It started thirty years ago. THIRTY YEARS AGO. That’s when they met as children in Thailand. They grew up with parents doing what good parents do: Keeping their children on track and telling them not to rush things.  School comes first.   And so it was that Benjie went to the US to study and Ken, to Sydney, Australia.

Ten years later, Ken moved to the US to be with his beloved.

I don’t want to give too much away though… This is just a teaser post, after all.

Isn’t love absolutely beautiful?

An excerpt from a recent private boudoir session in Philadelphia, PA. The session had a hint of an earlier time period which included  vintage accessories and jewelry from a  collection of pieces I’ve acquired over the years..   The entire session will be published in a fine art book as surprise gift her husband on their wedding night.    He is one lucky guy!

An excerpt of images taken by Shari DeAngelo. Brittany and Marc toughed very cold temperatures at Longwood Gardens and we got to put together a Save the Date slide show for the upcoming wedding at Tavistock Country in Haddonfield, NJ

So what do you get when you mix 2 amazingly beautiful people in love, freezing cold temperatures, a little snow and bright bright sunshine? You get breath you can see, love you can feel and…well OK, you get cold fingertips. But just a little.

Brittany, Marc and I met up at Longwood Gardens to 26 degrees.  We weren’t sure how comfortable we’d be outside for any extended period so Longwood really was the perfect place to pull off a January engagement session.  OK, nearly perfect.  I had put an order in for 4 inches of snow and only about 1.5 fell.  And Marc had visions of water fountains that were off because of the freezing temps.   Still, we needed a place that  represented this outdoors couple. Too bad they don’t allow dogs for photography (then it really would have been perfect)!

We all were pleasantly surprised by how pleasant it was out there. Maybe it was the brisk pace and acreage we covered, but I think it was the good company and fun we were having! Seriously… the most I’ve laughed in a session in a long time!

For example… We were walking around inside the main arboretum when we fell upon the children’s garden area. Marc, without skipping a beat was up on a ledge opening his mouth for the pulsing water fountain to aim so that it was going in his mouth. A second later, Brittany was up there joining in the fun. Just as the water started to spray across and behind them, it hit Brittany square in the back of the head. We were all laughing so hard that I only got one photo that was in focus. Thankfully it was the one I show below.

I am often finding myself amazed at how lucky I am by the couples I get to work with. To say I absolutely adore this couple and can’t wait for their wedding day, is an understatement!

To Brittany and Marc, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to play a small role in your beautiful love story. May 22nd can’t come soon enough!

From this day forth.

I really love a good love story, so when I got the call from Mike McNett about this wedding I jumped at the chance to join him as his second. I love the way Zoey and Ike wove together the traditional aspects of the Nigerian and American cultures and how they honored their families, and most importantly the mothers.

They opted to have a very private moment to see each other (commonly referred to as the “first look”) prior to meeting each other in front of everyone and walking down the aisle together. There was such an amazing and intense moment between the two of them that Mike and I were both fighting our own tears. It was so pure and so beautiful that it reminded us why it is important to take these little moments. We remember all that is behind them and took look forward to the future.

Together. Forever.

This wedding was so romantic and touching that as I put together this blog post, I got choked up all over again.

Those who know me will know that I have a particular weakness for shoes. I was like a little girl squealing when I saw Zoey’s red shoes. So, you know I had to take a shot of those and the ever lovely Zoey granted my whimsical nature with it.

To Zoey and Ike, thank you for having me along and may the best days of your past be the worst days of your future and may you always experience the kind of beautiful love I witnessed that day. Oh and Zoey, can I borrow your shoes now?

Shari DeAngelo Photography | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer & Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t share something with you besides a few images from the day.  The staff at Bear Creek Mountain Resort were outstanding… I mean above and beyond great.    The Wedding Coordinator for this event was Lisa Geiger.   She never missed a beat and was more than on-top of things.  I’ve seen quite a few coordinators and she stands out as one of the better.  The food and service were amazing too, thanks to the capable hands of Jonathan and Jenny.  I was very pleasantly surprised by how organized and pleasant the entire staff was.  Right down to the porter who made sure I never ran out of cranberry juice.  It may seem like a little thing, but if they did that for one of the other vendors, imagine how they took care of the guests.   Indeed it seemed to be the way things are just done there.  I look forward to the next event I get invited to shoot there!

The wedding.  It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony, complete with sun spilling in beyond the soon-to-be snow covered slopes and my own favorite wedding temperature: 65 degrees!!  There was enough positive energy in the crowd to warm anyone who may have preferred warmer temperatures, I’m sure.   It was really really perfect.  Lauren was so beautiful and elegant and Jason looked so calm and collected.  My favorite moment actually occurred as the processional was starting.  Both the the flower girl and the ring bearer were not feeling well and just as they got to the back line of chairs the ring bearer decided he didn’t want to go.  He was held up by one arm and bounced down the aisle off one foot for the remainder of the walk.  We were all laughing and enjoying the good-natured fun.  It was too cute!!

Lauren and Jason.  Just beautiful.  Inside and out.  Thank you for having me along.  May the rest of your lives be as blessed as your wedding day was.

Shari DeAngelo Photography | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer & Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.

This couple contacted me awhile back about some Post Bridal work I’d done at Eastern State Penitentiary.  When Amber told me their story about how they’d gotten married in Niagara Falls and that their wedding photographer didn’t show, it broke my heart.  I was more than happy to oblige their whimsical nature and rock that frock at ESP with them!

And that we did.

She met with my hair and makeup artist prior to our shoot and she looked stunning.  I mean really stunning.  Sam is one of those guys you instantly like when you meet.  That was they case with me.  He had me laughing the entire time we traipsed through Philadelphia.  Our afternoon together started inside the prison then we meandered to some of my favorite corners to photograph subjects.

Eastern State Penitentiary always delights me with the way the light plays off the subjects and how it offers such dramatic views of this historical land mark.  Closed in 1972 it remains as notorious today as it was when it was still a working prison.  Famous prisoners included Al Capone and today you can see his cell, and just how the prison gave certain privileges to this oft idolized mobster.

Although ESP is not the first place some folks think of for romantic backdrops it always ends up being just that.  Everyone leaves with the same feeling.  There’s just something extraordinarily beautiful about a bride and groom celebrating their love amongst ruins.

I am tickled pink to share this most recent session with you.  Please meet Amber and Sam.  Congratulations you two crazy wonderful people!  May your life always be blessed together and may you always find your love, even amongst the ruins!

Shari DeAngelo Photography | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer & Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.

In fact she’s not. She’s stunningly open and beautiful. At 22 she’s grown into an amazing human being. She’s currently in Peru, doing a work study program and her burning desire to see more of the world, and not just be a passer-by, makes me proud to know her. I feel blessed to have had the time to get to know her a little better and am happy to know my son keeps such amazing friends. The world is better for people like her in it.

She chose the Mercer Museum to take her portrait and since I’d never been, I was more than game. It was a lot of fun in a unique environment that bounces crazy light around everywhere. It was pretty hot that day so we were relieved to have found a fan…

Katie, wherever this finds you today, I hope you are loving every minute of your journey. No matter where the path takes you, I hope you always find your way home safely.

Meet the luckiest, most blessed couple I know this year.

It was just a passing storm, I thought. But I was wrong. Flash flooding and sheets of horizontal rain meant our planned Informals weren’t meant to be. Still it was the most beautiful ceremony and the church was gorgeous. And a little rain didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the bridal party or wedding guests. It was a great time… Thank you Chris and Shannon, for having us along!

Here’s a teaser of some of the images from the day. We ran the gamut from classic stylings to… well, just you wait. You’ll see what craziness Mike cooked up with hilarious results, in the Photo Booth in my next blog post for this wedding.

In the meantime…

Shari DeAngelo | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer | Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles  and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA.  Local and Destination services available.

These two are so much fun and absolutely adorable. I cannot wait until their wedding. There’s something special about two people who are really just so amazing together and madly in love. It’s just…well really beautiful. Meet Mary and Zach. Ain’t love grand?

We got so many amazing pictures that picking a handful for the blog was difficult. I still have so many more to go through. For now, though… a teaser. Here’s a handful to enjoy while I finish up the rest.

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Shari DeAngelo | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer | Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles  and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA.  Local and Destination services available.