This week I’ve been a little off. I’ve been fighting a stubborn cold and stressing a bit over work and life. I did a few things right, like shot my first wedding of the season and got most of my info together for tax time (yay) but also did some other things very wrong and very unlike me, like taking a long time to respond to emails and even forgetting to call a client at a scheduled time (eep).  Luckily, I have my cold to blame for my cloudy head and unusual behavior!

I should rest this weekend. But I’m really bad at doing what’s good for me, so instead I’m going down to New York to meet up with family and some friends from college that I haven’t seen in a few months. Now I will have only myself to blame for any unusual behavior from this point forward. ;)

A photo from the last time I saw the aforementioned friends, over New Year’s (sun setting on the river-whose-name-escapes-me in Gibson Island, MD):

I shot Grace and Alex’s wedding this past weekend and have so many fun photos to look through! For now, a sneak peek!

I recently posted about the new Wedding Planning Templates from Google and thought I’d include a few other helpful sites that I think would be useful during wedding planning (i.e. if I were planning a wedding for myself, these sites are where I would start!).

First, for you local folks, is Beantown Bride. This is a site that was recently launched to cater to Boston area couples looking for inspiration and vendors for their wedding. I really don’t know why it took so long for someone to finally start a local resource like this. New England weddings have a personality all their own, and I think this site does a great job of presenting the types of celebrations that take place here. It includes real weddings from vendors in the area, tips and tricks related to preparing for the big day, and interviews with professionals in the industry. It’s a great place to start your search.

Another great site is my Kate Parker Wedding. Think of it as your online wedding planner, or as a more organized alternative to having a scrapbook of all of the images of gowns and other details that you’ve ripped out of magazines. But the site goes further, allowing you to really tailor your planning experience by your location, budget, style, season, etc. You can search inspiration boards, search details by color, find vendors based on the style of weddings that they’ve shot and that you’re looking for, and much more. Check it out!

Another great site to visit is WeddingBee. It’s a blog written by real brides during the wedding planning process and even through the big day and post-honeymoon. It’s a fun way to get personal with the planning process and learn what others are going through and to come across topics you may not have even thought of. The site also includes forums where you can chat with other brides, classifieds where you can buy/sell wedding related items or connect with vendors offering their services, find do-it-yourself inspiration, and more. Definitely worth a visit!

I hope this helps! I’ll make sure to post more helpful sites as I come across them.

Some images from a walk I took along the Charles. I was really fascinated by the ice and snow on the river. And I can’t believe the photos below were taken within this past week. The weather has been so dreary these past few days!

As part of my packages, I give couples a disc of their wedding images, all enhanced and ready to print. What exactly do I mean by “enhanced?” A lot of people don’t know it but a lot of back-end work goes into editing a wedding after all the shooting is done. Everything you see here on my blog has been processed in some way or another. I don’t mean that I do anything too crazy like smooth out wrinkles or remove blemishes (unless you want me to). I fix exposure, color-correct, tweak highlights and shadows, and add a little warmth. My style is very natural so people often don’t realize that I do any editing at all–that is, until they see the final image next to the original.

Some examples, just so you see what I mean. The first image in each pairing is the straight-out-of-the-camera image and the second is the one that has been enhanced by me.

People often ask if I give away the RAW or un-enhanced “digital negatives” to my couples, and at the moment I don’t. I don’t believe in giving away what I consider unfinished work to clients. Part of the reason is that I think what differentiates one photographer from another is not only what he/she is able to capture but how he/she is able to present it (e.g. through processing techniques). The other reason is that I just enjoy processing images; it’s my way to leave my mark!

Hope this helps to satiate some of your curiosity. :)