We met up at Great Island Common in New Castle for our wild rumpus.  I wanted to entitle the one on the left “taking the plunge” but jumping didn’t seem as good of an idea as come back up towards me and being in love.

Yay adorableness!  Sarah — you’re so pretty!  Thanks for the bright colors and killer smile!

I don’t give tons of direction, but sometimes I suggest crazy ideas — mostly to get you laughing.  They had me laughing harder trying to figure out what the other was doing in response to what I was saying.

I told Rich to walk up to her and try and hit on her — he’s got some smooth moves!

They’re really really good at snuggling, I think it comes with the smittenness. My favorites.

I cannot wait to see the overflow of love from these two at their wedding in August.

Keep being so fantabulous!

Fierce!

I’m sooooo funny sometimes

Thanks Bethany for allowing me the privilege of taking your photos!  I hope senior year is treating you well!

~melissakoren

AYKM with the hat?!  So cute!

Absolutely loved.

They brought some of Mac’s toys and he showed us how to use them

Tenacious little bugger was much more focused on climbing backwards up the slide.  And so proud of himself for doing so!

It was so great to meet Mac and see Cara & Brian again.  I love watching my client’s families expanding!

~melissakoren

]]> http://melissakoren.com/2010/12/30/mac-family-07-17-2010/feed/ 0 http://melissakoren.com/2010/11/04/sarah-jason-05-08-10/ http://melissakoren.com/2010/11/04/sarah-jason-05-08-10/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:33:35 +0000 melissakoren http://melissakoren.com/?p=2685 Sarah & Jason’s wedding was everything a wedding should be.  Filled with love, support, emotion and well.. pretty things!

The afternoon started at her parent’s beautiful home in New Castle, NH for a few final touches before it was off to the church.

It was not fooling around raining, but that didn’t stop Sarah smiling from ear to ear!

New Castle Congregational is about as quaint New England as it comes.  Still proudly displaying the doors on the pews so you had to close yourself in.. I bet that was early child care.

I’m not sure who’s smile was bigger, Sarah’s or Jason’s!  I think he loves her more than a little bit

Sarah’s brother gave a very emotional dedication during the ceremony, there was barely a dry eye in the house.  However, note the boys.. Jason’s sons.. and their precarious location next to the grate on the ground.  Now remember that.

And the officiant asks, may I please have the rings.  And his oldest son, being the Best Man, goes to fulfill his task.

And then it slips through his fingers.  You could feel the whole church catch its’ breath… and then exhale in laughter when it hit the carpet and was quickly recovered with out having to call in an HVAC team!

After that it was smooth sailing through the “I Do’s” and a quick escape to the car to head off for portraits.

Sarah has her heart set on taking photos at Great Island Common and thankfully Mother Nature obliged and the rain cleared as the ceremony ended.

After a few quick shots it was back to the Portsmouth Country Club for some dry land and good times.  I <3 a good funny face photo!

l.o.v.e.i.t.!

I also loved all the pretty simplicity with the delicate pink tulips.  So very spring!

Jason gave a warm welcome speech that again, had everyone emotional, and he looks very proud of himself for it too.

I’ve never been swarmed by so many children when it was time to cut the cake.  It was a riot!  In the lower picture you can see their sons’ heads peeking up wondering when THEY were going to get to eat the cake too.

One of the things I loved so much about this wedding is how ‘present’ every one was.  They were fabulous wedding goers — supporting each other and paying attention.  Crowding around the dance floor but still being respectful of the awesomeness that was going on.  Sarah’s & her dad got her mom quite welled up.  Everyone just gathered round and hugged her.

When Jason danced with his mum, his younger son climbed up on his new step-mums lap to watch.  Boys at weddings always tug at MY heart strings and remind me of my (not so little anymore) guy at our wedding.

Particularly in this instance, where Sarah dragged him on the dance floor to dance with her and he wanted anything but to dance.  I have eerily similar pictures of Benjamin and I in this situation!

Everyone, and I mean everyone danced but the kids really stole the show and busted some crazy moves!

I thought I spied some sunset so I went outside to check it out and found this motley crew -

And sunset! So I grabbed them for a quick kiss and then it was back to the party.

Bouquet toss and once again, everyone is front and center and enjoying the festivities!

Shortly after that it was time to take my leave; and I’m positive everyone continued to dance the night away!

Thanks Melissa — the pictures look great  - I haven’t gotten through all of them yet — but really beautiful!  thanks so much. I have already passed along your name to some people we know that are getting married next year!

Sarah & Jason — thank you so much for having me at your wedding!  In case you hadn’t figured it out by my gushing I was bowled over by your family & friends!  I hope this first half a year (bad blogger!) of marriage has been wonderful!

~MelissaKoren

]]> http://melissakoren.com/2010/11/04/sarah-jason-05-08-10/feed/ 0 http://melissakoren.com/2010/05/19/coreys-senior-photos-08-30-09/ http://melissakoren.com/2010/05/19/coreys-senior-photos-08-30-09/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 17:40:10 +0000 melissakoren http://melissakoren.com/?p=1869 How to make me feel old -

1) Make a really good friend freshman year in high school and become close with her and attend her family functions and get to know her tiny cousins.

2) Tell me one of those tiny cousins is about to BE A SENIOR in High School. 

That’s about it.  At least for this lesson.

Corey was a great sport and super photogenic (if you ask his mom he got it from her..;))

We met up at one of my favorite places, Great Island Common in New Castle, NH on what started out as a gorgeous afternoon.  

Then as we walked out on the jetty this amazingly thick and fierce fog came rolling in! Yeah, rolling, like a bowling ball towards the pins.  Ten pin not candlepin. Because that’s how I was raised!

 Whoosh — there goes the horizon!   

I think it scared the birds away. Yeah, that’s it. And no matter what anyone says I was not at all concerned that that seagull was going to divebomb Corey and then come after me.  Not one bit.  

It’s coming on shore now — see it eating the tree in the right hand photo?  It was crazy!

We retreated even further inland towards the cars and I asked Corey if he wanted to swing — he didn’t even hesitate and jumped right on!

Graduation is just around the corner and Corey will be off to monumental things I’m sure!  Thanks for letting me capture this moment in his life!

You did an AWESOME job.  Thank you so much. ~Sherry

In the other room the bridesmaids were helping each other tie their sashes on.  I love the blue/cream combo.

After her hair was done she went up stairs and put on her *stunning* gown. 

We all drove over to Great Island Common in New Castle, NH for the ceremony.  The guys had gotten up very early in the morning to get to the gates and reserve a prime spot, they were 5th in line and could not have had a better location!

There was no real privacy though so walking from the car to the site the girls were trying to hide Andrea — a bystander offered up their picnic quilt and it made things much easier (and more amusing)

I love these — Eva was being kept company by one of the bridesmaids daugthers — they were adorable.   Deja was checking on her mom, trying to help calm her nerves. 

Andrea was waiting in the tent they’d constructed for her.  I grabbed this quick shot of Toto and his girls and I LOVE it! 

A few more shots while we waited for the last of the guests to arrive.

There was a lot of last minute cramming of their vows in the last moments before the ceremony.

Then it was time to begin! 

Toto had a lot of to smile about.  The girls, his bride, and his father-in-law following closely behind carrying the little one.

Did I mention that Toto found the BEST spot?  I may have understated.  It was litereally picture perfect.

That’s the whaleback lighthouse so nicely decorating the backdrop.

And the kiss! They’re married! For these high school sweethearts it had been a long time coming!  They were ecstatic.

We took some group shots — and we had fun with it.

Then we wandered around the park to take some newly-wedded photos!  There are so many great locations on that island!

As we were walking back from our shoot another family stopped us and wanted to have their photos taken with bride and groom.  It was super sweet and Andrea & Toto happily obliged.

The morning was pretty much over at that point — Eva had changed into her traditional thai outfit, practicing for Part II — and they had this yummy cupcake tower out with their home made bufett.

Just before I was set to leave they remembered they wanted to toast!  Well Toto got a little over zealous with the shaking and neither Andrea nor I were expecting it when it “went off!”  Unexpected but fully delighted!

I can’t wait to share Part II with you — a traditional Thai ceremony and then a rocking reception for nearly 400 people! 

~MelissaKoren

I arrived at the Wentworth while they were finishing up Sukey’s finishing touches.  She was Stunning.  This was not a surprise as she’s an amazing and gorgeous person, but it still took your breath away.

The beautiful flowers by Ambrosia Gardens in Portsmouth, NH. So dainty and I love the splash of blue.

Shortly there after some of the girls piled into the car to head over to the ceremony site.

The rain was a little too threatening so they had to make the decision to move the ceremony in the tent, which proved to be a good idea as it did rain for a bit during their nuptuals.

It made ZERO impact on the happiness though.  This family is glowing!

I love that they both walked her down the aisle.  And that they both got to kiss her cheek to help set her at ease.

The sweetest bridesmaids, they were all so captivated by the ceremony, but how could you not be with this gorgeousness!

The tent was great — it was very visually appealing, I love the lines.

They had a great sand ceremony — I bet it makes a great addition to their home!

Future photographers of America! I love it!

I love these two — this photo of Bob was actually when I arrived at the tent before the ceremony and let him know that Sukey was here and we’d be starting in just a bit.  He was BEAMING!

Sukey did something very unique — she has a lot of very special wonderful women in her life and so she asked them all to pick dresses of their choosing in a specific color and honored them each with a single rose.  In addition to the young bridesmaids — it was a fabulous crew!

The men weren’t too shabby themselves!

The wonderful staff at the Wentworth Country Club took us golf carting to their beautiful bridge -

And back again to the ocean side -

Then it was time to get down and enjoy the reception!  The sun showed up and stayed around and it was perfect!

Their soft blue striped theme was perfect for this July seaside wedding!

As with everything else that day, and I’m sure in Sukey’s life, her parents shared in their speech together.  I love the way her dad looks at her mom.

Each of Bob’s groomsmen took a stab at a speech.  They were banned from saying one particular word.  But uh, I can’t remember what that word was.  It made it a lot more fun though! 

They all had a different approach — from standard paper -

To notes on the back of their room key. HA!

Time to cut the (tasty tasty!) cake.

And a dance with dad.

While mom watched every second.

Then it was time to toss the bouquet — I love the look of concentration on Sukey’s face!

This lucky lady caught the bouquet but the little girls were MUCH more interested in having a turn with it.

I can’t express how much I enjoyed working with Sukey & Bob on their wedding and meeting their family and friends.  They certainly have a foundation of, and are surrounded by, so much love and support I’m sure they will be together for as long as they can imagine.

~MelissaKoren

These photos are SO amazing!! Wow!  I checked your web site last night and we found the gallery that way and spent the evening reminiscing.  I can’t get over how many of these 900+ photos are absolutely outstanding! I’m a little overwhelmed with work at the moment to make this as eloquent a testimonial as I would like to but — wow — am I SO glad we had you capturing the day!  You got so many moments that I missed, and picked up so many little details.

Here’s a telling remark which is attests to your ability to be all seeing, all knowing.  We were looking at some of the photos you got of the guests and Bob commented “Oh, she must have taken these while we were doing photos outside”  He quickly realized the error of his logic since you would have had to have been outside with us taking the photos, but it kind of speaks to how well you multi-task and how unintrusive you are too.

I think someone with 2 assistants would have been hard pressed to get the same coverage.  I will write more later because I have so many thoughts on how great you are for about 1,000 reasons!

Again, you did such an amazing job with the photos. I’m so, so glad we went with you as our photographer. If I can ever be a reference or help promote you in any way, please let me know!   ~Sukey

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!

Hi Melissa, I love the pictures and the new “save the date”. Michael and I this weekend will look over the pictures and get back to you next week!
~Rachel

Last Years Shoot

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