Woodstock 2009

I may not wear daisies in my hair, but i'm heading to Woodstock this weekend!

The Center for Photography at Woodstock is a well respected venue for photography and photographers.

I'm thrilled to be part of a show that's opening up there Sat night!

I'm part of a group called Nutopia that is lead by the fantastic Platon, who has created inspiring photographs that we all recognize.

Here is my image that will be exhibited as a 30x40! Very exciting.

I love these events for the burst of energy that floods into my veins as i elbow rub and story swap with everyone on what they are doing in this fabulous industry in this fabulous city.

Elissa & Joshua-Lower East Side

I'm SO EXCITED to share this wedding with you. Elissa and Joshua got married at the absolutely gorgeous Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side a few weeks ago. Wow. They are both event planners so needless to say, they know how to make it happen! I would follow them blindfolded into the forest. C'mon...she had an outfit change! Perfection.

But the most amazing thing they dressed the space with was their love for each other and their families. Honestly, it was breathtaking. The way they both looked at each other as Elissa slowly walked down the aisle (to Cat Power no less)...i mean seriously, sometimes i feel like my job takes me to the movie theater of the best love stories ever written. Only instead of sitting in the theater with a box of popcorn, i'm there with a camera (or 2 or 3) witnessing it all live, putting it in a time capsule for generations to come.

Thank you Elissa and Joshua for inviting Andrew and I to document your day. It was truly a pleasure. Hope you are having a great time in Bali.

(and sorry for so many pictures, but honestly, i cant wittle it down any more!)

xxx

Elissa is part of the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island. Some of her fellow Mermaids put on an amazing performance for her.

make it your own

I was contacted recently by Wedding Window and their blog WedLoft to submit some images of a recent wedding. They've posted it here and it looks great!

I actually use Wedding Window myself for our wedding website, and I oh-so-love it! I did a lot of research because i wanted to use a site that i could customize myself until i was blue in the face. I didnt want anything that was confining. No. No. No. And Wedding Window has so many options, I still feel like i havent tapped all the possiblities and i'm running out of time! 

My favorite part is the thank you note tracker. Love it! After you write your thank you, you move the person from thank you note not written, to thank you note written, and its so satisifying! (As a side note, do you ever put something on your to-do list that you know you've just finished, just so you can cross it off? I have! I love a good cross-off!)

Anyway, if you're going to do your own wedding website, I would highly recommend these guys, and being featured on their blog is just icing on the cake.

Culley & Kenny, Tribeca

Culley is the perfect combination of southern sweetness mixed with New York energy. And Kenny, well lets just say that when Kenny took to the dance floor he could do no wrong. The 2 of them exuded such a level of honest fun that I'm not sure either of them dropped their smile all evening. Thanks for sharing your evening with us! Hope Italy treated you well. 

xx jami & andrew

love this shot of andrew's

this is defintely one of my favorites photos of the moment.

such a cinematic ending to the night.

Jill & Duce, September 26 2009

Jill & Duce had a gorgeous wedding a couple weeks ago. It felt very "them." as they stayed close to their neighborhood and put together a true New York City wedding. They have such a clear and present admiration for each other and an amazing group of friends. It almost felt like the whole wedding was one big billowy cloud of love surrounding them. Andrew and I really were so touched to share in this wedding. All the best to you Jill and Duce!

One of my favorite thing about having both Andrew and I shooting together, is putting the Getting Ready images together. I absolutely love seeing what each of them was doing at the same time, while preparing to see each other for the first time.

Aren't kids just classic?

Duce's grandfather made this brandy when Duce was born...to be opened and drunk on his wedding day..can you believe?! His parents flew it over from Europe, and everyone at the wedding shared in a shot of it! It was so sweet and from everyone's face, quite strong!

I love this shot that Andrew got at the very end of the evening as Jill went outside to say some goodbyes.

onetwothreefourfivesixSEVEN

my cousin's daughter, almost like a neice to me, turned seven this weekend.

so i made a quick trip to Boston to celebrate with her. (and the family kept it a secret from her which was fun)

i love that kid so much...AND she's a budding photographer.

i mean,  i can't pretend that i dont get a little bit excited when she gets a huge kick out of taking pictures.

anyway, happy birthday Janie Beans!

(cooking by cousin bec and aunt sal)

(and btw, i'm updating my blog on the train back to NYC...how fun!)

 

Six Degrees of Seal

Small world story! 

Project runway (love)...

Anyway, i photographed one of the models back in the day! Named Matar...

Almost 3 years ago...

She's the model currently assigned to Epperson, who is still going strong in the challenges!

When I photographed her, she'd newly moved here (from Israel i think), she was driven, she was good. Its no surprise she's still out there making it happen.

We shot this in Red Hook (before I lived there)...here are a few of the images!

Part deux

When we shoot weddings, we offer to do some type of photo booth or Polaroid Corner. And can i say, opting to do it any our own event was absolutely ridiculously fun!! My dear friend Michelle rocked steady behind the camera that night, and also helped us project the images on the wall in real time. When people saw the images on the huge wall, it was like instant advertising, and people were lining up! To sound a bit like a 6th grader, I really love my friends! (or in 6th grade is it more "i really hate my friends?") Oh well.

And I have to just share this one of all my Texas girls that made the journey to New York. 

2+ decades of friendship...there really is nothing like it. 

If i had known being engaged would be this much fun...

well, of course its not just being engaged itself..but sharing it with Andrew (who by the way, is such a sport...i think he secretly likes these things, or i keep telling myself he does, but he's really not into all the planning. he would've been happy to duck off into the woods somewhere, say I Do, and get on with it all. But well, like I said, he's a good sport! :) I just get such a kick out of all of this. Meanwhile, where do I get the time? I thought I had no time for anything before all of this, and all of a sudden, I have time for all these DIY projects and I just cant stop!

Anyway, 2 weeks ago, we had our engagement party..which was absolutely dream-licious. Despite a few hiccups, like non stop rain that cancelled and delayed flights and sent me into freak out panic mode that everyone was going to miss it..and Andrew saying, "I'm glad we're not actually getting married tonight because I dont want to spend the day I get married like this!"...oh, and we DID actually wake up that day saying, wow, we are so on top of things. Today is going to be so relaxing. Yea, whatever.

The night was amazing though. I literally felt like i was twirling around in a fog (and didnt have a sip to drink!) Seeing everyone you know and love in one room together is downright crazytown. It was one of those nights where Andrew and I looked at each other half way through with that look, "Yea, we did it. I minorly wanted to kill you here and there, and you me. But we did it. And it was so worth it."

So anyway...the night!

Party at Ramscale studio in the meatpacking that is absolutely incredible. You get to pick your own art that they will hang for your party. What?! (tell Rocky we sent you!)

Nisa Lee did our catering. I've known her for years. Example of why I love her so? I called her that morning when I saw the rain, saying "I think we need more tables and chairs! No one is going to be able to use the outside furniture!" (Yea, that's right. I became that GIRL!) Her reaction, "No problem. We can do that. Just breathe. We'll be fine. We'll make it happen." And did she? Oh yea! She takes care of everything. She works hard, and her food is goooood! Plus, isnt she cute?

So you may have seen our engagement party invite. Vane at Brooklyn Bride put it up first, and then it went viral! So much fun. Check it out here, here, and here.

Anyway, we took the invite and made postcards out of the pages of the book.  Put stamps on them and made it into our sign-in book.(to go along with our UPS theme..the scene of the crime, better known as where we met.) Now we're getting postcards in the mail. What's better than real MAIL?

ok..next up...our photo booth pictures! 

stay tuned...

Across the Tappan Zee

Truly, such a sweet group. Michael the groom, was game for anything. When i complimented him on his willingess, he said "Well, this means a lot to her." Awwww.

it was quite a grand ceremony. And Maria seemed so relaxed throughout. They kept giving each other little winks.

Every little detail....

Maria is the oldest of 3 sisters. All three are absolutely gorgeous! And seemed to have a fantastic time celebrating their sister.

Maria's mother put together a candy buffet at the end of the wedding that gave you the giddy feeling of literally being that "kid in a candy store." Thanks for sharing your night with us! It was such a treat.

Turned Tables

Our engagement party was amazing. Sure, I'm probably biased. But to have everyone you adore in a room together is downright trippy and incredible (and good practice for the wedding. My advice...breathe!) . Andrew and I worked hard to put it all together. And it was so worth it. Despite the rain that crept in right in time for our event, everyone's flights made it here ok. And half way through the night, the clouds lifted. People went on to the terrace. The city lights were out. The September 11th tower lights were strong. And 5 minutes into the party, I was already nervous that it was about to end. More pics to come....Lots of love to everyone. We are floating. 

(photo: Manjari Sharma)

50 years of love

Andrew and I photographed a 50th anniversary party in Shelter Island last month. Wow! 50 years!! They seemed to be at so much peace with each other. 

I'm also in awe of the relationship the kids are developing, due to the family's desire to have them grow up around each other, spending their summers (and more) together. You can almost see into the future, knowing these are moments the kids will always remember together as cousins...

We also did a Polaroid Corner at the party. Everyone had so much fun. Its such a refreshing process amidst our digital world. The kids waited the 2 minutes for the Polaroids to develop. They were great little helpers.

Love on a Brooklyn Pier

I photographed Doug & Nerissa while they were engaged and knew they were taking their time with wedding plans..not stressing out too much about any of it, and just taking it all in. 

So imagine my surprise when I got a call from Nerissa that 7 days from her phone call, they were planning to make it all official!! 

How romantic! And on a Wednesday too!

It was as if I was getting a special secret phone call, telling me to set the birds in motion, this game is ON!

all the best to the gorgeous couple. thanks for inviting us to share in your day! xx

Boys of Summer

Reunited with a camp friend Rachel from years ago (thank you facebook)...and was in her neck of the woods this summer in Florida. So we set up a photo session! 

Her energy is addictive and I couldn't help but be transported back to camp days in my mind when being around Rachel, with her smile and her scratchy voice, was enough to wash any hint of homesickness out of your system. She was the very definition of camp.

Damn how I love photography...to be able to reunite with people i love who are sprinkled all over the globe, and to see how their life has grown, and to make pictures to celebrate and document that..well, yea...i dig it. 

Dear Mom!!

Still catching up here...but in early July, Mom came to town from Dallas...and went with me to buy my dress!!

Honestly, I tried on about 50 dresses...all with various lovely friends whose opinions i want and need during this big decision (i'm a libra...any decision is big, let alone your wedding dress!)

After 50 dresses, i had one and only one that i loved...but mom wasnt convinced from the pictures i'd sent her. So she made the trip to NYC...from the minute she saw it, she loved it. She is NOT a libra..and after walking around the city for another half hour, we decided to call the store, and tell them we were in!! 

We snapped this picture after we hung up the phone. So exciting. Mom and I went for margaritas after that. And that night I took her to Lincoln Center for the ballet. 

Thanks so much for coming to NYC for that trip mom. It was so special to me! I'm so lucky. I love you!