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Smart Alice Wedding Education: 5 Tips to Help You Hire Your Wedding Photographer

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Smart Alice Wedding Education: 5 Tips to Help You Hire Your Wedding Photographer

In a world full of Pinterest checklists and advice from literally everywhere, it’s often easy to get overwhelmed and “list happy” when you are planning a wedding - especially when you are considering who to hire as your wedding photographer. Believe me, I know. Wanna know how? I hoarded checklists from The Knot and WeddingWire like it was my job when I was getting married in 2013. And, I was also the bride who gave my photographer a color-coded spreadsheet of my wedding day timeline. Who did I think I was? Amy Santiago…?

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Love in the Time of COVID-19: Updated April 18, 2020

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Love in the Time of COVID-19: Updated April 18, 2020

I sent the following email out to all of my current clients yesterday - March 16, 2020. Of course, all of this information is subject to change, but for now, this is where my sweet little business is at.

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Lambs Hill Wedding // Elizabeth + Kael

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Lambs Hill Wedding // Elizabeth + Kael

Sometimes you just have to wait to publish blogs. Not because you are too busy. Not because you can’t find the words. But because some days are so special that you hesitate to want to share them. Almost like they are special little treasures that you want to remember in the way that only you remember them, without anyone else knowing.

That was this day…

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Oh, But Isn't Life Lived in the In-Between?

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Oh, But Isn't Life Lived in the In-Between?

Oh, but isn’t life lived in the in-between? In the moments that are somewhat out of focus; in the laughs of grandmothers; in the wedding day selfies, and in the quiet moments of getting ready…?

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The Heart of 2019

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The Heart of 2019

2019 was beautiful, sacred, heart-filling, soul-nourishing, and just all around GOOD.

Here are my faves from the year, in no particular order.

Some aren’t perfect, and I love them for that.

Some only got 40 likes on Instagram - and I love them even more…

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September Wedding at Hollow Brook Golf Club in Cortlandt, NY // Kerri + Brian

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September Wedding at Hollow Brook Golf Club in Cortlandt, NY // Kerri + Brian

A minor threat of rain. A few blue details. A sunlit church. Many tears…

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Sam + Jeff // A Vibrant September Wedding at Diamond Mills in Saugerties, NY

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Sam + Jeff // A Vibrant September Wedding at Diamond Mills in Saugerties, NY

I wish I could collect all of my wedding day memories in jars or books, and take them off the shelves when I want to breathe in their essence again.

Pictures are meaningful because this is what they capture. No, you can’t smell them, but you can feel their essence. Thank God for that…

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Fall Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY // Kaila + Justin

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Fall Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY // Kaila + Justin

I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I am blessed to photograph a good handful of weddings at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY every year. Although the venue is the same, each couple and their family and friends are so different, and I am honestly always in awe at how unique and varied the human experience can be…

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I Can Still Feel Her Hand Reaching Back from the Front Passenger Seat: Free Wedding Giveaway 2019

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I Can Still Feel Her Hand Reaching Back from the Front Passenger Seat: Free Wedding Giveaway 2019

We learn so much from the people that raise us.

I learned the most from my Mum - my best friend, confidante, rescuer, best hugger, mommy. One of the biggest lessons she taught me was that when you have nothing material to give, you can still give your heart, and that is one of the biggest and best gifts you could give to anyone…

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Mount Gulian Wedding // Haylee + Brian

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Mount Gulian Wedding // Haylee + Brian

Confession:

Sometimes I choose the photos for blog posts, but then let myself mull over the right words to put down to describe these beautiful days that I have the honor of being a part of. I chose the photos in this blog post in April. It’s now June, and here I am, finally putting figurative pen to paper to describe Haylee + Brian’s wedding day. Sometimes, it’s just so dang hard…

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Need Ideas For How To Ask Your Friends To Be In Your Wedding? Look No Further!

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Need Ideas For How To Ask Your Friends To Be In Your Wedding? Look No Further!

As a wedding photographer, I’m always keeping my eyes peeled for resources for my clientfriends - whether they’re timeline hacks, vendor recommendations, or ideas for asking friends to be a part of a wedding party (like the gift box featured in this post!), I’m all over it.

Coming across these customizable gift boxes to ask your people to be a part of your big day was so wonderful. And, I have to say, I am super happy and excited to review this for you…

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Gatsby Inspired Fall Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY // Lauren + Nick

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Gatsby Inspired Fall Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY // Lauren + Nick

It’s hard for me to write these blogs. Not because I have no words. But because I have too many. And how does one adequately use words to describe beautiful souls? Sometimes spirits transcend words. That’s how I feel about Lauren + Nick…

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Jeannine + Derek // An Overcast September Wedding at the Links at Union Vale in LaGrangeville, NY

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Jeannine + Derek // An Overcast September Wedding at the Links at Union Vale in LaGrangeville, NY

If there is anything I absolutely adore about a wedding (besides, you know, the obvious), it is getting to interact with and become an honorary family member on these beautiful days. I love to watch how excited the parents are, and see how they caress their child’s face right before they walk down the aisle. I love to watch the grandparents, and see how they fret over straightening the groom’s tie or tucking one hardly-seen hair behind the bride’s ear. I love to watch the sisters help the bride into her gown. I love to watch the brothers get slightly inebriated, and toast to the groom in their hotel room suite.

Weddings are about so much. A lot of this “so much” is family.

Alyssa + Kyle // A Small Town Fall Wedding at Diamond Mills in Saugerties, NY

Alyssa + Kyle // A Small Town Fall Wedding at Diamond Mills in Saugerties, NY

My wish for every single one of my couples is that they have as lush of a wedding day as Alyssa + Kyle had last September.

Lush in so many ways…

Preston Barn Wedding // Katherine + Tim

Preston Barn Wedding // Katherine + Tim

It’s funny how paths cross, isn’t it? It’s funny how I would have met these kind souls at no other event but their own precious friends’ wedding the year before, and it’s funny how our souls just got each other - as soon as we said hi…

Sabrina + Mike // A Green Garden Inspired Wedding at FEAST at Round Hill in Washingtonville, NY

Sabrina + Mike // A Green Garden Inspired Wedding at FEAST at Round Hill in Washingtonville, NY

Whenever I have seen Sabrina + Mike, I have gotten giddy. There is just SOMETHING so unbelievably beautiful and precious about their souls that I am never able to shake. Maybe it’s their cute dimples, and the way they look at each other. Maybe it’s how they take the time to make keen observations before making any decisions…and when they do make their decisions, they are incredibly wise and kind. Maybe their eyes portray more than their words ever could. Maybe they’re just cool. MAYBE our souls just know how to high five each other…

Tara + George // A Lush Blush July Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY

Tara + George // A Lush Blush July Wedding at West Hills Country Club in Middletown, NY

It’s funny what you can forget about a wedding day…but what pictures can bring rushing back to the forefront of your mind like a special gift.

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Briella + Zach // A Meaningful Mountain-View Wedding at Hudson Valley Weddings at the Hill in Hudson, NY

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Briella + Zach // A Meaningful Mountain-View Wedding at Hudson Valley Weddings at the Hill in Hudson, NY

When I walked down the aisle at my own wedding, I carried two bouquets - one for myself, and one for my mom. At the head of the aisle, before I joined hands with my husband, I laid my mom’s bouquet on her chair. The chair was empty, but it was reserved for her. I have so many memories of my wedding day, but that still, small moment of resting that bouquet there felt incredibly, peacefully solitary. I was surrounded by so many people, being watched by so many hearts, but that moment felt like an embrace - a private moment between me and my mom. She wasn’t there…but she was. I know she was…

Christina + DA // A Rustic Mountainside Wedding at the Preserve at Chocorua in Tamworth, NH

Christina + DA // A Rustic Mountainside Wedding at the Preserve at Chocorua in Tamworth, NH

When I first culled this wedding to create this blog post, I selected 400 photos. FOUR HUNDRED PHOTOS. I guess that’s what happens when one of your college besties gets married in the mountains on the most beautiful overcast May day…