Love at first tackle | JoyAnn & Brian's Art Museum Area Engagement Portraits

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Engagement portrait with flag football jerseys and sitting on bench under big tree in Philadelphia, PA

• Posted by Natalie •

Ok, so technically there is no tackling in a flag football league, but we still loved that this sweet couple lets their competitive side out on the weekends in their flag football league.  JoyAnn and Brian brought their team jerseys out for a few of their photos at their fall engagement session at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and just hearing about their game schedule made me tired!  I always admire couples who have such fun hobbies that they enjoy together.

They showed off more of their Philly team spirit by donning their Phillies and Eagles jerseys for a couple photos after we took some more traditional portraits at Love Park and around the Philadephia Art Museum.  We like having the opportunity to take a mix of formal and playful portraits since many couples don't have a lot of good portraits of themselves. Including personal items like JoyAnn & Brians's football jerseys help engagement portraits tell a more complete story of a couple. I can't believe that their April wedding is just around the corner. We're looking forward to spending another day with this fun couple!

Couple on walkway near Philadelphia WaterworksLove Park engagement portraits with vintage toning, Philadelphia, PACouple sitting at top of Art Museum steps with Philadelphia skyline behind them

Helen & Larry's South Philly Engagement Portraits

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  Urban engagement photo of couple in front of bright blue door and brick wall

• Posted by Natalie •

Despite the order of these posts, we actually did meet up with Helen and Larry about a month before their April wedding for some engagement photos in South Philadelphia.  The architecture around Headhouse Market gave us the opportunity for a mix of urban and classic engagement portraits. On Sundays from May through October the area is a bustling Farmers' Market, which can also make for fun photos, but on this day we had the marketplace to ourselves. After we wrapped up there, we wandered around the surrounding South Philly streets where there was no shortage of colorful and interesting backdrops.   Looking back, I'm glad we had such a beautiful day for these photos since there was so much rain on Helen and Larry's wedding day, which is another great reason to get engagement portraits.  We were able to take our time and find the right poses, backdrops and style for Helen and Larry during their engagement portraits, and that helped a lot on their wedding day when we all dashed into the rain, they fell right into a perfect pose and we were able to get some outdoor photos before anyone washed away!

Couple hugging on cobblestone street in South Philadelphia, PAEngagement photo in empty headhouse market archway, Philadelphia, PACouple looks at each other in busy South Philly square near South StreetKissing couple framed by red wall in Philadelphia, PA

Winter Wonderland | Andrea & Nathan's Snowy Engagement Portraits

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Couple holds hands in stone archway at Blair Academy in NJ

• Posted by Natalie •

I think Andrea and Nathan win for the biggest contrast in weather between their engagement photos and their wedding day.  A late winter burst of flurries were in the air as I traveled to Blair Academy, a boarding school in Blairstown, NJ where the Andrea and Nathan both live and teach, for their March engagement session.  The students were on break, so the campus was quiet and the fresh snowfall made the whole area look like a postcard. This couple's late July wedding at Villanova University ended up being on one of the hottest, most humid days of last year, and I think all of us at the wedding would have happily stepped into this setting for a bit to cool off!

Winter scene is reflacted in water behind couple cuddling by treeEngagement photos on a winter day in New Jersey

I love how much Andrea and Nathan make each other laugh. It's impossible not to feel the joy around these two!

Laughing couple and footprints in snow leading to kissing coupleEngagement photo on front porch of dorm at Blair AcademySnow surrounding couple in engagement photo

Baby it's cold outside | Lauren & Mike's Art Museum Engagement Portraits

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  Stone pattern on ground frames cuddling couple at Philadelphia Museum of Art

• Posted by Natalie •

Lauren and Mike might have been one of our most ambitious 2011 couples—Lauren is an accountant who was planning a late April wedding and when we met up with them last February they had just closed on a new home and planned to move in the next month!  We're glad they were able to carve out a bit of time to meet up with us at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for engagement photos.  Even a brief session like this one is a great opportunity for us to get to know a couple better and allows us to create more personal portraits on the wedding day, especially since Lauren and Mike opted not to have any getting ready photos during their wedding day coverage.

Couple in front of cast iron door behind Art Museum in Philly

 

It was quite a blustery day—but that just gave them an excuse to cuddle up more!  We love the diversity of locations around the Art Museum—these two photos were only taken a few yards apart from each other.

Cool cast iron door with stone arch frames kissing couple; cuddling on bike path behind art museum, Philadelphia, PA

Shadow of kissing couple on bike path behind Philadelphia Museum of Art

Let the sun shine | Liz & Brian's Beach Wedding in Ocean City, NJ

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  Wedding portrait on Ocean City boardwalk with cloudy sky and ocean

• Posted by Natalie •

When we woke up the morning of Liz & Brian's beach wedding in Ocean City, NJ we were greeted with a wet, gray day.  By the time we made it into Ocean City to scope out the sites where Liz wanted to take portraits on the beach it was raining so hard we could barely make it up the sandy path to the beach.  There did not seem to be much hope for an outdoor ceremony that was due to start in a few hours. But Liz put her faith in weather.com's hourly forecast and stuck to her guns; She was getting married on the beach.

The rain ceased by the time they had their first look on the Ocean City Boardwalk.  It was still pretty windy and chilly, so the whole bridal party headed into the 7th Street Arcade to get some portraits before the ceremony.  Melissa Kelly was our trusty assistant for the day and she bravely followed this large bunch into the arcade.  I love this idea for large bridal parties.  Melissa was able to get portraits of smaller groups playing a variety of games, plus it was a lot of fun!  Meanwhile, Matt and I got plenty of portrait time in with Liz and Brian before the ceremony.

As the guests gathered at First Street Beach the threat of rain had passed, and as Liz and her father walked onto the beach where Brian was waited the sun actually broke through the clouds.  It was one of those breathtaking moments where you feel everything come together.  I said a little thank you prayer for this brave bride who ended up with a truly gorgeous beach wedding with a backdrop of moody clouds that only come on days with turbulent weather.

After the ceremony, the sun ducked away again, but that was OK, because all the guest headed to the bay side of the island for a reception at the Ocean City Yacht club.  Inside the Yacht Club, all of Liz's carnival-themed decorations with bright blues and oranges brightened up the room. We were so happy to see everything come together for this wonderful couple!

Ferris wheel and fence on beach in Ocean City, NJ

Melissa is Miss Details and she joined me for the getting ready photos. I love watching and collaborating with other photographers when we have time to play around the details.

Blue wedding shoes and umbrella, sea shell and wedding jewelry, invitation with ferris wheel

I love the orange and royal blue theme—it suited all the bright personalities in this big bridal party!

Bridesmaids with royal blue dresses and orange gerbera daisies

Candid bridesmaids photo blue bridesmaids dresses and orange bouquetsGroom in light gray suit, candid photo of groomsmen in tan suits and blue tiesGroomsmen in Abbey Road photo, Ocean City, NJDetails from Ocean City, NJ boadwalkGroomsmen on jetty on Ocean City beachGroom and groomsmen on rocks in ocean

I loved this first look!  Added bonus: the bridal party was full of wedding pros—they arranged themselves so nicely for these photos.

Bride sneaks up on groom for first look on the boadwalk in Ocean City, NJBride & Groom's first look on boadwalk in Ocean City, New JerseyBoadwalk kiss portrait, Ocean CityBridal party in front of the boardwalk arcade in Ocean CityBridal party rides the carouselBride and Groom on Carousel in Ocean CityBridal party plays arcade games like skeeballBride and Groom kiss on crazy submarine ridebride walks into beach ceremony in Ocean City, NJOcean City beach ceremony at First Street BeachHand Tying ceremony and The Kiss during Beach weddingBridal portrait on beach in Ocean City, NJOcean City Yacht Club, pinwheel placecards and carnival-theme table decoration detailsWedding rings and big lollipopFirst dance at Ocean City Yacht Club

 

This was probably one of the funniest Best Man speeches we've ever heard.  I'm pretty sure it's posted on YouTube somewhere.  Brian's older brother had everybody howling with laughter.

Beach-themed White and Orange cake with piggy cake-topper and pinwheelsBride and Groom silhouette on Ocean City Bay Liz and Brian, Thanks so much for sharing your day with us— It was truly perfect from start to finish!