MATERNITY 2014 | Elsa

I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  I sure had a great day spending it with my little one for my 1st Mother's Day =).

In light of the holiday, up on the blog this morning is someone near and dear to my heart.  I have known Elsa now for about 8 years and since day one I have loved this girl to pieces!  She is one of the most caring, giving, and beautiful people I have come to know and I am over-the-moon thrilled that in just a few short months, she is going to be a MOM.  You can tell just by the way she interacted with my assistant (aka my daughter Natalie) during the session that she is going to be one amazing mother to her little girl.

And you know how much I love her because I braved 4 HOURS of crazy traffic to be with her last weekend for the session (Thanks NYC 5 Boro Bike Tour for that - can you note the sarcasm?).  I met up with Elsa and daddy-to-be, Gregg, at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.  I have never heard of this place and I am so happy to know about it now.  GFS is AMAZING!  Apart from the variety of lifelike sculptures throughout the grounds (seriously, I apologized to a statue reading the newspaper on a bench when I knocked into it), the scenery of this place is breathtaking.  It's no wonder Elsa wanted to wait until the grounds were in bloom because it was just picture perfect for her maternity session.

Getting a little practice in while pushing Natalie around.  I think they look like naturals.

It's a girl!

Our girl Marilyn made her debut on the grounds this weekend!

The "Scream" photo kills me lol!

STUNNING!

This building located on the grounds was SO COOL!  Basically they had different sets around this building that you can stand in and take a photo.  But all along the walls are these frames which show images of these sets, so once someone steps in them, they are actually a part of the painting on the wall!

Just relaxing in Picasso's bedroom - no biggie.

Little booties!

And this last photo just takes my breathe away it's so magical!

EVENT 2014 | TOBIA Style Kentucky Derby Party - Classic Car Club of Manhattan

I was so excited to capture this awesome Kentucky Derby party this past weekend at the Classic Car Club of Manhattan.  When I received an email with the layout of the room and saw that there was to be beer served out of the trunks of two classic cars, I was SOLD!

This colorful, detailed gala was hosted by Megan and Francesco, owners of TOBIA - Made in Italy, an Italian menswear brand.  Staying true to Derby traditions, the Mint Juleps were flowing, the hors' devours were mouth-watering and the hats were abundant!  And what Kentucky Derby party would be complete without its very own window to place your bets (in this case for Best Dressed Man and Best Hat for the female category).  Guests also had a chance to press their luck with the actual race to see if they could walk home a few bucks richer.  What I loved most is knowing that half of the proceeds from the Wager Window went towards a charity for Leukemia.

And all this while admiring some of the beautiful cars the club had scattered about the room.  It was truly a great location for this fabulous event.  And it wouldn't have been complete without all these amazing partners:

TOBIA - Made in Italy (custom made Italian menswear)
Goldsmith Wealth Advisors
EVOE (mixologists and beverage consultants)
Benji Kayne of kayneLIVE
INSTAPRINT (such a great company and concept for a party - instantly print your Instagram photos!)
KG FARE Catering & Events (the food and service were both outstanding)