Thank you to everyone who voted for us as Best Photography Studio in Northborough and also Massachusetts! It was nice to be recognized and also nice to read the messages you posted and sent to me as the voting was happening! I was happy to see these results come in:

Congratulations! You have achieved the following:

2013 Winner: Best Photography Studio – Northborough
2013 Winner: Best Photography Studio – Massachusetts
2013 Finalist: Top 10 Best Photography Studio – United States – Ranking: 6 of 100

Woohoo! Thank you for caring enough to participate in the voting! It means a lot to us!

I was recently invited to the Grand Re-Opening of the Marlborough Courtyard by Marriott hotel, where they shared with us their recent renovations and upgrades! We have been to the Marriott many times for weddings as well as “getting ready” images. With major updates throughout the entire hotel, I am excited for them and also for the brides and grooms (and their guests!) who will benefit from this!! The event to share the updates was fun, busy, and full of amazing food from the hotel. (They even updated to incorporate a Bistro style restaurant, which was a huge hit!) Here are the highlights from the evening:

Thank you to Joanne, Tamara and Mary for inviting our studio! I look forward to working with you ladies in this upcoming busy year and into 2014 as well at weddings, Bat or Bar Mitzvahs, and other events!

Looking for a beautiful local venue for a wedding? Check out this video produced by MPD Video for Tower Hill Botanic Garden…what a gorgeous location! Thank you to MPD Video Productions for taking us on this tour! Photos by Ericson-Wolfe Photography

I recently got around to photographing this beautiful award from Worcester Business Journal. I was very happy to receive this at the end of 2012 and somehow did not blog about it here earlier. Inspired by the photo of the award, I had to share it and thank the Worcester Business Journal for researching what it is that I do as a small business owner of a photography studio.

I have been fortunate enough to be in a position to help others because of my decisions and the path I chose to take in this industry. From volunteering our photography services to military families, the businesses effected by Boston events of late, and terminally ill people who are finding a way to have the wedding day of their dreams, we keep offering our services knowing how important photography is to so many people. Also, I am proud to be in a position to help other photographers who are looking for more work and who offer excellent quality and service to couples. I began in the wedding industry because I loved photography and had no idea how many layers would be built to create what we have today.

Thank you again to the Worcester Business Journal for the Outstanding Women in Business Award. I was nervous on stage accepting the award at Tuckerman Hall, but I squeaked out my thanks because it meant a lot to me to receive this recognition!

To vote: it’s an easy one click and no registration required! ♥ ♥
 

For those friends who have already seen this on Facebook, thank you for your votes! If you have not yet added us as a friend on Facebook, please join us there (after you vote!) We love sharing photos and spying on your Pinterest “likes!”

Thank you SO much to everyone who has helped make us so successful over the past 11 years I have been in wedding photography! Little votes like these and also your thank you cards and notes and amazing messages keep us going and giving everything we can to make sure our couples have the best experience with us!

Congratulations to the beautiful newlyweds Sarah and Tony! Their March wedding all took place at the Harrington Farm in Princeton, MA. Sarah looked stunning in her bird cage veil and one-shoulder wedding dress! Let’s not leave out Tony — he was looking pretty handsome himself in his classic grey suit!

If you’re familiar with the grounds at Harrington Farm, you know the views and the sunsets are amazing. It was no exception for Sarah and Tony on their wedding day — in our slideshow below, see how beautiful a March wedding in the snow can be:

Typically, the formal photographs of the families, wedding party and the couple alone will take place during the cocktail hour just before the reception. Couples who choose a different option may do so because they would like to have all the formal photographs done before the ceremony. Some of our brides will say, “Get them done and out of the way!” This will allow the couple to participate in their cocktail hour with their guests. Some feel it removes some of the pressure of photos on the wedding day and they can relax more after the ceremony!

Another reason our couples may choose to have a First Look is because they’d like their photos to be in the daylight! If the ceremony ends as the sun is fading away, the photos may end up being indoors, depending on the venue. To do all the group photos beforehand allows them to be outside in the daylight, which is important to many of our couples.

The moment the couples first see one another during the First Look is usually photographed without posing it and without an audience around! A private setting works out great where one can be waiting for the other. Take a look at this First Look of Allison and Kevin who saw one another in the Herb Garden at Old Sturbridge Village. They are so cute!!!

Many of our couples are more traditional and want that moment of seeing one another as they walk down the aisle! They won’t do a First Look, but they will still get all the formal images – only this way they will truly already be husband and wife!

I wanted to let you know that many of our brides opt in, whether they are shy or not! All shapes and sizes take part in the sessions and their confidence levels range. It’s not only for ONE type of person, so don’t limit yourself! You may be surprised at how easy it is and how FUN it is!

The most important thing I can think of before signing yourself up is – find out your photographer’s boudoir style before signing up! Each photographer has a different style and look. I know I’d be uncomfortable being photographed in less than elegant poses (a.k.a. TRASHY!) and my husband wouldn’t want that either. For my style, I’d look for one like I like to create when photographing: suggestive, elegant, sexy, and classy! Boudoir can be beautiful and some of my favorite images from this recent weekend of shoots are close ups of the bride’s face. I love seeing crystal clear eyes, and perhaps the sexy outfit is suggested or out of focus – but you know it’s there! It leaves more to the imagination, which is sexy!! From my experience in boudoir photography, most grooms prefer the suggestive photos to more raunchy ones that lack elegance.

Let’s not pretend these photos are all for the guys. The photo sessions are just as much for the bride as they are for the groom. I love showing a bride how gorgeous she is – no matter what she thinks her flaws are! She may have never felt this gorgeous before, or may have forgotten!! It’s nice to give yourself this gift of a confidence boost! If you cannot see how beautiful you are, maybe you would like to be shown how you look through the lens of a professional photographer whose style of boudoir photography matches your style.

What can you do with the photos after? Most of our brides will have me design a “Little Black Book” of their favorite photos and this amazing little book will be given to her groom just before the wedding day! It’s a great wedding day gift and I think he’ll be SHOCKED and thrilled to flip through his new favorite book ever! Other brides purchase prints or digital files. You can make him a slideshow OR give him some sexy prints! You’ll have many options after the images are available and the designing process will be fun! The first step is to have the session done and we think you’ll be very proud of yourself and glad that you did!

If you have any more questions about boudoir photography, just email me at candi@ericsonphoto.com and I’ll be happy to answer or to sign YOU up for the next sessions!

Pinterest has a dark side too… TOO MANY ideas! I’ve seen our couples (ok… brides) have Pinterest overload where they want to do everything they see on these boards and love so many ideas that it is hard to narrow it down. This comes to great photo ideas too. So many wedding images are shared on Pinterest and so many good ideas! I’ve seen some not so good ideas too (anything that ruins the wedding dress is a NO for me!) So, what do you do if you find yourself hoarding pins of too many wedding ideas? Do you share the ideas with your photographer, or are you worried it will it upset them?

Please read the entire post on my opinion blog:

Pinterest List of Photos! Should I? – Blog Post

Since I do love Pinterest… let’s share pics! Click below to go to our Pinterest page: