Tag prescott park

Fisher: One Month Old! 09.05.11 | Portsmouth, NH Family Photos

Elle + Joseph = Fisher. And Fisher = delightful!

We spent a per­fect Labor Day after­noon in Pres­cott Park cap­tu­ring some moments cele­bra­ting their first four weeks as a family of three! Loving, caring, endea­ring, sassy, fan­tas­tic, beau­ti­ful, hand­some.… the three of them are prac­ti­cally per­fect in every way!

My favo­rite favorite!

I hope all is well!

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Elizabeth: Class of 2012 | Senior Yearbook Photos

Intro­du­cing Eli­za­beth! Class of 2012. This well poi­sed, gor­geous girl is ready to take over the world. Hmm, that sounds sort of like an Ame­ri­can Dolls intro or something. Regard­less of it’s cheesy feel, it couldn’t be more true!

Thanks to you and your mom for coming down to the coast and han­ging out for the after­noon! It was lovely to meet you both!

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Liz & BK: Married! 08.12.11 | Portsmouth Harbor Events Wedding Photographer

Have I men­tio­ned recently how much I love my job? If not, I’ve been remiss. I get to meet the most ama­zingly won­der­ful, kind hear­ted, hila­rious peo­ple. Some­ti­mes, I get to pho­to­graph wed­dings for ama­zingly won­der­ful, kind hear­ted, hila­rious peo­ple I already know. Enter: Liz & Brian. I was SO exci­ted when Brian called me to tell me that he and Liz were plan­ning their wed­ding, and even more exci­ted when the day finally came. The rain clea­red, the tem­pe­ra­ture was per­fect (a miracle for mid-​august in new england) and Liz was STUNNING!

With the recep­tion plan­ned for the newly built Ports­mouth Har­bor Events Cen­ter, it only made sense to get ready at the chic new Resi­dence Inn that’s right next door! And how nice of them to have cur­tains that coör­di­na­ted with Liz’s spec­ta­cu­lar! spec­ta­cu­lar! shoes.

And the gor­geous details of the dress!

One of my favo­rite get­ting ready moments was when the little flo­wer girls came in and saw Liz in her gown. I was in a few wed­dings as a little girl and it’s such a won­drous thing to see this woman you’ve known in the every­day gla­mo­rous and in love.

This is pro­bably one of my favo­rite shots from the whole day.

While Liz was get­ting help with her shoes and final touches, Brian was downs­tairs teaching the grooms­men how to tie their new adi­das snea­kers. SO much bet­ter than uncom­for­ta­ble tux shoes!

After everyone’s foot­wear was secure, it was time for the first look. Brian and I hea­ded out to find “the spot” and then he called Liz and told her where to meet us. While we wai­ted I made him work on his GQ model action. He did a pretty good job, though that’s easy for someone so dapper.

Then it was time. Liz’s MOH hel­ped her to the path and then retrea­ted back indoors.

I love this part. I can feel the anti­ci­pa­tion in the air. I told Brian to look at me, but didn’t inc­lude that he could turn around when she arri­ved, so she just put her arms around him and hug­ged him from the back, all the while he’s trying to follow my ins­truc­tion and sneak a peek at the same time.

I finally rea­li­zed he was wai­ting for my com­mand and told him he could turn around and fully take her in. I think he was pleased.

very very pleased.

After they loo­ked and saw, it was time to board the tro­lley and head off to Great Island Com­mon to get the ‘for­mals’ knoc­ked out and off the list before the cere­mony (and oh yeah, THE PARTY!)

I love the bright blue and the ocean and sky. And oh, remem­ber when the grass was green and the trees were lush? (soon it will return!)

We still had some time before the cere­mony so we drop­ped the troops off at the hotel and zip­ped over to Pres­cott Park to take advan­tage of a change of sce­nery. Those gar­dens are such a sight to behold!

If I had a stu­dio, this would be a big can­vas on the wall.

What? Marr­ying time!? Let’s get it done. This was an extra spe­cial cere­mony for me. It was held at the North Church in Ports­mouth, which is not only my emplo­yer for the past 9 years, but also, where we had OUR wed­ding ceremony.

Tra­di­tio­nally, most New England churches are not equip­ped with a ‘cen­ter aisle’ so you have to get crea­tive when you want head on pho­tos ;)

Ah! SO CUTE! I love the bub­ble hem­li­nes on the flo­wer girl dresses.

S.W.A.K!

What now? I don’t even know what’s going on here, but it’s com­ple­tely and utterly the epi­tome of the two of them. ado­ra­ble, fan­ta­blous, and silly as all get out.

Brian and Liz saved plenty of time for pho­tos together. After the cere­mony we took our time wal­king back to the the recep­tion hall and duc­king in and out of a few pla­ces for shots along the way.

Pro­bably one of my favo­rite ring shots to date.

And then the time had come. The time to get down and cele­brate at the afo­re­men­tio­ned newly built, com­ple­tely swanky, Har­bor Events Cen­ter in Ports­mouth.

It was a beau­ti­ful cake, but the little blond hea­ded beau­ties com­ple­tely, and right­fully, ups­ta­ged it ;)

All of Liz’s friends crow­ded around her to see the bling and con­gra­tuate her. While Brian, did this.

But then he did this too. They make ele­gant look easy.

I loved that before the speeches and din­ner began, they took a moment to whole-​heartedly thank their friends, and family, for sup­por­ting them and cele­bra­ting with them.

Then they were toas­ted. Or in Brian’s case, roasted.

Both of them come from ama­zing families.

Shake it like a pola­roid picture!

Or, wha­te­ver this is…

I would have dan­ced all night with this crew, but with another wed­ding the next day I bid them fare­well and slip­ped off into the night.

Thank you, my friends, for such a high honor.

Til we cavort again!

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Lorin & Family! 07.18.11 | Portsmouth, NH Family Photography

Lorin con­tac­ted me after recei­ving a gift cer­ti­fi­cate from her sis­ter for Christ­mas. I met up with her and her family at Pres­cott Park in Ports­mouth for our shoot.

Though the weather threa­te­ned to give us a run for our money, we took the risk and ended up with a beau­ti­ful evening.

The Girls & And The Boys!

Such a beau­ti­ful family!

Lorin looks ama­zing for having 4 kids! four­teen & ten

15 months & 2 months!

A moment of peace for the grow­nups — while I tried to wran­gle all 4 kids. :)

Thank so much for spen­ding a lovely sum­mer eve­ning with me guys!

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Maggie + James = Jacob 06.03.11 | Portsmouth, NH Maternity Pictures

Mag­gie & James are in l.o.v.e. and so fan­tas­ti­cally exci­ted about being parents. We met up ear­lier this month in Pres­cott Park to cap­ture some of their loving­ness and anti­ci­pa­tion for this new little life that was due 5 days from then.

James is a super talen­ted musi­cian and brought his gui­tar along to sere­nade us.

These two are all about the body lan­guage. I loved watching them inte­ract. James can­not get close to Mag­gie with out just breathing her in. It’s so romantic.

street a.k.a. museum is in ins­ta­lla­tion of murals around the city — some belo­ved, some con­tro­ver­sial (I love them all!) And this one was on the side of a trai­ler in the park. Blest, Gra­te­ful, Bles­sings … no bet­ter way to desc­ribe these two anti­ci­pa­tory parents!

fan­tas­tic idea alert!: James & Maggie’s mums both crea­ted squa­res for this blan­ket and then put it together and stitched Jacob’s name in the cen­ter. They’ll add in the stats of his birth too. I got all sorts of chills and teary eyed when I heard about that — I love hea­ring sto­ries of love and family! (Pro­bably a good part of why I do what I do!)

Um — way to take an inno­cent pose and turn it… Ok guys — stand back to back.. great, now, pivot on an axis and switch it. Which was appa­rently hila­rious. Then Mag­gie says ‘you want I should pick him up?’ And I said — oh yeah, right. Well — shame on me. I made her pro­mise not to go into labor on my watch.

favo­ri­tes!!!!!!!!!!!

Mag­gie you’re radiant!

Jacob arri­ved on Thurs­day! He nee­ded a little inci­ting, but he finally made his arri­val 6/​16/​2011, 11:51pm, 22 inches, 8 pounds, 2 oun­ces. I can’t wait meet the little man! Con­gra­tu­la­tions mama & papa!

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Lauren & Kate: Engaged! | Portsmouth, NH Engagement Photos

Lau­ren and Kate found me on So You’re EnGAY­ged and after mee­ting for cof­fee, we met for more cof­fee and then some enga­ge­ment photos!

I love love love the colors with these two. From their hair to their eyes to their war­drobe. It’s just awesome.

They’re the per­fect defi­ni­tion of love.

A yin & yang

After some play time at Pres­cott Park we hea­ded over to an ama­zing ceme­tery with a view (to die for.. sorry I couldn’t resist)

These two are fore­ver cute. I can­not WAIT for their wed­ding this July!

~melis­sa­ko­ren

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Ali & Andrew Married! 07.02.10

Perhaps I should have just cam­ped out in Pres­cott Park that week — I was shoo­ting there nearly every other day — but I loved every minute of it! My last of that week was the inti­mate wed­ding of Ali & Andrew a cou­ple I had enjo­yed emai­ling with and was exci­ted to meet! I arri­ved at the beau­ti­ful She­ra­ton Har­bor­side Ports­mouth and found Ali in her room making a few last minute phone calls & han­ding out gifts.

Then it was off to the Player’s Ring buil­ding via tro­lley for their out­door sea­side ceremony.

Ali & her mom wal­ked right off the tro­lley and down the aisle to meet a very hand­some Andrew. I think he looks a lot a lot like Peter Krause (six feet under & parenthood) and very hand­so­mely awaits his bride to be.

Such and emo­tio­nal time for the moms! Each was pre­sen­ted with a white rose and a hug in the middle of the cere­mony. I really like that com­po­nent. :)

With this ring I thee wed you may kiss the bride!

And they lived hap­pily ever after!

Group shot!

Another beau­ti­ful after­noon in Portsmouth.

The only word to desc­ribe this kind of light is Yummy. P.S. if you’ve not been over to Mombo yet (the old Straw­bery Banke gift shop and owner of this door frame) you MUST go. Another one of my cou­ples bar tend there and the food is phe­no­me­nal. Cozy and romantic!

Two of my most favo­rite pho­tos, made infi­ni­tely bet­ter by the gor­geous bou­quet crea­ted by Betsy @ the Flo­wer Kiosk. Her work is uni­que and stun­ning every time. She was the flo­rist for my wed­ding and as both a bride and ven­dor, she’s a treat to work with .

Ali you’re stun­ning, the dress is so spec­ta­cu­larly tai­lo­red to you and Andrey, your suit was the per­fect com­ple­ment to your duo. (photo on the right by Rob)

The Ports­mouth Tro­lley was a great touch and really help­ful in pro­vi­ding trans­por­ta­tion for the guests. They even put up a “just married” pla­que for the two!

You may have caught a glimpse of the (Photo by Rob) cap­tion in this post. I very infre­quently have a second shoo­ter or assis­tant but it seems that having a day off from Pres­cott Park was not a good plan — in a freak acci­dent I step­ped back­wards off a curb and pulled a baji­llion ten­dons in the top of my foot. The show must go on! But in the off chance I’d fallen and couldn’t get up and I asked Rob to come along and assist me with my bag & balance & since he was taking a pho­to­graphy class I tos­sed him a camera and sent him run­ning for the long shots too. He was a tre­men­dous help (though I didn’t fall down once!) and cap­tu­red some of my inju­red ninja skills!

They were lovely enough to leave me a wed­ding wire review:

If you are thin­king of asking Melissa to take your wed­ding pho­tos, do so imme­dia­tely! You will not find a more talen­ted and artis­tic pho­to­grapher to illu­mi­nate your day. You will get so much more than pic­tu­res because this is not just a job to her, it is her pas­sion. The pho­to­graphs are works of art, and you get to be in them.

Not only is Melissa an ama­zing artist, but she is excee­dingly pro­fes­sio­nal. She corres­ponds with you often to make sure she cap­tu­res exactly what you envi­sion. Melissa is just won­der­ful to work with and you will feel so happy and lucky to get her. –Ali and Andrew 7÷2÷2010

Ali & Andrew, I wish you the best of luck in all you do! Thank you for the ama­zing review and for asking me to be your wed­ding photographer!

~melis­sa­ko­ren

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