Christina Ward Photography » Authentic. Warm. Classic. Bright.

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Remember what I said about my awesome clients?  It’s just so true!  I had such a great time meeting the Harper family – six month old Cole and his parents, Chip and Darah.   I hung out a bit after our shoot wrapped up just to chat and take a look through their gorgeous engagement and wedding photos from a few years back.  Seriously, I could look at gorgeous couple/wedding photography all day – and I have.

Cole is such a cutie, and  was only interested in putting on his most serious faces for me – he’s a very thoughtful little guy.   We all did our zany best to bring out the smiles out at a park near their home in Wellesley.   Here’s a sample of Mr. Cole and his proud parents:

Thank you so much Harper family.  I hope we can get together again very soon!

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As hard as it was to believe, my “baby” cousin, Andrew, was actually getting married.  His fiance, Emily, has been more-or-less a part of our family for quite some time, so this wedding felt very special – we were all so excited to officially welcome her into the fold and to celebrate the last of the Baker cousins to tie the knot.   I sure do love a good wedding, especially for how such occasions gather extended relatives from near and far.  It is a little bittersweet that there are no more cousins to marry off so their nuptials can serve as a big family reunion.  I’m sure we’ll find other ways to make get-togethers happen, but maybe with less cake and formal wear (eh, I still want cake).

With a destination wedding to Emily’s hometown of Fernandina Beach, Florida, it sure was a kick-butt way to close out the era of my first cousins’ weddings!  I haven’t had much exposure to Florida and wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but our four days at the beautiful Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort certainly provided a very positive introduction to Florida’s east coast – I would not hesitate to return one day.  Added bonus: we very narrowly missed a direct hit from Hurricane Irene, so that was an extra blessing upon the weekend.   It didn’t stop Irene from really doing a number on our departure flight(s) home though – it took us three days of planes, trains and automobiles to make it back to Boston, but we rolled with the punches and the weekend with family was worth every minute of travel hassle.

I love my extended family so much – we’re scattered all over the country and don’t all get together like this nearly enough, but when we do we surely make up for lost time.  I had a blast with my camera over the weekend, capturing the family fun in the sun and can’t resist sharing an assortment of just-for-fun photos from the trip.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Baker and welcome to the family, Emily – you’ve been an honorary member for some time, but now you’re stuck with us forever :)

Also, don’t miss their wedding photographer’s {Andrea Taylor Studio} two-part blog recapping the whole wedding weekend – Part I and Part II here!

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Dave and Mary’s wedding day had nearly arrived, but first their closest friends and family needed to gather and rehearse! And that included practice eating, drinking and toasting for the big day :)   I had the thrill of photographing their intimate rehearsal dinner at the fabulous Kitchen Zinc in New Haven — this space was absolutely heavenly on a warm summer evening, with both indoor and outdoor areas, tucked away just off New Haven’s main drag.  And the pizza!  To die for!  I’m a bit of a pizza nut and had to stop myself from gorging on the thin crust pies long enough to actually take pictures, it was that good.  Kitchen Zinc is a wonderful small to medium sized event space and Dave’s mother and sister did a knock out job putting the evening together.

Here’s just a little peak at the evening:

The rehearsal dinner was a laid-back and very personal evening, the perfect intro to the wedding day itself.   Mary is a creative force and the wedding itself was a visual feast of pink, red, yellowand orange, outstanding food and one of the best dance-floors at any wedding ever (killer DJ! If I had his info I’d link him here … Mary?).   I also want to give a big shout-out to their wonderful event planner, Sarah True at True Event, and their photographer for the main event, Anna Sawin Photography.   What a special weekend with friends, family and one of the greatest pairs of newlyweds in New England.   Dave and Mary, thank you for letting me lend my photographic eye as you celebrated this very special time in your lives, I’m sure you will have an unforgettable honeymoon in Croatia and beyond!

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If you haven’t already, click here to check out Part I of Seth & Kim’s Wedding weekend.

Seth & Kim’s wedding at Block Island’s Spring House hotel was so cool and unique from start to finish:  from the emotional family toasts to the puppet-show created by Seth for his bride (oh yes, there was an actual puppet-show depicting how the happy couple met – amazing!) to the all-out sweat-fest on the dance-floor (in the best way imaginable) to the paper lanterns signed with and love and best wishes by all the guests released in night’s sky as the night drew to a close. Seth and Kim’s was unlike any wedding I’ve ever been to (and I have been so many weddings), all of the wedding guests, even those from opposite families or that had never met before, seemed to be like one big family for the night.  Couldn’t narrow down my favorites to fit into the post so clik on the image below to start the full slideshow:

Seth and Kim, thank you for including me in your wedding weekend, both as a participant and photographer.  It was a couple of days in a gorgeous locale with beautiful people that I will hold dear in my heart always.

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I had the tremendous pleasure of traveling to Block Island, RI, in late July to attend the wedding of Seth and Kim and to serve as the photographer for their rehearsal dinner the night before the main event.   As wedding’s often do, especially when there’s a destination for all involved, the weekend served as a family reunion of sorts, particularly for Seth’s side of the family.   The rehearsal dinner Friday night was the first time that everyone, from both sides, gathered together before the wedding to mingle, laugh, imbibe and bask in Seth and Kim’s total, radiating love for one another.   I felt truly honored to be a part of the wedding weekend and to capture these images of the wonderful gathering the night before Seth and Kim got hitched.

Seth’s mother, Jo, really out-did herself with the DIY centerpieces, putting the whole event together nearly all on her own (plus a few last-minute helpers).   The venue, Payne’s Dock, had just completed all new construction of this event space, and I believe this was the very first sit-down dinner to take place in the revamped room.  The management and staff did an outstanding job helping to coordinate the set-up; the food and service were simply phenomenal (check out that baked stuff lobster in one of the photos below, it was cuh-razy delicious).

What a great evening!  Now onto the wedding day …

Click here for Seth & Kim’s Wedding: Part II to see and read about their big day!

 

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Another beautiful summer afternoon in Boston!  Another adorable, photogenic little one to spend it with!   Meet Ellie (short for Eleanor, one of my very most favorite names in the world):

Isn’t she a cutie?  I had so much fun rolling around in the grass at Titus Sparrow Park in the South End, coaxing this one to smile.  She wasn’t so sure about me, at first.   But, soon enough, we got along just fine.

 

Thank you, R. and W., for inviting me and my camera to spend the afternoon with guys on a gorgeous day.  Ellie is a charmer and  I hope we can do it again very soon.

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One of the very best things about being a photographer has nothing to do with taking pictures.   It’s getting to spend however many hours with some really cool people.   I have ::knock on wood:: only met the most awesome couples and families since putting myself out there for hire.   It must be the referral snow-ball effect: cool people beget cool people beget cool people.   I cannot tell you how lucky I am that my snowball got launched by some very fun folks and has only gotten bigger and better from there.

Among the first new people I got to meet were Rachel and Jeremy and their seven-month old son Lucas.

With the little guys, I can’t stress enough to parents/clients just how important it is for us to go with the flow.  Sure, its my job to air-traffic-control the chaos as much as possible into the best light or a flattering pose, but for the most part, due both to my own style and practical realities, I just follow where the moment leads and capture the images that end up there.    This is where my first paragraph comes in — you see, little man Lucas was just getting over an eye infection and just getting a cold, so it wasn’t his best day (though, by the cute-factor present, you’d never know).  So when he conked out in his stroller before we were quite ready to call it a day, what did we do on a beautiful summer day?   We three adults took a stroll for some fro-yo and just hung out for a bit.  I also availed myself of the opportunity to conduct a mini-session with their black lab, Buddy.

And here are just a few more from our afternoon:

I so enjoyed the opportunity to get o know R. and J. a bit more and can’t express how much I appreciated their relaxed and go-with-the-flow attitude.   It really does make all the difference in the world.   Frozen yogurt,  cool parents, a cute baby and dog on a warm July afternoon? As Ina would say, how bad can that be?

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