Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of meeting three generations of Thornton family members. Mom, Rita, hosted a gathering at her gorgeous Centerville home. Her kids were there, and their kids, as were here 3 brothers, one of whom came from California for the reunion. It was a wonderful afternoon and we thank you all for sharing some time with us.

Rita gets a big hug from her kids, Craig & Kristen. Kristen was one of our brides from this summer. A special Bello hug for you Kristen!! xoxo

Corbin cuddles up to mom. There’s nothing sweeter than the eyes of a child! It’s like you can see pure innocence in there!

Kristen & her niece Jamie share some love!

There aren’t many perfect summer evenings left like the one we had with Kate & Pat the other night at Woodneck Beach in Falmouth. Kate & Pat are getting married at the Hyannisport Club next May. We had a fabulous night with them watching the bluefish jumping along the shore. Our session also turned out to be a nice send off for Pat, who was leaving for India on business a few days after our session. Can’t wait to hear about his trip and see some of his photos when he gets back.

Here are a few of our favorites from the session:

Gotta love that Nantucket red…quintessential Cape Cod!

Love Kate’s eyes in this one…she looks like an Ivory girl.

Here we messed around with some layering of textures, something new we’re experimenting with. To do this, we photograph random things that have great texture and layer them over the photo then erase important areas we don’t want covered. We used a photo of a wood shingle from the side of our house for the first photo below. The second one is a secret…but we will tell you it was inspired by our Sunday morning breakfast. Any ideas?

And here’s what it would have looked like without the filter. What do YOU think….better with or without?

It took us two years to finally get together. But, last week, we met our friends Halley & Megan at Woodneck Beach in Falmouth for a partial family portrait session. Halley’s hubby, Matt, unfortunately couldn’t be there with us. Matt is the brother of Aaron, one of our groom’s from a few years back. Actually, Tuesday was Aaron & Jenna’s 3rd anniversary…Happy Anniversary guys! Hope you had a fabulous day!!!

Little Miss Megan was a bit shy at the start of our session. We remembered her, but since she was just a few months old, she had no idea who we were, other than perhaps thinking we were responsible for waking her from a perfectly good nap in the car. But, it didn’t take long for her to wake up and let her guard down. In the end it was a perfect evening. Thank you both for taking time out of your vacation here on the Cape to hang out with us on the beach! We had such fun and look forward to doing it again soon! Here are just a few of our favorites from our session together.

Here’s Megan feeling a bit hesitant

Testing the water

Megan decided to wear her favorite dress to the shoot, but after wading in the estuaries I think she felt her dress was far too nice for this silliness…

A giggle in the grass with mommy…

Peek a boo…we see you…

Carpe Diem…Life doesn’t get much better than this…

Running free..

This is my FAVORITE photo from the session. (Andy really blows me away sometimes with his ability to capture the simplest moment and make magic with it). Megan had gone through a few clothing changes, not for fashion so much as she just was having too much fun and got everything wet and then didn’t want to be in her wet clothes anymore. So, piece-by-piece she eventually got down to her birthday suit and enjoyed the beach as only a child can. We call this one, “The Little Mermaid.” What do you think?

The last unofficial weekend of summer couldn’t have been spent with nicer people. On Saturday during Labor Day weekend, we had our engagement session with Sandee & Matt. We knew we liked them as soon as we met them, but after spending a bit more time together it’s now official…we love them!! What a fun couple. Their love for each other and for life is easy to see and made getting some great photos a breeze! We met them at Corporation Beach in Dennis. Matt spent a lot of time at various Dennis Beaches as a kid, so Dennis was special to them and we just LOVE Corporation Beach, with its fabulous sea wall and miles of shoreline. There were so many great shots, but here our some of our favorites. Sandee we know you’ve been waiting for these….here’s just a taste! More to follow soon! xoxo

Here they are cuddling in the marsh grass….too sweet!

Walking the shore at sunset…

Check out this sunset shot Andy got…does he rock or what?

And here’s where things got a bit wet…

And sexy…(mom, dad, close your eyes!)

Thanks Sandee & Matt for being so much fun! We can’t wait for your wedding next summer! We’re sorry you had to take off after our session, but we were thinking of you as we enjoyed our dinner at Scargo! Your images will go online shortly. We’ll let you know as soon as they’re done! Hugs to you both! C&A

It took us until Labor Day weekend, but Andy & I finally got to the beach this summer. Okay, so it was Monday, almost 4PM, but we did manage to splash around in the waves for a bit and just watch the afternoon slip by….it was splendid. Here’s us at Old Silver Beach in Falmouth. Check out those pasty legs…sweet!

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Andy or talking to him on the phone, he is English. Like most of his countrymen (and the world, really), Andy grew up on the game of futbol, aka soccer. He comes from a family of Manchester United supporters and so he watched as David Beckham moved from Man U’s youth program to become a star player on the team, eventually serving as Captain for England.

When Beckham, or Becks as he is affectionately known by fans, left the Premiership to come to the states via Real Madrid in the hopes of breathing new life into MLS, it was bittersweet. But, a few weeks ago, we got to see Andy’s idol close up when the LA Galaxy took on the New England Revolution to a sold out crowd at Gillette Stadium. We got great seats near the tunnel that the players use to enter and exit the field and watched as Becks greeted fans and signed autographs before and after the game. It was disappointing that an ankle injury kept him from playing, but we did each get his autograph. (He really is as beautiful as he looks on TV.) Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our cameras because we weren’t sure we’d be allowed in the stadium with them. But, here’s a photo of Andy with his signed tickets.

Andy also plays futbol several times a week. Although he might not be at the same standard as Beckham, his passion runs just as deep. Here are a few shots of his last outdoor game of the season, held two Sundays ago in Sandwich (Andy, not Beckham!)

He didn’t score here, but he did score in a previous game, I was just a little late and missed it….sorry honey!

Check out this little cutie cheering on her Daddy from the sidelines.

I just thought this was a cool shot as some of the guys were walking off the pitch.

Last Friday, Andy & I drove to Harwich Port for Kathy & Russell’s wedding. We had only met them once before, so it was great to get to spend some more time with them both. Kathy comes from a big family of 7 kids and it was important to her to involve her family in the wedding, including her 15 nieces and nephews, who were all in the bridal party. It was a large group and the Wychmere Harbor Club was the perfect venue for all their family and friends to celebrate. And this group knew how to celebrate!

Everybody gathered on the dock for a big group photo during cocktail hour.

The guys went semi-casual with tan suits, brown sandals and these great green shirts and matching Vineyard Vines ties that coordinated with the bridesmaids gorgeous green dresses.

Mission accomplished. Russell & Kathy celebrate after being announced hubby and wife.

Are they cute or what?

Russell’s brother Ray showing off the rings.

Apple martinis were the featured cocktail and matched the color theme perfectly.

Ring around the mum. No roses in Kathy’s stunning yellow, orange and green boquet by Clementine Floral Studio in Harwich.

A big thank you to Russell & Kathy for inviting us to share in such a special day. xo

A former wedding coordinator and now manager of Flair, the stylish Newbury Street bridesmaids’ boutique, Julianne Ward knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding to Mike Mahoney, and she didn’t miss a beat! Not only was it a perfect day, but the setting couldn’t have been more beautiful. The ceremony took place at Our Lady of Victory in Centerville, and the reception followed at Julianne’s parents’ home overlooking West Bay in Osterville. The 250+ guests dined on an incredible spread laid out by Caterer Extraordinaire Olive Chase of Casual Gourmet, including fresh cut oysters on the half shell, ½ pound lobster tail salad, filet mignon and a dessert station to knock your socks off, including a beautiful ribbon cake by the incredibly talented Lisa Raffael of Delicious Desserts which mimicked the back of Julianne’s gorgeous dress from Priscilla of Boston. A family friend, Wayne of Purple Statice in Easton, reportedly came out of retirement to do the flowers for the wedding. It was a stunning display and we heard more than a few of the guests commenting, “Now, this is how to have a wedding.” But what really made the wedding special was all the love so clearly in the air. Julianne and Mike are like a match made in heaven. They’re sweet, fun, and some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet! Thank you guys for allowing us to be part of such a special day!!! Being around you two makes us fall in love all over again! xo

And a special shout out to our friend Matt Grazier of Grazier Photography for coming out and spending the day with us. Matt & his wife Enna are another hubby & wife team who is producing some amazing work! We’re looking forward to coming along and shooting with you both later this summer!

For Julianne & Mike’s wedding, we thought we thought we’d mix it up a little and show you a slide show we put together from their day; there’s just too many great moments to pick just a few:

Generally most of our weddings keep us here on Cape Cod, but every now and then we venture over the bridge for a fabulous event. We had such an event a few weeks ago and have recently put their images online so we thought we’d share a few with you too.

Our California cuties, Erin & Patrick, are not only a GORGEOUS couple, but they’re also wonderful people and we feel really lucky to have been there with them on such a special day. Living in California, Erin & Patrick elicited the help of wedding planner Alexis O’Mara Eliolopous of Unique Weddings by Alexis who helped bring everything together.

Erin doesn’t need much help looking stunning, but Jessica Peacock from Katrina Hess Makeup Studios and Erin Keefe from Ten X Spa did an amazing job on Erin’s flawless look.

The camera just loves surfer dude Pat and so do we!

Erin & Patrick wanted to take family photos before the ceremony, so we set up a moment where they would see each other for the first time with family and friends gathered around.

Checking out the new hardware in the church

Able to relax after the ceremony, we jumped in the limo to head to Wellesley Center for some fun city shots. Don’t they look like they could be in a Lexus ad?

Erin & Pat opened their favorite bottle of champagne and took a minute to enjoy the moment.

We scouted out Wellesley Center before the wedding and found adorable Grove Street, with this fabulous red wall outside Truly Yogurt ice cream shop and the quaint Grove Street Barber Shop. A little further down was the beautiful wooden storefront of Amarin of Thailand restaurant. The quiet, tree-lined street was the perfect setting for just having some fun and letting loose.

Needless to say they turned some heads on the street!

A big fat thank you to Erin & Patrick for being so much fun and up for anything! You guys are rock stars! xo