Nicole & Matt - Engagement Session

Her cousin just knew they were right for each other.  Matt was a friend of her cousin's husband.  One weekend in the spring of 2005, after being invited over Nicole visited her cousin and met Matt.  Nicole's cousin was right.  They were PERFECT for each other.  Now the next chapter in their story begins...

They both love hanging out at the beach.  So we shot their engagement session at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, CT. 

Details, details, details.

As we were getting ready to head over to the beach area I spotted this little patch of daisies growing randomly across from one of the parking lots.  I did a little Val happy dance and pointed over where I wanted them to go.  Nicole decided to change outfits first so while she went to the car to change, Matt picked some daisies to surprise her with.  It was so sweet to witness the love between them.  Be sure to catch the slideshow at the end of this blog entry to see the expression on her face.

This is my favorite shot of the day.

Can't wait for the wedding!  Enjoy the slideshow. :-)

Jordana & Tyson

Though the forecast predicted all day stormy weather the day started out bright and sunny as can be.  Jordana and Tyson's wedding was beautiful.  The itinerary was a photographer's dream.  Jordana and Tyson opted for a first look prior to their ceremony at the site of the reception. This reception site was gorgeous it is a beautiful home/bed and breakfast of a family friend.  The views were astounding.  Jordana and Tyson allotted plenty of time prior to the ceremony for their first look and shots of the bridal party and after the ceremony for romantics.  Be sure to watch the slide show to see just a glimpse of how beautiful this wedding was.  

Jordan and Tyson had just returned from Honduras a month before the wedding.  They brought this gourd back with them.  It's pretty cool looking something special to capture their rings with.

Yeah imagine the excitement when I saw that she was wearing green shoes :-)  Yeah Val McCormick is going to have fun with that one!

Jordana taking one last look before heading out to see Tyson.

Jordana's sister and maid of honor helping her down the stairs.  I love this!

Tyson's anxious hands as he waits to lay eyes on his bride.

To see more of there first look, click play on the slide show to see how it all pans out ;-)

Bouquet, ring and shoe :-)

Ready to walk down the aisle with her father.

"The Kiss"

Now time for "Romantics"

It started to rain here but I didn't care.  I saw these doors and had this shot in my head.  It had to happen.  I love the texture here.  I thought it would really help Jordana "pop" in front of this door that seemed to have a vignette.  I placed Tyson in front of the manly dark door, lol.  I love the result!

It really started to come down and the super talented Nikki Nicole noticed this corridor that we could shoot under until the rain slowed down.  

Beautiful!

This location was gorgeous and one can really shoot all day there.  I found this cool niche near the corridor and borrowed Jordana's bouquet for a unique bouquet shot.

I caught this during the introductions right before their first dance.  There were so many images I wanted to post but it would never load for you reading this fast enough so you can catch the rest of the highlights in the slide show :-)

A super huge thank you to a great team shooter and friend Nikki Nicole.  Be sure to check her blog out for her take on things.  Also to the very special and handsome Jack McCormick for helping us out by assisting and shooting as well.  Team Work :-)

Erica & Brad - Married

Erica such a beautiful bride with a beautiful smile! David Apuzzo of David Apuzzo photography contacted me asking if I can help him out with this one. Second shooting is so fun. I love shooting all the details of the day. Erica chose such great colors, purple and mint green. Such an awesome combination! Here are some highlights from my perspective of the day :-)

I started out in the balcony for a birds eye perspective.

I love watching the expressions of the parents of the bride and grooms as they say their vows to one another. Here the bride's mother looked over at her husband when their daughter said "I Do" I bet it brought her back to the day she married; they still seem very much in love :-)

She has such a gorgeous smile! I caught this moment during the receiving line.

Just look at the great smile the mother of the bride is sporting. Must be where Erica gets it from.

Details. Her dress was beautiful!

Details, details, details. I love the great color combinations Erica chose. Such beautiful flowers!

Working with David was great in that he allowed me to guide Erica during her bridal shots. I love when I see so many great shots in my head that I can bring out through my lens. Thanks, David :-)

Since we were short on time and we were both shooting away with her in the balcony I ran inside for a different point of view.

Gorgeous, I could of photographed her all day!

I love capturing emotions during the first dance.

Thanks David for having me help out on this and Thank - You Erica and Brad the best of luck to you both.

Gillian and Michael - Engagement Session - Mystic, CT

Gillian and Michael met in College, Western Connecticut State University to be exact. If you really want details it was in Newbury Hall room 20 which was a friend's dorm room. It's been a little over 10 years ago, now they will marry their best friend. (Eachother)

We meet up at Mystic Aquarium for their engagement session. Michael is a huge fan of fish. A great fisherman and musician. I couldn't believe how he knew about so many species of fish. It was great to see how excited he was to see certain fish in the tanks. Here is a recap of the day. Don't forget to check out the slideshow with Gillian and Michael's song selection for their first dance.

Love the unintentional color scheme going on here.

Michael shared that he was apprehensive, shy and a little nervous about this photoshoot. Yeah right! Check these two out getting it on!

Looking forward to the wedding!

Shannon & Tim - Engagement Session - Lighthouse Point, New Haven, CT

He calls her "Angel", he rubs her feet, brushes her hair and makes her laugh.  She is funny and not afraid to be goofy and have fun with silliness.  She is also an incredible artist - she can find beauty in anything.  These are there words....Meet Tim and Shannon.

Who doesn't love a Love Story?  I am such a lucky girl with an incredible job!  Documenting such a beautiful thing...Chapter upon chapters of Love Stories.

I am over the moon about meeting Tim and Shannon.  Shannon truly is an incredible soul!  So free spirited and kind.  She wouldn't hurt a fly or an ant for that matter, I'm being serious here!

We headed out to Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, CT for Tim and Shannon's engagement session.

I love the waves crashing into the rocks.  Make a little mental note to check out the out take I added to the slide show right after this shot ;-)

Enter beautiful light!

Gorgeous!

So we planned on getting some shots with the sun setting on the beach.  We literally chased the light and Shannon was so excited she ran like there was no tomorrow.  I love how whimsical this shot turned out although I shot it all in fun as I was running.  Doesn't she remind you of Laura Engles?  I call this "Chasing The Light".

Ummm, yeah love that!

Sunset ring shot; why, not?

Thanks Tim and Shannon!  Yes, we had fun!  Can't wait for your wedding day!  Be sure to click play and see the rest of Tim and Shannon's engagement session.  Along with the out take on the rocks.  See what happens when Shannon's free spirited personality kicks into high speed, grabs Tim's hands and yells, "SPIN!!!"

Patty and Tim-Married-Stamford, CT/New Rochelle, NY

It's no secret that I LOVE to shoot weddings.  I also love teaming up with other awesome photographers.  It's so fun to see and experience different shooting styles and techniques.  I had an amazing time shooting with my friends and the oh so talented duo, Candace and Josh Jeffery of Candace Jeffery Photography.  It was a great pleasure to meet Patty and Tim, their friends and family.  The day started out in Stamford, CT. with the girls.  I can't tell you how excited I was to see the fabulously talented Naomi Martinez working make-up on the girls.

Here Naomi is giving a final touch up to Patty's Lip Gloss.

What's a Val wedding post without a shoe shot.  Gotta have a fun shoe shot!  When I saw this safe in the room where the bride was getting ready; I saw this in my head.  I had to bring to life, especially with the way the light was coming in.

Patty as she's changing into her beautiful gown.

It was an emotional moment for Patty's grandmother and father to see her in her gown for the first time.  I love that her father is capturing the moment with a Canon :-)

Beautiful Bride, Patty.

Yep, chipmunk on crack excited about the flare and how it made her veil just glow.

The stone bridge at Binney Park in Greenwich and colors were beautiful of course I couldn't help but to "Valerize" this image.

The Fountain Head in New Rochelle, NY  was amazingly beautiful and the details amazing!

I loved the lightening by Jimmy Dee Productions.  I adjusted my settings, no flash to capture the moment.

More fun candids during the reception.

Father and daughter dance.  Yeah it brought tears to my eyes.

The shot above and below are the most powerful of the night.  Tragically Tim's family was killed in a horrific car accident.  Patty's mother danced the mother/son dance with Tim.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  Including mine. 

Thanks so much Candace and Josh for having me along it was a blast!  Thanks to Patty, Tim and family for welcoming me along as well.  

Be sure to check out Candace's documentation of this day part1, part2, part3 & part4

Alysia and Jeff - Engagement Session - Mystic, CT

"As cliche as it might sound, fate brought the two of us together. Jeff moved to Clearwater, Florida from Milford, CT to start a new job and a few months later I moved to Tampa, Florida from Philadelphia, PA to start a new job. Our paths crossed and we had our first date at Frenchy's on Clearwater beach in October of 2006. After a few Florida summers we decided that we wanted to make our way back north. We decided on Stamford, CT. We joke that we had to move to Florida to find each other!" - Alysia

Yes, fate did bring these two together. The chemistry between is incredible. In getting to know Alysia and Jeff the first thing I thought that would be perfect would be an Apple Picking session at Lymon Orchards but unfortunately Jeff was in Florida and we just missed apple picking season. No worries Alysia and Jeff also love visiting aquariums. Soooooo.....of course I had a mall is open and sale signs just went up in every window moment! MYSTIC!

First stop was the aquarium. It was a cloudy, misty day and we prayed that the rain would hold off. I'm sure glad it did because we had some fun outdoors after leaving the aquarium.

I love their reflections in this shot.

Super cool Jelly Fish!

Sidenote: trying to shoot a ring underwater with kids making the water wave makes for difficulty focusing. It took me about 5 minutes to get the shot but I was determined!

Hot!

Be sure to watch the slide show to see the surprise Jeff had purchased for our session. Also a little out take on what can happen when you blow dandelions into eachothers faces ;-)

Thanks Alysia and Jeff. I had fun hanging out with you two. Enjoy :-)

Melissa & Michael - Engagement Session - Thomas Hooker Beer Brewery, CT

I love, love, love really getting to know my clients.  It just makes for a super personal experience because after all documenting our lives is personal.  In getting to know Melissa and Michael; it was clear that they were huge beer fans.  When I say huge fans Michael had me speechless on how much he knew about beer.  Val McCormick - Speechless????  Yeah, that's HUGE!!!

As soon as I found out what fans they are, I made a call to the Thomas Hooker Beer Brewery.  I was delighted to be in touch with Curt Cameron not to be confused with Growing Pains "Kirk", lol.  Curt was kind enough to set up a day that Melissa, Michael and I would have the whole place to ourselves and never forget.  Along with tastings including Watermelon Ale ;-)  Check out the fun we had below and be sure to stop by the brewery's site to check out all the happenings.  

This mural behind the bar made for some fun images.

Love the bottles.

Wheat & Rock!!!

After our session we planned to go to a second location but REALLY dark gray skies were above.  We just started shooting right outside the brewery.

Then it literally became a torrential down pour.  Thankfully Melissa and Michael trusted me and we kept shooting.

LOVE this shot of them!

Thanks again to Curt Cameron of Thomas Hooker Beer you went above and beyond.  Also to Melissa and Michael.  You guys are SO AWESOME!!! I can't wait for your beer themed wedding!  SO FUN! Hugs to you both :-)

Want to see more?  No problem check out the slide show below.

Slideshow - Stephanie and Nate - Harrington Farm, Princeton, MA

Claudia and Jeffrey - Married - Waterview, Monroe, CT

Excited and anxious those were the emotions going on inside. I'm sure the bride and groom felt that way too but in this case I am writing about my emotions! When I met Claudia and Jeff and learned how this would be a multi-cultural wedding I jumped out of my seat and did a triple back hand spring. O.K. maybe I just had an Ally McBeal moment and imagined I did but that's how excited I was.

This would be a two day event. Starting with a Mehndi celebration on day one and an Indian/Western wedding celebration on day two. These celebrations were full, of love, joy and warmth. I was treated like family and I can't say enough about Claudia and Jeff.

Jacqueline of Lifetime Events by Jacqueline was the wedding coordinator for this wedding and she has got a talent. She did a beautiful job coordinating the day's events. If your ever in need of an event planner be sure to look Jacqueline up.

Make-up Artist - The talented & Award Winning Naomi Martinez of Naomi Martinez Salon.

Ceremony & Reception - The Waterview

Entertainment - Sean "Big Daddy" McKee of James Daniel Entertainment

Florals - The Flower Corner

Transportation - Gateway Limousines

Day one started with beautifully applied Henna.

Shortly after arriving to the Henna celebration a good friend of the family helps Claudia.

Fun during the dance. Jeffrey really busted out with some moves!

Day two; the shoes!

Claudia looking at the beautiful job Naomi did.

Getting dressed; I LOVE the window and the beautiful light!

This looks posed but Claudia just happend to look up and I love the way this turned out.

Final adjustments in the bridal suite before the ceremony.

She is just so beautiful I couldn't stop shooting her!

Praying hands during the ceremony.

Claudia changed during the reception into this beautiful gown.

My favorite shot of the day!

There were so many I wanted to post more. Check out the slideshow to see more and a super huge shout out to Autumn of Autumn Photography who Team Shot this with me. Be sure to stop by her blog to see her take on things. Thank You Claudia and Jeffrey for having me and to Jacqueline for recommending me to Claudia and Jeffrey.