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zoe’s bat mitzvah- the service
As with the rest of Zoe’s bat mitzvah, no detail was overlooked. It was a lovely service, Zoe did a wonderful job, and actually made me tear up during her talk about what her Torah reading meant to her- she let everyone know that she would be donating a portion of her gifts toward “DougStrong“. Dougie is a boy in our town who is currently battling a cancerous brain tumor. Amazing, right?
Wearing the prayer shawl of her great grandfather. 
Omg, love. 
You think they’re a little proud of their girl?
Grandparents doing a reading.
Mom & Dad, too.
My favorite photo bombers ever. 
Time for some wine. 
Notsomuch.
A thousand blessings. 
Congratulations Zoe!! The party is up next, stay tuned. -
zoe’s bat mitzvah- portraits & decor
So usually I post a bar or bat mitzvah all in one post, but there were so many awesome moments to capture on Zoe’s special day that I couldn’t narrow it down. Lucky you- you’re going to get 3 days worth of Zoe’s bat mitzvah for your viewing pleasure.
Mom booked me for this date about 4 years ago, so you can imagine how excited I was to photograph it! (A little background: Zoe’s big sister Carly was Jack & Patrick’s safety patrol person back when they were in Kindergarten and she was in 5th grade and they share the same birthday. And then we figured out that mom’s cousin and I went to sleep away camp together about 10,000 years ago. Small world!)
Zoe’s a sweetheart and a dancer and was so fun to photograph. The whole family is pretty amazing with both older sisters in Ivy League colleges (Carly at UPenn, Amanda at Princeton), funny like crazy and so close and love each other so much. So without further ado, here is the beautiful bat mitzvah girl herself…
Love the moment caught between grandpa & granddaughter. 
Whenever I see them walking around town, they’re always holding hands. 
Not all portraits have to be boring and stuffy.
Lots of pretty ladies. 
Mindy, you’re so pretty! (and see, you gave me a great smile!)
More to come on the blog tomorrow. But first a big thank you to my photografriend and assistant for the evening, Lara for all your help that night. And for the laughs- you are crouching tiger, hidden assistant for sure! -
wyatt’s bar mitzvah
I met Wyatt’s lovely mom last spring at a pre-prom party, where I was taking photos of my “niece” Elizabeth and a bunch of her friends, including Wyatt’s older brother. Then we met again on the sidelines of the middle school football field where Wyatt, Jack & Patrick were playing Oceanside. I was so happy when she asked me to photograph Wyatt’s Bar Mitzvah at Central Synagogue and the reception at Coyote Grill. It was a gorgeous day with a fantastic family & lots of friends.
Wyatt did his best to tolerate me for as long as possible. He did really well. I know how annoying I can be, especially with a camera!
Wyatt’s mom is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met in real life, and she (and her husband, too) is as nice as she is beautiful. Did I mention she’s from Australia? And has the coolest accent!
Party time!
Dad and his childhood friends. How great that they are STILL friends!
Grandma flew in from Australia where she lives to celebrate Wyatt’s day. 
Dad, his twin brother and their sisters. Such a great and close knit family!!
A very nice and subdued candle lighting and blessing of the challah. 
A bar mitzvah wouldn’t be a bar mitzvah without the chair. 
Wyatt, thank you so much for putting up with me for the day. You were a great sport and a gentleman!
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pretty, plum & luxe
I recently received a gorgeous album that I created for a client and wanted to share a few pictures of it with you. I was beyond happy with the way it turned out, and seeing my client pour over each page while smiling from ear to ear just made it all the more special!
Here’s the bsquared 10×10″ Luxe album in plum leather with a custom monogram. Taking pictures of pictures never comes out that great, but you can see how gorgeous the whole album is with it’s deliciously thick pages, sturdy binding and panoramic layout (so there’s no breaks in the middle of the two pages, giving it a totally seamless presentation). If you’re thinking about ordering a luxe album from your session or event, I have samples in the office to share with you. I promise you will see why the luxe albums are luxe!!
I’ll be back after the weekend with a ton of new posts (after having a 5 session week this week, I’ll have plenty of new material to blog!) Happy Friday! -
sarah’s bat mitzvah
This post has been a long time in coming since Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah was at the end of October, but I think it was worth the wait. It’s going to be a long blog post so get comfy. I’ll try to keep it to a minimum on the text so you can just enjoy the pictures from this fabulous (and I do mean FABULOUS) event.
Sarah had her Bat Mitzvah at Central Synagogue and I met them there before the ceremony since no photos are allowed during the service.
Sarah and her family lived in Hong Kong for a long time (in fact she was born there). Some of her friends from HK came in for her special day. 
The whole gorgeous family over at Temple Avodah where the party was being held. 
Sarah’s theme was “Life is a Fairytale”, and let me tell you that the party sure was!!
A few of the amazingly gorgeous details. 
The cocktail hour was unbeliveable with a hotdog stand, hamburgers/sliders, a tapas and shot bar, sushi station (with Sarah’s name spelled out in sushi!), gourmet ravioli, and on. 
And the main room of the party. Drop dead gorgeous, right? They did not miss one single detail. 
The kids area.
Let the fun begin!
Watching the video.
Just some of the desserts offered. They also had a whole ice cream bar, a Hagen Daaz cart and about a thousand other little goodies.
All the kids also went home (exhausted) with a favor drawstring bag which included a Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah sweatshirt and custom water bottles and custom cookies. See what I mean about not missing a trick!?
Thank you so much for letting me photograph your day! I’m calling you to plan my next party!