Last week I received an email from Jocey at WeddingChicks.com that I have been Hand Picked to be a featured New York vendor for WeddingChicks. This honor is awarded to only 3 vendors per category per region. To see my work featured along-side two other talented & established photographers, Trent Bailey & Bryce Covey, just makes this honor that much more humbling. My heart is singing and dancing right now. There truly has been some amazing things happening behind the scenes with my boutique business that I can’t wait to share as they unfold this year.
I recently shot a beautiful wedding that had me so inspired I made it a featured image in this post {above}. I am loving the bride’s polka dot shoes!! This moment truly just unfolded naturally without me having to direct the scene to get this look. If you’re familiar with my work, this is definitely one of my “Signature Style” shot during a prep session.
In other exciting news behind the scene, my wonderful Branding Team, Lara Casey, Emily Ley and the ladies at SouthernWeddings have been working hard to pull together a new look for my business that ultimately will express the true heart and soul of me & my work. I am like a child at Christmas right now who can’t wait to unwrap and reveal my shiny new look. From what the ladies have shown me so far, I have been dancing and spinning in my chair. They really nailed the true essence of me straight out of the box. My branding team has also been amazing at stripping all the gunk away and getting to the core of operating a beautiful business that will not only better serve my clients but fill my own heart with inspiration along the way. The launch date for the new site is inching close and I’m not sure if I can contain myself much longer. It has taken so much restraint for me not to post a sneak peek of my new logo and inspiration board….
Another inspiration on my heart is my husband, who is also my business partner, Chief-Financial-Officer, equipment manager and body-guard of international travels. He has been a huge support system & personal cheerleader on this business journey of mine. Below is a picture he took of me while in Poland recently. He travels internationally for his corporate job and whenever he gets the chance, he shares my work with those he meet. In doing so, I had the opportunity to fly to Poland recently to do a shoot for a new client who quickly turned into a very good friend (all in 1 short visit!). I will definitely share more about my Poland trip when I get a chance. This month, my heart is overflowing with so much goodness I am overwhelmed to share it all.
I will never grow tired of shooting at the beach, especially one accompanied by amazing light and a beautiful couple. When Arie & Ben agreed to do a beach engagement session, it got my heart dancing. We went to my secret little location in Long Island {NY} that’s my go to spot for beach shoots. No matter how many times I photograph here, it never gets old and I see it with fresh eyes every time.
When I first spoke to Arie on the phone, we immediately connected and discovered our mutual love over snowboarding. Because we got along so easily, I’m the type that would invite her out on a ladies snowboarding trip without having ever met. After meeting Arie & Ben in person, I knew right away, from their ultra cool personality and sweet relationship, that we were a match made for something wonderful. This proved true during our beach shoot. There was so much magic happening in this session. Arie & Ben have this easy way about them so we just kept things simple which usually result in the most authentic images. They arrived with their adorable pup, Dakota, who added that perfect personal touch. We didn’t anticipate weather being so cold, that by the time the shoot wrapped, our toes were numb and we lost function of our fingers… but it was worth it for the images that we got! Arie and Ben were such troopers.
To see more from this beautiful session, click an image below:
In honor of the first Film Photography Day declared by Lomography as being April 12, spurred me to share the origin of my heart for film photography.
I love the creative freedom that digital photography allows me to have…. but there is something that gets my heart aflutter when it comes to the old school days of film photography. I love the anticipation as I wait for that package in the mail from the print lab to see the result of my work. My photography days started back before I could even pick up a camera. Both my parents (being Asian… and as my husband likes to jokingly stereotype us as “being born with a camera around our neck”… a stereotype I can’t deny.) were obsessed with pictures and documenting everything in our lives since I could remember. So naturally around the age of 7 I asked for my own 35mm camera. It spawned an obsession which took me from dressing up my sisters for “fashion shoots” and using the images for my “homemade” fashion magazines (including made up Advertisements for shampoos and such which my sisters were also models). I remember handing my step-dad a bag full of film that I needed him to take to the photo lab. He looked at me in complete bafflement wondering how could I possibly use up that many rolls of film. In middle school, I was one of the few art students chosen for an exclusive photography trip down to Old Town Alexandria (VA) to photograph to our hearts’ content. In high school, I found joy working in the dark room of my photography class and having classmates pose for portraits. And after an adventurous career run as a Fashion Designer… my heart and original obsession took me full circle back to film. Whether on vacation or in my personal every day life, I barely pull out my digital camera any more. With photography being a full-time career and business, the last thing I want to do on my day off is take more pictures and edit more images. But when I decided to purchase a Medium Format Film camera… something in my heart began to dance again. I also forgot how expensive a habit this film photography craft is. Oy vey!
Below are images shot on my Contax 645 (85mm Zeiss lens) from a very cold & grey day wandering around Williamsburg, Brooklyn with my husband (with a stop at the Wythe Hotel Rooftop bar for an afternoon cocktail. Current drink of choice: The Dark & Stormy). I have a few professional sessions shot on film I will post in the coming weeks as well.
And this post wouldn’t be complete without an image of my adorable little nieces/God-Daughter (below) who makes my heart happy! The expression on Brooke’s face (in the center) is the perfect depiction of this little girl’s personality. I see a little adventurous & independent spirit in this girl that is very reminiscent of myself. With only 16 exposures to a 120-roll film, I was pretty proud of the result below from my last remaining exposure available. It was the perfect image to end my personal film adventure.
So Ecstatic to share that Erin & Brett’s beautiful Buttermilk Falls wedding was featured on Brides.com today! Erin is a talented jewelry designer who got so inspired from the process of crafting her own wedding that she has branched out into the wedding business herself. Erin will be offering services such as custom belts and jewelry along with wedding styling and event coordination. Her website is currently in the works. Also wanted to say how amazing Erin’s Flowers were, done by the talented team of Steven & Melissa Bruce of StevenBruce’s Design. They are so passionate about what they do and it really shows in their beautiful & well-balanced arrangements. If you are getting married in the Hudson Valley or even NYC, I would highly recommend this dynamic duo. They really strive to get your vision. Erin’s invitations also blew me away as well done by the talented ladies at Gourmet Invitations. They really did a beautiful job executing Erin’s vision.
Venue: Buttermilk Fall | Caterer: Oliver Kita | Coordinator: Carrie Wykoff | Event Styling & Design: Erin Braun (Bride) | Floral Design: Steven Bruce | Rentals: Party Rentals | Lighting: Stortz Lighting | Bride’s Hair: Garrett Bryant | Makeup: Amanda Hudzkiak | Band: Live Wire Entertainment | Dress: Vera Wang | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Custom Veil: Brides Head Revisited | Groom’s Attire: Ticknors | Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew, Amsale, BCBG | Custom Rings: Linhardt Designs | Invitations: Gourmet Invitations
I am so excited that Betty & Nelson are on Style Me Pretty today! This was such a memorable destination wedding for me and my team (the same one mentioned on facebook where the groomsmen had me on their shoulders for that perfect angle and the one where we ended up in the pool with our clothes on at the end of the night alongside Betty & Nelson and the rest of the guests). I am so behind on updating my site with new weddings from this past season… so here’s another new preview of my work via StyleMePretty!
Recently I had the opportunity of shooting a wedding in Puerto Vallarta. I was fortunate to have a day free to get off the resort to explore the surrounding areas of Puerto Vallarta with my Equipment Manager / Body Guard of International Travels {aka the husband} and one of my destination shooters, Jonathan who is a Chinese American fluent in Spanish and enamored with the Latin American cultures.
Being a photographer, you never have any pictures of yourself…. so I always end up doing these selfies in reflections {below}.
My personal travel style is not the kind that entails laying around at a resort pool side all day. I prefer what I call “mini-adventures”. When I travel, I love discovering “hidden treasures” not immediately known to tourists. I prefer to explore what life is like as a local, to meet locals, to eat what they eat and to understand life in another shoe. With the benefit of having Jonathan speak fluent spanish, we really had the opportunity to communicate with others. We discovered a sweet little old lady who sold these fresh press juices out of her home along a cobble stone street off the beaten path. While passing by a row of stucco houses, a door was left open which caused us to peak in. Jonathan saw a wipe board towards the back written in spanish listing different fruits with pesos next to them. Jonathan reasoned that she must be selling fruit so he proceeded to walk inside her home to ask. Unless you lived in the neighborhood, who would have known this lady sold the best press juices {always ask for no ice!} for just a few pesos. This was the first time I ever had fresh guanabana fruit and I am now obsessed with finding fresh ones here in the States.
We didn’t get the chance to eat brunch at the Mi Cafe {pictured above}, a cute little cafe that is supposed to serve amazing brunches, as recommended by a local (Canadian expat) who owns a pottery & cooking business in Puerto Vallarta. We did grab coffee there which was served with shaved cinnamon sticks and sat to talk with others for a while.
Below is this huge beautiful tree we happened upon off one of the side streets on our journey to finding all the good local taco trucks. My husband was on a taco mission and we probably hitted up 3-4 taco stands that day.
Mexico always seem to give me some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. I was so tempted to post all the images I shot of them but had to practice restraint as I curated the images for this post. When I see beauty like the images below, I can’t help but think how majestic is the creator of them.
Just had to post a few quick snapshots from last week’s beautiful Valentine’s Mexico Wedding… I’m still gushing over the blush dress the bride wore which made its debut on Say Yes To the Dress {Season 8 Episode 14}.
And here’s an email I just received from the bride & groom from their experience with us! This makes my heart soar. Totally love that my clients (who usually become friends) appreciate the hard work and effort my team and I love to deliver.
Twah,
We would like to formally thank you for the amazing performance you and your team gave during our wedding weekend. If we had a peso for every time a guest mentioned how hard you and your colleagues were working, we could extend our world tour infinitely. From the time you approached me when you overheard my concern about finding a quality photographer, to the first feel of your business card (if you invested that much in your business card, I could only imagine the time and effort you would put into our photos), to our in person planning meeting, I’ve always felt confident that no matter how our wedding turned out, we would walk away with high quality photos of the most memorable weekend of our lives.
Given just the sneak peek photos, our confidence in [the Twah Dougherty Brand] is fully validated. Thank you! Thank you for your attention to detail. Thank you for your preparation and professionalism (since when does a photog put the wedding day schedule together – only incredible ones likes you). Muchas gracias for your willingness to work well and cooperate with our videographer and other vendors. It all mattered. Every minute detail mattered. Adam and I were laughing because we noticed you at the huppah in one of our guest’s photos. We didn’t even know you were there when we were saying our vows! Very impressive on your part.
Your team was equally hard-working, sweet, and overall fun to have around all weekend long. John even came into the gift shop to take some fun impromptu photos of my dad and I while we waited for the sun to reach its proper position for the ceremony. Thank you, as well, for your flexibility on that last minute schedule change. You were very understanding and supportive.
We are happy to sing your praises on any website or social media page. We’re happy to be direct references (email is most likely best for the foreseeable future) and promote SAL in any way possible. Last but certainly not least, thanks for caring. Thanks for caring about what photos mean to a bride. Thanks for caring about the story behind the day and not the posed positions. Thanks for thinking outside of the box and trekking over rocks near the water’s edge to get the perfect shot. IT WAS AWESOME.
All the success to you and your team.
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Koets
Ok, for those who know me or had conversations with me, knows that I am a lover and not a hater (ha!). No, seriously. One of my pet PEEVES is when I hear a woman tearing another female down. I lack the eloquence of words to truly express my thoughts on this … and then one day I stumbled upon these 2 AMAZING articles (see below) that expressed perfectly what was in my heart. That was the beginning of my love affair with Darling Magazine whose slogan truly encapsulates how I live: ”The Art of Being a Woman”.
I love that they break down the article categories into the different personas that defines the different parts in us. You have to go and explore their site to truly understand why I *LOVE *LOVE *LOVE this magazine/blog. I have always wanted to be a catalyst for change in the “culture of a women’s world”. And here it is, Darling Magazine starting the wheels in motion to making it happen (as seen in their Kickstarter Video). It’s a movement for true inner confidence, a sense of self and acceptance of our own flaws (and others’) with grace and humility. It’s also bold to not shy from mentioning the spiritual realms, in acknowledging God (the bigger picture beyond this physical world) in their articles. And below is probably the best mission statement I have read!
You can also purchase their digital or print subscription here.
As mentioned above, these were the 2 articles that made my heart sing:
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And if you love this, you will also love Making Things Happen, started by Lara Casey, another HUGE INSPIRATION of mine. So huge that I am working with her right now on the revamping of my business and brand… Be prepared with a new look and site coming late Spring! I am soooooooo excited and soooo overwhelmed but sooooooo ready!!!
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