Mary Dougherty Photography l New York Based Wedding Photographer » adventure

A Souvenir, For You

Mary Dougherty — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:43:40 +0000

I’m back from Portland! Jet-lag and all and forcing myself onto EST and the schedule I need to get things done. Since you already know Barista is my favorite, you can imagine how elated I was to find they were offering thick, heavy duty mugs in their shop. I’ve been a fan of these for a while (you may remember our favorite mug?) and it probably stems from the fact that it always reminds me of the navy mugs my dad has at home. Branded in a custom script we walked out with two – so we no longer had to fight over one – and an extra for you! Of course, by you I mean just one of you… so let’s find out who it is.

If you want to win the mug above I’d love to give you my extra souvenir!

Just leave a comment on this post below, and head to my facebook page to prove your love by liking Mary Dougherty Photography if you don’t already! Entries are open until Thanksgiving! 11/24 at noon… so you have just enough time to duck out of food prep or take a break from family and post an entry – one per day, per person. Just another reason to let the countdown to Thanksgiving begin!

update! Congrats to Emily Last, the winner of this mug + to everyone else for entering!

Canoeing Engagement Session : Wes + Rachel

Mary Dougherty — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:57:55 +0000

Their relationship could be described as a whirlwind, although I think they both are grounded enough to not get swept away. After meeting in Ecuador, where Rachel was teaching and Wes was doing some freelance video work, they quickly became friends. There they stayed, in the “just friends” stage for a few months and they enjoyed getting to know each other and dismissing the frequent questions of if they were dating. Of course, it didn’t take too long to realize there was something more and that their friendship had grown in to love. At times there were thousands of miles between them and they looked forward to being together. This summer they got engaged and this summer they are getting married before they both move back to Ecuador and begin their lives together.

There are times when you just know, and that is the case with Wes + Rachel. I have not only had the pleasure of photographing them, but they have accompanied me for a few weddings this summer to second shoot. When we planned their session we made it a priority to incorporate an activity and make it more of a date. I always recommend thinking about photos in that way since it gives you a context to plan within. You no longer show up just to take pictures, but you show up to go to a waterfall and then go canoeing… and that’s just what we did. Love is wonderful to document, and I hope you enjoy this session that took place practically in my backyard.

standing up in a canoe while floating down a river was not easy – but they were up for the challenge. In fact, they didn’t tip at all but they did lose a paddle that Wes quickly rescued.

every session should be this fun. congrats again w+r!

(mis)adventures in honeymoon land : Joy and Andrew

Mary Dougherty — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:43:16 +0000

You’ve made it. The wedding day comes and is all you could dream of. The stress and planning have paid off and now you get to go on the most relaxing and romantic trip of your life: the honeymoon. It does always go perfectly doesn’t it? No travel glitches, perfect weather, no other people around…. okay we all know that rarely happens. In fact, I think there might be more honeymoon stories than wedding stories – and by stories I mean tales of adventure and things gone wrong.

Today I have a tale of epic proportion. I just heard this story over the phone and I asked to share it since it was so unbelievable. Hopefully you can commiserate and if you have ever had a honeymoon misadventure perhaps it wasn’t as bad. You’ve seen their engagement photos, the celebration of their wedding, and now I bring you Joy and Andrew’s honeymoon, as written by Joy:

We set out on our honeymoon to Italy the day after the wedding, crazy excited and ready to have a great time. I am sure you heard about the volcanic ash in Europe that was causing such a fuss for the airlines and yep it caused a fuss for us too. We almost didn’t make it out of our lay over in Philadelphia but luckily we were only delayed a couple hours and then they said we were ok to fly. Once we got to Rome we were so excited to finally be there… until we realized my luggage was somehow left behind in London. The airline assured us each day that my luggage was on the way and there was no need for concern, however it continued to be a step behind us with each move we made to a new city. After wearing Andrew’s clothes for the first few days the airline reimbursed me for clothing and I was able to wear something that fit, with my luggage finally making it us the day before we left. Not only that but I had a small personal laptop inside which of course was not in it when it was returned to me. But I got to do plenty of shopping so I wasn’t too upset = ) So..now headed home, we have my luggage, and the trip was otherwise amazing so everything should be great right? Wrong. We made it out of Italy and landed in London where we were told that because the cabin crew for our airline was on strike our flight home had been canceled. Yes…volcanic ash and now a strike.. Now, mind you we were on a pretty strict time table to get home because we were moving into out new house and we had landscapers planned to come out the day we returned. So we ended up spending a night in London and flying out a day late.

We finally landed back in the U.S. in the Chicago airport so everything was alright then right? Wrong again. As soon as I had cell service and was able to receive emails, I read a message from our landscapers which read ” Joy, I don’t want to alarm you but there is water pouring out your front door and your front yard is soaked”. Oh yea….that’s what every newly married couple wants to hear about their house after returning from their honeymoon and of course while they are still 1500 miles away. On our way back to Virginia (at 11pm), we were flying down the highway to get to the house and….we hit a rock. I know, I know, I was thinking the same thing, what the heck is a rock this size doing in the middle of the highway??!! Well it was apparently looking for us. So obviously we took a quick detour for Andrew to change the flat and put on the doughnut. When we finally got to the house and opened the front door we were standing in about an inch of water. Feeling completely helpless we left and went back to our apartment which we had not officially moved out of.

Ok, so let’s fast forward three weeks. There was so much that happened in between that time (including no hot water for 7 days and being dropped by our insurance) but you would be reading for hours if I tried to write it all. Last weekend we were at home which is almost completely repaired from the damage (floors replaced, drywall, electrical etc) when Andrew flushed one toilets and the toilet in the other bathroom started to bubble. In an attempt to figure out the problem we flushed them a couple more times and one of the toilets began to pour water out of the bottom, which by the way was not the source of the original flooding. So we called roto rooter, they came out and told us that the tree in our front yard had its roots growing into the pipes and they would need to dig up our front yard and replace the pipes! I’m sure you could imagine the emotions that we felt at this point!

Now here we are at the end of this tale of drama, we still have our house which is completed except for the painting, we have a new dog : ), and most importantly we still have each other. I would like to say that we were completley cool, calm and collected through out all of this but I would be lying. It has been a bit of a struggle. But at the end of the day we know that God works good in ALL things for those who love him (Romans 8:28)…. We had a great time in a beautiful country, I have a wonderful husband and a beautifully renovated home and for all this I can only be thankful. – Joy

I’m not sure about you, but I can’t believe everything they have been through and if you are a person of faith I’m sure they would appreciate prayers to make it through the end of this. I’m pretty impressed by their attitude through it all and if you have a similar story, let us know!

visiting pennsylvania

Mary Dougherty — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:15:53 +0000

It’s always a treat to visit with friends. After college one of the hardest things is probably moving away from some of the people you’ve grown closest with, and knowing that you won’t see them as often. Jobs, family, and life takes you elsewhere so it’s hard to get together again. Weddings are perfect for that, and as you know I’m looking forward to a reunion with friends at Laura + Travis’s wedding this summer. I love seeing and photographing that at weddings as well – something I always look for.

For the past few days, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in Pennsylvania with one of my best friends from college, Mary Claire. So far I’ve become addicted to Glee and will finish watching the whole first season by the end of my trip. We went to see The Young Victoria and left wanting to watch it one more time. The music from the movie was fabulous too and currently Mary Claire is thinking about having our afternoon run be to the music store so she can buy Schubert’s Swan Song and play it tonight. Yesterday we had a very early and adventurous day as I accompanied her to Philadelphia, where she teaches music each Wednesday. We didn’t do any of the typical philly things (I have before, don’t worry) but had fun catching up with another friend from college, Josh, over lunch. This morning we went out for a treat at La Maison Du Cheese in Doylestown and it was the cutest little shop. In addition to specializing in cheese they bake fresh croissants each day so we went over to enjoy one. Both of us had blueberry and we were lucky to have a taste of the croissant bread pudding – if you’re going to have bread pudding, it might as well be with croissants. Enjoy a few photos from our trip there and I will work on my story telling as I have already spent too long writing this post :)

romantic bridal session

Mary Dougherty — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:37:46 +0000

You’ve seen their engagement photos – and now, since the wedding day on Saturday, the bridal photos I took of Lisa can come out of hiding and be shown to the world. Lisa kept her dress a big secret, as most brides do until their wedding day, and she looked gorgeous the day of. I don’t think there’s any argument that she looks fabulous in the pre-wedding bridal session we did previously this summer. We met up for a day to do both and honestly I couldn’t be happier with how it went. Sometimes a photo-session can be stressful because of time, weather, etc… and so afterwards I might wonder if I captured everything I wanted. Okay, I kind of felt like that after the bridal session. That is until I sat down and edited them, and realized I had nothing to worry about. I was really happy with the bw/ slightly sepia tone I gave some of the photos and think it fits them perfectly. Kind of the vintage black and white photo look that is also so timeless – and for any type of wedding photo, it’s perfect.

We started in a more urban looking spot but quickly moved to the fields which gave us the romantic country background and set the stage for the rest of the photos. I guess it’s also a recurring theme in my photos, probably because that’s what I’m close to.

The umbrella really was needed but of course was also the perfect prop. Thankfully it didn’t rain that much and the dress survived unharmed. So, if you’re thinking about doing a session like this for yourself, we can either work it into your wedding package or do it on it’s own. Yes, your wedding might have already happened but maybe you didn’t get the pictures you wanted in your dress… I know it’s true because I’ve had several people tell me about experiences like that. So,you’ll just have to contact me if you want something like this of your own.

Lisa is completely gorgeous! Let me know what you think and does anyone have a favorite? It’s hard to choose – which is why I put so many in the post. enjoy!

Brendan + Stephanie's engagement

Mary Dougherty — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:42:33 +0000

Before this lovely couple tied the knot about a week and a half ago, we managed to meet up in June in the Rochester area for their engagement photos. I say managed because it was quite the rendezvous. They have an amazing ability to travel and so they hopped up to New York (I was already there for a wedding) after visiting family for the birth of their niece in Ohio… after driving over from North Carolina. Oh, and did I mention right after the wedding they moved out to California and took that road trip across the country? It sounds crazy and yet at the same time I wish I could do it. I think we were both happy when it worked out to meet for the photos, and while we did a little bit of everything in the town of Fairport we ended going to a vineyard nearby which was the best decision we made- so I’m going to show you those pictures which are my fav.

I love shooting in vineyards, and I think it was the perfect backdrop for Brendan and Stephanie’s engagement – so thanks again guys for meeting up with me and I hope you enjoy!

Sarah + Matt's wedding

Mary Dougherty — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:30:24 +0000

This spring, Sarah + Matt tied the knot! It was a great event, filled with family and fun and it was my pleasure to be a part of. One thing I really enjoy about being a photographer is being able to finish all of the images from a wedding and see how they fit together to tell a story. In this post you’ll find an abbreviated version of their story but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

how adorable is this little guest?

Yep, this picture has to be one of my favorite since I love the framing of Sarah… and the gorgeous stained glass below (which also decorated the rest of the church) was done by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the famed glass maker and of course in the family that started Tiffany & Co, which you might also be familiar with :]

yes, they were that fun and loved jumping to bring a little life to the photo

everyone had fun dancing… I apologize in advance those people who will be receiving blackmail for some of the images :]

I had a hard time finding what to say in this post and I think it’s because the pictures really speak for themselves! It is clear that Sarah and Matt love each other, that they have many family and friends who love them, and that all came together on one fabulous day! It was wonderful to photograph and thanks again to everyone who was a part of it and let me enter their lives, but most of all thanks Sarah + Matt.

p.s. I did my first “newlywed shoot” (post wedding engagement session) with these too and they are to die for so check back in a little while to see them soon!

I love friday

Mary Dougherty — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:46:57 +0000

We made it through another work week… and the good news is most people don’t have to go in on Monday… but I am one of the lucky few who does get to! haha- at least there’s the weekend. Most of you are already off gallivanting around- I know my family is, they’re in Michigan’s upper peninsula- “the UP” camping for the weekend- I know, I’m missing out.

I hope everyone is enjoying the new site… but still loving the blog! Let me know what you think and I look forward to hearing from you – thanks for those who’ve contacted me so far!

Here are some fun and exciting photos for you! I’ve mentioned “trash the dress” before and wanted to do some of my own, but in order to avoid the connotations that come with that, I’ve named this session lux… aka “get out that wedding dress and have some fun.” If you’re interested in doing something adventurous that would require time outside of the wedding day, then this is for you. Contact me for details- and enjoy these photos!

as you can tell the above was the after, and now this is the before…