Nearly two years ago, we photographed MaryHelen & Kurt’s AHH-MAZING Hyannisport Club wedding. It had all of the ingredients for the perfect day….great weather, delicious food, gorgeous details, the company of close friends & family….and most importantly oodles of love & laughter.

So, when MaryHelen’s mom, Helen, called us to say her three children were coming home and could we stop by and take some photos of the kids & grandkids, we were thrilled to get to see everyone again. MaryHelen is the youngest of three. She & Kurt live in Rhode Island, and her brother, Andrew, lives in California with his wife & son, and her sister, JoHannah, lives in New Hampshire, with her husband and three kids.

Unfortunately, none of the spouses were able to join us for the session, but we had a great afternoon reuniting. In fact, a little too good of a time, as the kids seemed more interested in playing with us than having their photos taken. Still, we were able to get them in front of our cameras for a few sweet portraits. Then, we just sat back and documented the family playing & interacting together. Here are a few of our favorite moments from the day…

Meet sweet Katherine. She is the oldest of JoHannah’s lovely children.

Thomas is next in line and is the biggest baseball fan I’ve ever met. He was wowing us with his impressive memory for important statistics…

And, fun-loving Matthew, the youngest of the three and Andy’s new playmate.

And, we can’t forget Emmett, Andrew’s very sweet son.

Pig pile on daddy…

I love this next one and how all three of JoHannah’s kids are engrossed in their own entertainment…

Nothing says fun like bubble time…

Emmett’s expression kills me in this next one. Oh, the concentration. Too cute!

And, of course, we can’t forget the newest addition to the family….Moose, MaryHelen & Kurt’s new puppy….that’s right, puppy! Moose is going to be huge!

Grandma Helen gives some special cuddle time to Emmett.

While JoHannah snuggles up on the family dock with her three lovebugs…

Fun time with the cousins…

Love is….good times with your siblings!

Or a little alone time with mommy…

Grown siblings share a giggle…

Lovely Helen and her wonderful children….we adore you guys!

Thank you Helen for inviting us back to your home. It was so great seeing all of you again and catching up. We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed spending the afternoon with you. You have a lovely family and we’re very grateful that you’ve once again entrusted us to document all of you together! Looking forward to seeing you all again! Big love & hugs, Christine & Andy xoxo

….almost as much as we love Paul & Rachel!

Mondays aren’t typically my favorite day of the week. But, yesterday got a whole lot sweeter when a most unexpected box full of love arrived on our doorstep.

I had gone out to check the mail after a long day in front of the computer. As I walked back from the mailbox, I spotted a small package on the porch. I wondered to myself if Andy was ordering more toys for his guitar…he’s started taking lessons and is quite excited about it, so packages filled with books, picks, a music stand, guitar stand and some other things I don’t know the names of have steadily been showing up on our front porch.

This package, however, wasn’t for him….well, not only him. It was for both of us, and the return address was one I didn’t recognize…Levain Cookies. The packaging tape had LOVE written on it. I immediately liked the look of this!

Like a kid at Christmas, I ran in the house and searched the junk draw for scissors. No luck. So, I grabbed a knife…I mean there were potentially cookies in this package, right? I didn’t want to waste a second. And, here is what I pulled out…

Now, I was dying to know who could have sent this little treasure box, so I checked the postcard…

And here’s what it said, “If your photos were cookies….this is what they’d be. They’re THAT good. Thanks, Rachel & Paul.”

I heard myself say, “Awwww,” outloud after I finished reading the note. We truly do have THE best clients….wonderful couples and families who not only welcome us into their lives with open arms & open hearts, sharing with us one of the most special days in their lives, but they treat us like this and make us fall even deeper in love with this incredible job we have. And, not because the work is glamorous, because it’s really not…we spend way more time in front of our computers than we do behind our cameras. What we love most about our work is getting to meet and document the lives of wonderful people like Rachel & Paul.

Ironically, I’d checked the mail earlier that day because we’d forgotten to get Saturday’s mail. And, Paul & Rachel had already sent an incredibly sweet note that read, ” Christine & Andy, We just wanted to say thank you for the incredible job you did photographing our wedding. We know that you realize how important these memories are to us and to all of your clients, it clearly shows in all of your work. From day one it felt like we were with old friends and we feel so lucky to have found you. We truly appreciate all of the care and attention that went into the beautiful photos you took. We hope our paths cross again and please let us know if you’re in NY. We’d love to say hi. Yours, Paul & Rachel.”

Honestly, the sentiment in that note was more than the thanks we needed. So, to find the cookies later that day was just over-the-top sweet!

Here’s a closer look at just how sweet….

I have to admit, that I took these photos after tearing into the package and checking out the bootie. And soon thereafter…devoured half of the chocolate chip cookie. (Had to share with Andy, it seemed only fair.) Let me just say, however…. if he wasn’t home, I might not have been so generous. It was crazy good!!! I’m talking, Mmmmmm-I-don’t-care-if-this-ends-up-on-my-thighs-pass-me-another-GOOD!

Tomorrow, I have my sights set on that chocolate peanut butter little mound of love!

Are you drooling yet?

Each cookies weighs 6oz….crazy good!!!

Pass the milk….here I come!!

Paul & Rachel, you guys are wonderful! We feel exactly the same as you…that right from the start it felt like you were both old friends. Being there with you at your wedding was so wonderful. I’ll never forget your special dance, dedicated to your dad, Rachel. When those stormy skies opened, the clouds parted and the sun shone through, I lost it. I knew it meant your dad was surely there, smiling down and giving his blessing to both of you and your incredible wedding day. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for allowing us to bear witness to that and thank you too for being as sweet as those crazy good cookies!

Big love & hugs, Christine & Andy xoxo

Our first love session of the new wedding season took us to Boston and the picturesque back streets and alleys of beautiful Beacon Hill, home to high school sweethearts Heather & Jesse.

Right from our initial meeting with them, we immediately liked Heather & Jesse. They are unassuming, kind, gentle people who obviously care very deeply for one another.

I remember during that first meeting, Heather shared with us that she had lost both her mother and her brother. Her brother’s death was very recent and in collecting photos for his memorial service, she realized how important photography was to her. And, she told us, it was why she & Jesse decided to hire us to capture their wedding.

I remember holding back the tears as Heather spoke….tears for Heather’s profound loss and tears of gratitude for the faith Heather & Jesse were placing in Andy & me.

Photography has always been something I have loved…ever since I was a young girl and my dad let me play with his Canon manual film camera. I remember the excitement I would get when he’d let me hold that heavy body and look through the lens. More importantly, I remember the overwhelming feeling I would get when he’d step back and point the camera in my direction…..I felt loved!

Photographs are our way of telling the people we photograph that we care about them…that they are important to us and that the moments we share together are worth remembering. I love that about photography. And when our couples/families open up and share with us personal stories that speak to how important photography is to them, I feel a kind of joy that takes me back to those afternoons when my dad looked at me with love and pride in his eyes and would take my picture.

Although it is easy to see the affection they have for one another, Andy & I hope that Heather & Jesse feel the affection we have for them when they look at these images.  So, without further ado, meet Jesse & Heather…

Heather & Jesse’s apartment is off of this alley…it is such a cute spot and feels a bit like being somewhere in Europe, with all of the exposed brick and streaming ivy. I love it almost as much as I love how these two look when they snuggle…

Hi cuties…

Hummuna hummuna…

Private way, for a private moment (well, private if you don’t count the two photographers stalking the streets with cameras)

Beacon Hill at it’s finest…

You’d never guess from this next shot how uncomfortable these two are sitting on the bumpy cobblestone road…oh how we love our couples and the lengths they’ll go to for us!

I love this next shot and the sheer joy written all over Heather’s gorgeous face as she looks in the eyes of her best friend…

Another fave…

You know I say it all the time, but there really is no better place than right here….in the arms of the one you love!! Ahhhh….

When Jesse smiles it’s hard not to smile right along with him…

A favorite neighborhood flower shop of our happy couple…

As we headed down to the water, we had to take a minute to capture this great little nook…

But our favorite spot of the day had to be here…looove the light and loooove the color….of course it doesn’t hurt having an absolutely adorable, totally-in-love-couple to photograph!

Be still my heart…

Loooooove this one…definitely a contender for favorite of the day…

This one is for you, Heather & Jesse, because we know it will make you giggle….again. Just before this moment was captured, the fancy pants guy in the leather jacket & hat had apparently stopped to take a photo of Andy & me photographing Heather & Jesse…not sure why, but it certainly cracked up our happy couple and that made for this fun photo…Thank you Mr. Fancy Pants!

Quiet moments and the joy they bring…

A great big thank you to Heather & Jesse for spending the afternoon with us and most especially for welcoming us into your lives with such warmth & openness. Although our heart aches for you, Heather, and for your family over the loss of your brother, we cannot begin to tell you how very much it means to us that you & Jesse trust us to document this special time in  your lives. We promise to capture your wedding day with our eyes and our hearts wide open! And we hope that you might find that out of something terrible has come something wonderful. Big love & hugs, Chris & Andy xoxo