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The Baggiero Family: Storytelling Session

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I have known Marci and Subby since I was 20 years old. (15 years..what?!) I became friends with Marci when I first started in the hair industry. I was hired as the assistant to the owner of a salon in Connecticut; she was already a colorist there. We became friends almost immediately. She brought me to get my nose pierced. We would go out in Hartford and have sleepovers at her place after. We both LOVED John Mayer, and we sat on hold for hours one morning to get tickets to his show at the Oakdale theatre. I later moved to New York City, and then to Québec, but we always remained friends. I still return to work in her salon; Reaction in Farmington, when I am back in Connecticut. So when she asked me to photograph her family at their new home, I obviously accepted with gratitude. 

There is something so incredibly special and ALWAYS unique about these Storytelling Sessions. Especially when shot at home. As most of my friends and clients know, I am a lifestyle photographer. My goal is to enter your life as it is, to blend into it so as if you almost don't even know I'm there, and then to capture it. All of it, the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. For me, especially after having kids, I too often feel like life is just slipping through my hands like sand. Sometimes it feels like slow-motion; I can see it seeping through and falling, and I see it happening to a point that I feel like I might actually be able to stop it, but as slowly as it is falling is as slowly as I can catch it. It's beautiful, and the light hits it just so, and it makes your heart stop because you realize in that moment that this is it. Each little grain of sand is a moment in your life.

My hope is that these images I help create are a few of those grains of sand that we can actually hold onto.. REAL moments, in real light, in real locations; full of emotion. 

Thank you Marci for trusting me to capture a tiny part of your story together.. You have a beautiful family, and I am so lucky to be able to call you a friend. 

xoxo

J

The Benito Family

Almost a year ago, I had the honor of photographing Brian and Sara's wedding in Sturbridge, Mass. I can't believe it has already been a whole year. It just feels like, lately, time is evading me. I don't think I'm alone though.. our children seem to get bigger right before our very eyes, some days it feels like I wake up with a new wrinkle that I swear wasn't there the day before. Every time I see my parents, they seem just a little bit older. It's this unavoidable cycle of life. It's the reason I want to tell people's stories for them, to try and freeze these precious little moments in time to look back on in years to come.

It was a windy, grey September evening when I met Brian and Sara for this session. We weren't even sure if we would get rained out or not but it held off. I met them and their two daughters, Payten and Loralye at a park in Suffield, Connecticut. Brian is an old, dear friend of mine so it means so much more that I am able to capture them together. The girls are two of the most free-spirited kids I've ever met(the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!), and what started off as a casual walk through the woods and a quick cousin's shoot in a field, ended up with the two girls swimming in the lake fully clothed, and then trotting off through the parking lot back to the car in their birthday suits. 

I left this shoot feeling so rooted and grateful and humbled by our sweet time together. This is the exact reason I will always always want to photograph families. This is what it's all about.

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Lysandre + Iannick; rustic barn and skihill wedding, Quebec

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Lysandre + Iannick.. so where to begin? Lysandre is this beautiful, fun-loving, full of life, generous adventurous soul. She and I had never actually met in person, but have been Facebook friends for a few years now. She and Iannick are both from Québec but just a little over a year ago they moved to San Francisco. We tried to get together to meet before they left but our schedules never aligned. We both continued to stay in touch online; following each other's oddly similar stories, watching our kids grow via photographs and to be inspired by one another's adventures.

So when she asked me early this year to photograph their rustic, laid back and crazy fun late July wedding, I told her that I would, without a doubt, be there. Being the generous, giving people that they both are, they also invited Mathieu and the girls to the celebration, and we all gladly accepted.

This day was just gorgeous. Lysandre and the bridesmaids all got ready at Iannick's parents lakefront home in Grandes Piles, QC. The ceremony was in an open field next to a barn in Vallée du Parc, and the reception took place at the Vallée du Parc Ski Station. A little like Lysandre and Iannick, the weather was sort of unpredictable and all over the place! It rained on and off for the first half of the day and then remained mostly cloudy, but just before the ceremony was to begin, the sun came out in full force and the late July heat and humidity that we get in the northeast stuck with us throughout the evening into the night. 

Then there were the kids.. Iannick and Lysandre have two absolutely GORGEOUS boys, Matteo and Charlie who were both possibly the cutest ring bearers I have ever seen. But they weren't the only kids at the wedding; there were over 40 children running wild and free throughout the entire event! They even had a 'candy bar' set up for the kids in a room in the lower area of the ski station complete with arcade games, slush puppies, popcorn AND babysitters!! The entire evening was just pure joy; laughter continuously filled the air and the dance party went on until the very wee hours of the morning.

But I think the most impressive part of the entire event was the people. The friends, the family, those who came from all over Quebec, Ontario and California, friends who would do anything for these two. Throughout the night people would stand to talk about Iannick and Lysandre and everyone said the same things; these people are the most loving, generous, giving, fun, adventurous and loyal people they know. And it showed; so much of the behind the scenes of the wedding was made possible by their friends. From the event planning to decor, from the food to the music, videography, hair and makeup.. it was a compilation of loyal and loving family and friends wanting to do nothing more than to give back to a couple who clearly gives so much to those around them.

Lysandre and Iannick, thank you for having me be a part of this incredible day and for giving me the honor of helping to tell a part of your story together. Vous êtes une couple inspirante, une famille merveilleuse, et des gens de qui on peut tous apprendre la joie de vivre.

xo

Jennifer

venue: Vallée du Parc, Québec
bride: WTOO Watters, from Flares Bridal, CA
bridesmaids: Coeur de Loup, QC
groom: Simons, JC Penney, Tux Gear Inc.
groomsmen + ring bearers: Simons, H+M, Tux Gear Inc.
Rings: Bijouterie Doucet
Flowers: Fleurs + Cie, QC
Hair: Laurence S_D, Saint Laurent Aveda
Wood Bowls and Decor: Yves Lavoie Ébénisterie
Cake: Les Sucreries d'Ely
DJ: Gabriel Comtois
Videographer: Marisol Aubé

same night storytelling session: the Phillips Family, Québec

A few months ago, Teri contacted me for a Storytelling Session with her family. Being an ex-pat photographer herself, I was flattered and honored to capture her gorgeous American-inQuébec family for her!

This was one of those sessions where you get home immediately following and mean to choose only a few to send to your client, but you just can't help yourself from going through all of them.. and blogging it at one o'clock in the morning. I can still feel the damp grass all over my legs.. A sunny summer evening with Teri and Scott and their two gorgeous children was exactly what I needed right now. 

Thank you both for letting me into your life and helping you tell a small part of your story together. 

xo

Jennifer