sarah hildebrandt photography

Amy & Ben :: happily ever laughter ::

2011-10-02T20:48:00.001-06:00

I love to laugh. I love taking photos. It also warms my heart to see happy couples in love. So, mix those all up together and you get Amy and Ben's Red Rocks e-session.

Thanks Amy and Ben for an awesome shoot! Psyched for your wedding next year. Prayers and wishes for safety in Iraq, Ben!

Ben resisted wearing the uniform. He was a great sport though and we were able to throw a patriotic flare into our shoot. Also, factoid of the day - did you know that the US Army has a rule against putting your hands in your uniform pants' pockets? Now you know.

Killer shoes.

We had a little fun with the "bubble lens."

Remembering :: 9.11 ::

2011-09-11T15:25:00.000-06:00

This morning I had the opportunity to join with individuals from all over the country at Red Rocks for the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb hosted by West Metro Fire Rescue. Over 3,000 people came out to climb 9 times around the amphitheathre - equating to the height of the World Trade Center twin towers - and support the fallen 9/11 heroes and their surviving families. It was moving, to say the least. Here's a small clip from this morning.

To learn more about this and other West Metro Fire Rescue 9/11 memorial events...visit WMFR Stair Climb.

Timmo :: Senior Class Prez ::

2011-08-30T10:03:00.000-06:00

Timmo (Tim, to his classmates) is my younger brother. Younger, not littler. He is probably a good 5 inches taller than me. He is also senior class president! woot! I was pretty impressed with his "Get Your Books Covered!" fundraiser he started for his class this summer. He literally went to all of the grocery stores in their area and got them to donate paper bags. ha! I reminded him when I was home a couple weeks ago that I was senior class VICE president....and he has already outdone my fundraising history. :)

So, with senior year approaching, Timmo and I got together over my time in NH to take his senior photos. It was clear where the location would be - the farm that our grandparents own - where both Timmo and I have lived and worked. In fact, he is still painting the horse paddock fenses that I painted one summer. We should maybe put 20 layers of shelac on them to avoid having to repaint every summer.....option??

The farm is gorgeous and really offers endless photo backdrops and props. This is why I couldn't blog all of the photos from our shoot....but here are some of my favs...of Timmo and of our morning at the farm.

:: Happy Happy Friday ::

2011-08-26T08:43:00.000-06:00

I edited to Fleetwood Mac Radio on Pandora last night. I should probably do this more often. I used to get really pumped when we'd drive up to Sunday River, blaring Go Your Own Way and Rhiannon...at 7am. Likewise, Stevie and Lindsey's intriguing beats kept me awake last night in order to make a dent in the over 2,000 photos I had to sift and edit. yikes!

And I guess it is only fitting that I'd be listening to these same tracks while editing this next set of images...

My best friend Rhianon, her hubby Seth and their little Hudsy bear were due for some new photos (Hudson is almost 16 months old!) and it just so happened that I was in New Hampshire last week...with a priority to see them....and my camera basically glued to my face. Two reasons I LOVE taking pictures with Rhi, Seth and Hudson - 1) I get to spend lots of time with them, obviously, and 2) They are the most ridiculously adorable fam ever. Proof below.

Some of my favorites. xo. Miss you guys TONS!

Flashback. 2010.

Hudson sported a sporadic mohawk during our shoot. It was quite windy.

Wait for it....

SUCH a ham!

Mela :: Italian for Apple ::

2011-08-22T11:51:00.001-06:00

Mela is my friend and fellow photographer, Kristen's, little girl. Little as in she is a tiny itty bitty little one. But you can't let her size fool you...she may be the fastest, most mobile 13 month old I've ever seen. It's a good thing I have a fast lens!

Because Mela is very modern we went to the train tracks. Don't worry, there were no trains. Safety first.

Here are some of my favs. Enjoy.

Sunshine. Saturday. Sneak Peeks.

2011-08-20T11:16:00.000-06:00

300+ days of sunshine a year in Colorado. This makes staying inside on a weekend nearly impossible for someone who owns a mountain bike, kayak, three tents and two pairs of hiking shoes.

So, before I venture off into the mountains for the day, I'll leave you with these sneak peeks from my time in New England last week.

Enjoy! xo.

Little Hudson - melting hearts everywhere.

Mela - aka - bright eyes.

My "little" brother Tim (Timmo) with his BFF sheep Rosie.

Giggles at the toy shop from Megan, Tommy and little Thomas Jr.

Courtney & Jeff :: a Breckenridge Wedding

2011-08-10T10:05:00.000-06:00

Two Saturday's ago I got to spend a beautiful summer day up in the mountains for Courtney and Jeff's lovely Breckenridge wedding at Main Street Station. Per usual, Colorado pulled through with some amazing weather and scenery. There were so many things that I loved about this wedding - grass green bridesmaids dresses with matching flowers, peacock colored shoes, guys in matching peacock shirts, a reception by candlelight, a heartfelt song sung by the maid of honor over looking the mountains, a super fun party with friends and family...and of course a completely elated couple...dressed in the most stunning dress and very sharp three piece suit!

A small sample. Enjoy. xo.

America runs on Dunkin.

2011-06-25T20:42:00.000-06:00

I know, bad joke. But when you give an east coaster a clear opportunity to reference Dunkin Donuts - she's gonna run with it. ;)

Another special day at Fort Carson and in the lives of many families - homecoming day! Today I was honored to capture Cpt. Richard Dunkin's reunion with his beautiful family....just wait until you see Abigail and Rich's son Ethan......you're heart will just melt.

Welcome home Rich! Thank you for your amazing sacrifice and service to our country.

welcome home.

2011-06-24T16:32:00.000-06:00

I met Meghan and Evan's mom this morning at 8am in Colorado Springs for Evan's homecoming....and I still have chills. Literally. The Fort Carson visitor's center was busting at the seams with absolute joy, wrenching anticipation and more pride than you will ever see in one room. The cheers when they announced that the buses had entered the gates - amazing. I had chills before anything even happened, when Meghan's friend was describing how the homecoming was going to go - especially when she did her super accurate rendition of the Toby Keith song they'd play as the soldiers walk in!

Meghan - thank you so much for having me there this morning to capture this moment. Evan - thank you for your courageous service to our country....and welcome home!!! You have a wonderful family and was happy to meet some of them today!

Pretty sure Evan asked in this text if he could go to a bar tomorrow and watch the USA vs Mexico Game.... :)

I overheard Evan say, "killer boots." He's right, they totally are!

Evan's dad got held up at the airport and missed the events but finally made it to Fort Carson....

Katie & Paul :: soon to be newlyweds.

2011-06-21T21:04:00.000-06:00

First of all, does everyone else have a disastrous house right now, or is that just me? No matter how much I toss, straighten, reorganize, refurbish...my house is still a mess. Man I can't wait for IKEA to open in July and my organizational needs to be fulfilled shortly thereafter....it's going to be like Target's home and office section....on steroids. DANGER ZONE for my wallet.

Aaand I'm back. This weekend, amongst the clutter and chaos that is my current life status, I was able to fit in a shoot with my colleague Katie and her fiance Paul. Adorable! Katie and Paul are absolutely adorable and were such fun to work with. I met them at their home and was introduced to the Stapleton area - a quaint Denver community of perfectly manicured parks, bustling little downtown with live music and sunlight filled fields of amazing tall grass. Perfect. Oh, and did I mention that Katie and Paul also introduced me to their tiny little pups - Heidi and Henry? Wait for it...their cuteness will knock you off your chair. So get comfortable and hold on, here are some of my favs.

Henry to the left - Heidi on the right. Killing me!

My absolute favorite....

Thank you Katie and Paul for such an amazing shoot! Only one more month until your wedding!!

xo.

Laurie & Eric :: oh happy day ::

2011-06-01T22:26:00.002-06:00

You know that feeling you get a day or so after your wedding? Post wedding blues?? As a wedding photographer I get to experience this in a small way practically every weekend in the summer. This week I have had an exceptionally bad case of the blues after coming home from spending the weekend in Carlisle, PA with my stellar friends, Laurie and Eric, for their wedding at Laurie's home! Ugh, I wish I were better with words and could describe how absolutely beautiful this wedding was. It was straight out of a magazine. A photographers dream. Every little detail was perfect. Oh, and did I mention that a TORNADO went through Carlisle, PA just a couple of days before their outdoor tented wedding!?? I couldn't believe it when I heard that a storm had torn the tent, knocked trees onto cars, destroyed newly planted flowers and scattered branches all over the yard. Friends and family rallied and were able to clean up the entire mess. Amazing. Love.

Laurie and Eric, I am so so lucky to have you both as friends and so touched that you flew me all the way from CO to share in your weekend. Laurie, you were a stunning bride. Eric, you were such a sweet groom. Thank you to the Hanniford family for being so welcoming. I felt instantly at home.

And onto the photos! I had 80 more that I REALLY wanted to blog...but I think blogger may have imploded. So here are a few (few now = 40+).

Enjoy. xo.

Laurie's friend Erica did such a good job with Laurie's hair and makeup!

The men.

Circling...

Best group of bridesmaids ever! They let me hang out with the all weekend. :)

Pets of honor. It's a wonder that I didn't put Thomasina (orange kitty) in my bag home!

The Hannifords!

I stole Laurie and Eric right before dinner because of this insane light....

This was awesome. Laurie's friend, Lauren, nailed up all of these photos to the barn doors.

The End. Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Sloan!!! ow oow!!

the girls.

2011-05-23T08:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!

This past Friday I got to relive the 8th grade! Ok, well not entirely (thank the LORD! I had pretty frizzy awful hair in the eight grade). I got to spend a litte chunk of Friday evening with Erin and her three girlfriends as they primped for their 8th grade dance! Amazing. Another little gem of life that I got to share with clients. Erin and her friends' excitement and happiness was contageous and they all looked stellar.

Erin - hope you had a fantastic time! Thanks for having me there!

So, for your Monday enjoyment....

This is one of my absolute favs of Erin.

These girls were, without a doubt, the best on demand laughers EVER!

Saturday Sneak Peek

2011-05-21T17:22:00.000-06:00

E-session AND an 8th grade dance. A lovely start to the weekend.

xo. stay tuned.

The Odells.

2011-04-23T19:28:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday I got out into the great Colorado sunshine and met up with one of my coworkers, Stephanie, and her three ADORABLE children. Erin, the oldest, is graduating from eighth grade this year so we shot a few for this big milestone. Stephanie has also been super diligent in getting photos taken of all her kids when they were little, so I took a bunch of little EJ to continue his routine photo sessions. Brace yourself, you may be knocked over by his cuteness. Aaaaand then there is Tanner. :) Tanner had A LOT of energy and I think he may have enjoyed the playground more than the photo session! For that reason only, Tanner is only represented in the group shots...next time Tanner!

Enjoy. xo.

Sneak Peek.

2011-04-17T21:50:00.000-06:00

Well, they don't get much more adorable than this...

And how stylish are eighth graders these days?? I think I was still growing into my ears and unruly hair at that point in my life...

Stay tuned!

xoxo

Something Blue.

2011-04-16T16:55:00.000-06:00

Well clearly weddings make me super happy - I am a wedding photographer and all. BUT, not going to lie, no wedding has been as exciting as my twins'!!! I know, how obnoxious. But we are twins, we were wombates, so my enthusiasm is warranted. My twin sister Kate and her fiance Brett are getting married in Scottsdale, AZ in only 20 days! ow ow! I am psyched, to say the least.

So anyway, just wanted to share a little info. If you are bridesmaid, friend or family member looking for present for the bride...consider something blue...from J.Crew! It's just a little something to help personalize the bridal gown...

Take a peek. And yes, Kate has already seen this so I am not ruining the surprise.

Interested!? More information? Visit JCrew Something Blue Monogramming

xoxo

Gift Certificates.

2011-04-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

A new shipment of gift certificates has arrived!

And you know, there are a lot of gift giving events coming up and my gift certificates can be used towards all of them....birthdays, weddings, engagements, expecting mothers, MOTHER'S DAY (just saying...). :)

So, for all of you who would like to spread the word of Sarah Hildebrandt Photography and give the gift of a portrait session with me AND a collection of forever memories of family, friends or loved ones....a gift card is waiting for you!

Contact me for more information or to purchase!

Operation Love :: the Mares family ::

2011-03-26T18:41:00.001-06:00

Every weekday when my alarm buzzes, excuse me, blares oppressively with our local country music station, I clearly would like to continue sleeping beneath my cozy worn Anthropologie quilts atop the California king Tempurpedic cloud...for the remainder of the morning. How can you blame me!? Doesn't that sound amazing? But eventually I stop pressing snooze, lace up the sneakers, exercise for a whopping 60 minutes three times a week and go to work a super non stressful 9-5er and help contribute to my health, family and future. Ohhh the intense sacrifices I make.

These are puny (not a huge fan of this word-reminds me of something an elementary school meany would say, like scrawny, but it works here) sacrifices compared to extraordinary sacrifices that our service men and women make on a daily basis for our country, our freedom, our families and our day-to-day creature comforts. I believe we owe a lot to these brave individuals. I believe that it takes an awesome amount of commitment, strength (physically, emotionally and spiritually), and courage to do what our soldiers do and stand for. I can hardly make it two hours without coffee or part ways with my bed each morning! Never mind living and eating in the field or boarding an airplane for Afghanistan or Iraq waving goodbye to loved ones for 7+ months at a time.

And the families of our soldiers, they are blessed individuals as well. I tear up thinking about my mother-in-law's facebook post a few weeks ago when my brother-in-law came back from his deployment to Afghanistan...

"Got a huge bear hug a little bit ago! El is finally with us!"

And I could listen over and over to my step mom Maureen's reenactment of her grandson Jayden (cutest kid EVER) when he got a surprise visit from his dad, Jeff, over R&R...

Jeff's friend: "Who's that?" 

[insert Jayden's shocked face and wide eyes] 

Jayden: "That's my dad!" 

Gets.me.every.time. And I wasn't even there! The support, love and strength of these families is unending.

Though there is really no way for me to fully express my huge appreciation to our military members, I have recently found one small way to give back through photography. This year I joined the Operation: Love Reunited organization - a large and growing group of photographers across the country who provide patriotic photographic services to our soldiers and their loved ones. My goal through this - to help show support, gratitude and patriotism and hopefully spread a little joy and comfort to our military members and their families.

Here are just a few of my favorites from my latest OpLove session...enjoy.

Meet Carter.

2011-03-12T15:39:00.003-07:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a little curly haired charmer named Carter. Carter is my friend Corey and Meadow's little one. During this shoot he was subject to a little paparazzi - Corey, a landscape photographer, brought along his Nikon to practice his portrait photography! As the photos show - Carter displayed no camera shyness, was a good sport in the chilly weather, and he and my zoom lens became quite good friends...

All of that swinging really tested my focusing skills - this one slipped a bit - LOVE his expression just the same.

Look.at.those.eyes....

Sometime just before our shoot, Carter rejected a haircut....I would too if I had his curls!...

One of my absolute favorites. Adorable.

the end.

xoxo

sneak peek - carter levi

2011-03-07T08:00:00.006-07:00

One photo from yesterday's shoot with a fellow coworker and photographer Corey, his lovely wife Meadow and their cute cute CUTE little boy Carter. Carter's location of choice for this shoot - either of the two bucket swings at the downtown Parker playground....

Happy Monday!

more to come this week.....

xo.

Sarah

:: an eye opening elksperience ::

2011-02-27T17:03:00.002-07:00

When asked what type of photographer I am, I do not use the words landscape, nature or animal in my answer. The words portrait and wedding always make the cut. Sure, I could contently snap away photos of my sister-in-law's wacky dog Mable or my snobby cat Tom all day, but that doesn't quite compare to the opportunities I get to capture truly blissful engaged, just married or expecting couples.

I guess it wasn't until I moved to the lovely state of Colorado that I realized that I can sometimes mix these two categories of photography. I think I'll continue to keep weddings and portraits as my main focus, but I bet I will find myself grabbing my Nikon and zoom lens as I depart for future adventures in the Rockies...........

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my first "nature portrait session."

Location - Rocky Mountain National Park.
My models - Rocky Mountain Mule Deer and a large herd of young Elk.

oh hello deer friend.

Pit stop - switched out the zoom for a fisheye.
That is our nephew Ben standing between the two trees.

Just when we thought out luck was running out - we spotted a rather photogenic
herd of elk.

This little bird was really loving playing on this bull's back....

elk boxing.


Ben, enjoying our elk encounter. This is pre-too-close-for-comfort elk encounter. :) the end. xoxo.

josiah & allison...married 9.25.2010.

2011-02-07T22:09:00.001-07:00

Josiah & Allison....blogged 2.7.2011.

Four months later for their blog post? Thaaaat's right. Better late than never, right? Absolutely.

I have to admit, I think I had a smile on my face the entire time I was picking out images to share from this collection. Allison and Josiah both have such sweet and caring personalities, are so so so adorable, and were just so much fun to work with.

It really wouldn't be a Maine beach side wedding without a trolley.

Norm, the best man, had something to say about a car... and Josiah....and driving really fast....


Sparklers! LOVE. the end. xoxo

gangs all here.

2011-02-05T19:12:00.003-07:00

There has been blogging silence for far too long. Though this "slow season" coupled with my move to Denver has left me lacking new material to blog, I have what seems to be an endless supply of images from last summer and fall that are in need of some sharing. Before I get to all that, I have one shoot from this winter that I have yet to post...

A little over a month ago I had another opportunity to meet up with Cecelia (fashion show birthday girl) and family. Like Cece's birthday shoot, this session was all about the kids, specifically, Cece, her brother and sister and their 5 cousins! We met up in Larimer Square on a Sunday morning and took advantage of the quiet streets until we all were freezing and decided a hot cocoa detour into The Market was in order. Once warmed up, we headed back outside for a few more shots....

Band photo?

A kid...in a candy store.

Well hello there! This little one had a wardrobe change...lOVED his hat.

AND a little bonus feature. An oldie but a goody. A photo of me with my two sisters and two of my cousins. This is a classic from our annual childhood camping trips. Please note the clear obsession we all had with Keds footwear...

Lucia, Laura, Melissa, me and Kate. Sebago Lake, ME State Park. 5 of the 17 cousins on my Dad's side.

the end.

xoxo

hudson. 7 months, 24 days.

2010-12-31T16:26:00.002-07:00

Well, it has been a busy busy year for Sarah Hildebrandt Photography - fortunately! I have had so many great shoots - thanks to all of my amazing clients!

One of my absolute favorite repeat clients has been my best friend Rhianon. :) Last spring we met her and her husband, Seth, in downtown Portsmouth NH for her maternity photos....

and a few months later...we met in Durham NH for pictures of Rhianon and Seth's handsom baby boy - Hudson....

And in a blink of an eye, a half a year went by and it was clearly time to take a few more photos of this little man! This time we did a quick shoot at the book store where our best friend Stef works - Water Street Bookstore - in Exeter NH.

Enjoy!

Safety hazard? Perhaps. Luckily Safety Supervisor Stef was around.

UGH. Look at those eyes!

Hudsy bear.

Hudson was really psyched about Stef's fav picture book selection.

the end.

xoxo

introducing: mr. and mrs. brennan.

2010-11-28T20:25:00.010-07:00

This year, Zach and I broke from our New England Thanksgiving traditions and flew down to the beautiful, warm and sunny beach side town of St. Augustine, Florida to attend and photograph my cousin Laura and her fiance Sean's wedding! What a lovely way to spend a holiday - perfect weather, beautiful wedding, amazing family and friends and lots of yummy food.

Laura & Sean - you.are.the.best. Thank you so so much for having me as your wedding photographer and letting me share in your wedding festivities. Laura, you were absolutely stunning and you were beaming with happiness. Sean, you were so much fun and such a sweet groom. I hope you enjoy this small collection of photos from your happy day!

Loving the flowers!

Fluffing.

Twirl.

Sisters. Love.

The Brennan family!

The Grant family!

These next two are my favorite....

LOVE.

Cheers!

the end.

xoxo

cece celebrates.

2010-11-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have this framed photo at my house of me when I was little. I am actually not really sure when I acquired this photo...but anyway....

What am I wearing??! Well clearly I thought that it was an appropriate time to break out the white ensemble, pearl necklace, lace gloves and pink cocktail ring...so the fashions of the early '90s, right? And it was probably a Tuesday at 10am. But obviously I was loving it and so into whatever it was the I was writing that I let someone take a picture of me. Yes, these were the days. Ladies, you all remember these days...

Well two Friday's ago I got to relive this little gem of life at Cece's 8th birthday party. Cece is the daughter of one of my husband's coworkers, Cyndi. Cyndi called me a few weeks ago to see if I would be available to be the professional photographer at Cece's FASHION SHOW themed birthday party. Absolutely!! was my response. So I spent my Friday night with 1o eight-year-old girls backstage in hair and makeup and center stage as they strutted down the runway wearing all the coolest trends of 2010. And, there are obviously no pictures of this, but they actually got me to do the catwalk. I kid you not. Not a bad way to spend a Friday night! Photography, good food and wine, fun people and of course, a fashion show.

Happy Birthday to Cece! Thanks for inviting me to your party! I had a blast.

The birthday girl!

Necklace making station in the upstairs hallway. Always fun!

Cece waiting for her turn in hair and makeup.

A little before and after...

Side bangs! So chique!

Cece and her older sister Georgia (aka - the fashion show hair stylist)

Lovely.

The red carpet event...

Well obviously this party would not have been complete without Cece's brother Jude (aka - Katy Perry)

They went BANANAS over Katy Perry.


Gangs all here!

courtney & jeff.

2010-11-09T11:39:00.003-07:00

I first spoke with Courtney back in September when I was still in New England finishing up wedding season. She told me all about her plans for a romantic mountain wedding at Breckenridge. AMAZING. After meeting both Courtney and Jeff in Denver a month or so ago, I was so excited for their engagement shoot. We met up for some country photos at Washington Park (where Jeff proposed.love) and then headed to Larimer Square for some city photos. And, it just so happened that we picked the most beautiful CO fall day for our shoot.

So here it is...my first CO engagement shoot! Thanks Courtney and Jeff!

Enjoy.

one of my favorites.

I am in love with Larimer Square.

Balloons. Thank you to whomever left them in this alleyway.

the end.

xoxo.

katie and jeremy.

2010-11-05T11:00:00.003-06:00

Katie and I have known each other since...1999ish. We went to the same church and attended the same youth group. Katie has such a great contagious personality. She is so so kind and super bubbly and spunky. Oh, and she is a twin...so as a twin...we instantly connected. :) Because of the wonders of Facebook, I knew Katie was engaged and getting married in October. So pumped! Also because of Facebook, we reconnected this summer and she asked if I would take her engagement photos! So of course I was so excited for this shoot, so pumped to see Katie again and psyched to meet Jeremy! Though we all had some busy schedules to work with...we ended up squeezing in the shoot at Fort Stark THREE DAYS BEFORE their wedding. Perfect.

So, thanks Katie and Jeremy! I had such a great time - you guys are absolutely ADORABLE. And congrats on being married!!

Katie and Jeremy are stellar jumpers. Seriously. A+.

See. ADORABLE.

Katie - your hair is AMAZING in this photo!

Katie really wanted this one. :) So cute.

the end.

xoxo.

laura & sean.

2010-11-02T21:34:00.003-06:00

One photo session that I was so so psyched to have been able to fit into my crazy last two months in NH was the engagement shoot for my cousin Laura and her fiance Sean. I was pumped when Laura asked me to do these photos for them. Actually, I may have shamelessly pitched the idea to Laura via Facebook. ;) I just can't resist any opportunity for a good engagement session! Anyway, we ran around Brighton, MA area and got some great shots. AND...though originally Sean and Laura were not going to have a photographer at their intimate Florida wedding coming up....we had such a great time and Sean suddenly realized that I was a photographer he could boss around...thus...I will be shooting their wedding in 22 days!

Thanks Sean and Laura for a great e-session, I CANNOT wait for your wedding!

Love.

cuuuuute.

throw down?

Thaaats better. :)

Sean was a good sport and let us take photos on the swings....

Clearly this was a stellar idea.


one of my absolute favorites.

the end.

xoxo

kalauna, kyle and dominic.

2010-10-28T15:57:00.003-06:00

Last spring, Becky, a friend of Kalauna, emailed me after seeing a collection of photos from a maternity shoot I had done for a mutual friend (actually, my best friend Rhianon!) and wondered if I offered gift certificates for portrait sessions. The answer was, and is, absolutely YES! Becky and a few other of Kalauna's friend chipped in to give Kalauna a maternity portrait session for her upcoming baby shower! So nice! :) A month or so after giving Kalauna her gift I got in touch with Becky and found out that she had already had her baby! Yikes. So...instead of a maternity shoot...Kalauna, her husband Kyle and their new precious baby Dominic got a family/baby shoot! And while we were planning to do the shoot on a lovely September day at Prescott Park in Portsmouth NH another wrench got thrown in and it rained...hard...and it was unseasonably cold...freezing actually. Lovely. Luckily a good photog friend of mine let us use her studio building at the last minute. Thank.you.Kristin! Here are just a few of my favorites from this session...

Say hellllooooo to Dominic!

Oh hello there!

At the beginning, Dominic was so NOT into this shoot. But Kyle broke out the secret weapon...he sang to him. Dominic stopped crying...immediately. Like magic.

love.

The End.
xoxo.

nikki & matt.

2010-10-21T19:26:00.001-06:00

I met Nikki and Matt last fall in Ipswich. As it turns out, we were practically neighbors, only three blocks away, and they wanted to support Ipswich small businesses! So, we did just that by meeting in the middle at Zumi's, Ipswich's lovely downtown coffee shop (side note: they make reeeeally good pumpkin spice lattes). As we talked about their wedding I just fell in love with the plans they had - an outdoor fall apple orchard wedding at Smith Barn. AMAZING.

Thanks Melissa for your help at this shoot!
Enjoy!

Nikki was going to help little London with his jacket...

But he made it clear that he could absolutely do it all by himself! What a cutie.

Gangs all here! Looking gorgeous!

Something blue...

A little gift from Matt. sweetest.groom.ever.

Perfect.

Yes, those are apples on their heads. :)

Love.

THE END.
xoxo.

endless possibilities.

2010-10-20T13:43:00.010-06:00

Okay. So the title of my first blog post is really just the color of nail polish I am currently wearing, chosen at my manicure in Vail village a few days ago (Luxury? yes. Regular occurrence? I wish). However, I think it sort of fits my current situation.

Let's start at the beginning. Beginning = mid June 2010. Start of wedding season. Busy season at the Boston hedge where I was employed. My husband Zach and I had been toying with the idea of moving out west, just for fun, so he started to apply for jobs in Denver, just to see what was out there. Two weeks later Zach was on a plane to Denver for an interview. One month after that was his first day at the job. For most fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants people, this would be really exciting. This kind of change comes as somewhat of a shock for someone who has a self-run photography business that has scheduled 15 New England weddings, a handful of engagement shoots, a few family shoots, works a full-time job that provides gourmet lunches, five kinds of chilled iced tea, and great coworkers, and oh by-the-way owns a house, shelves and shelves of books, power tools, outdoor sporting equipment...................YIKES.

So we rented a 24 foot moving truck (only because we ordered Pods come to find out on the day of delivery that the 14x20 storage unit does not fit in our driveway because the retaining wall slants in about two feet at the top. Thank you construction of 1880.), continued packing (key word 'continued' - Zach somehow knew this move was going to happen months before it did), put a "For Rent" sign in front of the house and started to drive. No no, we didn't just drive our already beastly truck with some light suitcases across the country and meet the moving truck at our new apartment. We.drove.the.moving.truck.aka semi. Actually, Zach and his dad drove the moving truck. Thank the Lord. I followed behind in my wine-collection-stuffed Dodge Dakota, clearly singing along to every mid west country music station for the entire 2,018 mile journey. Except through Cleveland, the only stretch of the drive where country music does not exist and you have to pay close attention as to not rollover your vehicle when you hit the highway's 90 degree turn going 70mph.

We all made it to our new Denver apartment safely including every single item in both trucks. THANK YOU to Zach's mom for her freakishly good packing skills. Two days of heavy lifting up three flights of stairs (I think there was a bet between Zach and his mom whether or not there was an elevator in this apartment complex. Zach lost.), several bottles of G2 and about a thousand breaks to catch our breath later, we were moved in and quickly came to the realization that the furnishings of a 1300 square foot home do not fit into a 700 square foot apartment no matter which way you turn/stack them. Courtesy of my degree in mathematics education (especially those classes involving volume and surface area)

And the fun began! Zach held down the fort in Denver and I flew back to MA where I began my August-October stint as a Nomad New England Wedding Photographer, continued to work part-time for my gracious Boston employer, began the grueling task to secure tenants in our home and jammed in as much quality time with family and friends as possible. Sad and lonely to be living across the country from my husband of 4.5 years? Yes. Psyched to have balanced that out by spending so much time with my two best friends and most of my lovely family? Yes! Honestly, I think there is just too much to write down about that 2.5 months (which btw, seemed like 2.5 weeks). So I'll list some highlights. In no particular order. :)

1) Spent each weekend with couples on one of the happiest days of their life. Thank you to all of my couples!

2) Spent a three day weekend at a beach house with Mom and Rol. Most of this time was spent watching riveting episodes of Swamp People...ha.

3) Became hooked (I mean HOOKED) on Zumba with Rhi (best friend). Best.workout.ever. Might not win the trophy for most strenuous workout, but definitely takes the lead in the most fun workout category.

4) Had a sleepover with work friends each week including Bravo shows, food leftover from our gourmet lunch work perk and a 4 minute walk through Boston's Back Bay to the office the next day.

5) Ate a new amazing meal followed by a refreshing rum and coke all other nights courtesy of Dad and Mo.

6) Talked Stef (other best friend) into buying the set of Pyrex nesting bowls while antiquing on NH's antique alley.

7) Drove around a sporty little stick-shift black Jetta courtesy of my very generous brother-in-law El, currently serving in Afganistan.

8) Had a travel mug of fresh Dunkin's coffee on the ride to work - thanks Dad.

9) Ate loads of homegrown tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon and sweet potatoes in an attempt to clean up our garden for the incoming tenants.

10) Spent quality time with my Dad scouring, painting and covering up lead paint in our home to prepare for tenancy.

11) Made friends with the lead inspector due to our multiple inspections and clarifying phone calls. Thank.You.Massachusetts.

12) Spent loads of time visiting Hudsy (ie - cutest baby ever!).

.........

What a CRAZY two months. Finally all settled in. 100% missing my friends and family, but settled in and excited to see what will happen next. Now I will begin the months of editing I have to do (STAY TUNED! All of that will follow this post in the coming days and weeks), drink some more french-pressed coffee, get ready for my meeting with a couple getting married at Breckenridge next summer (!!!!) and enjoy this view from my desk....

My life in the mile high has begun....the possibilities, as well as the of mountains filled with skiing/biking/hiking/amazing wedding and portrait locations, really do seem endless.

xoxo. Sarah.

ps - Did I mention we bought a house in the next town over and are moving in two weeks? :)