After our fairly long blogging hiatus, we're back! We've got a new look, thanks to the ever fabulous Beth + Mark over at Hero Design. We've been shooting like mad this summer, and we have a TON of stuff to show you guys.

We decided to pause on blogging while we were updating our look and contributing to our vanishing act is that we've been down a worker (aside from shooting) this summer. I've basically had my head in a toilet for the past six months as we're expecting in early December! We hadn't officially announced it yet, so there's our announcement, but it's meant Rich has taken over basically everything involved in the business, so he's been editing like mad and trying to keep up on email, meetings, and all things business, and we decided to pause on blogging until our shooting schedule slowed a bit and the new look was ready.

Anyway, so here we are! It's awesome to be back, and I couldn't be more excited to share all of the wonderful couples we've been shooting this summer. We're starting off with Erin + Raff who had us out to their family's property at Conesus Lake for their gorgeous "backyard" wedding.

(Also, apologies for the severe length of this blog post. I keep telling myself I'm going to reign in this posts to a more manageable size, but then I start looking through their day, and I just can't help myself!!)

One of the nice things about our long break in blogging was that it makes me excited to start again. No wedding photographer is ever going to openly say they're burned out or they're not looking forward to every shoot and blog post with the ebullience of a kid on Christmas morning. While I'll never get mentally tired of photographing the couples and families we have the privilege to work with, the business does get tough to keep up in the thick of the summer months and sometimes something has to give so your performance doesn't slack off. Our new look and brand feel excites me, too, because I think it's really "us" now. Our old look was us when we first made this blogsite in 2008, but things have changed a lot in our lives and in the clients we're photographing, and I think we're more focused than ever on the kind of couples we want to work with. (Also kindof psyched that our circa 2008 headshot/talk bubble things are long gone. No one should ever see me without my beard).

Anyway, clearly our ability to ramble on and get the text sections of a post fast-scrolled has not diminished in any way. As you were saying up top, this wedding was kindof a dream. We love Erin and Raff, just love them and their story and obviously their wedding day choices. Big time kudos go to Erin and her family and Raff and his - and to Lisa, a Rochester, NY wedding planner who was really a pleasure for us to work with. Thank you all, and thank you to anyone I'm not mentioned here who helped put on this wedding day. This was a totally kick-ass affair.

First look and portraits ahead of time? Hell yes.

Yeah - having the freedom to go right from your ceremony to your guests and cocktail hour/reception is pretty key when you're doing everything together - I know a first look isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it really does free up a timeline and allow for a more relaxed day. Also, I'll say I don't believe Erin or Raff were any less emotional when they saw each other at the start of the ceremony, even though they'd been together the previous two hours :) It's kindof maybe a big deal when your marriage is about to begin.

I love that photo you took of Erin and her dad in the woods before the ceremony. That shot is everything I love about the way we shoot a wedding day. Oh, and before I forget, String Theory out of Rochester played the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception and were AWESOME. I'm a bluegrass fan, but even if I wasn't it would have been hard not to dance with these guys playing.

Seriously, check out the view for this ceremony. It was perfect.

No doubt - the view was killer, the ceremony was fantastic - it really couldn't have been more perfect. And the reception was just stunning - Lisa, the planner, carried it out perfectly, but made sure she gave credit to Erin - the styling was all Erin's vision, and it was just gorg.

I just thought it fit in every way with what I know about Erin and Raff, and I think that's what makes a wedding day really memorable and special. The touches all felt personal and seamless. Whether or not you're a tent-in-a-field kind of couple or a ball room is more your speed, being true to who you are makes for a beautiful wedding day.

I couldn't be happier to share these photos with you and your friends and family. Thank you so much for having us there and trusting us to take it all in. You guys are amazing!