April & Ben

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I know I did.

Saturday morning I drove up to Danbury, Connecticut to photograph April and Ben's engagement session. We met at Tarrywile Park, which has to be one of the most beautiful places in Connecticut. I had never of heard of it until we went there, but I am so happy April and Ben wanted to do their photos there!

April and Ben's wedding is in June, and I cannot wait to photograph their wedding! It's going to be a wonderful day!

Are these two the most adorable couple or what? :)


The only thing stronger than their love for each other is their love for their God. I let them be for a while as they read their Bible together on the bench where Ben proposed to April.








When I met with April and Ben earlier in the year, Ben assured me he didn't smile in photos... He lied to me! He smiled quiet a bit throughout the shoot. Who wouldn't smile if they were engaged to April?










See? Two smiles, here.




April and Ben, I had so much fun with the two of you! June 12th will be here soon. I can't wait! :)

Sneak Peek: April & Ben Engagement Session

Today I had April & Ben's engagement session at Tarrywile Park in Danbury, Connecticut.

Here's a sneak peek from their session. It was so much fun and such a beautiful day outside! Check back in a few days for the rest of their session.

Waterford High School Prom Limo Giveaway!

Happenstance Portraits and the Waterford Alcohol and Drug Education (WADE) Coalition are teaming up to offer 6 lucky Waterford High School Seniors a memory of a life time- a FREE limo for their Senior Prom and FREE professional prom photographs!

How does it work? It's actually very simple!



Step 1: Visit www.waterfordyouth.org

Step 2: Read the rules and regulations about the contest.

Step 3: Watch the video linked on the WADE Coalition page.

Step 4: Submit your entry!

Step 5: Keep your fingers crossed and tell your best friends about the contest!


One lucky winner will be brought to and from Senior Prom with their date and four of their closest friends in a stretch limo from Joshua's Limousine Services.

Before you leave, Happenstance Portraits will do a FREE prom portrait session at the location of your choice. Each senior will receive a disc with all the photos from the session to put on your Facebook or myspace, one 8x10 print of your choice, and two 5x7 prints of your choice. Additional prints are available at a discounted price.


So what are you waiting for?! Visit www.waterfordyouth.org and enter TODAY!

Remember: Underage drinking is ILLEGAL. Be smart and make your prom night a night to remember, not the night you got an DUI.


** Contest is open to Waterford High School Seniors ONLY. No bottles/beverages of any type allowed in limo- water and soda will be provided by Waterford Youth Services Bureau**

Choose Happy

Tonight I was really mad, specifically at my loving, amazing, nearly perfect boyfriend. This is probably the most mad I've ever been at him in the four years we have been together.
So naturally I did what any other person would do- updated the Facebook status to let the world know I was mad. Mature? Not so much, but it need help me feel a little better.

A few minutes later, I receive a notification on my iPhone that Tim Fioravanti commented on my status. His comment simply said, "Choose happy! :)"

Two words and a smiley face.

Tim was my marching band and concert band director in high school.

My freshmen yea,r when we all gathered on the first day at band camp (yes, this is a "one time at band camp" story), he had my friend Jasmine sit in a chair in front of everyone. And he asked her, "Do you want a chocolate ice cream, or vanilla ice cream?"

Jasmine responded, "I want vanilla."

"Why?"

"Because I like vanilla."

"Wrong. Do you want chocolate or vanilla?"

This went on for about 10 minutes, the two of them going back and forth, bickering, arguing, and each time Jasmine was wrong. Finally Jasmine, all frustrated and what not, exclaimed, "I was vanilla because it's what I choose!"

"YES!" was Tim's reply. She had finally answered correctly.

All the upperclassmen laughed while the rest of us freshmen sat there confused.

Tim continued to explain to all of us this...

In life you can either choose to be mad or choose to be happy. You can choose to be frustrated when your wife messes up your tooth paste container or you can choose to fix it and just go on brushing your teeth. You can choose to be mad that he changed your plans at the last minute, or you can choose to fix the plans yourself and catch up with one of your best friends. You can choose to have vanilla ice cream or to have chocolate ice cream. But you have to choose. You can't reason with it, you can't get mad over it, you can't change what's happening. You have to look at the big picture, choose whether it's worth the anger, the fight, the tears... or whether it's easier to just say I'm sorry and go with the flow.

Tonight, I chose to get over it. I changed my plans, things will still work out perfectly on Saturday, and all will be fine.

Thank you, Tim, for reminding me to choose happy. :)

And I'm sorry Justin, I love you. <3


I love Disney World. It makes me happy. I'm choosing this photos to make me smile right now, from the trip I went on with Justin in January for our anniversary.

Walk Through a Wedding with J&M

At the beginning of the month I attended a workshop with Justin & Mary Marantz. I was at their Spread the Love tour in January, and when I learned about "Walk Through a Wedding with J&M", I couldn't pass up the opportunity!

What a great day it was, too! It was a great learning opportunity and just a great experience in general. Justin and Mary welcomed all 19 of us with open arms into their new home (which has an AMAZING view, just an fyi) and had a whole mock wedding set up- bride, groom, cupcakes, venue and all! We each had our own part to play; I was the grandmother of the bride ;)

And we couldn't have asked for a more fun, amazing, and gorgeous bride and groom- Kristin & Bill. Kristin and Bill are actually J&M's real couple for this fall- I'll be checking out their blog to see photos from their actual wedding!


We started the day off with Kristin getting ready. I got some killer detail shots. How gorgeous is this cocktail ring?!




Alicia Candelora played our Maid of Honor/Makeup Artist for the day.










Isn't Kristin stunning?


We left the house and went on to the Guilford Yacht Club where we did the First Look, First Dance, and some reception shots.

Aren't they adorable? Bill was such a good sport!
















Thank you J&M for such an amazing day! I had a blast! :)

Rowdy's 1st Birthday

He's a bit of a goofball, a dope really. He's afraid of the big water jug in our living room, yet he chases bumble bee's around the yard. When it's sunny out, he'll roll down the hill behind our house over and over again. He loves to take baths, and he especially loves stuffed animals.

Rowdy is one year old today. I can't believe he's one. He was a tiny little puppy, laying in my arms just a few months ago! Now he sits on top of me while I'm watching TV.

I took these photos of him today. He's an amazing dog, yet he's still just a puppy!



I took this through his frisbee- I love how it came out!






He got the frisbee stuck on his face... he does that a lot.








He's pretty much attached to my dad's hip, no lie. The moment he walks in the door, it's like everyone else is gone and it's all about my dad. They're soul mates.




Happy Birthday, my Rowdy-Roo Boo Boo.

Hello There.

I've finally made a new blog for Happenstance Portraits. I was planning of waiting to launch the blog when my new website was finished, but I miss blogging. So here's a temporary blog till the new website is complete.

So here it is. A new blog, a fresh start. It feels good, doesn't it?

Here's a adorable photo of little Ariana to make you smile.