Holly & Jarod Engaged: Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

In Maine, the unwritten requirement for residency in Maine is that you love lobster, you don't consider 17 degrees cold (or five inches a snowstorm), you think of everyone who lives within a 10 mile radius as a neighbor and you are fiercely independent.

Having spent the afternoon with Holly and Jarod photographing their water's edge engagement session, I am convinced that to be from the Lone Star state, you must be sweeter than southern-style Texas ice tea, more fun than a night in Austin, and way hotter than it ever gets in Houston.

These two Texans are spending the summer in Maine as Jarod, who was drafted by the LA Dodgers right out of high school, pitches for the Portland Sea Dogs. They first met in high school, and began dating in 2006 after Jarod returned from playing ball in Hawaii. Together, they combine to make a wonderfully warm couple, who is as fun to be around as they are to look at (seriously, they should model). If you want to know what being head-over-heels in love looks like, look no further (well, you've gotta scroll down a bit).

Just like it is for a New England wedding photographer like myself, for a minor league baseball player, the summer season is no day at the beach. Jarod and his teammates get a mere one day off per month from April through September, which made scheduling his and Holly's engagement shoot quite the process in planning. Finally, on Monday afternoon, after the Sea Dogs spanked the NH Fisher Cats 9-2 and most of professional baseball took a breather for the All-Star break, we were given a wide enough window to connect in Cape Elizabeth for the shoot. Though their wedding will be this winter in Dallas (where the average December high is 57, though it's gotten up to 90 degrees on occasion), they wanted a beachy engagement session to remember their time together in Maine. I chose Kettle Cove in Cape because it offers a wide variety of scenery, from straight sandy beach, to rocky cove, to tree-lined boardwalks, meaning we can make the most of our session and get a variety of looks in the shots.

We started on the aforementioned tree-lined boardwalk in the back of the park. Jarod is 6'5". Holly is 5'3". That said, they fit so well together. Love does that.




Even though it was only 4:30 - a little earlier than I typically like to shoot this time of year-, the light was delicious.


Holly and Jarod were a bit nervous at the start of the shoot. Who wouldn't be having their photograph taken in such a public place? But as we got to know each other through the shoot, that anxiety turned to giddiness, as I reminded them to appreciate this rare afternoon off and promised them they wouldn't be nearly as camera aware on their wedding day. I love the colors in this image. (And that I totally blocked the overweight male sunbather who was lounging in the grass behind them by positioning myself just so!)




Resting on the rocks.


Seriously, I don't think these two could have had any more fun with each other that they did. Throughout the shoot, they never stopped making each other -and me- laugh. I am so lucky to continue to work with such down-to-earth clients.


A similar shot as above, but tighter and with a black and white treatment totally transforms the tone of the image.


While we're doing the whole black and white thing...




Back to color, as theirs really complimented each other, and the setting. When I advise couples on how to dress for engagement sessions, I remind them that we aren't doing glamour shots, and so all that matters is that their makeup and clothes make them feel comfortable and confident, as that's will come through in the images. My suggestion is to always wear clothes that make you feel like you, and take into account the setting. I love how the fashionable Holly totally managed to pull off glamorous beach chic without looking out of place (and that she wasn't afraid to do wardrobe changes in Jarod's truck).


Speaking of, time for a wardrobe change.


Perhaps my favorite from the shoot. I had turned to grab my gear bag so we could move to another part of the beach, and when I turned, this is what I saw. Stunning!


A different crop (in camera) makes for a fun detail shot. Something about this one I just love.


The light got more and more beautiful as we went on. When we got to a new area on the beach, the first thing I'd do was take a few more traditional portraits.


And then I step back, duck up, down and all around, and take my trademark passionate photojournalistic images. I love this one especially, because there is so much anticipation in it.


After Jarod shielded his bride-to-be so she could adjust her dress, she came back around him like this and I loved the look. "Hold it!"


Similar body positioning, but a slight shift in eye focus on their part makes it such a different image.


And a shift in my camera's focus changes it even more. Ahhhh! I love this! It feels like you are right there on the beach with them and you can't help but smile.


I also do a few solo shots. Jarod said this was way more fun than baseball card pictures!


And, a final look, back on the bridge. With me shooting through the grass, it adds an air of intimacy that makes it seem I've just come across them like this.


Congratulations Holly and Jarod on your engagement and best wishes for your December wedding in Dallas. Looking forward to enjoying a ballgame with you soon!

(Advance) Amy & Mark: Thornton, New Hampshire Wedding

Amy and Mark were married this past Saturday on a birch-filled bluff at a private residence in New Hampshire. Check back here on the Samantha Warren Weddings blog next week to see more of this green wedding, which included a reading from The Little Prince (a favorite of mine), food so fresh some if it was harvested that very morning and yes, an appearance by a donkey aptly named Jack. !Loved! everything about this wedding and cannot wait to share it with you!

And, make sure to preregister here at Pictage so you can be notified when Amy and Mark's image gallery is released next week (event key is the groom's last name).

Amanda & Kevin: Monmouth/Harpswell, Maine Wedding

Who: Amanda & Kevin
What: A casual and connective lively lobster luncheon and loungearound on the Maine coast for 120
Where: Ceremony at the bride's childhood church -the United Church of Monmouth- and tented luncheon on the water at Wildwood, a private oceanside cottage in Harpswell
When: June 13, 2009
How: Flowers by Winthrop florist Pat Foss (phone #377-2661) and delicious catering by Laura Chabot of Waldoboro.

Why: Both working in the land development field, Amanda and Kevin met five years ago working for their respective employers on a project in downtown Rockland. But it wasn't until two years ago, when Kevin returned from getting his graduate degree in urban planning at Harvard that the two even thought of moving from colleagues to couple. But after a single date, and some emotionally evasive emailing (you don't want to appear too interested of course!), they suddenly just knew. As Amanda told me, "We both confirmed we were 'done looking' within several months of dating. Our love for each other feels very complete, perhaps because we have each had life experience that lead us to recognize early on we found what we were looking for and knew how to hold onto it."

But while their hearts knew their love was real and right (oh boy, did they know!), it was more important to Amanda and Kevin that Kevin's beloved young daughter, Alex, felt there was room in her heart and her home to accept Amanda. And Alex, engaging and excited and graceful (both in mind and movement) in a way that belies her six short years, did so with an openness and love that made Amanda adore her even more, and admire Kevin. As a father. As a man. As a husband. And it was that realization and that powerful process of two plus one becoming one family that led to this day, where what everyone was feeling was finally formalized.

I love the reverence with which I found Amanda looking up at her dress with as she got ready in her parent's Monmouth home.


A most beautiful bride.


Just down the street from her childhood home, the Monmouth church where Amanda and Kevin were married was also where her parents once wed. I love these two images of the bride's father lifting her veil and giving her away as her little sister (the maid-of-honor) looks on adoringly.




Taking it all in...


And holding back tears. Tears of joy. Of hope. Of respect, of honor to tradition and of understanding for the magnitude of this moment.


I love all of the story lines told in this single image, but it is little Alex delicately dabbing her eyes with a tissue that makes it so poignant a picture for me.


The bride and groom greeted their guests on the lawn of the church. In this image, they are actually hugging the mother and stepfather of one of my 2008 grooms, who recently became a father. Thanks for the referral Katie and Courtney, and welcome to the world little William!


Family.


When I first learned that the church ceremony was to be in Monmouth and then the reception more than an hour drive away in Harpswell, I couldn't imagine why. But when I learned of the meaning of the Monmouth church to Amanda and her family, and then arrived at this classic cottage on the ocean's edge in Harpswell that was lent to the couple for the weekend by a close friend of the groom's, I knew it was worth the distance!


Given how stunning the site already was, Amanda and Kevin let the view take centerstage, and brought some green under the tent with cute little pots of herbs that doubled as decorations and favors. Simple, yet so fitting for a springtime lobster luncheon.


An elegant cake topped with yellow and green flowers complimented the color scheme, and was delicious. (I've made a vow to myself to try to taste more of my couples' cakes. Really, it's my professional duty!)


Though there was a brief best man's toast and a cake-cutting, Amanda and Kevin choose to keep the afternoon casual. Guests lingered on the lawn, enjoying one of June's rare bluebird days while the children chased each other with fistfuls of seaweed and blew pinwheels thoughtfully picked out and purchased by Alex and Amanda. I came around the back of the house to find Amanda applying sunscreen on her sister and capture this snap of a very sweet and smart moment.


I bet there were but a few weddings in June where sunglasses were a necessity. I caught Amanda's reflection in her father's when they were catching up on the lawn.


Given that the luncheon was just a few short hours and I felt it was important for Amanda and Kevin to get the most of their time with their guests, we opted to do the pictures of the two of them later in the day after many of their friends had gone home. I took some time while the guests were in line for lobster to do a walk-around of the site, scoping out some of the most scenic spots for us to shoot in so that when the bride and groom were ready, we could be most efficient with their time. As a result, we got such a nice variety of images that I know will soon bring color and joy to the walls of the couple's new home.

This small woodshed flanked by tall pines provided a sweet starting place.








We then worked our way across this lawn to this blooming bay of rhododendrons. It's important to remember that I do not pose my couples. I work so thoughtfully from the moment we first connect to make them feel comfortable with me and themselves around me and then I simply bring them to the place, and let them interact in a way that is most reflective of their relationship. Some couples prefer to be playful, while others like Amanda and Kevin take this calm moment during a somewhat chaotic day to be very tender with each other. While it's certainly cool for a client to look like a model in a magazine in their images, it's more important to me that my brides and grooms see themselves, and no one else in their wedding imagery.








Black and white treatments give the images a totally different tone.






Framing with flowers...


I had seen a couple cuddling on this bench during lunch, and knew we had to get Amanda and Kevin there. They are so intimate and connected to each other and the moment that you would never guess both their families are standing just a few feet away. I can almost see them sitting here in 50 years with their grandchildren playing on the lawn.








And we ended down by the water.


Amanda and Kevin, congratulations on such a meaningful and memorable day. Hope you had the most fabulous time exploring Italy and are settling delightfully into your new home.

And be sure to watch their slideshow here.