Kim & Tony 07.13.2008

Kim works with one of my dear dear friends Dori at her salon. When Kim got engaged Dori immediately gave her my card - and do I ever thank her! An absolutely stunning bride, amazing dress, heartfelt & handcrafted details - and a BEAUTIFUL venue at Alpine Ridge in Hollis, NH.

I found a spot through the trees where I was able to see Kim & Tony straight on - they look so pleased and calm. A perfect match!

Alpine Ridge has what they call their "Picture Bridge" and boy is it ever! Over the lake that's loaded with frogs that kept surprising me as I was working around (and ok, IN, the water to get the right angles)

Their cake was amazing - the colors were soft and complementary and I love the compactness of her bouquet. I also love the shot I grabbed of the two of them taking a picture of themselves at the head table - so cute!

So many friends and family and ADORABLE children were there to help them celebrate their spectacular day.

And boy could these folks dance! For the last song of the night the DJ gathered everyone in a large circle and gave each of the participants a shot to 'do their thing' culminating in a tender moment with the bride & groom before they headed off to start the next chapter in their lives!

Congratulations Kim & Tony! Thank you for having me as a part of your wonderful wedding!

Kate & Marcus 07.12.2008

Kate & Marcus have the most brilliant smiles and kindest hearts ever. So in love the two of them are! We had a beautiful time at their engagement shoot last October and I was so excited when they showed me the Thank You Cards, Save the Date magnet & then the wedding favor stickers they made with their photos from that shoot! The other thing I was surprised to see was how they'd lost so much weight! I heard a guest say that together they'd lost 80lbs before the wedding - that just put the amount of gorgeous the two of them are OTT!

I arrived at Kate's mom's house just as hair and makeup were leaving - her girls were a great help in getting her ready to go!

The ceremony was at St. Pius in Manchester - a beautiful church!

Kate's dad has kind eyes - Kate also, and here they're brimmed with tears as she looks at Marcus.

Their reception was held at the GORGEOUS Manchester Country Club - we snuck out for a few more formals at sunset.

I loved all of their details, especially the wedding photos of their parents!

The roses for Kate, Marcus & the church are called "Big Fun" - by the end of the night Marcus' had opened larger and more perfectly than any rose I'd ever seen before!

The DJ was great - if you wanted the Bride & Groom to kiss you had to get all of your table standing, clink your glasses, and then serenade the couple with a song that included the word 'love' - 99.9% of the time the DJ would play that song right after till the next table was ready to go. The crowd loved it - it was so much fun to watch!

Kate & Marcus - thank you so much for making me a part of your lives! It was honor to be at such a beautiful event!

Melissa, they look AWESOME!!! We're so happy with how they came out. Thanks again! I LOVE THEM!!!

Kate & Marcus

What amazing pictures! Melissa did such a great job, and it was so much fun!!!!!
Hope all is well with everyone... Take care, Jen (a bridesmaid) & Hammy (a groomsman) !!

Thank you!

I just received the nicest compliment from a guest at a wedding I did back in April. She ordered this print along with a few others, and upon confirmation of her order, she emailed me this:

You did an awesome job with Kristin's wedding and I love being able to order pictures from it! I think that is a great idea. I don’t even recall seeing you there! Which I see as a great accomplishment b/c the last wedding I went to they had two photogs and a videographer and you would have thought the paparazzi was out! I thought it stole some thunder away from the bride and groom. But you did a great job of staying behind the scenes. I mean the one family picture of us outside (with the two girls); I don’t even recall you being behind the woman who took a picture for us!

Both venues were nice, but you made them look AMAZING in the pictures. They even don’t look like the same church and ski lodge to me! Great job again! Enjoy the weekend. Amy

Thank you again Amy for the kind words, it really is a great compliment to me to know that I dind't detract from Kristin & Pat's BEAUTIFUL wedding!

Kim & Brian 06.21.2008

After a wonderful engagement session last fall, and a family 50thAnniversary/75thBirthday party in November, I was quite excited that it was finally time for Kim and Brian's amazing sea side ceremony at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH. Kim arrived with her mom and dad and sisters and met up with Brian at the coast line for a ceremony that had everyone in tears.

I LOVE this photo of Kim as she pulls up in her dads truck - Kim, you looked AMAZING!

their readings and vows were just perfect - not everyone can make the words 'smarter consumer' sound so romantic - but Kim pulled it off with grace.

Brian is so tender with Kim - you can tell that he is just in awe to be around her, and she him - a wonderful match!

What and AMAZING location they picked - and such perfect weather.

Kim's friends from college wanted to give her something to think fondly of them on - when I joshingly suggested the Charlie's Angels pose they knew exactly what to do - and oh did they!

I loved watching all the kids climb around on the rocks looking in the tide pools - I think they might never have stopped and the sun not gone down.

But not with out an absolutely wonderful sunset - I could live forever in the glow of a sunset!

Two thumbs up!! Congratulations Kim & Brian! Your hard work was evident but not nearly as evident as your love for each other!

We've looked at them over and over...LOVE them! You did such a nice job. Many of our friends and family have sent compliments as well! It's going to take a while for us to pick which ones we want!

Thanks,
Kim

How I celebrated my 30th Birthday.

Fried zucchini, fried scallops, fresh sea air, my love and my boy - who was on vacation with his grandparents in New Mexico for the prior 3 weeks. I missed those baby blues!

..he's garnering more freckles by the day, trying to catch up to me I think! (He hates them - but so did I when I was a kid)

I can't wait for my bday gifts to arrive either - A shootsac and a canon 50mm 1.4 YUM!

In all 30's not so bad so far - I have back to back weddings this weekend and next weekend we're having a big party to celebrate we two girls born in 1978!

Amy & Greg 06.07.08

Amy and Greg had a most beautiful ceremony at the Margate in Laconia, NH on 06-07-08, which I thought was also a most fun wedding date!

Amy's dress was Gorgeous - I couldn't get enough of it!

She's a hairdresser, so she and her girls set up 'shop' in the hotel room and all took care of each other. It was so much fun!

Details details everywhere!

Then it was time for Amy to start getting ready, it was just about then her nerves set in I think.

Cole, her son, was enjoying all the girly prepping going on, knowing full well his step dad and the guys next door were going to 'throw on the suits' at the last minute.

While they were hustling about I took a quick peek up stairs at the reception hall and then joined the guys as they finished getting spiffy. (And spiffy they were!)

Then it was back to Amy & the girls just in time - Breathtaking!

I won't lie - it was HOT and muggy, but there was enough of a breeze off the lake that it made it almost comfortable, but very bright, at the ceremony.

I loved these two huge trees that provided us with some shade from the sun for formals.

Hunting enthusiast, they added a sportsman woodsy flavor to the wedding with grace and class. There were mason jar favors with gummy fish, gummy worms & bobbers - everything you could need to go fishing!

Amy & Greg were so smitten with each other. The rest of the night they partied hard and gazed into each others eyes when they could catch a moment.

These two decided to gaze into the bottom of a shot glass instead! :P~

Then it was time for acorn cupcakes - I'm glad they remember to take the acorns off before they shoved them (delicately) into each others faces!

After the cake - Greg & Amy and I snuck outside for some personal time with the sunset - What a night!!

Back inside the party was in full swing, these people were a great time and not afraid to dance!

My time with them ended with a gorgeously lit sky outside as they danced a slow dance on the first night of the rest of their lives.

Two days after their wedding I received this lovely email:

Melissa,

Just wanted to say thank-you very much for Saturday! Not only were you the photographer, but kept everything else in line.You were a pleasure to work with and we really appreciate you sharing in our day with us.Thanks again can't wait to see the pictures, I'm sure there beautiful you made it look super easy...Talk to you soon.

Greg and Amy

Thank you Greg & Amy for letting me take part in such a touching day with you!