While I’ve been photographing Jewish weddings for years, this energetic mitzvah was the first I helped Chris Connor of 26 North Studios photograph, and it didn’t disappoint. The location was meaningful, the basketball and car theme was super fun, and the two brothers had a fabulous group of family and friends gather to celebrate their mitzvahs!

I joined Chris for the portrait time in the temple earlier that week. It was chilly outside, but we slipped out for a few photos that were fun and showed the boys’ personalities.

I used to get really nervous about the need to schedule a newborn session during the “window” I’d been told to aim for. What if the family and I couldn’t find a time that worked in the first 4-10 days? What if I came down with a cold forcing me to postpone our session until I was 100%, the winter roads were too icy, or the sleep-deprived parents forgot to tell me baby had even arrived? What if the baby got too old?!?

Over the years I’ve learned that I actually prefer timing newborn sessions for around the 3 week mark, and there is no bad time in the first few months for a newborn session. Because my style is more documentary, I love it when a baby is more alert and is figuring out that legs are for kicking, parents’ faces are amazing, and mobiles….mobiles are like, WOAH.

Here are a few photos from a recent session in Cambridge with sweet Baby J, a little guy who proved that “older” newborns are super interesting to photograph.

Winter weather and a stubborn cold forced us to postpone Baby J’s newborn session twice, but oh, was she worth the wait. I told her parents not to worry- that older babies are often more alert and prone to smiling, two things that are amazing for lifestyle newborn sessions. Baby J proved me right with her bright smile again and again.

Presenting adorable Baby J, Wellesley Class of 2040 (see the last photo) and her glowing moms!

 

 

 

I enjoy each and every wedding I photograph for Salty Raven. It’s true! I feel fortunate because I seem to attract genuine people who trust me to bottle up the moments, the atmosphere, and the joy of their wedding days in a visual and artistic way. Sometimes though…woah. Sometimes the match is amazing. From the very first Skype date with Jenny & Ethan, I was swooning because they had so many “couple qualities” I adore including:

-Couples whose quick banter keeps me on my toes following the twists and turns of the conversation.

-People who show laughter with their whole faces and talk excitedly with their hands.

-Couples who make each other laugh, laugh, laugh!

Oh, they were the best, and I’m so excited to share their wedding photos from The Dumbo Loft in Brooklyn, NY. Their goal was to bring together their family and friends into a cozy space in a pocket of Brooklyn that draws you in until you wish you could live there. The cobblestones, archways, river, bridges, fire escapes, people watching…it was all so invigorating. First, I’ll share a few of my favorites of Jenny & Ethan, and then we’ll rewind to enjoy their day as it unfolded. Vendor details can be found below.

Until next time, Brooklyn!

 

Isn’t that DUMBO sculpture above cool? It’s the creation of artist David Crumley, and it’s interactive! You can read more about it here on his website. And now, to rewind. First stop, the apartment where Ethan was getting ready. I met him on his stoop, and we went inside so he could transcribe his vows into a tiny antique book he picked up that morning.

 

 

Vendor Team Details Provided by the Couple:

Photography: Salty Raven Studio & Event Photography

Venue: The Dumbo Loft

Wedding Planning: Emily Canterbury with Whimsy Weddings

Florist: Buds of Brooklyn

Catering: Ryan Brown Catering (I had the spring veggie lasagna, and it was YUMMY!)

Cake artist: Melanie at Ladybird Bakery

DJ: Mon Amie Events

Dress/tux: Wedding Atelier & SuitSupply

Videographer: The couple’s friend, Allegra Oxborough

Bride’s Hair & Makeup: friend Heather Alexander (former professional hair stylist) and makeup artist MJ Johnson

I love photographing weddings with my friend Nir of Nir Landau Photography because I know that the dancing will be spectacular, the family interactions will be nonstop, and the energy and joy will be abundant!

I think Boston City Hall is practically perfect as a backdrop for a wedding, and I hope I’m not alone in thinking so. Yes, its lines are hard and rigid. Its concrete is heavy feeling, stark, and cold. But the building is *so* interesting visually!

I may feel most at home amongst rolling hills and natural landscapes, but Boston City Hall lets me stretch composition muscles like no other backdrop. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it; I would photograph a wedding there every week if I could because it’s so intriguing from a photojournalism and fine art perspective.

Congrats to Marilyn and Vadim, and thank you for trusting me to follow my eye down the hallways of Boston City Hall!

 

When I arrived at City Hall, I noticed these three dapper gentlemen on the steps. They turned out to be Vadim and his friends, and my favorite first look of the season followed as he spotted Marilyn arriving from across the courtyard!

As my own kids grow into size 4 and 8(!) clothing, I find newborn sessions are becoming more and more poignant. Spending a few hours with these families just embarking on their journey into parenthood is so precious. There’s a cute little baby, sure, but there’s also a new depth to their relationship that is so meaningful to photograph. There are also new challenges like trying to figure out how to dress a baby in pants for the first time! Then there are the moments that take me back to when my daughter was a crumpled little thing like when this mom burped little Baby A by supporting his neck while making him “sit” on her lap. That method of burping was the most tried and true for our Lucy, and it would mean so much to me to have a photograph of her little face and furrowed brow from that time.

Before I get teary, I also want to talk about the cat in this session. I am a cat person, and I work hard to get a photo of the family cat with the new baby. During this session while Baby A was being fed, the cat snuck into the nursery, and in a flash, she jumped up to investigate the changing pad, looking back with her tail curled for a brief second. The photo stars aligned for me to catch it!

 

You know that thing about catching the bouquet at a wedding….

I met Tori & Bridget two summers ago when I was the photographer at their friends’ wedding, and I will not forget the level of excitement in the crowd when Tori caught the bouquet. Fast forward a year, and the light at sunset during their Adventure Session was unreal (see it here!). Skip ahead one more year to their wedding day, and I couldn’t believe it when they had another sunset that was just wild. Stunning light plus their chemistry led to perhaps the most romantic series of photos I’ve ever taken of a couple at their wedding.

The sunset was magical, but the whole day was lovely. A few of my favorite things about their Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park wedding:

-How totally apparent it was that Tori & Bridget were in the moment on their wedding day, enjoying each other and their guests fully. So Tori’s earrings wouldn’t cooperate- so what. She didn’t care! So it was too windy to light the candles on the tables- not a big deal at all. I could tell how much they adored their family and friends and how much it meant to them to be wrapped up in love- even literally when they were gifted a gorgeous handmade quilt inspired by the clothing they wore for their Adventure Session. It’s the one in the sunset photos, and it will be treasured always no doubt.

-The generations of guests present, from grandparents to little babes in arms. The state park pavilion was next to a playground, so the kids were over the moon. They’re going to think all weddings involve swings!

-The food was AMAZING. It was an all vegetarian buffet, and even the most meat-and-potatoes focused guests were going back for seconds.

-The ceremony was so touching. The celebrant knew Bridget from college days when she and Tori first met, and the personal and powerful sermon she delivered was the best I’ve ever heard. A friend sang Ave Maria, and her voice gave me chills. Many a tear was wiped as her voice soared.

I could go on and on, but I’m so thankful to have first met Journey and Amy who then led me to Tori and Bridget.

All the best wishes,

Danielle

First, a few of my favorites followed in storytelling fashion from getting ready to getting down on the dance floor!

And now to the beginning where Tori and Bridget got ready in the state park’s adorable cabins….

I love this moment caught just before the ceremony started. “You’re going to need some tissues for this one,” is what I’m imagining him saying.

The photo below is special to me for a couple of reasons- Tori & Bridget were listening to the readings, and I noticed that a sliver between the pews framed their clasped hands. The lines from the shadows and carvings lead your eye to their hands, but then there’s another layer to it- Tori’s parents were married in the same church, so the pews have family history as well.

Months ago I received an email out of the blue from a woman asking for help identifying a shirt pattern. She explained that she was making Tori and Bridget a wedding quilt inspired by the clothing they wore for their Adventure Session! She had found a checkered fabric to match Tori’s dress already, but the pattern on Bridget’s shirt was a little too tricky to discern. I asked her to please let me photograph them opening the quilt because I knew it would be super special, and wow. It totally was.

 

Vendor Info provided by the couple:

Reception Venue: Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park

Photography: Salty Raven Studio & Event Photography

Catering: Brian Wrubleski of Mel’s at 22

Celebrants/officiants: Elsie Rhodes, the reverend of First Presbyterian, and Tamara, a family friend who is in seminary

DJ: DJ – Elm Street Entertainment

Flowers: Info coming soon!

Bridget’s suit: Made for her by Bindle & Keep

 

A few seasons ago I was hired by Nir of Nir Landau Photography to be a second photographer at a large Jewish Orthodox wedding he was photographing. Since then, I’ve photographed at least half a dozen more Jewish Orthodox weddings, and they’re some of my very favorite to photograph for a few reasons. I get chills each time during the bedeken when music is heard in the hallway and the groom rides in with a wave of friends and family after singing and dancing during his tish. I love the way the bride is flanked by mothers and grandmothers with sisters and cousins and friends standing behind her.

And then the incredible dancing…. the hora sometimes lasts a whole hour! The speed of the spinning is such a thrilling challenge as a photographer. And the tricks or schticks performed for the couple- amazing. People standing on their heads, incredible jumping feats, wild costumes….so much energy and love all in the span of a night!

This wedding with Nir was at the Cambridge Hyatt, and the joy was right there at the surface as the two families came together!

I had so much fun second shooting this wedding last season in Beverly, MA with my friend and colleague Leise of Leise Jones Photography! She mentioned the couple was into contra dancing, and from the moment the band struck the first chord, the dance floor was alive. The caller even made the two of us photographers join in for a spell! Since the couple chose the Estate at Moraine Farm partly for its natural landscape, I enjoyed documenting the changing fall colors and flower details. Then, as twilight fell, I stepped outside to photograph the tent’s profile at night. There’s something about a glowing tent with that blue, blue sky….

First, a few of my favorites:

And now, let’s rewind to the beginning of the event: