Rachel Halsey Photography ~ Photo Blog

A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to photograph Valerie of Skincare by Val in Dover.
I met Val through Cyndi when she did the makeup for Cyndi and her bridesmaids. She did SUCH an amazing job and she is just the sweetest person. She was so thoughtful and professional while remaining a calming presence throughout the entire – usually stressful – getting ready process :]
I absolutely adored working with her, and I truly wish I had known her in 2008 when I tied the knot – I would have LOVED having Val there on my weeding day. And um, how fabulous would it be to take your bridesmaids for a calming facial before the big day (hint hint future brides)?!

When Abbie and I photographed Val (she works out of Timeless Salon and Spa), she did a facial (which I’m not going to lie, looked like the most relaxing and wonderful thing in existence!) and also two different makeup applications.
It was great getting to watch Val work and document the process for her. If after looking at these photos you start daydreaming of a facial (or another type of beauty service – just look at all she has to offer!), not to worry, you can book an appointment with Val here. You can also check out her Facebook page here.

Val helps with all kinds of skincare needs – from facials and waxing to makeup application and products – she’s got you covered!

Also, if you are currently unemployed and want Val to do your makeup for a job interview, she will do so completely complimentary. Seriously, we need more people like this!

Val, you are wonderful! Keep up the amazing work… you are making people feel SO beautiful and you deserve a gold medal for that. Also, I’m coming to see you soon for MY facial! ;]

xo!

Well, 2012 wasn’t my year for blogging… but what’s new? ;]

As I look back over the past twelve months I am extremely overwhelmed – mostly with extreme gratitude.
2012 brought a lot of new changes… and a lot of things have stayed the same…
I am still working full time while juggling a growing photography business.
I am so excited to think that one day I will be able to devote 100% of my day to my business. This past year has been another year of growth and promise and I’m happy to think that I am one year closer to doing photography full time.

Thank you to my AMAZING friends and family… but especially to my wonderful clients.
I couldn’t even think of following this dream without you… Your patience and understanding are invaluable… and your trust in me is amazing.
As I was looking through my sessions from this year, I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness for the amazing clients I have had the experience of knowing and working for. I look through your photos and I am reminded of memories and relationships – it really does feel like looking through photos of dear friends.
I guess in a way, that’s exactly what it IS.
You have made it possible for me to follow my dream and I am so grateful that I am the one who has gotten to preserve these precious memories for you.

My hope is that years from now, when you or your children or your grandchildren look at these photos of you – they also will be overwhelmed with gratefulness. Gratefulness that there was such an abudence of love – and also that it was important enough to be documented. This gift will live on forever and we will never know what kind of impact it will have.

So thank you again. I wish you all the happiest of New Years and I hope that 2013 brings even more love, laughter, and great memories to you and your loved ones.
I hope that this year will be filled with even more photo sessions… more love, more weddings, more babies, and more family… This life we’ve been given is such a gift.
Let’s document more of the love in our lives so that we can stop time for just a moment…. and we can be thankful.

And now – some of my favorites from the year….

Families:

Couples:

And last but not least, we experienced some pretty amazing weddings in 2012!

Of course, individual blog posts of all these amazing sessions will be coming… some day ;]

Until then, continue keeping up with me by visiting my Facebook Page.

Exciting things are coming… I am already in the process of putting together a plan for another day of mini sessions this winter… I am a firm believer that there should be more photos of families playing in the snow together!
If you are interested in recieving more information about these mini sessions, please email me at rachelhalsey@gmail.com or leave a comment on my Facebook page.

Lots of love to everyone… and a very happy 2013, too!

Chris and Cyndi’s wedding day on October 5^th could not have been more beautiful or perfect. The day looked like a postcard – bright skies and beautiful fall foliage everywhere. We met up with Cyndi and the girls at Cyndi’s sister’s house – while everyone got ready for the big day to the background noise of a lot of laughter and good times being shared. Cyndi’s sister’s house was perfectly nestled back from the road with a hedge line of big trees. It was so awesome having such a pretty space to work with. We then headed to The Oaks in Somersworth which is where the ceremony and reception took place. Again, I couldn’t have asked for a prettier backdrop to work with. Beautiful blue skies, green grass, and lots of fall colors everywhere. It was stunning.
Cyndi and Chris did such an amazing job creating so many personal touches for the day. Everything was so uniquely them and I loved every little detail. Cyndi also had one of the most gorgeous bouquets I have ever photographed. Ever. Seriously, this girl knows how to choose her flowers!
Chris and Cyndi held hands and spoke their vows to one another as bright sunshine streamed through the trees and cast shadows on all of their loved ones looking on. The love and support that these two have from the friends and family is so evident and beautiful… there were lots of happy tears shed during that first kiss as husband and wife.
And the reception? So much fun. This group knows how to party!
Oh, and there was a special little furry guest that even joined in on some of the photo fun. Couldn’t Oscar be a dog model? :]

I especially loved the little DIY details that were put together for this wedding – the photos on Cyndi’s bouquet, the amazing signs she made, the incredible dessert bar at the reception, the outdoor s’mores station…. Everything was just so much fun and there was just so much love involved.

Chris and Cyndi, you guys are amazing! I loved your wedding and had so much fun with the two of you. I wish you both all of the happiness in the world!

~

Tim and Jenna got married on one of the most beautiful afternoons in all of September. They tied the knot in Jenna’s home church in Maine and afterwards we were able to take some photos at the Hamilton House in South Berwick. It was absolutely breathtaking and I couldn’t have imagined a better location. There were flower gardens surrounding the water… and up on a hill, there was a big old barn. Yep. I was a happy photographer.

Simple and sweet was the theme of this wedding with wonderful friends and family members helping out with just about everything. It was certainly all a labor of love – and a beautiful one at that :]

Jenna and Tim are now living in New York as newlyweds. I wish the both of you all of the love and happiness in the world! xoxo and big hugs to you, my friends!

~

The bridesmaids wore shades of pink. The bride looked stunning in her gown. The sun was shining and the mountain air felt good in our lungs. We witnessed vows of love in the middle of tall trees and wildflowers. Family and friends gathered and blessed these two. There was laughter and love. There was dining and celebratory smoking and dancing in to the night while the band provided our soundtrack. It was beautiful.

This is the first wedding I had ever shot in Randolph, NH and let me tell you – I would not be mad if I had to travel there again one day.

There is a mossy glen in the woods that served as the ceremony location… only minutes from the beautiful house with the great big yard where Eoghan grew up.

Every detail was perfect, from the gorgeous mountain backdrop, to the pink ribbons that were tied on tree branches guiding us through the woods to the ceremony site. Everything was beautiful and so well thought out.

 My sister, Libby and Danah are dear friends. And from the very second I met Danah, she was my friend too. I loved her to pieces. I wanted to hug her…
I think I did hug her! She is absolutely precious. And Eoghan, he is just such a great guy. Together, they are the sweetest thing in the world.

Libby called me on the day of the wedding (she was already there with Danah and a sweet group of girls/sisters/dear friends) all to say: “Rachel, it’s like a wedding straight out of Anne of Green Gables… It’s perfect!”
Okay – here is where I confess us Oliver girls’ obsession with Anne and Gilbert and the TWO VHS set! Sidenote – if you haven’t seen this film, then you need to see it right now. Buy it, don’t rent it. You will want to own it.

If you don’t love it, I will take your copy and give it someone cool… I mean someone else. I will give it to someone else.

So as soon as Libby told me that, I was even MORE excited to start shooting. It sounded like a wedding out of a dream, and it was!

(Also, I asked Danah if she minded if I compared her wedding to Anne of Green Gables in this blog post, apparently, my sisters and I were not the only ones with a love for Anne. I felt like Danah and I squealed and hugged through the computer screen!)

Some of my favorite aspects of the beautiful day were:

The hotel where Danah and the girls stayed the night before – Oh my goodness, how much more “Green Gables” does it get?!
Oh just you wait….

Shooting photos IN THE WOODS! It was so beautiful. I was hoping a deer would sit quietly beside the bride and groom for at least one photo. I didn’t think that was too much to ask but apparently – it was. Regardless, we saw plenty of wildlife (Abbie saved me from stepping on a snake at one point during photos… at another point, we disrupted a yellow jacket nest in the woods and one of the bridesmaid’s plus myself got stung. Never a dull moment!)

The reception had an array of adorable “stations”.  One for cigars, one for s’mores, one for sparklers, etc. It was precious! Each little area was filled with vintage furniture and completed with a real live goldfish (in a bowl, no worries) – so unique and absolutely charming.

There was beer and root beer in an antique tub (!)

But my favorite aspect of the whole day had to be the amount of love that was evident everywhere. From the group of close friends that helped set up that morning, to the relationship between Danah and her sister and their mother, to the obvious love between Danah and Eoghan and their two families… there was just such a sweet outpouring of love the entire day. It was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever been a part of.

The entire day was so laid back and lovely… When Abbie and I arrived at the hotel to start shooting Danah and the girls getting ready, Danah already looked radiant. She did her own hair and makeup (are you kidding me?! Superbride!) and I loved the reaction her girlfriends had upon seeing her for the first time in her dress.

I know I briefly mentioned it above, but I also wanted to note that some of my favorite images from the day are of Danah and her sister, Nadia. Having extremely close bonds with my own sisters, I felt drawn to these images and what they represent. These are obviously two sisters that are closer than close… best friends… does it get much better than that? The fact that they (along with their mother) could be models probably doesn’t hurt anything!

Also, a huge thank you to my sister Abbie for shooting this wedding with me. As mentioned above, you saved my life AND got some amazing shots. Plus you were brave enough to travel 2.5 hours away from your husband and sweet girl… you are too awesome! And thank you to John for also shooting this wedding with us. The very last shot is one of yours and one of my favorites.

Enough rambling from this girl though. I could say a million more things but I will hurry up and get to the photos. Enjoy.

Trisha and Tim got married at the Union Bluff Hotel in York, Maine on a chilly March day not too long ago…

When I first met Trisha and Tim, I knew their day was going to be special. They have been best friends forever, and that kind of love doesn’t happen often. They are both relaxed, go-with-the-flow, completely amazing and lovely people and I couldn’t be happier for them!

Their big day was perfect – it went by so quickly and every detail was perfect.

Be sure to check out their amazing wedding video done by the fabulous Sara McCormick.

(and a great big shout out to El of El’s Cards who not only did the couple’s beautiful invitations, but also the place cards, table number cards, and favor tags!)

A little preview of the lovely Randolph wedding from last weekend :]

More to come!

I had the honor this past weekend to attend a wedding as an actual guest! It was amazing and so much fun – and of course – I couldn’t go without snapping at least a few candid shots.

Congratulations to both of you – you are precious and your love is so evident.
I hope that you have many years of happiness and joy :]

Here was my hot date for the evening (who also happened to be one of the bridesmaids) ;]

Meet my beautiful friend, Kate:

The ceremony was sunny and beautiful. I love this shot of Jessica’s brother walking her down…

Chris was so cute when he saw Jess. Look at that smile!

Married!

Details:

Thank you both for letting me be a small part of such an amazing day of your lives. Best wishes and infinite x’s and o’s!

Like Rachel Halsey Photography on Facebook :]

I can’t believe that I am just now blogging a JANUARY wedding. I swear, my internet friends, I am going to conquer this blogging thing!
One of the real problems is that I have SUCH a hard time choosing which images to share… I love all of them so much!
Here is part one of a whole lot of love:

Oh Simon, you are too cute.

“Getting ready” shots are almost always some of my most favorite images of the day

Stacie, of course, was no exception.

A little teaser of things to come: