Monthly Archives: June 2008

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An intimate dinner party at Les Zygomates - to celebrate a wedding!

June 26, 2008 – 8:12 pm

If you’ve chatted with us at any point over the past week, then chances are good that you also heard about our fabulous wedding this past weekend. As hard as we tried, we just couldn’t stop talking about Christine and Richard. This is a couple that has it all going for them - they’re beautiful, fun, have the an amazing group of close knit friends and family and after ten years together they decided to exchange beautiful weddings vows that they each wrote for each other.

If you know anything about Christine and Richard, you’ll know that they are not going to do anything just because tradition dictates it to be so. They have an amazing sense of style and a fabulous independent streak. So every detail of their wedding was planned to perfectly reflect their personalities and we were beyond excited about being there with them!

Here are some of our favorites!

They celebrated their wedding ceremony in the beautiful Public Gardens in Boston under a perfectly blue sky (puffy white clouds and all!) And what made it even more special was that they asked their very close friend - and the person who introduced them to each other 10 years ago - to marry them. The scene was absolutely perfect.

One of my favorite moments was just as Christine, her sister (and matron of honor) and her close friend Jane were walking through the Public Gardens just before the start of the ceremony. We had literally just entered into the Public Gardens and it’s so hard to explain the excitement and anticipation that we were all feeling. We were literally seconds away from one of the happiest moments in their lives. And at that very exact moment, Christine turned back to look at me and *click*. I think this next image really describes all of those emotions perfectly:

After the ceremony, we got to spend a lot of time with Christine and Richard as they had their own portrait session in so many amazing locations including the Public Gardens, Chinatown and sometimes right in the middle of the street. We talked about their portraits having a dramatic, cinematic feel to it which suits their personalities perfectly and we had so much fun coming up with some unique ideas together! Here are some of our favorites:

Christine and Richard had scheduled enough time in between the ceremony and the reception so that even after visiting all of those different locations, we were still able to make it back for their cocktail hour and that they were able to mingle with all of their friends and family.

They had their reception at the coolest wine bar in the city, Les Zygomates. If you’ve never been here, you MUST go soon. It is undoubtedly one of the coolest spots in the city. The food is fabulous and the ambiance makes you feel as though you’re in a cozy little jazz bar in Paris. There’s even live jazz every evening (except Sundays) with no cover charge. Christine and Richard told us that they didn’t want their reception to feel like a formal event. Instead, they wanted their guests to feel as though they had been invited to a small private dinner at their home. And that was exactly how it felt! And everyone picked up on the vibe immediately as the entire evening was filled with so much laughter, mingling and fun. Here was the moment that Christine and Richard first entered the front door during their cocktail hour to a LOT of cheering:

We didn’t just have a great time with Christine and Richard, either. We decided to have some fun with some of their guests as well including “the smokers” that met at regular intervals just outside the front door.

That’s Richard’s dad right in the center! Everyone loved our idea for that photo and they really had a lot of fun making it all work. You guys were great!

Christine and Richard had mentioned to us a few week ago that they would love to be able to do some “night shots” since we were going to be in downtown Boston and in such a great wine bar. Once they said that, Rene and I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. And by the time their wedding day arrived, we decided to stay until the end of the reception and steal Christine and Richard for another mini-session. These guys are so fabulous that we just couldn’t take no for an answer. But fortunately for us - they were just as excited as we were and here is a tiny peek at the results:

Thank you again so much, Christine and Richard…for being YOU!

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Sheela and Tony at the Peabody Essex Museum

June 25, 2008 – 1:37 pm

Get ready for lot of updates to the blog over the next couple of months - everything from weddings to portrait sessions and even more! This is one of our favorite times of the year. Which is probably exactly why Sheela and Tony picked a Saturday in June to get married! And after more than a year of planning, when Saturday finally dawned - there was no denying that it would be another absolutely perfect day for them.

Sheela and Tony planned a North Shore wedding with their ceremony in Gloucester and their reception at the beautiful Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. They scheduled a 3.5 hour gap between the end of their ceremony and the beginning of their cocktail hour so that they could really have fun with their portrait session and with their wedding party. They wanted to be able to go to a few different locations and get really creative and they also wanted to attend their cocktail hour, so scheduling that amount of time gave them the chance to do it all! So many of our couples this year have extended the time between their ceremony and reception for the same reason, and it’s been so much fun to take on the challenge and be able to leave our couples with some amazing portraits that they never would have been able to have otherwise!

So since we had so much time together, get ready for a lot of photos in this sneak peek from Sheela and Tony’s wedding! There are so many more that we wanted to share and I had the hardest time picking some out for the blog.

First let’s start at the adorable little chapel in Gloucester where they were married - just seconds after they officially became husband and wife and walked back up the aisle together to a cheering crowd:

Next, it was off to the Gloucester Harbor and Eastern Point with their FABULOUS wedding party.

The men:

After having some fun with their wedding party, everyone relaxed (and cooled off!) in the limo while Sheela and Tony enjoyed their own private session there on the beach. Sheela’s dad is originally from India and so to honor that side of her family, she had henna applied to her hands - it was so absolutely gorgeous:

And here’s the ever-handsome Tony:

Sheela’s dress was so incredibly beautiful. She had tried to describe it to me before the wedding, but that did it no justice. My jaw literally fell open when I saw her - she is just so stunning! (And Tony thinks so, too…):

From here we made our way over to the Peabody Essex Museum where we still had some time for a session with a completely different feel from the beach! We first stopped in to see the East India room completely dressed and ready for their reception. It was fabulous for Sheela and Tony to be able to take a few minutes and really soak it all in and see everything come together after all of these months of planning. One of my favorite little touches were this beautiful jars of jam that Sheela and her mom made together as favors for their guests. It’s her mom’s secret family recipe and they spent many long nights carefully preparing it for their guests:

And then we were off to make use of this gorgeous and incredibly unique museum. It was just SO much fun to be able to find some new and really creative ways to photograph Sheela and Tony among the fabulous exhibits:

There’s so much more! It was such an amazing evening and we just didn’t want to leave them. Sheela and Tony were so happy with all of their closest friends and family and we just couldn’t be any happier for them!

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A Four Seasons Boston dream wedding

June 19, 2008 – 5:06 pm

It’s so hard for me to even begin to describe the amazing wedding you’re about see. The location was beautiful, the details meticulously attended to, the evening a huge success. But what just makes this wedding are the emotions and the people that were there celebrating it.

We first met Elyse and Will last fall for their engagement session when they took a break from school to come back to Boston and meet us. We fell in love with them and had so much fun all afternoon. The one thing that Rene and I keep talking about every time we think of Elyse and Will is just how in love they are. And not afraid to show it. During their engagement session, Rene and I would step back to assess a scene and see where we wanted to go and turn around 5 seconds later to find Elyse and Will completely lost in their own world. We were so in love with how in love they are!

And all of that was made even more evident when they finally exchanged their vows. There was not a dry eye as Elyse entered the beautiful and historic Arlington Street Church. Throughout the entire ceremony the tears flowed freely and the expressions on their faces as they were officially pronounced “husband and wife” was just priceless.

After the ceremony, their wedding party and families walked across the street to the Boston Public Gardens for a few formals, and then Rene and I escaped with Elyse and Will to their suite for another mini-portrait session.

Then they all enjoyed a full night of celebration at their black tie reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston. When they arrived for cocktail hour, guests were escorted through floor-to-ceiling drapings of hanging orchids alternating with hanging tealights. It was a magical entrance and was only a hint of what was to come. The entire ballroom was completely transformed with beautiful elegant lighting, yards and yards of beautiful hanging fabric and just gorgeous floral arrangements and candles everywhere you looked. I know it was so much work to think of each and every detail, but the end result was absolutely breathtaking!!

It was so difficult to pick our favorites to post on the blog - we just can’t wait to get started on their album so we can really show off the entire day! But here are few of our favs:

As it was the first week in June, in the middle of a heat wave in Boston, and in a church without any air conditioning…the groomsmen needed to stay cool any way they could!

And moments later, Elyse arrived with all of her girls. Her dress was absolutely stunning and from Priscilla of Boston’s Platinum collection. Her train was so heavy with all of the custom hand sewn beading that she definitely needed all of the help she could get to carry her train!

And another glimpse of Elyse’s stunning gown as she entered the church with her dad…

First the Public Gardens:

And one from our private mini-session in their suite at the Four Seasons:

And being the husband of a true girly-girl, Rene knew just how important it would be to show off Elyse’s gorgeous Manolo Blahniks. And if you only knew what Elyse went through for this photo! She’s just amazing (and so are her legs!!!)

And one of the very last portraits from the evening was just in front of that beautiful draping of orchids, flowers and candles that I mentioned earlier:

Elyse and Will just have arrived from their honeymoon in Costa Rica and we just can’t wait to see them again!! Thank you so, so much again for letting us be there to document your wedding - you are a truly special couple and we never want to see you let go of that beautiful passion!

Details from Elyse and Will’s wedding:

Day-of Coordinator: Trends and Traditions
Elyse’s gown: Priscilla of Boston (platinum collection)
Elyse’s shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Elyse’s makeup artist: Katrina Hess
Elyse’s hair: Beaucage
Flowers, Design (and overall dream maker!): Flowers and Design - Bill Mizuta
Ceremony: Arlington Street Church, Boston
Ceremony Musicians: Woodvale String Quartet
Band: Rare Form (we love these guys!!)
Reception: Four Seasons Hotel

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The Ippolito/Doherty family - the prequel…

June 19, 2008 – 4:25 pm

It’s crazy to think that we photographed Jamie and Brian’s wedding over two years ago! Although Jamie and Brian moved to Arizona soon after the wedding, we’ve been able to stay in touch with them through email ever since. And so when they decided to give Jamie’s parents their very own portrait session with us for Christmas last year, we were so thrilled about being able to see everyone again!

We called this session the Ippolito/Doherty family prequel because Jamie and Brian are going to have their first baby in just a couple of months! We were so excited and you can only imagine how Jamie’s parents feel about it as well! It was definitely drizzling the morning of our session and we checked in with Jamie and Brian who told us the entire family wasn’t going to let a little bit of rain stop them! So we all brought some great big golf umbrellas and had a little fun both inside and out! We had an absolute blast catching up with everyone again and now we’re counting the days until we see them again over the holidays for their very first baby session!

By tiradophoto | Posted in main | Comments (0)

Michelle and Scott with a little bit of Lola, too!

June 11, 2008 – 1:51 pm

How to describe our recent engagement session with Michelle and Scott?

1. Really fun
2. Really fun
3. A LOT of laughing
4. and really fun

Seriously, we had the BEST afternoon with these guys. We should have known because when we first met with Michelle and Scott to talk about their wedding, we spent an entire evening talking about the wedding, but then straying and talking about everything else under the sun, too. It was like hanging out with old friends. We first met them when Michelle was a bridesmaid in Lauren and Glenn’s wedding just last October.

Now the spotlight in on this adorable couple! They came into the studio for their engagement session last week and brought along their precious little puppy, Lola. (Lola isn’t technically a puppy anymore, but she’s definitely cute enough to hold on to the title for a little while…) So here’s a sneak peek at some of our favorites from their session!

First the adorably vocal Lola who never wanted to take her eyes off Michelle and Scott…

And a few more out in the sun on a beautiful summer day!

You’ll be seeing them again very soon after we photograph their wedding in August in Newport, Rhode Island. We are so unbelievably excited to spend the day with them while they officially become husband and wife!

By tiradophoto | Posted in main | Comments (0)

Megan and Jeff - in front of our cameras again!

June 11, 2008 – 12:56 pm

Megan and Jeff are so much fun to photograph! And I get the impression that they might really have fun with it, too - they’ve been in front of our cameras three times in just the past year!

We first met them when Megan was a bridesmaid in Margaret and Tim’s stunning wedding last July. Then when Megan and Jeff asked us to photograph their own upcoming wedding we set up a date for their own engagement session and got to photograph them again all on their own. So needless to say, when their wedding day finally arrived, we all knew the kind of fun we were in for and we were all very excited about it!

Rene and I each spent some time with Megan and Jeff early in the afternoon and then we all met up for their beautiful ceremony at St. Columbkille Church in Brighton. Their reception was at the very cool and very urban Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. Their wedding party was a ton of fun and I’m sure none of us will forget the mad scramble while we were taking photos outside when the large bolts of lightning lit up the background. Fun times and definitely some great memories!

So Megan and Jeff are still away enjoying their very extended and very well deserved honeymoon, but we wanted to post some of our favorites from the wedding while we wait for their return to Boston!

One of my favorite moments just as the ceremony was starting when was when the two beautiful flowergirls (Megan’s nieces) received some last minute encouragement from their mom just before walking down the aisle…

And our favorite part of each wedding is the quiet time that we get to spend with each couple. This is when we really have fun. The rain began just as the cocktail hour was ending, so Megan, Jeff and Rene found shelter just under the front entrance at the World Trade Center and took advantage of some beautiful lighting all at the same time…

Later in the evening, Megan and Jeff wanted to sneak away with us for a few minutes again so we could have another mini-session with them after the sun had set. We are so happy that we did because these are some of our favorite images that really show off this gorgeous couple. Our goal was to find some unique elements at the hotel that may not normally be used for photographs so that we could give Megan and Jeff something a little different.

We found an outdoor balcony overlooking the city skyline and the entire balcony was lit with just a lantern-like lamp that was mounted to a wall. The rivets on the wall behind Jeff provided a cool texture and we used that single light to create some dramatic lighting. Then Jeff gave us his best Hollywood mystery man look and he looks absolutely fabulous…

We then headed inside to the very standard and not so interesting “photo room.” But it did have some great blank walls. So we turned all of the lights off, closed the doors and used some video light to create a stunning portrait of Megan:

It was truly a night that no one will ever forget! Megan and Jeff are one of those couples that will do anything for their family and friends and as a result have the incredible support of so many wonderful people. It was so special for us to be there with them!

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