Crista Acosta Photography »

Salena and Danny got married a few weeks ago at the absolutely lovely Hermitage Inn located in Vermont.  They had an intimate ceremony filled with laughs, love, and a teary eye or two.  The chemistry between them is nothing short of incredible, and it’s so abundantly clear that they have found their partners, their match – in each other.  The weather was amazing as they stood with the mountains as their backdrop, and once the night air got cool, they headed in for one of the most memorable receptions we’ve had this season.  Lovely toasts, seriously incredible food, and a crowd of friends and family that were dancing so hard they literally started dancing the floor apart.  That’s the kind of wedding I can get down with!  At one point their was a little audio glitch, and ever the entertainer (partly because he’s in a super awesome band), Danny grabbed the mic and started singing a capella to the crowd.  Amazing night, amazing couple.

Salena and Danny, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your wedding with us.

A ridiculously huge thank you to Barbara for shooting this wedding with me… for your attention to detail, creative ideas, and keeping me sane in the midst of busy season… thank you!!

Can I just for a second gush about our 2012 couples?  I absolutely adore every.single.one. of them.  We are in for an amazing year of weddings, and I can’t wait.  Tim and Kate are way high up the list of super awesome couples we get to work with, and their engagement session was just a little taste of how wonderful their wedding day will be.  These two have such an ease together, he with his infectious sense of humor, and she with her sweet smile.  My cheeks actually hurt when I left this session from smiling so much.

We started our session off in downtown Essex, and because of the unpredictable September weather were able to get two totally different feels for their engagement session.  First a little fall vibe, and ladies – can we gush about Kate’s boots?  I may or may not have scoured Zappos for 2 hours trying to find them.  These first few have such a quintessential New England vibe to them… l love the setting here.

Then we headed over to Tim’s family’s house on the beach and the stormy sky was just gifting us such beautiful light!

Thanks again guys, I can’t wait for your wedding!!

Salena and Danny are getting married this weekend at a quaint little inn up in Vermont.  Barbara and I are very much looking forward their wedding, but for now… here’s a little peek into their engagement session that I did a few weeks ago.  Bright and early in the morning, the sun shone down on these two as Danny’s fingers strummed his guitar and music filled the park.  These two together, are purely amazing.

There comes a time in your life where you begin to choose your family path.  You choose your spouse, you choose to have children, and if you’re really super lucky, you wind up choosing friends who become family.  Our history with the Q’s is rich, and deep.  I first met Justin a lifetime ago when I had just started working in Corporate America.  His desk was diagonal across from mine, and we passed the long hours of the day with sarcastic jokes and people watching.  He was there in the very early days of C and I dating, and when he first met Alana, he confided in me within days that he was certain she was the one.  I was so nervous to meet her for the first time, because I really hoped that we would get along.  We did, and I’m so grateful that Justin chose her, because I gained an amazing friend out of that connection.  We have shared in each other’s wedding days, and they were among the first few people to meet L.A. as a brand new baby in the hospital.

As the years have gone on our friendship with them has grown, and taken deep roots in our lives.  They have seen us cry, they’ve been there in our hardest days, they’ve celebrated victories with us, and they love our children fiercely.  They are the kind of friends who insist on babysitting because they know C and I desperately need a few hours alone, the friends that can come over with us all in sweats on the weekend and not raise a brow.  They understand that our little people are small, and we can’t always make last minute plans, and thus they often bring the fun to us.

They know us, flaws and all, and love us anyway.

So when Alana asked me one summer night about taking pictures of them, I immediately said yes.  Inside though, I was a ball of nerves.  There’s more at stake when you’re capturing people you really care about, people that you completely love.  When it’s family.  So I simply hope I’ve captured a small fraction of how amazing these two are.

Christina and Mike are one of those couples that you can’t help smile when you’re around.  Possibly the two sweetest people on earth, it’s no surprise that they found their forevers in each other.  She with her classic beauty and infectious enthusiasm, he with his kind soul and gentle smile.  It was an honor to be a part of their wedding day.  A day filled with love and laughter, thoughtful and touching speeches, a beautiful song written by the bride’s brother for the new couple and performed as a surprise for them during the reception, and dancing to the grooves of ETA Music that nearly shook the historic and elegant Union League Cafe to the ground.

I need to pause here and give a big shout out to Barb for the picture below.  I love this shot so much, I wish I had taken it!

Christina and Mike, congratulations on your beautiful wedding day, but more importantly on your marriage.  This is only the start of the best adventure you two will ever tackle together!

Lastly, a huge shout out to the Weddingistas for their amazing attention to detail and help coordinating this amazing day.

Amanda and Jake… I’m not really sure where to start with these two.  From the first moment I met them, I knew I wanted to photograph their wedding.  The way their eyes lit up when they talked about becoming husband and wife, the amazing details they planned to incorporate, but more than anything who they were together.  Their wedding day was filled with incredible hand made items, from the flowers and favors cut from a plant that a beloved teacher had given Amanda many years ago, to the silhouettes of the bride and groom at their bridal table, the hand strung paper hearts, beautiful antique window seating chart, the teacup planters used to line the aisle, but perhaps most impressive the aisle itself the Jake painstakingly laid stones and cut moss to allow it to grow over the rocks for his bride to be to walk down on their wedding day.  There was magic in the woods that day.

Undeterred by a morning of heavy rain, and a slightly muddy ceremony site, the love shined through the trees as Amanda and Jake promised their forevers to each other.  As the day grew dark, the temperature dipped and the rain picked up again, fancy shoes were traded for waterproof ones, socks were added to outfits and jackets were pulled from trunks – but the love of the night still hung heavy in the air, balking at mother nature’s attempt to put a damper on the day.

Amand and Jake – thank you so much for having Barbara and I as a part of your wedding day.

I met up with Christina and Mike last week on one of those beautiful spring like days we had, and we explored the campus of Yale together.  These two swore they weren’t great in front of the camera, but they were amazing.  Engagement sessions are such a great time for me to get to know my couples better, to see how they are in front of the camera, and more importantly – for them to get to know me and see how I work, from the touchy feely way I have with posing to the verbal nonsense that flows out of my mouth.  They are fun, relaxed sessions with a little bit of sass thrown in there, and these two rocked it!

Mike and Christina – I can’t wait for your wedding!!

You know those people you meet that 3 seconds into your first conversation you feel like you’ve known them forever?  The ones that become instant friends because there just isn’t an option not to be, almost as if it were already mapped out for you?  Amanda and Jake are those people.  From my first chance meeting with Amanda, I just knew that I wanted to be a part of her wedding day… and when I met Jake and saw them together, I was 100% certain.  These two have “it”.  That chemistry that you can’t deny, the love that is so visible you are forced to take notice.  During their engagement session, I did minimal directing… they just knew what to do – to be together and in love – and it shows.

We had originally planned to try and do a snowy engagement session, thinking just a dusting on the ground with snow softly falling around them… but well, we all know how this winter turned out.  So we went a totally different route, and I’m so glad we did.  Love these images.

The hat, the lamp posts, the kiss.  Love this one!