February 2007


I had a busy three days in New York this trip… I am in a wedding May 2008 so I was in for my friend Vinny’s Engagement party and I shot his session and another client as well. I arrived Thursday morning on a red-eye at 5:15 at Newark Airport. From there I bused into the city to visit my aunt and uncle in Chinatown. My aunt picked up some dim-sum, I caught a quick nap then we walked down to the financial district and “Ground Zero.” The plans for the Freedom Tower and September 11th memorial are amazing; the whole complex is going to be unbelievable. What was even more powerful was my uncles account of what he was doing that day, he is a firefighter in Manhattan. Finally, we ate at my favorite noodle shop, Bo Ky! Yum!

Vinny finished work around 4:00 on Thursday so we headed to Staten Island. Big Vin (Vinny’s Dad) cooked for us Thursday and Friday nights, great authentic Italian food! Big Vin has a special name for guys like us… The “Woozyman” : we cook, we clean, and use power tools! After dinner I got the pleasure of meeting Devin, Vinny’s fiancé, and we took in a little Grey’s Anatomy.

Friday we drove to New Jersey to see the “Hall”, that’s what the wedding venues are referred to in the Northeast. It was absolutely beautiful! They were strictly weddings, and strictly business. The place is called Florentine Gardens. We finished the day by shooting the engagement session around Staten Island with two key points: Verrazano Bridge and the Skippy’s Hot Dog truck where they met.

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The engagement party was Saturday night so all the families and the people in the bridal party got to meet. There are twenty-three people in the bridal party not including the four kids! I’m glad I’m not shooting this one… Everyone had a great time!

I was original suppose to fly out on Monday but a snow and ice storm was coming Sunday night so I changed my flight. (That’s a different post, nightmare travel day) So Sunday morning I went back to the city to shoot Alyssa and David’s engagement session. They live in Manhattan but are getting married at the St. Regis in Laguna this summer. We had a great shoot and it wasn’t too cold at all. We hit the following places: Wall Street, Stock Exchange, Wall St. Subway stop, Meat Packing District, Pier 37 by the Brooklyn Bridge, and Soho all in two hours!

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Boutwell Studio’s “Old Skool” Action: Photographer’s check it out HERE!

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This is part one of my two wedding post from this past weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful! After all the rain the skys were clean, clear, and blue with nice clouds. All the girls got ready at the Montage and the ceremony was at San Antonio Catholic Church in Anahiem Hills. The reception was stunning as always at Seven-Degrees with their Winter decor. They are also having an “Open House” for all brides March 9th and 10th. Check out the square cake stand that has three seperate tiers!

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This is Part two of my February wedding weekend. I had two Kevin’s this weekend that was easy for my assistant’s to learn. Lorraine and Kevin were married at Mariner’s Church in Irvine and the reception was at Prego’s! The food was unbelievalbe, I highly recommend trying dinner there if it’s anything like the wedding.

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This post is a tribute to all the brides I had the pleasure of photographing in 2006!  This book is currently in production and will be at the studio for all my future clients to see. I want to thank each of you for an awesome year, your biggest compliments have been your referrals. I can’t even begin to express my appreciation! Please check out the SLIDESHOW of MY brides.

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