In New England, planning a wedding in the winter can be like playing a game of Russian roulette.  Certainly the summer carries it’s own potential weather problems, but in general, in Massachusetts, most weddings occur during the warmer months.  You may get rained on, or a hurricane might whip through town, but you can be pretty certain it won’t snow.  The thing is, photos from a wedding set in a winter wonderland are gorgeous.  You can have your cake and eat it too!  Steve and Courtney got married on the beach during the summer surrounded by all of their friends and family with the warmth of the summer sun.  Then, a year and a half later, they ‘Rocked the Dress’ in a photography session on the beach in the winter, with snow!

By now, most people have heard about the “Trash the Dress” phenomenon. The thought is, you spent a lot of money on a wedding gown and you got to wear it for one, albeit glorious, day.  So why not don your dress once again and get some fabulous, fierce photos?  I like to “Rock” a Dress, rather than trash it. Trashing may occur, but it’s not always necessary. Rocking it is just so much more … well, rock star.  Besides having fun getting dressed up and wearing your gown again, a couple’s Rock the Dress session can be a reminder of why you got the dress in the first place. A few days after the shoot I received an email from Courtney saying, “Steve and I (and Bodie too) had a blast and could not stop telling all of our friends about how fun the whole experience was …  Later that night Steve and I went out for a nice dinner to celebrate our “second marriage,” and to create a perfect ending to a perfect day.  I honestly must say this really was such wonderful experience for both of us.”

Here are a few (ok a lot, I had a rough time choosing photos for this blog post, but there are a lot more!) examples from our winter Rock the Dress. Enjoy!

Love was definitely in the air. But being surrounded by snow, how can you possibly pass up a snowball fight? Dousing your hubby with snow is just too tempting!

The photography session would not have been complete without their Labrador Retriever, Bodie.  He was such a good pup and provided us with a lot of reasons to smile!  Sadly, a few months back Bodie was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, a result of an irresponsible breeder.  Frustrated and angry, Courtney and Steve set out to help the cause. They’ve formed a dogs with MD support group, as well as helped to raise money for humans with MD. Please check out http://www.mdausa.org/ to see how you can help.

..:: Man and his best friend ::..

Photography is a collaboration, even if it’s just between the photographer and the subject.  However this time we had loads of help! Thanks to Ashley Brecken who did Courtney’s hair + makeup, my husband for being our “Lighting Guy,” Courtney’s family who helped dog sit and Courtney + Steve (and dog Bodie!) for being amazing and willing models! Thanks to everyone for braving the February chill, we had a fun winter wedding on the beach in New England.  Or at least we have the pictures that say we did

:.. Winer wedding on the beach ..:

We met in the morning, but that did not seem to matter to the weather one iota.  The sun was beating and the heat was sweltering!  Little did I know that was really a foreshadowing of the entire summer to come   We had some fun running, jumping, { smiling } and generally enjoying the beach on a gorgeous hot summer day ….. the photos:

:: Mom LOVE ::

Susan Kanoff, clothing stylist of A Great New Look spearheaded the project and ultimately Brenda Taylor was chosen as the winner. You can read an extended version of her story here.  Recently separated from her husband, Brenda is also a recent survivor of a pulmonary embolism and was diagnosed with diverticulitis.  From January to March, she was in and out of the hospital and due to these tragedies, lost her job.  She and her two children lost the house they were living in.  However awful these life events were, the fact remains not many people survive a pulmonary embolism.  Brenda is a fighter and has an amazing positive spirit.

Brenda has received many generous donations including: before and after photos and family portraits by me, Wardrobe Styling by Susan Kanoff, Hair and beauty by Fia Salon, a gift certificate from Thirty Petals, Make-up application for photo shoot by Elizabeth Moon, clothing from Bien Abyé by Dayanne Danier, silk jacket by Michelle Mulligan, bra-fitting, shapewear and hosiery from Night & Day, jewelry by JulRe Designs Exquisite Wearable Art Jewelry by Juliet Renee Williams,  life coaching by Ginny Williams, dress from Shabby Apple, spa treatments from L’Essentiel Spa, Personal training provided by Bobby Sanford Personal Training, a gorgeous handbag from Passport Boutique, Transformational Life Coaching sessions by Fran Spayne and the grand prize of lifetime of health from Mediweightloss of Wakefield and Watertown valued at $10,000.00!.

Without further ado, the TRANSFORMATION! Brenda’s beauty transformation took place on June 25th at Fia’s Salon in Newton, MA.  Her daughter Susan came along for the ride. Susan was the one to nominate her mother.

:: The official “Before” Shots of Brenda ::

:: Brenda sits in the chair, waiting for the transformation to begin.  Part of the team on the makeover day included (L-R) Susan Kanoff, Fran Spayne + Michelle Mulligan ::

:: A celebratory cheers had by all ::

:: The extraordinarily talented Fia colors Brenda’s hair ::

:: (R) Fia mixes color in her fabulous vault (her space used to be a bank) ::

:: (L) Fia finalizes Brenda’s new do as Fran (R) and Susan work on Brenda’s new wardrobe ::

:: Elizabeth Moon gave an amazing beauty lesson + worked her magic on Brenda ::

:: AFTER! ::

:: Brenda modeling a few pieces of her new wardrobe ::

:: Brenda + her daughter Susan ::

:: Makeover day team: (L-R): Susan, Susan, Elizabeth, Fia, Michelle, Brenda in front, me behind the camera ::

I’ll be photographing the before and after portraits, it’s gonna be so much fun!  Head over to boston.skirt.com for entry details.  The contest begins April 1st and all entries must be received by April 20, 2010.

There are some really great people involved:

• Us! Crabapple Photography
• Susan Kanoff, Fashion Coach
• Fia’s Salon & Spa
• Thirty Petals
• JulRe Designs
• Passport Boutique
• Medi-Weight Loss
• Elizabeth Moon Make-up Artist
• Shabby Apple
• Life Coach Ginny Williams
• Michele Mulligan Designs
• Bien Abyé by Dayanne Danier
• Night & Day
• L’Essentiel Spa
• Transformational Coach Fran Spayne
• Bobby Sanford Personal Training
• Skirt! Magazine – Boston

Special thanks to Katie, Karla & Kristin & dress by Ari.

Taken with my sx-70 in SF in September ’07 which I recently realized was broken.  Sometimes shooting with my dSLR can feel like a job.  Not my sx-70. Never.

Update* She’s alive and breathing! Thanks you SX-70!