behind the bridal scenes.

This is the part of a wedding day that not everyone gets to see, or even experience. This is my favorite part. It is intimate, exciting, stressful, and fun. It is emotional. It is a bonding time between friends before the big moment. It is mom's last few moments with her daughter before she watches her walk down the aisle. It is the girl time. It is hair and makeup and nails and princess dresses and flowers and champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. It is the recount of embarrassing college memories that only these girls will ever know about. These are the last moments before the BIG moment. This part is important, and I am so grateful to have been able to share in so many of these moments with so many brides over the years. Jennifer Casserino-Misciagno and I had the honor of dressing all of the hair for this gorgeous wedding at the end of August in Hartford, CT. I brought my camera along to document the hair for our personal portfolios, and just couldn't help myself in-between styling girls.. I had to sneak a few shots of everyone. This group of ladies had such a positive energy about them, (not to mention that they were all adorable). And my multi-talented friend Meaghan Ryan picked up the camera for me at the very end to grab a few shots of me styling the bride, which was amazing!

These are the kinds of images I love the most; the ones that feel like there was never even a camera in the room. These are the images that tell the best, most truthful stories.

hair: Jennifer Marcuson: the artist and Jennifer Casserino-Misciagno of Strand Salon CT

makeup: Laura Clement of Naomi's Studio and Salon in West Hartford, CT

laughter is the best medicine for the soul

We were laughing hysterically during this shoot. I mean, tears pouring from our eyes. It was an hour of pure silliness, joy, and soul-therapy. There is something to be said for just letting go.. re-connecting with our inner-child, making silly fish faces just because it makes us laugh! Since having children, I have found myself able to do this more easily. A child can bring this out of almost anyone. But to be able to do this, as just two grown women in a park with a camera, not a single child in sight, well... I think that is special.

Amber is a beautiful old friend of mine whom I have always found to be a happy, glowing person with a contagious smile and laugh. As I was working on this set of images, I was literally transported back to that afternoon in Elizabeth Park; laughing out loud at the sheer silliness, smiling at the joy, and breath-taken by the beauty of this woman.

Amber is a Holistic Health Coach, Registered Nurse, and founder of Whole and Vibrant Living.

crème bralée at beauty and essex.

I feel very lucky to be able to do the things I love to do. I still find such energy and ignition in styling hair and makeup for a photo shoot. Especially when it involves beautiful New York City!!! The call time for this shoot was 7 a.m. in the lower east side. I was in Connecticut, so I drove in the night before and stayed with friends in Brooklyn, then got up super early to fight the morning city traffic to make it to the shoot location on time. Beauty and Essex is a gorgeous restaurant/lounge on Essex St in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I had never been before but was immediately impressed. You enter through a small pawn shop on the street front, into an incredible foyer with a large marble stair case who's 30+ foot wall is covered in white fur pelts. The place is beyond decadent: glamorous and seductive doesn't even touch on the decor. Golds and rich reds, with black wooden floors and intricately carved framed mirrors draping the walls. It was a place for queens, and was the perfect location to shoot this emerging lingerie line by Liz Marrell for QT Intimates. Crème Bralée is a sexy yet comfortable lingerie line geared toward full busted, full figured women. Liz and the whole QT team were great to work with,  the two models were both wonderful and gorgeous and well, there wasn't much about the day that wasn't!

Have a peek and see for yourself...

Location: Beauty and Essex, nyc

Lingerie: Crème Bralée for QT Intimates by Liz Marrell

Photography: Michael Rosenthal

Hair and Makeup: Jennifer Marcuson

Models: Michelle Rudan and Sara D.

pour l'amour d'amour

I have worked in the wedding industry for ten years now. (That feels crazy to say). I still get excited at the thought of styling a bride for her big day. It is truly magical, and I am always so grateful to have been a tiny part of her lifelong memory. My big brother is getting married in 20 days. AHHHHHH. I am beyond thrilled for him and his beautiful finacée. It is just about all my three year old daughter Maxime is talking about these days(she is going to be a flower girl in the wedding). AND, I have the incredible honor of doing the bride's hair and makeup! I would go into detail about the look, but this is disclosed information.. my brother can not be finding anything out before the big day..

So, without going into too many specifics, I sat down on this brisk autumn afternoon while my two babies slept, and I got crafty with some pearls, rhinestones, silk flowers, needle, thread, and some bobby pins. I CAN'T WAIT.