A sad day.

Good morning all,

I just wanted to stop by today to apologize for not being around this week and for slacking in the email department.  I don't usually post too many sad things on this blog, because it is such a happy place for me, and usually I use it for happy photos and ideas :), but today, I wanted to post a few photographs of my grandmother.  She has been fighting for her life in the hospital all week and passed away this morning.  To say that she was full of character and humor would be an understatement (she was a character)!   I'm so happy that Sophie got to know her great-grandma a bit and to me, photographs transcend everything, so I thought I would post just a few in her honor here today.

Things will be back to normal next week, so thank you guys so much for having patience with me through this crazy family time.  Have a great, sun-filled weekend everyone :).

36 hours in Boston

We took a super last minute run up to Boston on Saturday - check out the trip in photos (well, instagram photos :)

Happy Monday everyone!

A last minute, but still lovely Valentine's Day!

Hey guys!!! What is up? Obviously, today is Valentine's day - I know there are lovers and haters of this holiday, but I am definitely on the love side. Of any holiday actually. Why not celebrate? I'll take any holiday as an excuse to make a cake! Valentine's day, 4th of July, World Nutella Day, Pi day, you know, the usual holidays.

Anyway, I thought I would pop in today with some super last minute gifts that are awesome. All are homemade or semi-homemade and really easy. Here we go!
(counter clock-wise)

1) Marshmallow pops. Ridiculously easy. Here are the instructions: Get marshmallows. Put a stick in them. Dip in some melted chocolate. Add accoutrements. Let dry and package cute. Sophie made 3/4 of ours herself!  They taste so, so good too.

2) Make a sandwich heart. Does this need any more directions? (heart pancakes are a good idea too!)

3) Brownie bites. Again, totally easy. Either make brownies from-scratch, or from a box. Let them cool. Roll into balls. See #1. Super easy.

4) homemade valentines! I fell in love with these (you can get the template here!) b/c Sophie loves bugs and she is in preschool, so it was perfect for us. Again, totally easy.

5) Red velvet cake batter cookies. Recipe here - easy and quick and an awesome end to dinner!

6) the DIY bouquet. Get flowers from the grocery store (double points if you are near a trader joe's or whole foods) - ok, not the ugly ones, but some nice ones - two bunches. Take them home, open them, ditch the plastic, put the flowers together, cut the bottoms the same length. Now, this is key - wrap them in paper. Not PLASTIC. Either wax paper, or parchment paper, or kraft paper, or even solid wrapping paper if you must, but not PLASTIC. Tie somewhere with a twine (think the twine from the bakery box, or some rustic cord from the garage, or ribbon - not the curling kind). This bouquet will get you way farther than that original one in plastic (hopefully the price was not still attached!).

And, just in case those gifts don't work...

Monday Updates, sort-of :)

Hey you guys!!!  Things are finally getting back to normal!  Today will be a little weird because I'm not going to do a full Monday update, sorry :(.  I know you were excited.  I'm still finishing up work from 2012 and want to get that all done before I start revealing all that is happening.  We have awards to talk about, trips, engagement sessions, Sophie (of course!), the holiday wrap-up, best-of posts, etc.  Lots and lots.  I also have been cooking up a storm and want to give you the thumbs up/down on a bunch of pinterest recipes!

But, for today.  This is what I'm leaving you with...have you been checking out the gorgeous sunsets lately?  These are taken from my deck or kitchen window with the iphone and then put through instagram (you can follow our public feed if you like - @upliftphotography).


So, back this week with lots more!  Hope you all are having a wonderful start to 2013! 

2013!!!

Hey everyone!!!  So, so happy to be back!  I hope you all spent lots of time of family and friends, ate lots of good desserts, and played in the snow :). 

2012 was an awesome year for us and we are getting so excited to see what 2013 is going to bring.  Bring.it.on.  I took a few days off from the blog in December - I hope you all understand.  It was difficult for me to post about such happy things - brides, weddings, babies, personal life, holidays, parties, etc., while such terrible things were happening in the world.  I feel like I had to give it a little space, really think about things, enjoy the holidays and spend time with my family and then just start fresh in the New Year.  Is that ok?  I hope so.

But, now we are back in business - loving life and I'm just so excited to show you everything that is in the line-up here.  Besides the epic 'best of 2012' post coming soon (!) and embarassing annual 'behind the scenes' photos, I have a bunch of great shoots and happy people to show you!  And, all the news of 2013 - including the fact that we are starting off our wedding season this year in the Bahamas!  Pretty awesome. 

Here is a preview of what is coming up:

Elizabeth + Mike


Kelly + Tom


Amanda + Jon


Brooke + Jack


Halyn + Stephen


Caitlin + Matt


Fall Mini-sessions


Morgan + Charlotte


I told you it was a lot :)

And, just because this is currently my favorite photo of her....a quick holiday photo of Sophie :).

Happy 2013 everyone! It is going to be a great one.

Monday Updates!

Hey everyone!  How are you?  I missed you guys last week.  Today, I thought I would do a 'what-we-are-up-to' post - I'm feeling a little insane, the holidays do that to you, or, at least to me :), and the last few weeks have been busy busy, so I'm going to download my mind into this post right now, if thats ok.  I'm pretty sure that is the longest sentence ever written on this blog.

Did you guys like Wedding Week?  If you missed it, here is a recap:
Mon: Holly + John's Robibero Vineyards wedding
Tues: Danielle + Brien's wedding at Locust Grove
Wed: Laren + Adam's home wedding
Thurs: Nadia + Tom's wedding at the Falkirk Estates
Fri/Sat: Jenna + Kevin's Patriot Hills wedding

So, the 2013 Holiday Party is this Saturday!!! If you haven't heard yet, email me for details.  Lots of fun and food and drinks.  :).


Tim's birthday was yesterday!  I planned a fun-filled weekend that included me singing Crazy by Aerosmith here, and yes, the song sounded as awful as you might think.  All for the birthday boy! I made him a red velvet cake that was amazing (using this recipe!), but didn't take many good pics (ps. I love to cook and bake, if you are interested, you can see some more baked goods here).  We were too busy devouring it, it was perfect.  I did make Tim a homemade birthday card by printing out this...:), I just couldn't find anything appropriate at Hallmark!

We chopped down a tree! Did you know that Tim was a lumberjack in his former life?  Did you know that a female lumberjack is a lumberjane?  Urban Dictionary really is up on their stuff.

I have edited over 100K photos in the last few days!!!  Insanity.  The holidays are always like that over here - more to do, trying to square everyone away before the new year.  Whew. 


And, lots of albums are rolling through too!  I have a full post coming soon on that (post-holidays), but I love these.


and, ps, if you are looking for some gift ideas, I just found this awesome gift guide - tons of great shops and unique ideas - check it out!

Monday Updates!

Hey everyone!  Hope you all are excited for your short work week :).  We are excited for all sorts of reasons today - for one, the holidays have begun!  Such a fun time of year.  Secondly, we shot our last wedding of the season this past Saturday!  Wow.  We had such a busy, fun and crazy year of weddings and we ended it with the awesomeness that was Halyn and Stephen's wedding in NYC.  I have not blogged all of those weddings yet, so expect a lot more posts with wedding goodness in the next few weeks.  The third reason to be excited today is that we are announcing the Uplift Party!  Oh yeah.  Lots of fun last year and we are doing it again.  Email me if you want some details!

The rest of my post today is going to be a bit shorter than normal, only because the stack of editing on my desk is piled sky-high and I need to get it done and clear my mind :).  But, I definitely want to leave you with a few teasers and things.

Check out the view from the Trump Soho - this is from the room where Halyn was getting ready. The best city.

And, two of my favorites from Halyn + Stephen's wedding day. I know they are both kissing photos :), but I had to post them - they are just so classic modern and so New York. I couldn't choose between them. Tim is responsible for the 2nd one. Not bad, huh? :)

Love love love this photo from Caitlin and Matthew's engagement shoot last week.  I love it so much, I almost want to put it on my own wall.

And check out this one too!  They rocked out a bit of cold weather for this.  I have the best clients ever.

We took Soph to the Stamford Thanksgiving Day parade yesterday and she wanted to wear her sunglasses...I think she looks like a rockstar.

Quick favor to ask - I'm guessing a lot of you guys are getting your holiday cards together.  If you are using one of the photos we have taken, and have an extra, or just want to send me one :), I would love it! I want to do a post in the new year showing different holiday card variations and would love to showcase some of yours!

And...a few things I found interesting this week:

• Love this poster (proceeds benefit hurricane victims)
• Have you seen these holiday gift guides from Creature Comforts?  They are awesome. 
• I forget where I saw this link, but it is hysterical.  Definitely worth a minute or two.
• This is in my slow cooker right now.  Do you think it could actually taste like the real thing?  We'll see.
• I need to make this for Sophie.  I'll let you know how it goes.
• Some good looking holiday cocktail tips.  I'll be using these for the party!
• Anyone use this for keeping up with their address book?

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!

Monday Updates!

Hey!  How is everyone doing today?  Getting back to normal?  Sort of seems like the new normal around here, little scary.  Anyway, I hope that everyone is doing great and that your family and friends are on the mend.  Tim and I have been looking for ways to help out, besides donating - I found this great network of volunteers on facebook (you can check out the links here, and I'm sure there are others too).

Otherwise, we are getting so excited around here for the holidays, the Uplift Party (more details coming soon, but the date is set for 12/8!), and finishing up wedding season with a bang (awesome NYC wedding)!  Next weekend is our last wedding for awhile - it has been a super busy season, and even I have to admit that I'm excited for a little downtime.  We always use winter to tune up and revamp the website, get to posts that we couldn't during the year because of all the editing work, making new albums, etc.  I have so much to tell you about for 2013 too.  Whew, coming soon :).

Lots of things to post today - first, it is Veteran's Day.  We have had the opportunity to photograph many military weddings and families and I am so happy to be able to provide memories to those that give so much to so many.  We had some great ones this past year - I made a little collage of a few of my favorites from recent years, but there are a lot more that I am not posting today.  Just our way of saying thanks to those that actively serve, and to those who have served in the past, including many members of our own family (the middle left photo is Tim's cousin, Joe).  Definitely not an easy job, and we very much appreciate all that these people and their families have to deal with on a daily basis.  Looking forward to a few more military weddings next year!


We shot a wedding for two great people this past Saturday - Amanda and Jon!  The wedding was at the Glen Island Harbour Club and everyone had a blast.  The park is still closed from the hurricane and the club is on generator, but everyone made it happen and as a guest, you didn't know the difference!  Amanda and Jon are really funny people and it was such a fun night.  Check out one of my favorite photos of them - it just feels so fall/wintery, I love it.  And I had to post the 2nd one too, a fast favorite.




I also shot two engagement sessions last week that I never had a chance to preview!  Love both these sessions.




A quick shout-out to Melissa and Jon today too!  Today is their one-year anniversary - so many great moments from that day.


And, a few photos from our home life this week...

(from left to right): sophie in my childhood room looking for treasures, funny behind the scenes pic of Tim - he is going to get wrecked when I post this year's album of behind the scenes :), sophie at a baking class this weekend, kale chip - my new obsession, some deer hanging out in our yard, sophie raiding my closet (already!?!), we voted!, observing the 1st snowfall of the year, sunset

Monday Updates: The Aftermath

Hey everyone! I'm back, are you guys here?  I'm sorry for the lack of posting last week, I know that I didn't even get an update post for you, but I didn't think it would take this long!  I'm definitely not complaining, because we are so incredibly lucky compared so so many others, but I apologize for the lack of updates here (you can always check my FB page though, which is worlds easier for me to update via mobile).  We just got power back late last night and probably just in time, we were starting to lose our minds a little!  We are very lucky to have warm places to stay (between Tim's mom, and my mom, and hotels, and friends), but with Sophie and all of our work, it is a bit much to lug around all of our stuff and work remotely for more than a few days (computers, cameras, batteries, flashes, oh yeah, and clothes, etc.).  We all did a happy dance in the driveway when we saw the outside light click on, just as we were driving away to spend another night somewhere else.  All will get back on track this week and if you need me, it will be much easier to reach me!  Thank you to all that sent me texts and emails to make sure we were ok, or to offer a place to stay - you guys are THE BEST.  I promise to thank you all with our annual holiday party announcement very soon! 

And just a quick note here - I know the news is filled with 1000's of heart-breaking stories of loss, and this blog is really not a place for more of that, but I read a great article today that has some excellent locations to donate with a bit less red tape than the huge, national organizations.  You can check it out here, if interested - I am also planning on donating baby items to Waddle n Swaddle in Poughkeepsie.  I believe they are sending a truck down on Friday - see more info here.  I hope all of you guys weathered the storm ok, and are staying safe and warm. 

So, I'm not going to post a ton today, but for the three weddings that we have shot since this superstorm came through, I wanted to post a tiny sneak peek!  You all are so patient!  We shot amazing weddings, with wonderful couples and families - people traveled from everywhere to make these events, changing flights, coming early, getting a rental car, whatever, to make it happen - these are my kind of people.  So awesome. 

First up, Nadia and Tom at Falkirk Estates!  I have a ridiculous amount of photos that I love from their wedding, but this one just stuck out to me today.


And, Jenna and Kevin at Patriot Hills Golf Club - love love love this one Tim shot.


And, from Saturday - Meghan and Stefan at the Westchester Hilton - I mean, come on.  I told you these were amazing!!


Ok, I have so much more to share, but I need to go edit weddings, email everyone, and tend to my little one too!  Promise to be back with so much more, soon.  Stay well everyone! And, keep your fingers crossed for the snowstorm to stay away!

Monday Updates!

Back again after a weekend full of work! Just plain crazy around here. I have so much to show you guys! I know a lot of people are excited to see their photos, and believe me, I'm working night and day around here to get them to you. Quality takes a bit of time (even though I love instagram, real art takes work!). This past week, I shot two weddings and two engagement sessions, did a bit of travel, and a ton of editing, some amazing sneak peeks are below.

Not to be outdone, I also made these Nutella brownies (which promised to change my life), and they sort of did. Brownies with three ingredients? Literally took 5 minutes to put together? And they are definitely a perfect midnight editing snack! Make them! (quick warning, they are not overly sweet).

Check out this shot from my wedding on Friday - Danielle and Brien rocked out a half-rainy day. Because, really, why should you let a little rain stop you!? They are totally awesome. Love this image.

And, check out these bridesmaids! Wellies, check! Umbrellas, check! Walking through the woods at Locust Grove in the rain, check!!! Nice, ladies. You are my kind of women :).

Saturday and Sunday were just ridiculously gorgeous days. Perfect fall weather! We shot Laren and Adam's wedding at Laren's parents house, and it was just wonderful. I couldn't choose which was my favorite, so here are both!

I lucked out with my engagement sessions this week too! No rain! Finally. Love love love this photo from Amanda and Dino's session (at Greig Farm!), and this one from my session with Brooke and Jack in Essex yesterday. 


Tim and I decided to make the rest of yesterday a family fun day, so we toured around Essex and the river area with Sophie (so much to do over there!). Tim took her on the Essex Steam Train and we stopped to take some fall photos too. It was nice to step away from the computer for more than 10 minutes and hang with my little family during this time of year (although this article doesn't really agree with that mindset!). I absolutely am in love with these photos of her...

Sophie also met our Mayor last week. Too funny. I had to go to the Voter Office in Town so I could sign up to vote (good thing I checked to see if I was registered! I thought you were automatically signed up with your license!). Anyway, who was there to help us get our forms...but the Mayor. Pretty neat. So, of course, I had to take a photo of him with Sophie. And, of course, she (remember, a photographer's child) refused to smile and instead stuck out her tongue. Good one for the baby book!

Quick question for everyone before I head out - would you guys be interested in a photo of the month challenge type thing? I don't know if challenge is the right word, but maybe just emailing me different photos you have taken related to a 'theme' each month? I'd love to see what everyone is capturing via iphone, dslr, point and shoot. Anyone willing to participate? Leave me a comment and I'll get it started!

And, a few quick links for you that I thought you guys might like!

• Wedding hashtags are awesome! (great way to collect those instagram pics too!)
• I am dying to check this out. Can someone please go and report back?
• Loving this photo collection. What a great idea. So beautiful. I feel like you don't actually look at other people in public places, you just walk on by. So interesting to look in.
• And, Happy 1st Anniversary today to Kristin + Jeff!  Woo hoo, 1 year down!