The new Southern New England Weddings magazine hit news stands this week and we were super stoked to find the fabulous Ocean Edge wedding of super cuties, Ivy & Ben, featured in the Cape Cod section. We love Ivy & Ben so we were really excited for them to get to have their special day highlighted.

To check out pics of the 4-page feature, pick up a copy of the magazine in bookstores or visit the magazine’s website. (Ivy & Ben’s wedding can be found photo thumbnail to the far left on the bottom row of thumbnails.)

Here’s a couple of quick snaps we took of the magazine:

We’re not an advertiser in the magazine, so we’re super grateful for the free exposure! Thank you Allison Liset at Elegant Engagements for working to get the wedding featured. Thank you, too, to SNEW Publisher Lisa Schryver for finding beauty in our photos. And, biggest thanks, as always, goes to Ivy & Ben for putting together such a beautiful (and super fun!) wedding! Love you guys! xo

The results just came in this morning and it’s official…..we’re the best! Or at least you all think so!!!

Thanks to all of the incredible love and support we got from our fabulous Bello friends & family, we once again came out at the top of the Cape Cod A-List, being named this year’s Best Photographers on Cape Cod & the Islands! Yipppeeee!!!!

We absolutely could not have done it without your votes, so this award is as much yours as it is ours and we’d like to thank all of you who voted from the very bottom of our hearts!!!! We feel tremendously blessed to have the most incredibly loving & supportive clients. I always feel funny saying clients, because really you are much more than just clients. To us you are part of our ever-growing Bello family.

Getting to know and photograph the incredible people we do is truly a labor of love for us and being recognized for our talent and efforts feels really good. So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

With much love and heart-felt appreciation, Chris & Andy xoxo

So, today is the last day to vote in the Cape Cod A-List contest for Best Photographers. Last year, we won by a clear margin. This year, it’s unclear whether we’ll take home the title again. Competition has been stiff and we really need your votes!

So, if you think we deserve the top honors, we humbly ask you to please click HERE and vote. Polls close at midnight and results will be announced August 17th. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!

In the meantime, we’d like to extend a huge, heart-felt THANK YOU to all of our wonderful Bello Family & Friends for already taking the time to vote. The comments you have left are truly the greatest reward!!! Even if we don’t win this year, we know in our hearts, that we are already winners…having THE BEST people in the planet to work with!!! You guys rock and we love you!!!! Truly!!!

Thank you again for your continued love & support!  Chris & Andy xo

For the second year in a row, CityVoter and NECN.com have nominated us Cape Cod’s Best Wedding Photographers. Can I get another “Whaaaa Hooooo!!!?”

Winning last year’s title was so exciting for us and truly, truly humbling! The outpouring of love and support we got from our incredible Bello family just blew us away. The things people said about us…..amazing! And it wasn’t just our wonderful couples, or even their families…their friends came out to vote for us too. I mean…Really? It was just the coolest feeling for Andy & me to see that many people care enough and feel strongly enough about us and what we do to take the time to vote!

This year, our competition is quite stiff and we’re a bit behind in the polls, so we’re hoping to inspire a Bello revolution! But, before we do, we’d first like to extend a heart-felt THANK YOU to all of you who have already voted and for those of you who are hearing this for the first time, if you like our work and have had positive experiences with us, we shamelessly ask you to spread the love and cast your vote for Bello!

To check out the contest, click the A-List link and once on the site, hit the yellow VOTE button underneath Bello Photography. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on the results. Voting ends on Sunday (August 9th), so please spread the word!

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!! It doesn’t quite seem enough those two simple words, but they are packed with more feeling that you can know.

With love & hugs, Chris & Andy xo

So, we went out to our mailbox the other day, and inside waiting for us was the latest issue of Boston Magazine’s Elegant Weddings. And, what to our wondering eyes lay inside the Real Weddings section, but the fabulous wedding of Cape Cod cuties Emily & Larry.

We photographed Emily & Larry’s super fun wedding last September. It was the perfect mix of casual elegance and oodles of love. Emily & Larry said, “I do” at their favorite local eatery, Clancy’s Fish n’ Chips, in Dennis. One of our favorite elements of their special day was the raffle they put together, giving away some of their favorite things, including tickets to the Red Sox. The best part was that the winners got to enjoy the activities they won with Emily & Larry. So fun!

Their sweet wedding apparently struck a chord with the magazine’s editors too. We were contacted by Editor Donna Garlough back in April, after she spotted the blog post we did on Emily & Larry’s wedding. We were of course excited to have our work featured, but we were more excited for Emily & Larry. They worked really hard putting all of the special details in place that really made their wedding unique. We were just so happy that they were going to get a little attention for all of their efforts! Plus, it’s sweet that Boston gets a sneak peek into the their very special love!

The cover…Sweet right!

Photos by Bello…yipeee!

The feature:

Big thanks to Donna and the talented crew at Elegant Weddings for choosing Emily & Larry’s wedding to highlight. (The article, written by Mia Gant, is fun & playful and definitely worth a read if you want to pick up a copy of the magazine.) And, a very special thank you to Emily & Larry for sharing their love in such a generous way! You guys rock!!! xoxo Chris & Andy

Andy & I belong to the Professional Photographers of Cape Cod, a group of some 50-75 photographers living and working here on beautiful Cape Cod. We joined PPOCC, as it is affectionately known, our first year in business…hoping to learn as much as we could about what it means to be a professional photographer! We wouldn’t be where we are today without PPOCC and all of the incredible photographers we’ve met through the group!

Although it started out more as a social club, PPOCC has grown over the years and now offers its members educational workshops, classes and a fabulous network of professionals, who do still enjoy socializing.

Last Monday, several members of PPOCC gathered in Provincetown for a little photography safari. We had done this a similar trip a few years ago to Martha’s Vineyard.

Andy & I decided to head down to P-town on Sunday evening to make a little “weekend” out of it. Typical summer weekends don’t really exist for wedding photographers, so you take what days off you can get and make the most of them. And, that we did!!

We got to P-town and checked into the lovely Crowne Point Inn just as the hotel’s wine & cheese happy hour was kicking off. Don’t you just love when that happens! We settled in by the pool and lounged the evening away. Instantly, the stress melted off of us. It was heavenly!

The next day, we got up early, enjoyed a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon (this really is a fabulous inn if you ever find yourself wanting to stay in P-town) sunned ourselves by the pool and then headed out in the afternoon to meet our photographer friends. Unfortunately, the meeting time rubbed a little too closely with our wine & cheese happy hour, so we didn’t really take too many photos before heading back. Pathetic, I know! But, we felt so pampered and it was such a fun treat for us…we just couldn’t resist.

We met back up with everyone later that night at Race Point Beach, where we watched the sunset and had a great night of conversation by bonfire. Unfortunately, it was a little too cloudy for the presentation on photographing stars & the night sky that our friend, Chris Cook, was going to make. Fortunately, there were s’mores to cushion the disappointment.

Here are just a few snapshots we took earlier that day:

I just loved the character oozing off this sweet little woman sifting through what looks like her art supplies. Or maybe it’s recycling and trash. But, I just thought her aura screamed, “I’m an eccentric painter lady,” so I like to think they’re her art supplies.

Being goofballs!

Beautification underway…

Talk about eccentric. Some nutball had broken ceramic lining his/her driveway. There must have been tons of it, not to mention a whole yard full of trash. It was kind of crazy. We of course all stopped to take photos. And, in true Andy fashion, he decided to lay on the ground for this cool perspective. Unfortunately, he cut his arms in the process. Broken ceramic driveway? Really?

Pilgrim Tower as seen from our balcony….sweet!!!

Ever get an e-mail that just makes your day? We got one of those today.

The message came from Amy & Ryan, a super-sweet Virginia-based couple, who had contacted us a couple of weeks ago about photographing their wedding next summer in Chatham. We had some really nice exchanges with Ryan, but because he & Amy live in VA, we haven’t had the chance to meet yet.

Amy & Ryan found their way to us through their friends ~ Kara & TJ, one of our fabulous couples getting married later this summer, so we had no doubt we would find them equally as wonderful. Amy’s e-mail today confirmed it and now, we can’t wait to meet these two cuties!

Here’s what she wrote:

“Hi Christine and Andy:

I am the Amy of the “Ryan and Amy” (nice to meet you). Ryan and I absolutely love your work and we are so excited to be working with you for our wedding. We have discussed photographers at length, and once you realize that the photographs aren’t just for you, they’re for your parents, and your children and their children, it really helps put the importance of the photographer(s) into perspective.

In that vein, we have poured over your website and various links that you have sent us and we agree unequivocally that we would like to work with you…

We’ll be on the Cape for the 4th of July…and we’d love to stop by and introduce ourselves if you are around.

All the best,  Amy”

Seriously?!!! Is that so sweet or what? It’s that kind of glowing endorsement that humbles us and reminds us how special our jobs are, and how lucky we are to get to do what we love.

We started Bello seven years ago, after a disappointing experience with our own wedding. Until then, we had never seriously considered photography as a possible profession, but our personal experience made us take a closer look, particularly at wedding photography. It’s just such a special day and the memories are too precious to not be captured in a  way that preserves them with love and care. We felt strongly that we could do that for other couples. And knowing that people like Amy & Ryan trust us to do that without even having met us….well, let’s just say we feel really honored.

Getting to work with such incredible couples, who value photography and are excited about what we do is just the BEST thing and it confirms over and over again that the decision we made seven years ago was the right one.

Yes, it’s a lot of work, and we’ve had to make some sacrifices along the way, but it’s been totally worth it and heart-felt messages like Amy’s make it even more so and keep us excited about doing what we do! So, thank you Amy & Ryan and all of our wonderful couples for being a bright spot on this rainy day!!!

Big hugs,

Chris & Andy

Meet Amy & Ryan (they provided us this photo….are they adorable or what?!!) Can’t wait to meet you both in person!!!!!

Old San Juan was great…a perfect intro to Puerto Rico! We loved walking around the old town, lined with its blue cobblestone streets and brightly colored buildings. Like any city, the air is thick with excitement, movement and the promise of undiscovered opportunities. Young and old, residents and visitors all mingle together while life moves on at a hustling pace.

Alternatively, life on the tiny island of Vieques, just off the south eastern coast of Puerto Rico, is more languid, but in the best kick-off-your-flipflops-and-have-a-mojito kind of way.

Before the US Navy landed on the island in 1941 to build Camp Garcia, sugar production was the main source of income for the island people. But, the Navy took over nearly two-thirds of the total land from the island’s residents, including most of the land used for farming. Initially, the Navy brought new jobs, mainly in construction of the base. When the sugar was gone and construction complete, many of the island’s residents left. The Puerto Rican government tried between 1945 and the 1960s to re-establish an agricultural economy, but its efforts failed.

In the 10 years that followed, the economy shifted to manufacturing, with the opening of a General Electric plant being the most consistent source of employment. The plant is still in operation.

In May 2003, after more than 60 years of military operations, the US Navy closed Camp Garcia on Vieques after years of struggle over the target practice activies on the base. The final straw came in 1999, when a Navy jet missed its target and dropped two 500-pound bombs close to a Navy observation post, killing a civilian security guard and wounding others.

A few of the Navy’s old ships, rusted and abandoned can still be found in the waters around Vieques and although access to some of the former base is still restricted, visitors can see what’s left of the old bunkers.

The population of Vieques has not changed much through the decades and still remains close to 10,000. However, unemployement runs high. Tourism has gained a foothold on the island, with small hotels and restaurants popping up in Isabella Segunda, the capital located on the north side of the island, and in Esperanza, the island’s southern beach community.

The W Hotels is in the process of completing a mega resort on the island. Its completion will likely bring more tourists with money to spend.

Right now, most of the restaurants and hotels in the small village of Esperanza, where we stayed, were small, unpretentious guest houses owned by expats who’d come on holiday and never left, tempted by the warm aqua-colored water, cool breezes, and the tranquillo lifestyle.

We spent 6 nights in Esperanza, filling our days primarily with card playing, snorkeling, beach glass hunting, reading, and swimming….oh and the occasional Medalla or two (that’s the local beer). We met some really lovely people while there, including Kim & Stefan, a Scituate couple who call Vieques their home away from home. Kim has spent the past 20+ years coming to Vieques for her annual vacation. She knows the island and many of the its inhabitants well. Kim & Stefan were kind enough to take us under their wings and show us some of their favorite spots. We had a blast and expect to see them again.

We also met Ura, aka Michael, a junior in high school, with his boyish good looks, an infectious personality and, we discovered, a soft spot for balding English guys who can do really funny Russian accents. We spent an afternoon with him, talking and playing Rummy 500, while practicing our Spanish and learning a little about life growing up on Vieques.

We hitchhiked one night to and from a local cultural festival, which was held at an old fort in the town of Islabella Segunda. Eli, a young local guy in a suped-up sports car, picked us up and happily drove out of his way before heading to work at the GE plant to take us safely to the festival. And, later that night, a family of 4 picked us up and drove us back to Esperanza. Everyone we met on Vieques was lovely, which speaks volumes of the character of the people of Vieques, given the US Navy’s mistreatment of them and their beautiful island.

Here are some snapshots from our brief, but thoroughly enjoyable visit taken with our little Canon point & shoot camera. Enjoy!

On the ferry ride to Vieques from San Juan we spotted this sunken fishing boat resting on a sandbar (or reef, not sure which)…

Me showing off a giant starfish Andy found while snorkeling.

A shell resting on the shore at Secret Beach, which as we discovered on our second visit, isn’t so secret. But, man, is is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Kim & Stefan led us on an early morning hike to visit one of their favorite spots on the island, an old abandoned light house, where we watched the sunrise. Ahhhh, vacation bliss!!!

Andy grabbed this fun shot of all of us in Stefan’s sunglasses….

The view from El Malecon, the boardwalk that lines the main street in Vieques….not too shabby, eh?

A view of the other end of the Malecon…

This photo just epitomizes the speed of life on the island. This old guy parked his plastic chair in this spot every day and spent most of the day there watching the world walk by…sweet, eh?

Colorful umbrellas kept iguana poop from hitting us while enjoying breakfast at our favorite (okay, the ONLY) breakfast spot in Esperanza. We spent most mornings lounging here for a couple of hours playing cards and munching on eggs & bacon or pancakes. One morning I narrowly escaped being hit by a defficating iguana hanging out in the trees above…and fyi, their poop isn’t small!

On our second visit to Not-So-Secret Beach, we stumbled across these turtle tracks leading to (tracks branching slightly to the right) and from (straight ahead) a nesting spot, under a mangrove bush on the beach….very cool!!! Sadly, we missed our little missus by minutes! Rats!

Andy decided to take a nap by the water and I couldn’t resist making a little sand sculpture out of him. The sand here was perfect for the drippy kind of sand castles I used to love to build as a kid. And, well, two is sometimes better than one. LOL!

An evening in Esperanza wouldn’t be complete without an icy cold Medalla enjoyed on the back deck at La Nasa, overlooking the Caribbean.

Andy waiting for La Nasa to open….

Here we are on the puddle-jumper heading back to San Juan. It was a really fun flight. Strangely, this is the only photo Andy & I have of us together in Puerto Rico….hysterically, he’s looking away, I look crazed and the curious guy behind us seems mildly amused. Priceless! The two guys behind him, Chris & Todd, a fun-looking couple from Chicago, were supposed to meet up with us later that night at the Nuyorican, but we ended up crashing early and never made it….bummer!

I’m not really sure what prompted this next photo, except Andy & I really enjoyed the flight and were being total goofballs. After our quick 20-minute flight, Andy decided he wanted a photo of me getting off the plane, looking like I’d just landed in my private jet. He, of course, lay down on the ground, as he so often does for photos, and here’s how I worked it…..Really? Sadly, I think I’m way more funny than I actually am!

Well, that’s it folks….that’s our Puerto Rican vacation. We hope you enjoyed a look into our holiday almost as much as we enjoyed ourselves! Thanks so much for visiting and for your continued support!!! And as always, keep spreading the love! xo Chris & Andy

The colors were so great in Old San Juan it was hard to not take lots of detail shots. So, here’s just a few more from our 3 days in old town. We hope you enjoy them!

Here’s the hotel we stayed at right in the heart of town…Da House (you can see photos of our room on the site….first room with an outdoor terrace & blue bedspread..although it was a white down comforter when we were there…very cozy). It was a cool place, with a real backpacker’s vibe, although way more chic….very much up our alley. And, starting on Wednesday nights through the weekend, San Juan’s night scene came alive downstairs at the Nuyorican Cafe, a local hot spot for salsa dancing and live music. Things didn’t get jumping until 10 or 11PM, and didn’t stop until nearly 3AM….Arriba!! Here’s the lobby at Da House. And sitting at reception is the very sweet & funny Eduardo. Hola amigo!

The hotel’s cool marble & wrought iron staircase….we were on the 4th floor and got a nice little work out each day, though probably not as much as the housekeeping staff.

There’s nothing terribly special about this next car, and honestly, Andy thought it was kind of a boring photo. But, I just love the light in the image and the contrast between the complimenting colors of the car and the building behind…it just felt very Miami to me. And, with the light, I thought the car looked so shiny…like it could be in an ad. The only thing I would change is to move the car more squarely in front of the pink house, so you don’t see the plywood covering their neighbor’s windows.

An itsy bitsy gecko cautiously watches us while perched on a peace lily.

More great Puerto Rico colors…And I love the contrast of the two signs in different languages. It is indicative of life on the island. Children are taught to speak English beginning in the first grade, so everyone we met, except the cab driver on our way to the airport, spoke perfect English. Kind of ironic that the only time we really got to practice our pitiful Spanish was leaving this lovely country.

A great way to start the morning….lounging on the terrace and watching the world walk by.

I wish we had a neighborhood on the Cape like this…Brightly colored buildings and blue cobblestone streets! Gorgeous!

A different perspective from the same corner…

Back at Pigeon Park, this young woman anticipated a less aggressive feeding experience. There was a lot of screaming involved.

Mornings were often started with a fresh brewed cup of deliciously smooth coffee from the hip Puerto Rico Cafe Cola’o, which had a vibe very similar to our favorite coffee connection here on the Cape, Coffee Obsession in Falmouth. Mmmmm! Puerto Rican coffee has a unique flavor and is one of the countries proud exports. Here’s a link to a cool article about Cafe Cola’o coffee lovers might find interesting.

Now this is a cool car….And I just love the door and wall colors behind.

A male gecko tries to attract the attention of a nearby female….”Hey there hot stuff get a load of my stretchy neck!”

And, tomorrow, for our final installment from our excellent Puerto Rican adventure, we will feature photos from our stay on the delightful island of Vieques. Thanks for visiting! And, if you like what you saw, let us know about it! Warmest wishes, Chris & Andy

The week before we left for Puerto Rico we got together with Kirsten & Dennis for their love session in Cotuit. We had a blast and through chatting, we discovered that Kirsten, an interior designer, had worked on a project at the upscale hotel & casino - Condado Plaza in Puerto Rico. But, she left the firm she had been working at to move to Spain with Dennis, so she never got to see the finished product.

We were planning to spend a couple of days mainly touring Old San Juan, but we couldn’t let this opportunity to get some photos for Kirsten pass by, so we jumped on a publico (public bus) to check out the fruits of Kirsten’s labor. We were blown away. Kirsten said she had designed the lobby’s killer glass-lighted mosiac tile display, and several sitting areas and lounge on the first floor. It’s a very modern, stylized space and we just loved it….almost as much as we love Kirsten & Dennis! (no, not quite…but it’s very cool!)

Check it out….

Kirsten also designed this mural on the hotel’s exterior. It was designed to match the mosiac tile mural in the lobby (next photo). The design also carried through to other areas of the hotel, including the marble floor tile in one of the hotel’s function rooms (below).

The registration desk and the glass tile mosiac. There are lights behind the tiles that make the mosiac a true work of art…cool right? The registration desk itself is also lit from within and the color changes to match various colors in the mosiac. (Check out Where’s Waldo in the photo…sniper boy is at it again!)

I just happened to be wearing all white the day we visited Condado (to show off the paltry tan I had finally acquired after 2 years without having had a proper day at the beach….crazy considering we live 5 minutes from the beach). And, my all white ensemble really fit in well in the ultra modern space….oh so chic! Below is me trying to look aloof for the photo….I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times we tried this before I didn’t look completely ridiculous. I’m still not sure I pulled it off! lol

I’ll just hang out here by this wall while I wait for my mojito….total goofball! But, we had a blast doing our mini modeling session. I think the hotel manager thought we were un poco loco! He came up to us to ask if we needed any assistance and we explained why we were there. He mentioned that the hotel was having a party the following night for some swanky Puerto Rico magazine….I couldn’t tell if he was telling us about it in the hopes that we might come photograph it or what. Had we planned to still be there, we might have come back to rub shoulders with Puerto Rico’s fabulous people.

Part of the lobby

A cool bar off the lobby, although it wasn’t opened. This is where the hotel manager stopped us. I think he said this was where the party would be. Sounds like it’s not a public bar so much as it is available for private functions….but I’m not sure. Very cool looking though! And those glass windows on the right look out over the water, with seating outside.

The other end of the bar.

And finally, a cool little lounge area off the main lobby.

We had fun visiting the hotel….we only wish they had a rooftop bar to hang out at and soak in more of the uber cool vibe. Way to go Kirsten!!! Now, we can’t wait to see what you put together for your wedding…it will no doubt be a stylish soiree, peppered with fabulous personal touches and oozing with the love you & Dennis so obviously share with each other and with those closest to you! See you both again soon!!! Thanks for inspiring a fun vacation detour!

We’ll be posting a few more Old San Juan photos tomorow and our final installment on Monday will feature some shots from our stay on Vieques.