With over 8 million views since first being posted on You Tube just two weeks ago, you’ve probably already seen this video. But, we love it so much, we had to share anyway. Who can’t use a little extra joy on Monday, right? Well, this video of Minnesota couple, Jill & Kevin, dancing their way down the aisle oozes love and joy, so sit back and enjoy the ride…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

As our busy season decends, we bid farewell to our Guess Who? Lucky 7s contest, which was, at least for us, a nice distraction from the cold weather. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and thank everyone who took the time to humor us and play along.

As has been the case throughout most of the game, we seem to have stumped you all yet again! Seriously, guys?

We did, however, have a tie for top spot, with Shaleen and Sandee & Matt each correctly identifying 4 out of the 8 images posted. So, we’ll be splitting the pot of scratch tickets and sending you each out your winnings….good luck and happy scratching!

Here are the correct answers: 1. Chris 2. Andy 3. Chris 4. Andy 5. Chris 6. Andy 7. Chris 8. Andy. We’ve also posted the answers next to each image in the original post to make it a little easier for you to see whose photo was whose. Thanks again for playing and we hope you enjoy the new stuff soon to come! We’ve got some fabulous couples getting married this year and we’re looking forward to another stellar year! Much thanks, as always, for your continued support. Keep spreading the love!

With warmest wishes,

Chris & Andy

With April showers come May flowers…and all things wedding-related. Our first wedding of the season is fast approaching and we’re already busy scheduling lots of bello love sessions (aka engagement sessions). But, before we say goodbye to our Guess Who? Contest, we’ve got one more for you.

As a tribute to our fabulously fun 2009 couples, we have made this last Guess Who? all about them and the sessions we’ve done so far…we’ll have a bunch more for you in the coming weeks/months, so stay tuned!

We’ve decided to give you a little hint this time around, since you guys really seem to be having a hard time with this contest. Hint: 4 of the following images were taken by me & 4 by Andy. And, as an added incentive to get more participation, and an actual winner, this week we’re not requiring that ALL of the photos be correctly identified. If would be excellent, exciting, and celebration-worthy if someone does, but we’re not holding our collective breath. Instead, we’ll give all of our remaining scratch tickets to the first person who correctly identifies the most photos. We’re also extending voting a little and will continue taking votes until April 24th. Come on….this should be easy now!!! Right?

Before we start, the answers to last week’s Guess Who? Part 5 are: Andy, Chris, Andy, Chris, Andy. Kristen came the closest with 4 out of 5. Nice job Kristen!!! If you can do that well again this week, something tells me the booty will be yours.

Here goes nothin’….

#1 - Elizabeth & Blake — Chris

#2 - MaryHelen & Kurt — Andy

#3 - Laura & Ben — Chris

#4 - Stefania & Justin — Andy

#5 - Victoria & Mike –Chris

#6 - Jillian & John — Andy

#7 - Ivy & Ben –Chris

And, #8, our most recent addition to the Bello Family…Kirsten & Dennis (The blog post featuring our session with them, done yesterday afternoon in beautiful Cotuit, will follow shortly!) — Andy

Good luck and have fun!!!

xo chris & andy

So, once again, no winners. This little contest of ours is really demonstrating what a good team we are. But, the fact that we can’t seem to give away any prizes is starting to bum us out. And, although we don’t know what we can do to make it any easier, we do know that we have to get another winner. Matt & Sandee can’t be our only winners….we’ll never hear the end of it! So, come on guys, give it your best this week and knock Sandee & Matt off the winner’s block. Ohh a challenge…I’ve thrown down the gauntlet. Watch, they’ll win again this week!

Seriously, though we’d love for anyone to win. We’ve got a stack of scratch tickets looking for a good home.

Before we post this week’s photos, here are last week’s answers: Chris, Chris, Chris, Andy, Andy.

Again, the object is to try and correctly identify whose photos are mine and whose are Andy’s. The first person to correctly identify all 5 images will win 7 lottery tickets, which could net you nothing or possible some serious cash! Either way, we hope you find our little spring quiz a fun way to pass the time!

It might help to go back and look at the past 4 week’s results to see if you can discern our individual styles (Enter Guess Who in the search box to bring up the previous contests). I admit, it’s not easy. We really do feed off of each other and our styles have become pretty seamless. Good luck!

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

Would you believe it? We have no winner again….I guess we’re just a well-oiled, seamless shooting machine! But, it’s no fun having a contest and not being able to give away prizes, so what we’re going to do is give the two people who tied and correctly identified 4 out of the 7 images in last week’s Guess Who?  Part 3 contest three lottery tickets each, just to thank them for playing and for getting the most answers right.

The answers to last week’s Guess Who? (Part 3) are: 1. Andy 2. Chris 3. Andy 4. Chris 5. Andy 6. Chris 7. Andy and the top scorers with 4 correct answers were: Kimmy & Laura! Yeahh!!!! The lottery tickets are on their way to you ladies!! Congratulations!! And thank you for playing along!

To make it a bit easier, and hopefully inspire more participation, this week we’ve decided to post just 5 photos, although the first person to correctly identify all five photos will still win 7 lottery tickets. Good luck! And have fun!

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

This little contest of ours is proving more challenging than we (and even smarty pants Sandee & Matt) thought. So far, no one has correctly identified whose images are mine and whose are Andy’s in this week’s Guess Who? Lucky 7s. And of those who have guessed, two of you have got 4 correct and one of you has got 2 correct (big hint here…Sandee & Matt….you’re not looking so good this week).

But, we don’t want to punish those who have already guessed, because we just LOVE that you’re humoring us by participating in this silly contest of ours, so we’re going to give you all a slight advantage and let you vote again! Yup, that’s right, you have another chance to review your choices and try again! Remember, there are 14 scratch tickets up for grab this week, since no one correctly identified last week’s photos.

Good luck everyone! This contest is open to everyone, so don’t be afraid to vote, even if this is the first time you’re seeing our work and you have no clue whose images are whose! What have you got to lose? And, who knows, you might just guess correctly!!! (Click on the word “vote” above to go directly to this week’s contest post and leave your vote in the comments’ section.)

We’ll be closing voting once again on Sunday evening and will announce the winner (we remain hopeful) on Monday morning!

Chris & Andy

It appears that Andy & my styles are so closely matched that our last Guess Who? Lucky 7s contest is proving more challenging than even we thought. Last week’s contest left everyone stumped. We only got a couple of guesses and unfortunately, no one got it right. Although, Sandee & Matt (week 1 winners) came pretty close. The answers were: 1. Andy 2. Andy 3. Chris 4. Andy 5. Chris 6. Chris 7. Chris

Because we didn’t get a winner, we will take the 7 lottery tickets prize and carry them over to this week’s contest. Whoever guesses all 7 images correctly this week will win 14 lottery tickets. Yippee!!! So, even if you think it’s hard, don’t be afraid to make a guess. You could win big, not to mention the bragging rights.

Here’s this week’s Lucky 7. Good luck!!!

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

7.)

Last week, we launched what we hoped would be a fun way to pass the rest of the winter with a weekly contest that tests how well you, our loyal blog readers, can tell our work apart.

We had such fun reading everyone’s responses and comments! A great big thank you to everyone who participated! You all did great! But, only one of you identified all 7 photos correctly.

And the winner is……

Sandee & Matt!!! Well, Matt, looks like you were right!!

The contest was actually inspired by Matt, who claimed he could tell whose images were mine and whose were Andy’s! Way to go guys! You Rock!!! But, let’s be honest….you two had a slight advantage, having been there with us when we took all the photos. Even, still, we’re impressed that you were paying such close attention!!  Now we want to see if you can do it again, with images that aren’t yours!!

Everyone else….the game is on….let’s see if you can oust Matt & Sandee from their thrones! In the meantime, Sandee & Matt, your Lucky 7s scratch tickets will soon be on their way to you!!!

So, without further ado, here’s this week’s Lucky 7s Guess Who? photos. Please make your guesses in the comments section and remember, the first one to correctly identify all 7 photos wins seven Lucky 7s scratch tickets! Voting will end next Friday. Only one vote per person. Good luck!!!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

Our wedding season typically lasts seven months, from April until the end of October. During these busy months, we are lucky to be invited to share in one of the most special days in a couple’s life, capturing for them all of the joy, love, and once-in-a-lifetime moments that, as a bonus, provide plenty of fodder for our blog.

Unfortunately, during the long winter months, shooting slows to a crawl and our attention turns to album design & production. Now, in our second year of blogging, we’ve come to realize that this lack of new imagery makes our blog a little snoozy….I know it’s not really a word, but it’s kinda catchy, don’t ya think?

A couple of weeks ago, my sister, Kimmy, (one of our biggest blog cheerleaders) playfully complained, “I’m getting bored with the blog. You guys gotta put some new stuff on there. I’ve been going back and reading comments from old posts….it’s that bad.”

Honestly, we’re flattered that anyone takes the time to regularly check our blog, nevermind re-reading old post….But, we definitely don’t want to bore anyone. So, Andy & I put our heads together and decided to pass these next couple of months before the summer craziness begins by launching a little game we’re calling “Guess Who? Bello’s Lucky 7’s.”

Every week, we’ll post 7 images from the past year and ask you, our loyal blog readers, to try and guess whose images are mine and whose are Andy’s.

To keep it interesting, we will send seven Lucky 7’s scratch tickets to the first person who guesses all seven photos correctly. Entries should be made by listing your guess in the comments section below each post. We encourage you to play every week, but only one vote per person for each post, please. And, be sure to include your name & e-mail address when guessing, so we can contact you to send you your prize if you’re the smarty-pants winner.

The idea for Guess Who? was inspired by our friends Matt & Sandee. Matt once claimed that he can tell whose images are whose, which is pretty good going, considering Andy & my styles have become so closely meshed that we often get stumped. So, we thought we’d put Matt to the test and begin with 7 images from his & Sandee’s super fun Cape Cod engagement session and stunning Boston wedding.

Good luck everyone!!! (The pressure’s on Matt! Let’s see what ya got!)

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

ADDITION: Just wanted to add a note that we will close voting on Friday, February 27th, when we’ll announce the winner (assuming we get one) and post the next weekly Guess Who? So, if you want a chance at possibly scoring some scratch cash on Sandee & Matt’s wedding & engagement session, make sure you vote before Friday. Also, we should have mentioned this before, since the prize involves scratch tickets, but you must be 18 years of age or older to play. Out-of-state or Out-of-Country (Candice…we love you!) winners must collect their prize via US mail. If there is no winner this week, the 7 scratch tickets will go into the pot for next week. Good luck everyone!!! xoxo

There is an essay I found several years ago that I have taped to the wall in our office. It’s a good reminder to live in the present. It ends with this thought for the day…

“Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. And, dance like no one is watching.”

I couldn’t help but think of this when I saw this awesome video by Matt Harding, a CT native who not only dances like no one is watching, but then asks the world to join him! What an inspiration!

We don’t know Matt, but we love him!!! He at least appears to be the kind of person we aspire to be and someone we would love to sit and talk with for hours. He epitomizes the idea that it’s okay to color outside of the lines, to follow your own unique path (no matter where it leads) and to live and love without boundaries or fear. He is evidence that if you do those things, you will surely find your bliss! And maybe, in the process, you might even help change the world! Go Matt Go!!!! You rock!!!

In 2005, Matt’s dancing captured the world’s attention and the sponsorship of Stride Gum. The idea for this video was first hatched in 2003, when he created a website to keep his family & friends abreast of his travel ventures. “A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said ‘Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.’ He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It’s actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.”

A couple of years later, someone found the video online and passed it to someone else, who passed it to someone else, and so on. Thanks to the generous (and very smart) folks at Stride Gum, there have been two subsequent trips since that first video went viral. This is his latest. If you’d like to learn more about this inspirational guy go to his website www.wherethehellismatt.com.

Hey Matt, if you & Melissa ever tie the knot….we want in!!!! Please give us a call! We just know that you two would have no trouble loving with your hearts WIDE OPEN and we’d be honored to be there recording that for you! Not to mention your first dance!!! Yeeeeehaaawww!