What is a “Day After Session,” you ask? It’s a time for the couple to get all dressed up again (just like they did on the day of the wedding) for more pictures! There are a couple of reasons for a Day After Session, but the main reason is not having enough time on the day of the wedding for photos of the bride and groom. No matter how hard we all try to stick to the timeline, things happen. Thus is life. Ilker and Aylin had the perfect timeline which should have allowed for plenty of portrait time…but, this is NYC. Between closed bridges and hours of traffic, we slowly lost our big-spacious-window for pictures. Although I think we did a pretty good job in the 15 minutes that we had, it was definitely not enough! So Ilker and Aylin opted to get all gussied up again and meet me in Central Park! :)
I am still so impressed that we managed to get about 2 seconds of NO PEOPLE on the stairs! Aylin, you are so stunning!
How cute is Ilker? He perfected her dress for every single shot! What an incredible man! :)
I met Aylin and Ilker just a few weeks before their wedding day. They had a short 5-month engagement just like my husband and I did! We met over delicious home-made ice cream at the Little Cupcake Bakeshop, where I got to hear their proposal story for the first time. I just LOVE proposal stories! Ilker took Aylin to a nice place for lunch in the Meatpacking District. Then he mentioned wanting to watch the sunset by the water, and surprised her with a boat he rented! They sailed toward the middle of the water, while admiring the sunset and its beautiful reflection on the water. Could this get anymore romantic? I’d say the gorgeous ring he pulled out of his pocket definitely increased the romance level! After Aylin said yes, Ilker took her to a rooftop lounge in the city where all of their friends and family were waiting to congratulate them! She was so surprised, and even admitted that it was one of the most amazing days of her life. :)
I’m sure her wedding day can now be added to that list! We began the day at a salon on the Upper East Side…
Aylin, you are such a cutie pie!!
My amazing assisting photographer for the day was Kristen Driscoll! Kristen was such an incredible supporter the entire day! When we were stuck in icky NYC traffic, she kept me happy and focused on the awesome day! And if you know me, traffic is the one thing that can turn me into a raging idiot! :)
Kristen got to spend the morning with Ilker at a barber shop in Brighton Beach (Brooklyn), and was able to capture these great shots! I absolutely love when grooms opt to go to a barber the morning of the wedding!
How cute is this lil pup!?
Oh portrait time, you are my favorite ever! These two ROCKED IT! :)
I’m going to go ahead and nominate this photo for “Most Stunning Shot of the Day.” Aylin, you belong in a magazine!
The reception was at Leonard’s La Dolce Vita in Great Neck – I’m loving the orchards Aylin picked out!
Let me tell you, these people knew how to party!! What an amazing night!
Credits // Photography: Cassi Claire // Venue: Leonard’s La Dolce Vita // Make-Up Artist: Veronica Vega // The Dress: St. Patrick via Lotus Bridal // Barber: Elite Gentlemen // Wedding Cake: Leonard’s La Dolce Vita // The End!
I am seriously like a giddy little girl right now! Wedding Chicks is one of the main blogs that I followed while I was planning my June 2011 wedding! And today, I have the honor of having my photography featured on their blog! Of course, they are really showcasing the amazing event design by my fabulous bride Keri (of The East Coast Bride)! She spent months and months crafting all the perfect little details to make up her spectacular pink garden-chic wedding! I am so honored to have been a part of her day, and so beyond excited that the fabulous ladies over at Wedding Chicks recognized all of her hard work!
Check out the feature! :) Oh, and if you love her details and want them for yourself, you can get them in the ECB Etsy store!
I was so excited when I saw Jess’s email in my inbox! Jess and I went to high school together and were on the color guard together! We spent hours together in practice, riding the bus to and from competitions, and she was even my “secret sister” – which meant she left me awesome goodie bags and notes of encouragement anonymously throughout the season. She was the best secret sister ever! And now she is going to make the best wife ever! :)
I just love how Justin proposed. So sneaky! About a week before the proposal, Justin took Jess’s birthstone ring to be cleaned at the jeweler. And for that entire week, Jess bugged him about getting it back! The night before the proposal, Justin told her that he had picked up her birthstone ring but conveniently did not have it on him. She thought nothing of it and forgot about it by the time they got home. The next day, it was just another warm fall Sunday and they had plans to go to one of their favorite places – the beach! Jess was excited to check out some of the historical parts of Sandy Hook, so this was just like any other day…or so she thought! As they were walking around the Battery Gunnison, Justin put his jacket down on a ledge, patted the pocket, and casually said “Oh look, I did remember to bring your ring with me. And they put it in this pretty box for you.” Jess took the box from him and opened it up. She did not find her birthstone ring, but she was more than okay with the gorgeous diamond ring she found in its place! After a few moments of shock, disbelief, and a few happy tears, Justin got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Uh-stinkin-dorable! For their engagement session, we went to another one of their favorite places…Stokes State Forest in northern NJ.
I love Jess’s absolutely perfect fall-country-chic outfit!
The quintessential throwing leaves shot! It’s a MUST in the fall…
Sunflowers are the best! I was excited to find out that Jess and I share a love for them – favorite flower ever!
Jess, you have the cutest laugh of all time!
SWOON. Loved finding this magical little light pocket! Oh-so-dreamy!
Hahahaha!! Justin you crack me up! This whole session was nothing but giggles – and we all know giggling is my favorite!
And then we traveled all the way to heaven…just for this photo! :)
Remember when I said the ring was gorgeous? I wasn’t kidding…
Jess and Justin, I am so excited to be a part of your wedding day next November! Wish it was tomorrow! :)
I just want to thank you all so much for your concern for me and Chris. We were overwhelmed with love through text, voicemails, emails, Facebook, etc. As you know, NYC got hit pretty badly by hurricane Sandy. It seems our neighborhood was spared. Other than a minor leak in our roof, we barely noticed the storm. Never even lost power! While we were blessed to not have any damage, some of our friends weren’t so fortunate. Leif and Stacy had just moved into a great apartment only two blocks from the beach in Brooklyn. A basement apartment. It breaks my heart when I think of all that they have lost.
Thank God that both Leif and Stacy (and their two dogs!) evacuated before the storm and are all safe! But as you can see, most of their possessions have been destroyed. Everything is soaked in sewage and salt-water…not a very pleasant aroma! A group of us from church went over to help them recover as much as possible, but so much of it was un-salvageable (sofas, chairs, their bed, rugs, artwork, books, etc.). If you are looking for a way to help out, but aren’t sure where to start…I know Leif and Stacy are going to have a big financial hurdle to get over. They are going to need to find a new apartment (which usually includes first month rent, security deposit, and broker fee), they will need to refurnish it, will need to build up a new wardrobe, and so much more. No pressure, but if you want to help out financially, send me an email (cassi@cassiclaire.com) and I will point you in the right direction!
UPDATE 11/04/12: You can now donate online to Leif, Stacy, and other locals from Brooklyn! Our church has set up an EverRibbon account to make donating easy, fast, and simple! Funds will be used to purchase Ikea, Target & Home Depot gift cards as well as to purchase food, clothing and other lost items. Click here to give them a jump start at rebuilding their lives! Thank you so much to everyone who has already reached out! You are all AMAZING people!! :)
Side note: As you can tell, this is SO not a photography post. No pretty pictures today, just point-n-shoot reality! These first two pictures are from our neighborhood. Just a tree downed tree branch and Christopher fighting with an umbrella! :)
This was as we started to enter the Brighton Beach area. Countless homes were turned inside out onto sidewalks in garbage bags.
This building was right near the beach. Two days later and the garage is still flooded with several feet of water.
There were so many broken windows. Not sure if it was from the water, from looters, or what…
We saw dozens of downed trees on our drive through the beach towns…
Leif and Stacy’s street was filled with branches, garbage, and mud.
I’m thankful that big tree didn’t fall over onto their house!
We’re hoping to be able to salvage their dishware. Hopefully 4 or 5 runs through the dishwasher should take care of the sewage contamination.
Stacy worked in fashion, and spent years collecting an incredible wardrobe. Her eclectic and fun style can’t be found in your local department store, that’s for sure! We are going to wash everything that was salvageable, and then see what they can keep. Again, hopefully like 4 or 5 wash cycles on CRAZY HIGH HEAT should do the trick! Anyone know any tricks to remove stains and smells?
Entering the apartment…
The living room/main room. Almost everything pictured here will be going right to the dumpster.
You can see the exact height that the water got. It was about a foot away from their ceiling. WOW.
Near complete destruction in the kitchen. They hope to be able to save some of the appliances, but we’re not sure how well they will work after soaking in sea water for hours.
Just WOW…
I was amazed at Leif and Stacy’s positive attitudes. I know they are hurting, but they have such a great grasp on what’s important – their family is safe and healthy. Below left, Stacy and Leslie go through clothes to see what might survive. Below right, Kevin (our associate pastor) unloads the closet for the ladies.
Some of our beautiful church family! Although the circumstances were terrible, it was really a great time to come together and embrace the quote “many hands make light work!” Praying for all the shore areas, lower Manhattan, and for the homes that caught fire in Queens.
I am absolutely head-over-heels in love with my new linen wedding books! They are so unique and so gorgeous! Of course, I still offer classic leather albums as well. But I am seriously drooling over linen covers these days. Notice I said “seriously” and not “literally” – because literally drooling would just be gross. For real though, how amazing would one of these look on your coffee table?
My blog is full of photos. Photos of beautiful couples in love and their friends and families. I LOVE being able to capture a little bit of their story. A little bit of who they are. But today…today I get to share a little bit of my story, a little bit of who my family is. When my younger brother, Fred, called to tell me that he proposed to Michelle, I honestly thought he was pulling my leg. This is the same brother who swore he wouldn’t get married until he was 40! Fred and Michelle have been together for five years, and for about two of those years the whole family has been busting on them about marriage. Of course, I was ecstatic when I finally decided to believe him (the photo of the ring helped). He proposed in front of a light house in Martha’s Vineyard – one of their favorite places! I am holding out hope that the wedding will be in Martha’s Vineyard, as I’m kind of obsessed with Gilmore Girls and this will be like the wedding Rory and Logan never got to have. Err, aaaaanyway. I am so thrilled for Fred and Michelle, and am so happy to finally have some great photos of my family from their engagement party at the Glenburn Estate in Riverdale, NJ!
Michelle did a beautiful job with her Fall theme decor! It was classy, colorful and fun!
They went all out decorating this otherwise empty building…love the M & F initials on the fireplace!
So happy to finally have a great photo of my beautiful parents!! My step-mom Lisa has lost 70 pounds in the past year! Doesn’t she look INCREDIBLE?! Oh, and my dad is down 20 pounds! He always gets over shadowed by Lisa, but I am SOOO proud of him! So proud of them both! :)
The Glenburn Estate is the house I always dreamed of buying when I grew up. I guess that dream is dead now because the town bought it a few years ago and turned it into a community landmark. I’m pretty okay with that though because now we can all share it! It is really cool that they preserved the history of it…like this wedding attire from one of the original owners!
My adorable brother and his adorable fiancée, Michelle!
Some of my cousins and my aunti! I’m the one in the incredibly obnoxious adorable burnt-orange dress!
The two moms attempting to give a speech through their tears!! :)
Love this shot of the whole family! Well, everyone who was there anyway!
These are my parents’ best friends, Brian and Kelly! I looove them!!
I’m pretty sure Kelly took this awesome shot of us three siblings and our other halves! I love my brothers (Kevin in the black and Fred in the orange)!!
Meep! I am so excited to have our ”Fall, In Love Session” featured on one of the top wedding blogs in the country – Style Me Pretty! I am still so giddy about it! Thank you to Dawn for her beautiful and encouraging words in the post, thank you to Mekina for her amazing-incredible-out-of-this-world event styling, and a HUGE thank you to our contest winners Ben and Cayla! :)
View our feature on Style Me Pretty New York, and also feel free to check out my original blog post!
So, you’ve heard wedding planning can be difficult, emotional, and stressful…right? Well, let me tell you how ridiculously impressed I am by the lovely bride Regina. Regina is from Vancouver and was living there up until a week before the wedding. That means planning a long-distance wedding with a 3 hour time difference across the country…er, actually from another country! Sometimes I forget that Canada is not part of the USA. As if living in another country wasn’t hard enough, Regina also had to combine two completely different culture’s celebrations into one. She had to make time for two Chinese Tea ceremonies, a western-style wedding ceremony, and a Chinese banquet that combined traditional Chinese karaoke and a traditional western bouquet toss (among other things!). On the plus side, she got to wear three different beautiful gowns! Regina and Nolan, I could not be happier for the both of you! Especially now that you get to live life together in the same time zone! :)
Regina and Nolan began their day at the lovely Boston Park Plaza Hotel…
After the two tea ceremonies, we all met at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel for the western wedding ceremony. Man, what a view!
This girl is STUNNING! And I am obsessed with the red and gold Chinese gown. Obsessed.
Nolan, ya done good. What a rock!
Definition of perfect weather = this.
Possibly my favorite photo of the day! Their pure joy warms my heart!
Check out that detailing on the cake! It is flawless and so classy! Plus, I’m a big fan of their Cherished Teddies cake topper – my step-mom collects them! I’m 99% sure that they have the same one pictured here!
Oh how I love portrait time! It’s my favorite time of day, and we could not have asked for more beautiful locations. Boston is chock-full of little gems! We only walked about three blocks and were able to get tons of variety!
Special thank-you to my darling husband Christopher for remembering to capture some ambiance shots as we walked. I LOVE when he gets to photograph with me…mainly because he can read my mind and also because he’s cute. Like really really cute.
LOOOOVE these doors! If you follow my instagram, you know I’m obsessed with colored doors!
Once again, I am left decision-less between a color and black&white image. So I choose both.
My favorite backdrop ever! I want to set up a tent and live in front of this wall full of ivy.
Nolan, you look sharp!!
I couldn’t stop gushing over all this luscious red and gold!
As per Chinese tradition, the bride and groom make their way to each table where the guests toast the happy couple.
Two happy couples! I love how Regina and I both went for “spirit fingers” when I said make a silly face!
Credits // Photography: Cassi Claire // Hotel: Boston Park Plaza Hotel // Hair & Make-Up Artist: Carol Cho from Vanessa Bridal & Image LLC // Ceremony Venue: Hyatt Harborside // Officiate: Carol J. Merletti // Reception Venue: China Pearl Boston China Town // Chinese Gown: Grandasia Bridal & Fashion // Wedding Gown: David’s Bridal // Purple Gown: TaoBao (online store from China) // Bride’s Jewelry: Swarovski // Guys’ Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse // Florist: Damien from Passion Bouquet // Invitations & Favors: Love Gallery from Hong Kong // DJ and Emcees: Ada Lam, Victor, and friends // Special Singer: Frankie P // Wedding Cake (Hyatt): Konditor Meister // Wedding Cake (China Pearl): Bao Bao Bakery & Café // Cake Topper: Cherished Teddies // The End!
I knew I wanted to offer a free styled session to one lucky couple that followed my facebook business page. I knew I wanted the theme to be “Fall, In Love.” And I knew I wanted to work with the amazing Mekina Saylor of Picture This, Plan That. What I didn’t know is who would win the session! I watched the votes stream in for a whole week…one hundred, two hundred, three hundred…six hundred. Finally, it was the last day of voting and only a few votes separated first and second place. It was back and forth up until the last minute! With one last push for their friends vote, Ben and Cayla took the win by only 35 votes! I am still blown away by their efforts, and am so happy to have met such a beautiful couple with such a high value of photography.
Ben and Cayla were married in 2011, and this was such a fun way to celebrate their love! They were so at ease in front of the camera, even when I made them feed each other repeatedly AND throw peanuts at me! :) Ben so easily brought smiles and laughter to Cayla’s face…from his little tickles to his silly faces. And Cayla has this delicate beauty and charm that just makes you immediately love her. Their love is honest, pure, and sweet, yet full of laughter and little perfect moments. Thank you Ben and Cayla for valuing our work and for being the most adorable couple ever!!
Another huge thank you to Mekina Saylor. Mekina took my tiny little idea of a theme and blew it out of the water! She is a master of event design, and I love every single element to this styled session. From the perfect bucket of apples, to the vibrant raspberries and blueberries, to the gorgeous burlap and lace. It was as exciting as Christmas morning! xo!
Do you see the heart in the donut?! I didn’t even notice it until Mekina pointed it out to me!!
Credits // Photography: Cassi Claire // Event Design: Mekina Saylor of Picture This, Plan That // Pies and Macarons: The Bean // Apples Bucket & Pie Filling Sign: TJ Maxx // Peanuts, Apples, Fruit, Pumpkins: Union Square Green Market // Fall in Love Toppers: A Sweet Little Note // Berry Garland: Craft Supple House // Mason Jars: Overstock // The End!
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Aylin Özgür Turgut - Cassi I love you !! Once again you did an amazing job! I’m so glad we had a chance to do the second shoot. Thank you!!!!
Cassi Claire - Aylin it makes me so happy to hear that you love them!! You both looked stunning, so it really was hard to take a bad photo haha!! :)
Kristen Driscoll - I love the shot of Ilker fixing her dress – aw!
Cassi Claire - Thanks Kristen!! Me too!! He is such a good husband!! :)
Mikkel Paige Mihlrad - Gorgeous! And I agree – great husband, beautiful bride! (Awesome photos!)
Cassi Claire - Thanks Mikkel!! xo!!