After eating my cider donuts I headed back to the coast for some engagement photos.
Hallie and Shaun are a.w.e.s.o.m.e.
Shaun is my good friend Jenn’s cousin — I’ve known them … forever (well since I was 15 but that may as well be forever!) (He’s also Corey’s cousin, but he wasn’t a wee bitty when we met.. but still younger than me) (so is everyone these days) (are you tired of my parenthesis yet?)
Hallie assumes the captain over Shaun. As it should be. These two are in love.

They are gorgeous.

They are brave and romantic.

Poised & Comfortable

Stunning

And she absolutely thinks his tractor is sexy!

Hallie & Shaun are also MARRIED! They tied their proverbial knot 07.31.10 at the Abenaqui Country Club.
I was >this close< to getting them blogged before they got their wedding photos. Oh well, if I were perfect I’d have much less to strive for!
I had such a great time tooling around the coast with these two! Thank you Hallie & Shaun for allowing me to share in a few moments of your relationship excitement!
~MelissaKoren
Tags: Abenaqui Country Club, beach, Engagement | leave a comment
Nicole & Jay contacted me in September for their November wedding. That left October for engagement photos. When I suggested this location they were just as excited as I was and we met up for some f.u.n.!

Jay is full of love — the moment I arrived he jumped out of the car and hugged me! I do think he loves Nicole more though

I’m in love with this place. It’s so quintessential.… The perfect weather didn’t hurt either.




After we left the farm land we stopped at my most favorite tree ever. These photos make me so excited for fall!



I had such a great time with them that morning!
~MelissaKoren
Tags: Engagement, Exeter, NH | leave a comment
When I met up with Emily for a quick senior session at the beach — we didn’t count on the gale force winds. Emily was a supermodel though and she didn’t let it phase her one bit!


Way to sass it Em! I love love love the photo on the right — its on my new discount/business cards.


I love this weathered bench.

Due to my blogging deliquency Emily has since graduated from High School and I’m sure she’s ready to tackle whatever life throws at her!
Congratulations Emily!
~MelissaKoren
Tags: beach, hampton, Seniors | leave a comment
I first met Liz & Jon at Rachel & Michaels’s wedding, Liz & Rachel work together with Kate & Marcus’ aunt. I saw them again at Melissa & Lonnie’s wedding — the next day I got an email from them asking me to shoot their June wedding in Plymouth, MA. I’m pretty positive I actually squealed in delight and jumped up and down doing a happy dance. But that’s a secret, ok?
They wanted to get together at the gorgeous White Cliffs Country Club where they will be having their wedding so after meeting up and having a quick bite to eat for lunch we made the trek to the club and walked down the 300 stairs to the beach. (I’m not sure I’m exaggerating…)

The photo on the left is one of my favorites, trumped maybe only by the photo on the right. Liz & Jon are ADORABLE.


Their wedding is right around the corner! Nothing like waiting til the last minute to blog about it.

I love how he loves her. I also love that they stopped every landing on the way up to “pose”.

After we made it to the top and they showed me around the wedding layout we did something so amazingly sweet. We went down the road to Liz’s family’s house from when she was a little girl. These photos are so personal and hold such amazing connections!

This camper had been out back and sedentary for .. a long time. Earlier in the day Jon had mentioned to me how he didn’t really get the photos where not the whole person was in the picture — but when I saw this camper and heard its tale, I asked Jon to humor me. He’s a good sport and I thank him because I love this shot!

Then we went inside this sweet cottage to a land where time stands still. The windows are hinged. And the ceiling is just barely cropped out of this photo.

The art, the cutains, the Red Sox jersey, the lamp, the love!

I’m so excited for their wedding next month! I spoke with them on the phone this weekend and the countdown is on!
Tags: Engagement, MA, white cliffs country club | leave a comment
Andrea contacted me about her upcoming wedding plans — a fantastic double day event honoring their Thai and American culture. We decided to meet up and discuss the details and take a few engagement photos.
We met up at Swasey Parkway in Exeter, one of my favorite spots.. but I’m rather partial to my town! It does make for a great backdrop though!

The sky was so perfect that day!

These two leave me speechless. They are just stunning.

They are high school sweethearts!

This is my favorite, hands down. I’ve eyed this alley for a loooooong time and it did not let me down.

It amuses me that Exeter looks so “hip” and “urban” in these last few, especially after how quaint and picturesque it looks in the first!

Meeting Andrea & Toto was wonderful — and I left so excited to see the rest of their plans unfold!
Hello! The pictures are amazing! Thank You very much and I can’t wait until next month! It takes a phenomenal photographer like you to bring out the best in people! It made my family tear up! You don’t even know how happy this makes me! =) ~ Andrea
This note from Andrea made ME tear up! It was very humbling to know that I’d pleased not only A & T but their family as well!
Tags: Engagement, Exeter | leave a comment
Sukey & Bob were referred to me by the lovely Kim & Brian and they proved to be equally as lovely! They planned their wedding for the end of July so we met up on the holiday weekend and took a few engagement photos around the Wentworth grounds & Country Club where they would be having their ceremony & reception.
We started on the porch at the Wentworth — I loved the greens on the couch in contrast to Sukey’s stunning blue dress!

These two are so genuine and so in love — it was such a pleasure to witness.

They were never forced and just so at ease with each other. p.s. Sukey is GORGEOUS. But that’s just me stating the obvious again…

I think this is my favorite shot. They are a perfect fit.

I left the shoot so excited for their wedding! And so excited to know them!

I wish I’d blogged these as they happened! I’d have so much more to say! Although — this glimpse of summer in the middle of winter is a pleasant reminder that its not cold & dreary all the time!
Tags: Engagement, new castle, NH, rye, wentworth | leave a comment
Rachel may well be the best thing that ever happened to Jason. And I say that because Jason and I went to HS together and although I barely knew him then, I’m quite positive he’s more himself now than ever!
After being rained out over and over we made last minute plans to meet at the beach just before sunset one afternoon because the sun was shining THAT MINUTE and we were hopeful it would hold out an hour or two more.
Well it most certainly did and we had a great time traipsing along the beach & the strip!

I love the retro fun feel to this one!

Catching the sunset…

We passed this great wall of tapestries! I couldn’t resist.


This is Rachel’s favorite. I told it was because it was quintessential New England.. a Dunkin Donuts on every corner!

This one just speaks for itself I think.

check & mate!

And here’s where I found their true trust and commitment.. to me. We pulled over on the side of the road and traipsed inside this field of daisy’s that was just a triangle divider in the road. It looks like we’re off somewhere fabulous and romantic though!

My absolute favorite of the session. I would make this a big canvas!

My other favorite — Rach just looks so peaceful and happy!

Not only did we get sun, we got sunSET! Happy Day! Take that rain!!

I adore Rachel & Jason — the second they got engaged Rachel came down to our local tavern and walked in and said YOU’RE GOING TO BE OUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. How could I say no to that!!??
I’m definitely looking forward to their October wedding!
Hi Melissa!.. The pictures came out really good!!! There are a couple that we really love!! Thanks so much for the great time! Can’t wait for the big day! ~Rachel
Tags: beach, Engagement, hampton, NH | leave a comment