Wedding: Merideth & Rory at XV Beacon Hotel, Boston

Merideth and Rory had a lovely, intimate wedding at XV Beacon Hotel in downtown Boston. Their nearest and dearest were treated to a gourmet dinner at Mooo and a touching display of the couple’s love! I started the day with Merideth and her breathtaking dress in one of the hotel’s suites, followed by the ceremony in Mooo’s wine cellar (rain forced us down from the roof deck, unfortunately). The weather did cooperate later, though, and we were able to do some portraits outside – gotta love Boston streets for photos! The hotel offered some nice settings, as well. The reception took place back in the wine cellar where there were some hilarious toasts (and using both candles and iPhones to light up the speeches people had written down – it was a bit dark down there!) and a good time was had by all.

Thank you, Merideth and Rory, for having me with you on your wedding day! It was fabulous!

Venue: XV Beacon Hotel, Mooo Restaurant

Florist: Table and Tulip

Makeup: Yvette Cordio

Hair: Beaucage Salon

Dress: Alvina Valenta

Andrea’s Bridal Shower at Upstairs on the Square, Cambridge

I had the wonderful experience of photographing Andrea’s bridal shower at Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge – the best little restaurant with the most personality. We had the Zebra Room all to ourselves and oh, what a decorating scheme! White and black and pink pink pink! Add in a springy green brought in by Andrea’s shower hosts and it was just beautiful. A tea party is a classic and fun shower theme and I never, ever turn down a scone. Or a candy bar!

Andrea’s friends and family were so sweet – there were heartfelt toasts and much spirited conversation. The groom even stopped in as a surprise with flowers for his bride!

Thanks for having me, Andrea! Best of luck with your wedding!

Featured: Crystal Blue Wedding Studio Blog

Julie Sterling Photography has been featured on the Crystal Blue Wedding Studio Blog! This blog is the go-to resource for everything wedding in the Cayman Islands and is indispensable for brides planning their destination weddings in this tropical paradise. Danielle of Crystal Blue is such a delight and so knowledgeable; her website is truly amazing.

Laura and Sacha‘s gorgeous island event was just published on the blog and looks lovely!

Take a peek: http://www.crystalblueweddings.com/cayman-islands-wedding-at-the-caribbean-club-and-luca/

The following is taken from Crystal Blue Weddings, all copyright to Danielle and Crystal Blue. Thanks for showcasing our work!

 

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I’m so excited to share this wedding with you today, you have no idea!  Why, you ask?  Well, Laura (the bride) is an avid Crystal Blue Weddings reader and she and I corresponded throughout her planning process.  The wedding planner in me just loves the whole process and seeing it all come together (beautifully) in the end.  Plus, after it all, I feel like we’re friends and I just love when my friends get married!!

Let’s start at the beginning…

When the guests arrived to Grand Cayman, they were greeted with a welcome bag full of goodies!

Good start, right??  The couple and their guests enjoyed a welcome dinner at Hemingways just a few steps down the beach from Caribbean Club and of course a few days of lounging on the stunning Seven Mile Beach!

Moving on to the wedding day, Laura and Sacha exchanged vows on the pristine beach of the Caribbean Club followed by dinner and dancing at LUCA.

The clean white color palatte with pops of teal and green really made a beautiful combination for this day!

Gorgeous letterpress menus…dying.  You guys know how I feel about stationery and that color–we are destined for each other!

Congratulations Laura and Sacha!  Thank you SO much for allowing us to share your day and we wish nothing but the best for you!

Providers who made this day happen ::

Accommodation and ceremony venue ::  Caribbean Club

Coordination, floral and event rentals ::  Celebrations

Photography ::  Julie Sterling Photography

Reception venue ::  LUCA

New Orleans: The Signs of the French Quarter

One of the things you have to do as a tourist in New Orleans is stroll through the French Quarter. It just doesn’t look like anywhere else I’ve ever been! A perfect mix of old and new, the cute and the trashy, there’s something for everyone.

I was particularly taken by the vintage-style hanging signs for every store. I made it my personal project of the day to document my favorites.

Rue Royal, Rue Chartres, and Rue Decatur have particularly lovely signage:

I was very tempted to get my palm or cards read, but I didn’t … next time!

It becomes very obvious when you’ve come upon Bourbon Street:

And then it gets cute and obvious when you’ve wandered into gay Bourbon:

It truly was a feast for the eyes, a photographer’s dream …

More NOLA beauty and madness to come … so, stay tuned!

New Orleans: The Magical Carousel Bar

I had the pleasure of visiting New Orleans last week for the Imaging USA 2012 conference, and whoa did I learn a lot there! With 3-4 daily sessions over three days (starting at 7AM – yikes!), a huge trade show, and fun parties, it was an experience. I was beyond thrilled to be able to stay a few more days and explore the city, too. I have a million photos to share, but one of my favorite places was definitely the Carousel Bar.

The history in New Orleans is incredibly rich, and the Carousel Bar fits right in. It is in the French Quarter, but is eons away from raucous Bourbon Street in style and atmosphere. I felt like I was transported to another time as soon as I stepped through the doors of the Hotel Monteleone and into this gem of a bar.

The bar really does rotate! It took a moment to get used to, but then we were happy to be there for the ride (it takes 15 minutes to make a full rotation, so it’s not like you’re being whipped around!). I had a lovely Pisco Sour crafted by the most knowledgeable and genial bartender I’ve ever met, Marvin. It was delicious! He also let us try a bit of the bar’s famous Sazerac, the official drink of New Orleans. Marvin’s version has more absinthe and cognac instead of whiskey, and it was incredible.

I was reading Erin Morgenstern’s fabulous book, The Night Circus, at the time (loved it) and stepping into the Carousel Bar fit with her circus theme so well. I just loved this place! I highly recommend it to anyone visiting New Orleans.

More NOLA fun to come …

Home for the Holidays: This is the Life

When I’m home for the holidays, we do stuff like … have impromptu photoshoots all over the place! My sisters can’t help themselves:

We’re supposed to be taking a holiday photo, but most of our takes come out like this:

Bless Tyler, he is such a good sport and doesn’t even blink in the midst of our particular brand of madness. He just goes along with it all…

We take our little brother miniature golfing, and he loves it! Right?

Tyler eats Mexican food everywhere we go, even Cafe 50’s. Little brother learns about high-volume eating from Tyler:

We take pictures at the pier, at the pier’s carousel, and under the pier. Just because.

 

Tyler runs from our house to the pier to meet us (he’s very good at still getting exercise on vacation):

My mom is beautiful:

AND, if anyone wants a signed print of my sister looking AMAZING in her Disneyland cast member’s outfit right before she goes to work, please let me know in the comments. She’s willing to sign a limited number for your pure unadulterated enjoyment!

I love going home for the holidays (and other days, too!)!

Wedding: Brenna & Brian at Upstairs on the Square, Cambridge

11.11.11 was an epic day for weddings, and I was lucky enough to celebrate it with Brenna and Brian and their lovely families at Upstairs on the Square, one of my favorite restaurants in Cambridge.

We started the day at Brenna’s parents’ house in the fading afternoon light, perfect for portraits of the dress and shoes, and later the lovely bride …

There is no more gorgeous time of year for portraits than fall, with its burst of colors and textures. The neighborhood was a perfect backdrop for Brenna’s bridal shots:

We had to leave the nieces and nephews at home (recognize any of them? I photographed them last year when they were even wee-er little things) when we ventured on the Upstairs on the Square for the adults-only evening wedding. Upstairs is a riot of color and decoration that rivals the natural beauty of autumn, but in an entirely different way. The Jewel Box Room was an amazing space for this celebration:

Brenna and Brian were so sweet when they saw each other for the first time, but totally chill about it, too. This intimate wedding was all about them, their families, fun, and no fuss. I loved the laid-back atmosphere!

A ceremony in front of a fireplace altar sounds nice, and so it was:

After the short and sweet ceremony, and some speeches that made me tear up, we went outside to Winthrop Street and Winthrop Park right by the restaurant for some night photos of the happy couple:

It was an enchanted evening for Brenna and Brian and all involved, and Upstairs on the Square’s magical atmosphere only added to the greatness of this 11.11.11 wedding. Thanks so much for having me be a part of it all!

For more from Brenna and Brian’s wedding, she the slideshow here: http://www.juliesterlingphoto.com/BrennaBrianWeddingSlideshow/index.html

Sneak Peek: Brenna & Brian

On 11.11.11, many people got married, but two especially fabulous people had me document their day. We went from incredible natural vibrancy in the form of fall leaves at the bride’s parents’ house to the incredible designed vibrancy of one the of best restaurants in Cambridge: Upstairs on the Square. There is so much more to come from Brenna and Brian, but here’s a little peek!

Wedding, Hurricane Edition: Cynthia and Patrick

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Irene came up to visit us here in the Northeast, and she didn’t take into account the fact that there were lovely weddings planned for that weekend! How dare she. And so, I have this story to tell you, and it is one to remember!

Cynthia and Patrick flew all the way from my hometown of Los Angeles for their wedding, only to be completely foiled by the weather. The morning of the wedding, I got a tearful call from the bride: the caterer had canceled (something about how they can’t work when Massachusetts declares a state of emergency), and then the venue pulled out as well because they only work with the one caterer. That I do not understand at all (couldn’t they have bent the rules just this once? It could have been bring-your-own food, even, and it would have still worked!). It was barely raining out and just a bit windy, hardly a hurricane. Boston got very lucky and was barely touched!

Yet, we were without a venue or a caterer, and the DJ and planner were connected to the venue, so as far as vendors went, it was me, and the cake. That was all we had to go on.

Cynthia handled everything with such grace, I was truly impressed. She made the decision to go ahead with the wedding, even though it was not going to be at all like she and Patrick had planned, and had the sunniest attitude on the gloomiest day of the summer. In only a few short hours, family and friends pitched in to relocate the event to a cousin’s bar in Quincy. It was so touching to see everyone band together to pull it off for this amazing couple.

Cynthia prepared at a nearby motel and managed to laugh at the turn of events.

Cynthia gifted her bridesmaids the most adorable matching kimonos, so we had to get a shot of them all together:

While the ladies got ready, friends and family were simultaneously prepping The Commonwealth Restaurant and Lounge for the ceremony and reception. Now, it may not be what the bride and groom planned or wanted, but getting married in a night club is pretty amazing, and SUCH a good story:

The hurricane pretty much passed Boston by, though there were a fair amount of trees down, including one in front of The Commonwealth:

And in the end, it truly doesn’t matter where you get married, because hey! You’re getting MARRIED! Cynthia and Patrick’s ceremony was absolutely lovely. I’ve never before heard a bride say that she hopes to rock her husband like a hurricane in her vows, and I will probably never hear it again!

After all the drama of putting the wedding together in four hours, we made sure we had plenty of time for Cynthia and Patrick to relax and get some portraits made to remember this day. Luckily, The Commonwealth is full of interesting areas to shoot in!

As unconventional as the circumstances were, the program for the evening progressed as usual, going from portraits to dances to speeches and cake and all. It was so great to see Cynthia and Patrick have a fabulous time, after all the day threw at them.

And when it was time to boogie, boogie we did!

All in all, this wedding was a good lesson in planning, and how sometimes it just doesn’t go as planned, and going with the flow, and all that good stuff. I had such a wonderful time with Cynthia and Patrick and their friends and family – everyone was so amazingly sweet and happy and glad to be there. And boy does everyone have a good story to tell!

See more of Cynthia and Patrick’s hurricane wedding here: http://www.juliesterlingphoto.com/Cynthia_PatrickSlideshow/index.html

The song is Florence and the Machine’s “Hurricane Drunk” because even though the lyrics aren’t totally appropriate, I couldn’t help myself …

Cuchi Cuchi: The Grand Video Finale!

It’s been a Cuchi Cuchi week here at Julie Sterling Photography, but I can’t help myself! I am so obsessed with this place, from the glamorous vintage outfits to the delicious food and tasty cocktails to the stylish decor and the friendly and fabulous wait staff. I would seriously live at Cuchi Cuchi if I could! I feel so lucky to have spent so much time at this restaurant for this project.

And now, the grand finale of said project, my Cuchi Cuchi video!

This was my first experience with professional audio equipment and putting something together in FinalCutPro. New software is always a fun learning experience! Layering interview tracks and music and coordinating photos was challenging, but fun, and I’m really happy with the result. I hope you enjoy watching (and go eat at Cuchi Cuchi – I know I will be there again as soon as I possibly can!)!

… And darlings, have a fabulous night!