I am so excited to announce that I have been accepted to the prestigious Wedding Photojounalist Association!

The WPJA describes themselves as:

A professional organization composed of photojournalists and wedding photographers from around the world. What sets our members apart in the industry is their candid, documentary approach – a distinctly artistic vision toward wedding photography.

I have been preparing my portfolio and honing my photojournalism skills in order to be ready to apply to this association and I got in after my first attempt. This really is a milestone in my career and I’d like to thank all my clients who chose me to document their weddings. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even have this great body of work that I am so very proud of. Thanks everyone!

Here’s what I feel like doing…

…wear a short dress?

This segment of  Why Not? is driven by the Technical Designer in me.  I’m a stickler when it comes to properly fitting clothes that suits ones body type for every day wear and I believe this should also extend into the category of bridal wear. You should be wearing something that is not only fabulous but flatters your figure and you feel comfortable in. But I say take it a step further and show off your best feature. If you have great curves then try a mermaid style dress that will hug you in all the right places, if you have fantastically toned arms and chest area then show them off with a strapless or spaghetti strapped dress and if you have long, shapely legs then opt for a short gown so we can admire them and your stylish shoes!

A short gown is appropriate for a city hall wedding, a beach wedding, or garden wedding and is so modern. If you don’t feel comfortable wearing long dresses in your normal day life then a short or tea length gown might be an option for you. If you are petite this style would be so flattering instead of loosing your figure in an overwhelming ball gown. Don’t rule out a short dress as a wedding dress option because of tradition.  Why not get a short dress to change into during the reception so you can dance more comfortably in?

Ultimately, this is about choosing a gown that is right for your body type and your occasion.  There are many gown options out there so think about what you feel comfortable in your every day wear and pick a style that will enhance your figure and maybe even show off your best feature. Live it up, it’s your wedding!

1) Vineyard Collection by Priscilla of Boston; 2) BCBG; 3) Priscilla of Boston; 4) Jenny Packham

Here’s one of my modern brides, Amy, who got married at NYC City Hall in a super chic BCBG dress that was spot on appropriate for the occasion and showed off her lovely legs.

And if course my non-traditional bride Liz  in her pink and white Betsey Johnson dress that worked out perfectly for her fun wedding at a roller rink.

Shelley and Mike came out from LA  to have a winter wedding in NYC. They had a great attitude about the whole day even though it rained ALL day. The weather didn’t stop them from having a really lovely, intimate and fun wedding with their loved ones from different parts of the country.  I think the rain added for some cool moody evening shots during the ceremony at the sleek and modern Shoreham Hotel.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to shoot this wedding. Not only was it very unique but it incorporated one of my favorite childhood activities, ROLLER SKATING and my adult passion, PHOTOGRAPHY! That’s right, this wedding was a roller skating wedding held inside a roller rink that wasn’t touched by time since 1985. It was awesome.

When Liz and Dave told me about their plans to get married inside a roller rink while on skates I couldn’t believe it. You see, I did a little competitive skating back in the day. Yes, I actually could do sow-cow and axel jumps while wearing a fully sequined skating dress. This wedding was right up my alley. I jumped at the chance to meet them at The Golden Skate, the wedding venue, and as soon as I stepped inside that building untouched by time I knew I wanted to document this special wedding. I was just going to chat with them but after about 10 minutes of watching them on the rink like a kid who had to sit out a game I finally couldn’t take it anymore and had to put on some skates. It’s amazing what happens when you do something as an adult that you thoroughly loved as a kid. It’s freeing actually. My mind went blank and I could have skated around and around for hours completely carefree. Luckily I didn’t, because the next day my adult body reminded me that I wasn’t a kid anymore.

So their wedding day FINALLY came and it was just as cool as I imagined it to be with button bouquets, vintage roller skate cases, and one adorable Betsy Johnson dress. Liz and Dave really did get married on skates and had a pretty fun party for their guests with a lot of skating in between. I didn’t shoot the wedding while on skates, for fear of falling and breaking my equipment and ruining the wedding, but at the last 45 minutes of the day I laced up my rental skates and went around that rink like a fool until I was sweaty, out of breath and 12 years old again.

…and then two days later I celebrated my best friends birthday back at the very same rink. No, this wasn’t a coincidence. After my first meeting with Liz and Dave I told my friend about the only rink left in the East Bay and she insisted on a roller skating birthday party. After weeks of anticipation (after the months of wedding anticipation) we  finally got to the rink and went straight to the DJ booth to request all the 80’s freestyle music they had. It didn’t take long for use to find our balance and instantly we were a couple of 12 year old girls having the most pure-carefree-fun we’ve had in a long time. But, a las the last Debbie Deb song was played and while we caught our breaths we reluctantly tucked away our wild attempt to re-claim our youth. I think we came pretty close, just look at our faces in the pic below. JOY!

Thanks Liz and Dave for letting me document your wedding while combing my childhood and adult passions of roller skating and photography! I’ll never forget it.

While I was in San Diego for a whole three days, in between two weddings in the Bay Area, I had the pleasure of shooting a family portrait session with the McDonough Family, Aidan, Sandy, Paige and Mark .

We went to one of my favorite San Diego spots, Sea Port Village, along the downtown waterfront. This is a pretty touristy area but I will always love it because it reminds me of the weekends spent with my brothers and dad flying kites. Its a perfectly windy and picturesque area with great views of Coronado Island. There’s also a carousel which we went on twice. When I was a kid there used to be a brass ring on a stick that you tried to grab as the carousel went round and round for a free ride. This was the second thing that I experienced while out on my California trip that took me back to my youth. The other was rollerskating and that will be in my next post.

Being in beautiful Seaport Village, riding that old carousel and taking pictures of this lovely family hardly seemed like work to me. The kids felt very comfortable with me so much that they started directing me in what pictures to take of them and then their little personalities really came out. Again, I can’t believe I get to take pictures of adorable kids for a living. Here are some of my favorites of the day…

This adorable couple actually went to junior high school together and ultimately re-connected in NYC many many years later. So for all of you single people out there wondering who will Mr./Ms. Right be, don’t dismiss those awkward kids you never even gave the time of day to in the halls of your elementary school/junior high/high school so long ago. They just might grow up to be pretty fantastic people like Mia and Michael who act like two teenagers in love.

Mia and Michael made my job quite easy during our engagement session in Central Park and in the Meatpacking District. I basically just took pictures while they laughed and enjoyed each others company. People ask me all the time about locations to shoot but my favorite images are of people just being themselves and feeling really comfortable in front of the camera no matter the location. Mix in some fantastic light (maybe a little wind) and you have the simplest receipt for memorable pictures you will want to look at time and time again.

So in honor of my return back to New York and my favorite borough Brooklyn, I offered a complimentary engagement session to one couple through Brooklyn Bride Online.  I had couples write to me about their engagement story and why they love Brooklyn. I had a lot of inquiries and mostly all of them made me cry. Some were about their love and conquering diversity, some were about never expecting to fall in love with each other, and some were about finally getting to be with the loves of their lives who they’ve been apart from for so long. But they all were so heart-felt that it was really hard choosing just one couple.

Yoki and Diego were my Brooklyn Bride Online couple of choice and honestly they were the first email I received. In the short email I understood what getting married meant to them after finally conquering the combining of their families of different cultures. It hit home a little because my parents had a hard time getting their families to accept their marriage having been from two vastly different cultures as well. But 40 years later they are still together and their cultural differences have taken a back seat to the strong union they have cultivated.

Having a professional photographer was unfortunately out of their budget so I was more than happy to do this session for them and I hope it adds to their love of Brooklyn even more. Thanks Yoki and Diego for a fun afternoon in Coney Island!

Kerri and Barry introduced to my new favorite spot in NYC, the Highline. This urban park just opened up this past summer and it’s a hit with locals and tourists. It’s right along the west side spanning about 10 blocks above the Meat Packing District and it has some great views of the Hudson River and Jersey.

The light was superb that afternoon so it was great to shoot on this huge deck. Then we went on to the streets of the Meat Packing District and found some cool graffiti (love) along with some interesting street performers. Shooting in NYC is way different than shooting in California, not better just different. There’s always something interesting to document on the streets of NYC at any given moment, like a guy playing a purple electric guitar and a woman holding a puppet that looks like Keith Richards with a cigarette hanging out of it’s mouth.

It always surprises me when people get surprised about their own emotions at city hall ceremonies. Yes, it is generally a small and incredibly quick ceremony, but when you are standing in front of the person you love and repeating those words of commitment and honor the feelings are just the same as any large and lavish wedding. That’s what happened to the lovely family of Amie and Adam during their civil ceremony in NYC. We waited a few moments for the jackhammers to stop above our heads in the little reserved room and then in a blink of any eye they were sealing their union with a kiss. There were unexpected tears steaming down faces of their loved ones and a whirlwind of emotions filled the room as the judge fled off to the next ceremony. It was quick, but it was powerful.

We dried our eyes, the Bride hailed us some cabs, and off we went to Washington Square Park for a photo session. Amie and Adam picked this particular area because they both went to NYU. Although, they didn’t meet there. They met while studying in Spain. Which is where they flew off to the next morning for a two week honeymoon.