Jaime & Chris: Wedding at Saybrook Point Inn

On Saturday April 4th, I assisted the super brilliant photography team of Carla Ten Eyck and Mike Romano for a gorgeous wedding at the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. What a beautiful venue! Check it:


Jaime has a quiet moment right before she has her hair done


Pretty little detail


I dare you to tell me what is special about this image - apart from the fact that I took a ring shot with an iron dog...


The girls getting ready


Carla and Mike both got some amazing shots of Jaime and her fantastic expressions while she was getting ready, but I couldn't resist posting this moment - so fun!


Look at this cutie munchkin catching a little nap before the ceremony began. Oh and the best part about him (aside from his beautiful red hair that I absolutely love!) - his name was Charlie!!!


Jaime's brother walked her down the aisle. I just love Jaime's expression here:


Signed, sealed, and delivered!


Possibly one of my favorite photos of all times...


Now, one of the best parts about working with Carla is watching her get ideas and then execute upon them. She gets these visions of locations where she would like to photograph the bride and groom and their bridal party. Carla had in her head that this following wall would be a perfect spot for some fun photos. Despite a little bit of friendly ribbing and questioning from some of the involved party, there was a unanimous consensus at the end of the night that these were indeed some super shots. I am not going to post the large group shots since those were all orchestrated by Mrs. Ten Eyck (go to Carla and Mike's blog for those) - but I did shoot in tight so I got a couple of things that were a little different. Here goes...




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These girls were rockin' OUT!!!!


And another wall - since it was too windy to go to the actual beach - Carla made do and found a substitute instead!


And finally it was time to head inside to get some dancing on!




Jaime and Chris - thanks so much for having me, I wish you both the very, very best!!!

Carla and Mike - thank you both for a super fun day! :)

Chris

They thought he was a Marine (turns out he was Army). They said he was structured, disciplined, edgy, and mean (turns out he happens to be one of the nicest, most giving guys I know). We were all nervous; we cleaned a little harder, gave better customer service, and even stood a little straighter. We were preparing for the worst. We were afraid we were about to inherit one of the meanest manager's out there. Turns out the best part of my life was about to start...

I knew he was going to be there that night that I went into work, maybe it was a Monday, but I can't really remember now. I worked there part time, was in a relationship, and was really struggling with what I was going to do next in my life. Little did I know that I was rapidly traveling down a road that had a hairpin turn so sharp it was going to alter my life. When I walked around the corner towards the bar in that restaurant in Glastonbury, CT there it was - the rest of my life, staring me right in the face. The most profound memory from that first night that I met him was the feeling of comfort that resonated deep in my soul. From the first time I looked at his face, into his eyes I felt comfort. I felt like I was home. I KNEW I was home. On the drive home from work that night, I imagined myself married to him. While I may not have consciously realized what I was doing; something in me knew that I was going to marry this man. That I had found him.

The funny thing is, is that we were both born in Springfield, Massachusetts and lived there at the same time. We went to the same library, same parks, and same stores. I often wonder how many times we may have passed each other en route to a destination about town. I love to think that we may have brushed arms, touched the same books, or even been in the grocery store at the same time. He with his long hair and freckles and me with my bony knees and pony tails. He with his friends and me trailing behind my mom.

Fast forward a bunch of years and here we are today. I am still home. I am still comfortable, safe and secure, and still madly in love with my very best friend in the whole entire universe. Yet, I am so much richer than I was on that day when we met. I don't mean that in the monetary sense. I mean that in the heart and soul sense. I have a wealth of love not only from him, but from the family that we have created together. Our sons and all of the little animals that are a part of our family as well. I am such a lucky girl. I have someone who listens to me, who cares for me, who encourages me, who looks over my shoulder, and who tells me and shows me that he loves me every day. He deals with my distaste for cooking, he puts up with the fact that cleaning isn't usually my number one priority, and he tries to make do with my inability to organize pretty much anything. But even still, he loves me. And I know it. How great is that!!

Chris. My Chris. I love him with all of my heart and soul. xoxoxo. Happy anniversary honey!!

Black & White: A Family Shoot

I'm not exactly sure what has gotten in to me. Fist of all I don't post in like three years and second of all I create an all black & white blog post? Huh? So not like me, but it is what it is!

I tagged along with Carla during this family shoot and had a super fun time as we got to know this cute little family. Everything about them is so dang cool, from the kids names: Gus, Sophie, and Alice to the tiniest little story-telling details on every wall and in every room. These guys were so awesome; when I grow up, I wanna be just like them.

Here we go!

Mr. Gus and his amazing coconut!


Sisters: Sophie & Alice!


My newest little friend (she liked to hold my hand!) - isn't she beautiful!


A quiet moment with Gus.


This is the amazing Sophie and boy, does she exude some quiet confidence. She has some majorly great things in store for her, I just know it!



So cute!


And my new little friend gave me some amazing moments to photograph. She just stuck by my side the whole day and loved up my camera.


My favorite little gem of the day...


Thanks for reading! :)

xo,

Katie

Gorgeous Wedding at Tower Ridge with Carla Ten Eyck & Erik Maziarz

Sheer joy. Pure happiness. Super funocity (that's not a word , is it?). These are the first words that come to mind when I think of describing my experience at Kevin & Kerri's wedding on Saturday at Tower Ridge Country Club in Simsbury. My extreme good luck ended in spending an awesome Saturday with some of the most fun, fabulous, and sincere people. But I would be remiss if I did not tell you how my luck began. I only served as an assistant on this wedding, the first wedding where I assisted the uber-fabulous, super talented, and amazingly artistic Carla Ten Eyck. Have you checked out her website yet? Click on her name if you haven't. I also have to give Mr. Maziarz a shout out - he was shooting with Carla that day and oh my Lord, is he awesome too! Woo!

I recently started working with Carla and her studio team. I do office "stuff" and a little shooting here and there. And boy does that make me count my lucky stars. I am so humbled to be working amongst such amazing talent. I couldn't be happier if I tried.

While being an assistant I do get to shoot a little too. (Dang, I am so thankful for that!!!!) And while I know that I don't have near the awesomeness ("there is no charge for the awesomeness" - what movie??) that Carla and her team have, I am going to share a couple of my favorite images that came from my camera that day. Enjoy! :)

Kerri's dress was so pretty




Kevin's mom brought a special little piece of lace


Loved the muted colors of Kerri's bouquet, they looked gorgeous against her dress


See?


Love the light here and overexposure here. It was so ethereal to me and complemented Kerri's happiness so well.


SUCH a happy (and beautiful!!!) bride!


Holy SMOKES!!!


Here's a quiet moment just before Kerri and Kevin's first look.


Right after their first look Kerri and Kevin sat down and she read a heartfelt letter to him. It was such a sweet moment.


The sacred moment!!!




So glad I was a part of your super fun and beautiful celebration guys! Thank you!

Boys

Boys. My boys. My two, not-so-little-anymore, little boys. My WHOLE life is about boys. Boy clothes, boy toys, boy smells, boy language - you name it - boys.

When I was a teenager my mom may have told me, more than once, that my whole life was about boys, but that was different. Really different. Back then I just wanted boys to like me, I wanted them to think I was cute, and funny, and creative, and HOT. But it was hard to get them to like a tall, stringy, big-eyed girl whose ears stuck out a little too far, whose eye makeup spoke a little too loud, whose cheeks glowed a little too red, whose body was far from curvaceous, and whose gangly awkwardness got in the way of even walking down a school corridor in a normal, far-from-hot, fashion.

I guess today we could say not much has changed. Though I wear less eye makeup my ears still stick out a little too far, my cheeks are still red, and I never found those womanly curves I had been looking for. BUT my life is still about boys and trying to get them to like me. While I don't doubt for a minute that my boys love me, I am extremely confident in the knowledge that they do not like my camera. And when I have my camera pointed in their direction, they surely do not like me. Oh well, such is life. With boys.

For this round of camera + boys I told them we were going on a photo adventure. Adventure is a boy word, right? Well, to my kids, adventure means constant running, jumping, exploring, etc. it does not mean standing still, turning towards me, looking at my lens, etc. But they braved a freezing cold, windy winter day. For me. I won't tell you about all the whining I heard though, because then you might think my boys are kinda girlie or something. ;) Trust me, as a girl, I have done my fair share of whining. And no - they didn't learn it from me. Or did they?

Um, holy sunset, Batman.


Yup, he's in midair.


yeah, not my photo op outfit of choice, but DANG, it was cold!





Yup, that's a little tiny boogie. Thanks for noticing! :)

And just because I think this is a pretty photo...


xo,

Katie

In Celebration of Winter!

Winter kills me - seriously. It's a drag!!! Yes, yes, it is beautiful don't get me wrong. I try really hard to appreciate what winter has to offer (insert sarcasm here) like bare trees, burningly cold air, flu, dirty snow, black ice, wool, and icicles, hooooray for icicles! Oh, and Christmas, I pretty much think Christmas is okay! However, I so want to be outside running my fingers through the warm dirt, planting tomatoes, swinging at the park, swimming in our little pool, sitting on the beach - anything but holed up like I have been for the past 4 months. I've kind of reached my limit with winter and I'd like it to skedaddle. And quickly. Very quickly.

Another thing about winter that I don't like so much is that it is tough to be outside taking super cute photos. So in honor of winter I am offering a little Winter Blues special to warm up your life (okay, mine too!). How about a CD of edited high-resolution images (with printing rights) and a two hour session for $100? If it sounds good, email me at kcslater@gmail.com to set up a time. These can be photos of anything and anyone. You and your honey, your kids, your dog, etc. I am open to hearing fun ideas too! This is a very limited offer though so contact me by February 28th...or ELSE! :)

And of course no post about celebration would be complete without a photo...here is our dear friend Renee whose energy, spunk, and giggles we are so happy to have in our life. Happy Birthday!!!

Two hours in the life of Slater. WARNING: Incredibly Uninteresting. Serious.

Wanna see what happened here in Slaterville today? Come on, I know you do!!!! I took my camera along on our errands today. Here goes...

First stop, (oops not really an errand) my favorite fast food stop, Taco Bell!!! Yeah baby!!! Don't judge!


Oh, what's my little Charliepants eating? A taco!!!!! The taco doesn't fall far from the tree! He sure has his momma's love of mexican.


Beware this next photo is incredibly interesting. Thank you Taco Bell for the following wetnap and breath mint - which Charlie immediately stole and ate.


On to Tarjay (the most upscale retail establishment in all of Enfield! Serious!) where we run into a guy feeding seagulls from the window of his car. Awesome.


Tarjay's aftermath, though perhaps this photo would have been more effective if I had taken a photo of my empty wallet. :/


We let the dog out...


We let the dog in... (love my little Annie Blue and her one blue eye!)


Charlie had a popsicle.


Jack came home from school.


I got Jack a popsicle too, and then proceeded to leave the freezer door open for about 10 minutes. Don't you totally love my ghetto freezer and it's accompanying mess? I don't.


Jack crackin' up at one of my super funny jokes. ;)


Jack and I making faces in front of the camera for a couple minutes. Does Tarjay carry Botox? Would anyone like to give me some Botox? PLEASE?


And that concludes story hour folks. Love ya all!

Payin' it forward - Robin Dini style!

A little while back, right before Christmas (ok, a long while back?) Robin Dini, a fabulously fun CT photographer, wrote the following:

"So, as a fellow photographer, my gift to Connecticut photographers out there, if they so choose to accept, is a family portrait session courtesy of me. This could be a day in the life session, a quick session with the family, or just you and your spouse on a walk for an hour or so. Basically, I want to hang out with you guys, chat it up, and give you some fun pictures of YOU in them! It could be so fun!"

Well, I jumped on the bandwagon as fast as I possibly could and emailed Robin right away. You see, despite the fact that I take photos of other people and their families, the last time someone (my husband's super but non-photographer friend) took a photo of my family together was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2006 and with my old point and shoot camera. Ummm, it's 2009 already. Hello, three years have quickly passed and I realized I had no up-to-date photos of me and my favorite boys. So, when Robin emailed me back to say I was one of the first people to contact her, I was soo excited! We set up a date, got dressed and ready to roll, and then smiled pretty for the camera.

Click HERE to take a look at the rest of our photos. Go on and give Robin a little comment love while you are at it!

I love the gift that Robin has given us. For when the time comes for me to look back on my life, I know from the bottom of my heart that the thing that will matter most to me is the time I spent with my family, the people I love most in life. For Robin to give us the gift of a photograph that captures just a moment of our time together, is absolutely priceless. And for that I am forever grateful. Thank you Robin for your gift of time and photography, I am so happy to have these photos of my family. SO. Incredibly. Happy. Thank you.

So, now it's my turn. For any CT photographer out there who is interested in capturing a moment of your or your family's life, I am paying it forward. It's my turn to take some photos of you. If you are interested please email me. We'll spend some time together and then I'll edit and give you the photos from your session on a CD. I will only ask for one thing in return - that YOU pay it forward too! So if you are interested, email me! Can't wait to hear from you!! :)