springfield & agawam, ma . agawam congregational church . chez josef
Over the past week and weekend, it seemed that the whole U.S. had been covered with thunderstorms (except for the west coast, that is!). On the way to Boston, I saw lightning over Arizona which was awesome to see from a plane. I even got a video of it, which I can post if anyone’s interested in seeing it. :)
On the morning of Nick and Liya’s wedding, it was no exception, there was a heavy downpour, and thunder and lightning in the sky. It was a beautiful wedding nonetheless, with Liya, a beautiful and sweet bride, and Nick, who so obviously adored her so much! When Nick first contacted me last September, he actually hadn’t even proposed yet! He went on to tell me that he had loved her for over three years, and had finally been able to snag her ;) Liya confirmed this the day of the wedding, telling me that they had known each other for 5 years, with him loving her 4 out of the 5 years and she didn’t even know! How sweet is that?! :) When Nick asked me to photograph their wedding (he actually heard about me through an old friend whose wedding I had photographed a few years ago and apparently had been set on using me as his wedding photographer ever since he saw their photos!), I jumped on the opportunity! And so, here are the photos – thank you SO much, Nick & Liya, for giving me the opportunity to photograph your beautiful wedding, as well as visit your side of the coast! I loved it all, and I can’t wait to go back! We should definitely meet up if I do come back :) I hope you have a beautiful honeymoon in the Dominican Republic! :)
A drawing of the couple, by Nick’s sister
Liya getting some food before the crazy day!
The lyrics to Liya’s song to Nick
The first time Nick saw Liya
The first thing out of Vitay’s mouth when they came through the door “Is that pizza?!”
After the ceremony, they couldn’t stop kissing each other! ;) Not that I blame them!
I’m back! And with pictures to share! I will definitely be posting photos from the wedding soon, but I’ll post photos from the trip itself first. :) We were all over the place, and I loved it! New England is beautiful, and I really want to visit again soon! It all started on the plane, and we flew the red eye into Boston on Jetblue – which is awesome because you get your own TV with LIVE channels! I watched HGTV, Food Network and VH1 mostly :)
Once we got a chance to eat, we headed to The Paramount on Beacon’s Hill
My friend Emee who came with me
Angela, who graciously let us stay with her in Boston :)
I couldn’t get over how fancy all the shop storefronts looked there! The 7-Eleven even had this fancy sign!! It was really quaint and I loved it.
On the Longfellow’s Bridge
I know!
And this was the photo from that point:
A store I wanted to visit was the Magpie store, which sells goods from indie artists. Lots of fun stuff in there!
Booksale at Harvard
The Harvard library steps. We had fun lounging around on the steps and people watching. So many tourists at this time of year (with us being one of them!) and it was fun trying to figure out who came from where based on what they wore.
Emee & me at Harvard :)
We stopped by the Halfshell and watched a youth symphony performing by the grass. The acoustics are amazing!
And watched the sunset afterwards
Others were too
Thought this was sweet :)
Towards dinner, we headed to the North End and passed by the Holocaust Memorial
These are all the numbers of people who were killed
We stopped at Giacomo’s Ristorante (mentioned by Rachael Ray on $40 a Day)
There was a line outside – that’s how popular it is :)
I had the seafood special and it was GOOD!
The next day, we headed to Newbury Street, which is a shopper’s dream. I LOVED all the shops, especially one called 1154 Lill Studio. They sell custom bags where you select your own fabrics. I bought myself a messenger bag, which I LOVE and can’t wait for it to come in the mail! You can also play and design a bag on their website :)
We also stopped at the Boston Public Library
And the miniature book exhibit
Some other photos from that night on the way back to the apartment
The next day we headed towards Hartford, Connecticut, where we were staying during the wedding. We got to see a little bit of the sights that they had to offer too.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s House (next door!)
The next day was the wedding, which I’ll save for another entry, but let’s just say that it thunderstormed that day!
The next morning after the wedding, we got up and drove towards Rhode Island, where we were flying out of.
We stopped at an overlook at Mystic River. Let me tell you, the drive there was SCARY. It was so foggy that I was this close to pulling over a few times!
The next stop was the Aupponaug Cove in Warwick, Rhode Island before we boarded the plane :)
And saw the sunrise :)
And our last photo!
It was so much fun, and I’d do it all over again! And plus, like I had wanted, I finished Harry Potter during the trip. I’m so sad that the book’s over, I feel like I’ve said goodbye to an old friend. But my boyfriend said “read it again, that’s what I did and I felt better about it.” Yea, he read it three times already! :P
I’m headed off to Boston today! I have a wedding to photograph in Massachusetts this Saturday and I’ve never been to the East Coast, so I had to visit early! If you need to reach me, I will be able to check my email regularly so please feel free to email me if you need to reach me this week! :) Otherwise I’ll be back on Monday so I’ll see you all then! :)
So you will probably recently remember Jenny and Jeff from a few posts down – yesterday we geared up and headed out to do their “Post Wedding” AKA “Trash the Dress” session! :) These two are such amazing people and I I LOVED getting to know them even better! They have the cutest Boston terrier named Hamilton, aka Hammy, and Jeff is a fellow Harry Potter fan too! He’s actually slowly reading the last book because he wants to savor it – he’s sad that it’s ending! Heee. :D
The whole shoot was an adventure, especially on our way to the last location!
We started the shoot at Horton Plaza
The Hamster
Getting love!
We just had to sneak in some Harry into the shot! :)
The most attractive looking couple!
When I pulled this shot up, it literally made me laugh out loud. I love Hammy’s expression!
Then we headed to Lake Poway where Hammy got all dressed up. Jenny’s mom Annie was a HUGE help too! She made Hammy’s tie & did the veils as well as ran around San Diego with us and watched Hammy when he wasn’t in the photos. Thanks so much, Annie!
Lazy afternoon
Now, this is where the story gets interesting! On the way to the beach, our car ran out of gas!! We were already trying to beat the sunset, but this just added on top of it! So we all got out of the car to push. I couldn’t resist and had to get a photo.
After we parked the car, we ran up to the nearest car leaving and asked to hitch a ride to the beach. They were so nice and took us there!
So luckily, we did make it in time to the beach to get some shots. :)
Jeff’s anticipating it!
Look at that dress balloon up!
What an adventure it was! I would’ve like to have done more night shots, but I totally couldn’t find my light until we got back to the house! Boo! Maybe another time? :) Also, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my favorite pair of Rainbow sandals before the ocean swept them away. :( Goodbye Rainbows! I loved you, and I will probably end up getting another pair. :P
Guess who found their way into our little hands? :) And of course, my boyfriend Zach has already finished it. Yea, he’s that crazy.
The scene on our patio at 3am last night:
Zach and our friend Charlie reading all night long.
ETA: Gromit loves Harry too
Now that Zach’s finished the book, he keeps making comments about it, but I keep shutting my ears and saying “LALALALA!” I’ve seriously avoided any type of spoiler/hype/info about the book thus far, and I do NOT WANT INFO! I’m hoping to finish it by the end of the Boston trip next week :)
So, if you didn’t already know, I have a dance recital coming up in two and a half weeks and you’re all invited. :) Seriously! If you want more info on how to get tickets for the event and watch me make a fool of myself onstage, feel free to email me for more info on the show and ticket info. I’d seriously love to see each and everyone one of you there so email me!
And yes, that is what I have to wear for the dance. It’s a jazz piece to “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera. You don’t want to miss it a bunch of people on stage in mermaid-looking outfits dancing! Hahaa! :P
In all seriousness though, I’m really looking forward to it because it’s been several years since I’ve been on stage, and I really missed it (thanks to So You Think You Can Dance, really!) and it’s just going to be so much fun! :)
