…promises something for everyone. Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new roooomance! Theeee LOOOOVE BOOOOAT.

Many of you probably won’t have a clue what the heck I’m rambling on about, but those are some of the lyrics from the popular TV series The Love Boat, which aired in the late 70s to mid 80s. I admit, as a kid I used to watch it somewhat regularly. I thought, how cool to be Vicki Stubing, the Captain’s daughter - living on a cruise ship, getting to explore new places and all the while meeting cute new boys every week.

Well, enough of that little flash back, the title for this post was inspired by the AMAZING boat built by one of our very talented grooms, Kurt. Taught by his father, Kurt recently finished building his first boat and we used it as the backdrop for our engagement session with Kurt and his fiance MaryHelen. We met the adorable duo at MaryHelen’s mom’s gorgeous Osterville home, which provided a stunning setting for our session.

Check it out:

Hey Cuties…

Love this one…

Some lovin’ in MaryHelen’s mom’s yard

I love this next shot….MaryHelen’s giggles, the light, the way it looks like we’ve stumbled across a private moment behind the pool shed. Love it!

Some more snuggle time…

We love our butt shots…don’t know why, but we do!!! I particularly like the perspective on this one…

One last smooch before we call it a day…We asked Kurt to kiss MaryHelen’s nose, which made them both crack up–our ultimate goal–but he did it, and the kiss itself was pretty cute too!

Thank you MaryHelen & Kurt for being so much fun to be around…and special thanks to Kurt for sharing his labor of love with us…the boat, not MaryHelen! She’s beautiful!!! MaryHelen AND the boat! Actually, just realized we forgot to ask what you named her. If you want our vote, we’re thinking, “Love Boat.” Thanks again guys for being so much fun! We had a blast and can’t wait to be there with you next fall when you say, “I do!” Big hugs, Christine & Andy xo

A couple of months ago we headed to New Hampshire to photograph the lovely weekend wedding event of McCall & Matt at Wentworth by the Sea. Whenever we work off Cape, we usually find we are working with vendors we have not met before. This trip was no exception. Among the vendors we had the pleasure of meeting at McCall & Matt’s wedding was talented make up artist, Joanne, of Joya Beauty.

Joanne’s studio is located in Dover, just outside of Portsmouth, NH where she is currently gearing up for a couple of bridal shows in Natick, Portmouth, and the uber-stylish Grace Ormonde Bridal Show, where Joanne will be the make up artist for Grace’s runway models!

In preparation for her upcoming shows, Joanne wanted to revamp her marketing materials and kindly asked if she could use one of our images of McCall. How cool is that?! Very!! We of course said, “Yes, please!!!” Here is the final design. Thanks Joanne for wanting to showcase the beautiful McCall and also our work! Rock the show!!!

Last summer, we were asked by our friends Alyssa & Barry to donate a portrait session to a fundraiser auction they were hosting in Boston to raise money for Parkinson’s research and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

We hadn’t seen Alyssa & Barry since we photographed their fabulous Chatham Bars Inn wedding four years ago and so were understandably shocked to learn that Alyssa had been diagnosed with the Parkinson’s in 2005, just a year after she & Barry said, “I do.” We were saddened by the news and eager to help in any way we could. We, of course, happily agreed to donate a session and crossed our fingers that it would bring in a respectable bid for the foundation.

They are once again back at the fundraising and hope to raise another $50,000 as they each prepare to run the November 2 New York City Marathon. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Team Fox website.

Two weeks ago, we finally got to meet the caring and generous family who bid on our engagement session at last summer’s auction - Kathy Pattison & Dave Strickler and their two adorable children, Hailey & Grayson. We met this gorgeous family just before sunset at their stunning ocean-side home in Orleans. It was one of those perfect fall afternoons here on the Cape, the sun was warm, the sky crystal clear and this particular part of the Cape feels as untouched as it gets. We even saw a couple of seals swim past. It was a perfect day and we had a fabulous time photographing and playing with this wonderful family. Here are a few of our favorites from our time together:

Here Grayson hitches a ride from his mom as the family heads to the beach. I just love this photo…the composition, the colors, Grayson’s adorable little sweater. To me it just screams love and family and all the best things of which our childhood memories are made!

Hailey leads little brother Grayson through the beach grass. Love the flare, love the feel, love their little blond heads! Love it!

I like to call this one…Run Free, for all the obvious reasons. Ah to be a child again!

Grayson has a little alone play time. Check out those rosy little lips. Too sweet!

Little Mr. Independent following his own path. The beach has 4WD access…not exactly sure how I feel about that, but it did make for some cool tracks in the sand for Grayson to play in.

We don’t usually say whose photos are whose (Mostly because we like to keep Matt guessing! One of our friends/grooms from this summer apparently makes a game out of trying to tell whose are whose. We loved hearing that! So fun!) but this one I REALLY wish I could say was mine! I love love love it!!! I think it’s just such an interesting and unique composition. Nice one Andy!!! You rock baby!

Hailey is such a great big sister. Here she gives her little brother some lovin’ which he seems to relish! So sweet!

And here is the happy family for a more traditional portrait…

We ended our time together with a fun family silhouette.

Thank you so much to the Pattison family, who thought enough of our work to bid on our session and donate to a very worthy cause. Kathy, Dave, Hailey & Grayson we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of you a little. We hope you enjoyed our time together too and that we were able to make some new family memories together! Thank you too to Alyssa & Barry for thinking of us and for allowing us to be a part of such an important cause. Alyssa, you are in our thoughts and prayers and we look forward to hearing how you do at next month’s marathon! You Go Girl!!! xox Chris & Andy

Happy Birthday to you….Happy Birthday to you….Happy Birthday Dear Annnndddddyyy….Happy Birthday tooooo YOUUUUUU!

That’s right, today is Andy’s birthday. My baby turns….ohhhh, can’t tell, that would be rude! Let’s just say, he’s a few years less than the mean of being old enough to drive and old enough to collect social security. Andy is a bit of a math geek, so that little riddle is for him! Love you honey!

I wish I could say we did something really fun to celebrate such an important occasion, but sadly, it was all business today. We took half the day off yesterday to hang out and have lunch with my sister, Kimmy, and her two lovebugs and Bello Blog favorites, Calvin & Sadie, so today we had to buckle down and get serious.

Here is the birthday boy playing in the leaves with his best buddy Cal. Ahhh….life’s simple pleasures!

When most people think of Cape Cod they think of pristine beaches, the sound of waves crashing on the shore, sandcastles and sailboats. For as beautiful as Cape Cod can be, there is also a grittier side and that’s the side we find most exciting to photograph.

We took advantage of some of the Cape’s less expected nooks and crannies a couple of weeks ago for the super fun engagement session of our new friends Laura & Ben. Ben grew up on the Cape, but he & Laura now live in Miami. The pair first contacted us earlier this summer when they were home checking out places to hold their 2009 summer wedding. We instantly hit it off and are completely stoked that they want us to be there with them on their special day. Aside from being drop dead gorgeous, Ben & Laura are also super sweet, a ton of fun and totally down to Earth.

Generally, our engagement sessions are a way for us to make our couples feel comfortable being in front of the camera, but as you will soon see…these two didn’t need much help! Check out their sassy selves…

We started out walking around downtown Falmouth and found some great spots for photos. This alley being our favorite…Looks like a spread in Vogue, no? I admit, we took the photo, but the fabulousness of this shot is totally thanks to these two hotties!

G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!!

Sexy…

I just love the way these two are so relaxed together. They know how to have fun and look amazing doing it!

Next we took to the rooftops for a different perspective. I love the telephone and electric wires in the background…so fun!

One of the things I love about these two is that they don’t take themselves too seriously. As well as they can pull off the sexy & serious look (and they DO pull it off well), two seconds after we snap the shot they are cracking up.

I love this one!! We changed the color and reduced the saturation to give it an edgier look.

St. Barnabas Church in Falmouth is a stunning display of English village-style church construction. With it’s granite and red sandstone exterior and solid arch shaped wood doors, it provides a perfect backdrop for an old world feel. Love it!!! Laura with those incredible eyes and sassy haircut is seriously smokin’ in this photo!

I’ll say it again…hotties!!!

Kind of a funky perspective.

We’re thinking this would make a great ad for Maxwell’s (a very chic clothing boutique) don’t you?

And of course, we had to stop by the beach for a few classically Cape shots, a little loving and even some yoga!?!

A great big THANK YOU to Ben & Laura for being so much fun to spend time with and for being such AMAZING subjects to photograph. You two share something very special and you have a knack for making the people around you feel special too! We can’t wait to get to know you both even better over the coming year and look forward (with great excitement) to getting you both in front of our cameras again at your wedding! Seriously, we get giddy just thinking about it!!! Big hugs, Chris & Andy xo

Namely discover America. And If you overlook all of the really awful stuff he did I suppose he was a pretty cool guy. But, as cool as he might have been he could never have held a candlestick to my dad! For he, is the coolest guy!!! And as it happens, he has also done some pretty cool things…Namely, have me! hee hee

Seriously though, in addition to being Columbus day, today is my dad’s birthday!!! Yeaaah for today!!! We thought we’d take this opportunity to say, “Happy Birthday Dad. We love you!!” Thanks for always being there supporting and loving us! You are an amazing dad, an amazing person and a true friend. The world is a better place because you’re in it and that makes today a day to celebrate! Wishing you much love & happiness today and always! Happy Birthday Dad!!

Love, Chris & Andy xoxo

Here are some photos we took of my dad and his girlfriend, Linda, when they came down for an afternoon earlier this summer. We went for a bike ride in Falmouth and watched the sun set. Ahh, the simple pleasures! Today, my dad & Linda are celebrating together, so it seemed appropriate that we feature a couple of photos of them enjoying time together! We love you guys!!

Last year we had the pleasure of photographing the fabulous Boston wedding of the seriously adorable duo…Michelle & Dan. These two lovebirds quickly jumped into family life and the result is their crazy-beautiful little girl, Mackenzie, who has the most happy, friendly, smiley little spirit. We had such a blast with her and it was no surprise because we had the same experience with her parents when we first photographed them!

Dan & Michelle are such happy, loving, fun, warm, down-to-earth people and it’s obvious their sweet little apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

We met our friends a few weeks ago at one of our favorite Falmouth beaches, where we also happened to photograph their engagement session almost two years earlier. It was like coming full circle for us, only this time around was even better because Mackenzie was there too.

Here are some of our favorite photos from our time together:

Meet Mackenzie…is she sweet or what? We adore this little lovebug!

Getting snuggle time from daddy…oh the joy!

It’s funny…Mackenzie was very interactive throughout our session, but she took just a quick break to get some lovin’ and reassurance from her mom. I love this photo…I love how Michelle’s hair is blowing in the wind, how she has her hand on Mackenzie’s head, but mostly I love that you can see in Mackenzie’s eyes how safe and loved she feels and that there is no where she would rather be in that moment than right where she is. If you’re truly blessed, your life is an accumulation of moments just like these.

Meet the Family… Michelle, Dan & Mackenzie. Seriously, could they be any cuter? And I tell ya, it’s rare that you get a one year old sitting that comfortably and contently for a photo. Mackenzie was a photographer’s DREAM!!!

Couldn’t you just eat them up?

Laughing with mommy as daddy makes some funny faces off camera…

Check out these baby blues….Move over Gerber Baby, there’s a new cutie in town and her name is Mackenzie!

Getting a helping hand, Mackenzie practices her walk….What I love most about this photo is Mackenzie’s little pointy finger as she holds her mom’s hand. It’s just precious to me!! Ohhh, and that little whispy curl of hair on the back of Mackenzie’s sweet little neck! LOVE IT!!!

And here mommy helps her take a few steps toward daddy….check out the happy determination in her eyes and the serious drool on her chin. If only every moment of life could be filled with that much simple joy!!!

I see you….

Playing a little peek-a-boo…

Mackenzie seems to love the camera almost as much as it loves her. Here she turns around to see where Andy & I are as she heads to check out the other side of the beach with mommy & daddy in her new Birthday outfit. I call this one, “Are You coming?” Simply Precious!!!! Don’t you think?

I know we’ve put a lot of photos of Mackenzie’s blue eyes in this post, but I couldn’t resist one more…especially in her new birthday outfit.

And finally….The many faces of Mackenzie. Be prepared for some oohs and aaaahhhs…it doesn’t get much cuter than this!!! It’s tough to pick, but if I had to choose my favorite shot from the below collage it would be the pout face in the bottom left. Andy’s is the eyelash shot with the smile, right side, third down. Which is your favorite Mackenzie face?

Big thanks to Michelle & Dan for continuing to trust us to capture your most precious life moments. It was so great to see you both again and to finally meet Mackenzie. You two sure do make beautiful babies. Mackenzie is such a lovey!!!! We hope to do this with all of you again next summer, when Mackenzie is walking and talking and really showing off that sweet little personality of hers! Thanks again for a fabulous afternoon!!! We love you guys! xo Christine & Andy

Emily & Larry wanted their wedding to not only be a celebration of their love, but also a reflection of who they are as a couple and the things that are most important to them. But, more than that, they wanted to share their day with the people closest to them in a way that wasn’t as much about tradition or formalities as it was about having a REALLY good time!

Their ceremony was held at Holy Trinity Church in Harwich and their reception immediately followed at Clancy’s Fish n’ Chips in Dennis. They both spend a lot of time there and are good friends with the owners, so it only seemed fitting that this should be where they celebrate such a happy time in their lives.

It was obvious that a lot of time, energy and thought went into all of the little touches they put together to make their wedding day special and so it was!

One of the coolest things they did was to hold a raffle. They gave all of their guests raffle tickets and asked them to choose one of several possible prizes. The prizes involved activities that were among Emily & Larry’s favorite things…a summer Sox game, dinner and tickets to a show (featuring one of their favorite Country singers Pat Green) or the very creative Sunday Funday prize, which involved gift certificates to some of their favorite places to hang out on a Sunday evening on the Cape. And the best part of the prize was that the winners got to enjoy these activities with Larry & Emily. What a very cool and thoughtful idea. We loved it! (We actually considered slipping our names into the pot, but thought that might be a tad cheeky! Just a tad!)

It was an incredible day and everyone seemed to really have a blast. Here are a few of our favorite moments from the day:

In her gold Manolo Blahniks and stunning white silk gown, Emily looked like the perfect bride. It was at once elegant and still Capey.

Emily & her girls…I LOVE green for bridesmaids dresses. It’s been a popular color this year, but these dresses rank as some of my favorites of the year. I just love the neckline. So cute!

Larry & his boys…The guys wore very hip gray wool suits…loved them!

Larry is the biggest goofball ever…in the best kind of way…but check out how hot he is here! Hottie!!!

It’s one of those epic life moments…just before you walk down the aisle when every emotion rushes through you in a flash. Do I cry? Do I laugh? It all happens so fast, but the feelings linger and eventually become treasured memories of a moment in time. I live for those moments…

Lovely Holy Trinity. It’s definitely got a 70s vibe…and we like that!!

The symbolism of the wedding bands always seem to strike a chord with newly married couples. You’ve been planning your wedding for over a year. You likely know the person you’re marrying for many years and yet, it’s not until that metal band is snuggly on your finger that the realization hits you, “We did it. We’re married and we’re a team forever.” It is such a cool feeling!

One of the best parts of Holy Trinity is the tiny stone chapel out back. With it’s large wooden doors and colorful garden…it’s an awesome spot for photos.

The happy couple…

The question of whether to do a receiving line often comes up when planning a church wedding. We say, if you have the time (and plan on at least 40 minutes for 120 people) a receiving line can be a great opportunity for some nice candid portraits. People are generally catching up with old friends and sometimes you can catch some really genuine moments. Here are a couple of sweet shots from Emily & Larry’s receiving line.

Larry’s sister Liz. Is she adorable or what?

Friends of Emily & Larry share a little love when they think no one is looking….Gotcha Cuties!!!

Larry kicks back with his friends and enjoys a good cigar at the end of a fabulous day…

And here are a few of the fabulous little touches Emily & Larry put together for their friends and families:

Emily & Larry…thank you both so much for inviting us to share in special time in your lives. It is obvious that you two love each other very much and that you place great value on the time you spend with each other and with your friends and family doing the things you love. You two are wonderful and inspire us to take more time for each other. It’s easy to get caught up in our busy lives, but there is nothing more important than making the most of our time with the ones we love.

You guys rock and we can’t wait to see you both again! And if you ever need company on one of your Sunday Fundays….you know where to find us!

Love & hugs, Chris & Andy xo