Recently, I went to the Bethesda Country Club in Bethesda, MD to meet and photograph Jessica and John who are getting married there in July of next year.  The golf course had a lot of beautiful locations – we just had to watch out for flying golf balls headed our way! 

When Jessica contacted me, she said that she wanted the coverage that her friends, Jill and Adam had and asked what dates was I available so that they could plan around that - it’s always such a pleasure being referred by one of my previous couples and of course, a big “Thank you” goes out to Jill and Adam.

For their engagement photos, they both decided to wear dressier outfits…I really liked the dressy look.

This area looked great in both color and black and white, but in the black ad white version, I really like how the texture of the tree bark came out and the blurred branches in background seem to curve around to embrace the two of them.

From “technical” photography standpoints, this image is imperfect….but I loved the moment…capturing slices of relationships is exactly why I love my job so much - while I’m only showing one of the images, I captured a sequence of the two of them just relaxing with each other, looking happy, and enjoying hanging out. 

Same location as above, quieter moments.

Just love this.

This was a location that Jessica specifically requested, and I can see why – it’s the driveway into the country club and we had a really fun time dodging cars going in and out along with trying to avoid having cars going past on the frontage road…in one of the out-takes, there was a big yellow bus going past!

Jessica and John – it was great hanging out with you!  Can’t wait to start working on your guestbook and I’m really looking forward to seeing you again on your wedding day!

Dana and Bill got together with me on a day when we were dealing with a week of one of the most hot and humid weather I’ve remembered in Pennsylvania in a LONG time. And they were such good sports about cuddling up with each other…or perhaps it was just that they were stuck to each other because of the humidity. Top it off with battling the mosquitos – I can guarantee that it was probably one of the most romantic dates they’ve had in their 10+ years of dating one another! Well, maybe not. To anyone who may have been watching from the outside, I’m sure that our swatting provided a lot of entertainment anyway. Note to self: next time shooting at that location in the summer after a lot of rain, remember to bring repellant.

One of the things that I love about engagement sessions is the opportunity to for my couples and I to really get to know one another and create gorgeous photos that are usually taken at the best time of day – we had some fantastic lighting.

You’ll see Dana and Bill again toward the end of September for their wedding taking place at the beautiful Hotel Hershey.

Another sign-in book being shipped out today – this time for Dena + Rich. You’ll see them again in a few months; they are getting married on July 19, 2008 in Harrisburg, PA.

The images were taken in the fall at the beautiful Schwab Estates and St. Francis University in Loretto.

I took a few quick photos of the book before packing it up to send out…

Their cover:

Love the color in the leaves at the top of this page…and of course,  it’s wonderful when  my couples just seem to forget that I’m around and enjoy hanging out with each other.

And, when there’s leaves all around, you have to have a leaf fight ending in a friendly kiss. This is also a great opportunity to mention about the flexibility of designing with these books – the pages lay almost flat when opened (making it easier for guests to sign) and there’s no gutter in the center, which means that we can do true panoramic photos.

This tree was just amazing -

Kristin & Pete will be getting married on May 10 in Stonewood and Bridgeport, West Virginia.  Last fall, we got together for their engagement session.

They are doing some great things with the images that we got during the shoot – last last year, I designed a lovely save-the-date magnet for them to send out to their guests.  And they are planning on using selected black and white 5×7 images from the engagement session in an 8×10 mat and frame to place on each of the guest tables.  Kristin and I talked about what would look best on the tables and I can’t wait to see it! 

And finally, what arrived - their sign-in book for their guests which is getting sent out tomorrow.

Kristin & Pete – I can’t wait to see the two of you!  Only about a month to go!

These are a few of the layouts from their guestbook – area is left around the images to allow guests to write their thoughts and well-wishes.