop: The Makeup Shop Inc. South Portland

Brides often ask me whether one line of makeup has more merits than another (for the record, I only occasionally wear makeup, and use Bare Minerals when I do as a result of seeing it used so beautifully on brides by many makeup artists over the years). Because I am not photographing glamour shots and instead capturing how people how people feel (and happy, in-love people are simply stunning), I encourage my clients to choose clothing, accessories and products that make them feel comfortable and confident in their own skin, as that will come through most in the images.

All that said, -and based on my own wedding makeup experience (I still remember running in the bathroom and breathlessly blotting my entire face with a bath towel after Kyle's aunt got a wee bit carried away with the blush)- I always urge my clients to consider hiring a makeup artist, especially those like me who insist they "never wear makeup." In addition to giving you some well-deserved pre-wedding pampering, a good makeup artist will apply products in a way that compliment rather than confuse your best features. The key here is makeup, not makeover, and the great thing about a great makeup artist is you'll still look like yourself, only better and more polished.

Last summer, I met several such talented transformers when I photographed Bethany and Brian's wedding. Bethany got her makeup applied at The Makeup Shop, which at the time was located on Congress Street but has since moved to South Portland. Beautiful Bethany didn't really need any makeup, but I was impressed with how a few little touches went a long way in enhancing not just her look, but how she felt about how she looked. I was also pleased to see how fun and mellow the makeup artist kept things, as like any wedding vendor, knowing how connect with clients and keep them collected is as important as your craft. So I was honored when Andrea, a co-owner of The Makeup Shop, emailed asking if I'd be willing to come over this spring and do a mini-shoot with several of her staff to get new images for the shop's walls and website.

In the interest of full disclosure, this was a totally out-of-the-box experience for me. Unlike a wedding where I am very hands-off (except when someone needs help) and take a documentarian's approach, this shoot required me to be much more directorial, something that I took a while to warm to. Luckily, the "models" (two makeup artists at the store) were so gorgeous you couldn't get a bad shot of them and they were fun to boot!

Here are a few of my favorite shots. You'd never guess that all of these were taken in the little lot behind The Makeup Shop's new store on Western Ave in South Portland, between the Mexican restaurant's dumpster and the row of parked cars!

Look one, 1920s-esque:






Look two: Hippie (amazing that the sun came out right when we started this section of the shoot, casting an appropriate golden glow that so works with these images). Bri was the makeup artist who'd done Bethany's makeup.









Look three: A bit vamp (Hilarious when the utility guy came to read the meters and said "You should be on our company calendar" to Amber. We were dying. She is so sweet that it was a challenge to pull off this fierce look. I kept saying, "Act like I just stole your boyfriend, bitch!" Fe-rosh!)









And look four, 1970s rollergirl style: