Angie and Jeremy live in the south…and Jeremy has the sweetest southern accent I’ve ever heard…it’s so endearing, with a heart warming smile to match.  He was so lucky when he first laid eyes on Angie at a Museum…it was love at first sight, naturally…she’s adorable!  If she hadn’t been such a planner, checking out the museum for her students the day before their field trip, they may never have met.

Angie knew she wanted something special for their Wedding day here in New York where she grew up.   She happily came across Hurd Orchards in her online search, which then also lead her to my photography…and so began their celebration planning.

Letchworth State Park has special meaning to them, so while they were here a few days before their Wedding, we met at the falls and captured their Engagement portraits.  I was really happy to have an excuse to travel and get away from the office…we had a beautiful afternoon together and I immediately felt and captured their connection, adorable together.

So cute!

♥

Just a few days later we celebrated their dedication to one another as they shared their vows with their friends and family.  It was an unbelievably beautiful Spring day…breezy, filled with sun shine, and surrounded by the rustic, and natural beauty of the orchard.  Fresh lilacs were abundant, pressed linens adorned the tables with decorative lanterns along with some of the most creative details I have ever seen.

(please check back again soon…a beautiful work in progress)

The post A little southern comfort…Congratulations Angie & Jeremy! {Hurd Orchards Wedding} appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

My parents raised me to be independent, kind, polite, caring, and strong.
They both are incredible role models and I hope I picked up on some of their traits along the way.

As we celebrate Mothers Day…the most recent time spent with my mom was immediately following the birth of my baby boy this past March.  She left her life to help mine, and I will never be able to thank her properly.  She took care of my little girl when I couldn’t, she cooked and cleaned for us, she provided things that we needed in our home, and reassured me that everything was going to be ok when I was sure I wouldn’t make it another day.

Selflessly walking my daughter (in the cold!) to day care while I stayed with baby to keep him warm.

Surprised me with an ice cream pie on my birthday!

Visiting with our week old baby boy

Her beautiful smile ♥

My mom gives of herself in so many ways…our family is beyond lucky to have her as our mom and Grandma.  She has FINALLY retired from a long life of major dedication to her work and it makes me happy because all she has to do now is have fun, to travel for herself and not for her work, and to spend time with her family and not at her desk.

We love you mom, today on this special day, and all the days and nights in between.
Happy Mothers Day. ♥

(I also put together a little compilation of my perspective in remembering life’s little moments of Motherhood…in between.)

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Before we know it, school will be out for the SUMMER!!!! You know what that means? (pool parties!) It also means that we get to look forward to these fun sessions together! My High School picture was RIDICULOUS. I SO wish someone like me had photographed my smile…to have helped me be remembered beautifully. I would love to do this for you so you can share your yearbook years from now, excited to do so.

Besides pool parties…even sooner is the PROM!  How fun is it to get all dressed up?!!!  I was just out in the mall (which doesn’t happen very often with little ones at home) and as I turned the corner in a department store, my eyes widened with excitement to see a beautiful sea of colorful prom dresses in all sorts of designs and styles.  Oh my, to be a teenager now instead of the 80′s!!  You have no idea.

Anyways, it made me think about this special time of year for Juniors, and their upcoming year as a Senior and I want to treat you to remembering this FUN time beautifully.
**SPECIAL! Choose me as your photographer by the end of May and I will photograph you in your Prom attire during our session! A fun way to dress up again, with a city scape backdrop…a little more fun than just standing on your front lawn. Just sayin’!
This is for the guys too…you might not have as much fun as the girls while you’re in a tux…BUT you still look cool and you’ll appreciate it later in life….plus, I’ll help you grunge it up a little
Reserve your High School Senior session (Rochester, NY)  together with me, and be remembered beautifully, cool, and confident in your yearbook. I’m excited to share this exciting time with you!

Contact me SOON because the dates are very limited with only a few openings before the deadline this Fall.

Find some samples here on my website, and I’m on Pinterest too!  Follow along…I’ll be posting lots of other pins soon to help you start thinking more about your session.

The post High School Senior photographer, Rochester NY appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

I’m SO happy he’s finally here, and have loved sharing him with friends and family…my little guy.  We struggled with his name until the last minute, but we look at him now and it feels right.  I should let you know if you don’t, that I have a married last name of Mongiovi…(sounds like Bon Jovi) and kept my birth name for my business.  So his last name is Mongiovi.  It would sound a little unusual as Nicholas Angelo Egan…I married into an Italian family … but will always be Irish at heart.  I’m all about luck and rainbows you know.     (but I also appreciate a good glass of wine, home made sauce, canoli’s and large large large family gatherings crammed into a table that tries hard to accommodate us)  Best of both worlds ♥

I remember being so sad thinking that I wouldn’t have any time left for my little girl when he would arrive…we do everything together, I love her SO much…but somehow, you ARE able to share this incredible love as a parent…and it grows…it doesn’t split….you somehow find more.
I will post more pictures as I get the time to take them…thank you for keeping in touch with me and sharing your well wishes for our family.  We’re incredibly lucky, we know … and we will do our very best to teach them all the wonders of our world as they grow.

So without further adieu, here’s our son Nicholas, brother to our little girl Kayla, and lucky little Grandson too.

I posted this welcome photo on my Facebook page…if you haven’t joined us already, we’d love to have you follow along too!

He was born at the Highland Hospital Family Maternity Center, Rochester, NY …my daughter was too and I highly recommend their services.

As a photographer, I know the importance of being IN some pictures now and then.  Most of the time, if I decide to be in one, I use my self timer because it still lets me have control over the image…it’s so difficult to let go of being the one behind the lens sometimes.  In this case, it would have been near impossible and I was in no physical state to be even attempting such a task.  I wanted to share this celebration with my little girl when she came to the hospital to see her baby brother for the first time.   My colleague and friend, offered to capture this special occasion for me and I’m so glad I made this very important decision for our family history.

This is my favorite picture of me holding our son…it’s timeless…and I love that the happy face balloon was included because it was from Kayla. ♥

Our family

So excited to kiss her baby brother for the first time

(If you’d like to know who captured our family at the hospital, just let me know…she did a wonderful job!  I would love to do this for families too…
these are the moments we want to remember and to be a part of too)

Before we left the hospital, I wanted to take at least a few pictures of our little guy, my Husband, and our room.  I remember being SO excited to have found this
Superman sleeper over the Summer and couldn’t wait to put it on Nicholas for his ride home.  Unfortunately, it was HUGE and I didn’t realize it was too big for the car seat…not safe.
So, this is my way of remembering for now…and one day it will fit, and we’ll get some cute pictures of him in it. 

Once we made it home, and I was able to get a ‘little’ rest…I couldn’t wait to photograph him.
These were taken just a few days after we got home, so he was just about a week old.

I just love this one…look at his little hands held close together, so sweet.

Don’t you love his little hat?  Crochet goes hand in hand with babies and children.  This one was hand sewn by Karen at Duncan Creative…you have to see her shop on Etsy, SO many
wonderful items and she’s a local artisan to Rochester too!  I’ll be posting some more of her creations as I find the time, come back to see!

My last image for now is my little girl kissing her baby brother…she does this as often as she can when they’re around each other.
‘Can I kiss baby Nicholas?’ she asks.  ‘Yes, sweetheart…you’re such a wonderful big sister, I love you Kayla.”

The post Welcome Nicholas Angelo! {baby/family photographer, Rochester NY} appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

This is my little girl kissing my belly as we wait…she’s just turned 3 years old and the more we talk about it, the more she understands that she is soon to be a big sister … I think she’s excited because she talks to my tummy and says ‘hi’ to him a lot.

For the past year, she has had an infatuation with dinosaurs so we knew that had to be the theme of her party.  We call her ‘Kayla-saurus’ and I was so fortunate to find an amazing seamstress on Etsy who could make a custom t-shirt for her with her own name, and an adorable patchwork dinosaur cut out…hand stitched!  Her name is Kim, and her company is Lilystitches.  You MUST check her out for personalized items, they’re incredible.  She even went WAY above and beyond by HAND delivering the t-shirt to me (I have the added bonus of being local to her shop) even though it was my last minute timing with the order…she cared enough to make sure we had it for Kayla’s party.  She was a sweetheart and I look forward to giving her items as gifts for years to come, thank you Kim!

Once I had decided on the dinosaur theme, I knew I needed to have a dinosaur cake…and it had to be a Triceratops…Kayla’s favorite.  I described it to our baker, Gourmet Goodies, whom I choose for so many of our special events, and cried on the spot when I first saw her creation.  The size, the detail, the thought…I knew my little girl would be SO excited to see this cake and she was.  It was so chocolately good, the left overs didn’t last long at all…mmmmm!  Thank you Deb!

Just look at that smile….SO excited!!! 

We had about 7 little girls over which was a perfect amount for a house party…Kayla is so lucky for having these sweet little friends to play with.  I used a water table and filled half with
sand, and the other half with some water.  The project was a dinosaur dig!  There were plastic eggs hidden in the sand which were filled with malted eggs which looked like dinosaur eggs.  (for Easter baskets…it was the perfect time of year to use them.)  There were little plastic dinosaurs in the dirt too that the dug for and got to take home as part of their goodie bag.  They loved playing in the dirt, so fun!

Yay, found an Egg! 

The other project we did was to make the little take home bags.  The night before I wrote each of their names using a fabric marker with stencils on their canvas totes.
They each got their own personalized bag, and then with their moms, they colored in dinosaur stencils of their choice of dinosaur.  Quick and easy little project for everyone to work on at the table together.  Then they could put their little goodies in there to take home.  I found dinosaur rubber duckies, and dinosaur bubble bottles on Amazon…as well as the plastic dinosaurs and eggs they got from their dig.   We had some dinosaur face masks too, but we never made it to putting them on…too much excitement and play time…they just loved running around together.

We opened her presents together the next day…the moms suggested at this age, it’s too overwhelming for the kids to wait, and then they want to play with everything.  She was so excited to
open all the thoughtful gifts…such a lucky little girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kayla-saurus!  We LOVE you more than you could imagine. xoxoxo

{Rochester, NY event photographer…photographing lifestyle memories in your home….to remember your life…beautifully}

The post Dinosaur themed Birthday party, Lilystitches, and Gourmet Goodies make everything come together! Rochester, NY event photographer appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

With a toddler at home, and another week or so until I give birth to our son…most of my spare time is spent on the couch.   I used to get out and about more and celebrate Valentines day at restaurants and on dates but my favorite date right now is the chance to relax in the arms of my family.  ♥

Speaking of family … I must share these adorable pictures of my little sweetheart taken on this special day.

I would love the opportunity to photograph your family, your sweethearts, in the comfort of your home too…lifestyle photography is what we call it and it’s such a wonderful opportunity to capture the every day little things that may otherwise go un noticed, un captured while you’re tending to this or that.  These fleeting moments are many times the most special things we’ll want to remember.

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that my special promotion is still going on…especially now that Valentines Day has passed knowing there are probably some new Engagements out there!  YOU will receive a complimentary session gift as thanks for any couples you send to me for a Wedding photographer.  Once they choose me, we get to set a date for YOUR session!  Let’s share the love, together.  Thank you!

I also made some special Timeline covers for your Facebook pages!  If you’d like one too, just let me know…I’m happy to make a custom one for you!  Just post to my Facebook wall, and I’ll email the file directly to you, so fun!  It can have hearts, or we can keep it timeless…or even Spring themed as we look forward to the warmer weather….whatever you’d like.

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I’m not sure if anyone has heard of this just yet, but I came across it over the holidays last December … just a few weeks after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, this ‘act’ popped up in my Facebook news feed and I immediately knew I wanted to participate.   It’s called ‘The Olivia Act‘: “A photographer’s challenge, named after Olivia Engel and inspired by all the innocent lives killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy.”

As I listened to all the news reports that day, like anyone, I kept imaging that my own little girl wasn’t going to be coming home that night from school…or ever again.  I was in the middle of a 365 project as well (taking a picture a day for a year) and this was my interpretation as I (so thankfully) was able to watch her play that tragic night.

If you know of a family that is going through heartbreak in some way that would benefit from having a complimentary session who could not otherwise afford to capture this time in their lives, please help me get in touch with them so I can help.  Unfortunately, we can never foresee tragedy, but while it is ongoing for some, we can share the love and memories for these families together, right now.  Thank you!

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I recently met with an Event Planner who had lost a dear friend to cancer.  Her name is Jen Cianciola Stanton, and you can follow her event planning business on Facebook, Events by Jen…I highly recommend her services for your Wedding and/or special events.  She’s amazing, and so creative with the ideas you’re wanting to design.

She began working on a cause to help financially support the research involved to one day bring cancer to an end.  She named it ‘The Steel Lillies Foundation” : Steel Lillies Foundation was founded in January 2012, in honor of Tiffany Lill, to support Sarcoma research at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at Strong Memorial Hospital.

When I heard the news about the event, I knew that I wanted to donate a session to the cause and I look forward to capturing some special moments and smiles for the lucky winner of the auction!

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I am very pleased and excited to announce that I have received a new award for the testimonials I receive from my Wedding couples!  Thank you to everyone who has submitted their oh so sweet and kind recommendations about your experience with me as your photographer.  I appreciate the time and thought that you put into them, and so do the future couples as they continue their search for a Wedding photographer.  I know when I’m looking for a new business, and am overwhelmed at my choices, the testimonials I read, and recommendations I receive from friends and family always push me in the right direction.  I’m thankful that we have a platform available to us for posting and reading … thank you to Wedding Wire.com!

I’m excited for this new 2013 Wedding season…all the couples I will get to share their celebrations with…as well as the families and High School Seniors I get to capture for their heirloom photographs.
And as always, I’m SO glad you’re here with me…I couldn’t do any of this without you.  Thank you! ♥

The post Valentines Day, Facebook Timeline covers, The Olivia Act, Wedding Wire Award, Steel Lillies Foundation {Rochester, NY photographer} appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

I remember meeting with Diana earlier last year and how excited she became when we started talking about herEngagement session possibilities.
She wasn’t sure Joe would be on board with a winter wonderland theme, but as the snow started to fall, she thankfully convinced him to give it a try.
I’m SO glad she did because they had such a fun time together….their laughter and love warmed them up as we walked around in the snow covered park.
They even brought their cute little dog Brody for a few family pictures…adorable!
Most couples don’t want anything to do with Winter pictures, and that’s completely understandable…I’m just happy to have found one that is, because I love it too!

Congratulations Diana and Joe!  We’re going to have so much fun on the big day, can’t wait!
Have fun with the rest of your planning, and enjoy this very special time together as you look forward to Fall. ♥

The post Winter snow Engagement session at Webster Park, NY – Congratulations Diana & Joe! appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

Please share this video with them, let them see…these are not just portraits, they are fleeting moments filled with real emotion, captured forever. Thank You!

Testimonial:

“Not only is Sue Egan a complete professional, but her enthusiasm and sincerity makes working with her an incredibly positive and easy experience. I cannot express enough how happy my husband and I are with both our engagement photos and wedding photos. Sue knows how to capture every single moment, and she goes above and beyond to make sure she gets the best photos of everything from the ceremony, to special moments when you’re just looking at your husband, to all of the decorations.

Part of the reason we chose our venue (Bristol Harbour) is because we saw photos that Sue had taken of another wedding there, and we were blown away. So we knew we needed to use Sue as her photographer. Sue is efficient, her turnaround time to get you the photos is incredible, and her work speaks for itself.

Our guests were even blown away at how easy she was to work with, and we have received so many compliments, my favorite being “your photos look like they belong in a fashion magazine.” We are so, so happy with everything Sue did, and we encourage everyone in the upstate NY area to use her as your photographer.

We have these photos to cherish for the rest of our lives. Thanks so much, Sue!”

The post January 2013 special with recommendations! – Rochester, NY Wedding photographer appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

Hi everyone – Happy New Year!!  Can you believe we’re already into January….somehow I made it through the holidays, and even made some time for myself…it was wonderful.  I am happy to be back in the office and starting to get back to work on updates, and preparations for this new exciting year!

In case you don’t follow me on Facebook yet…(and if you don’t, please join us) … I made a little announcement that you can read all about here.  While you’re there, ‘like’ our page and keep in touch with all our stories and smiles!

I’m writing you today to share some of the little moments I witnessed over the holiday with my family, mostly my little girl…who will have more photos of herself before she’s 3 than I probably have of myself my entire life…and it’s been a long life so far.

Our holiday began shortly after Thanksgiving when we set out to find a tree.  I know it’s more economical to purchase one in a box to re-use year to year…but sometimes, there are those certain things that are worth it.  Nothing compares to walking through the evergreen trees with a child full of excitement to choose their tree, with the giddy anticipation to decorate it once it’s home.    I just love this moment together and I hope to capture a similar one for years to come.

I used this little table top tree for my holiday card picture…my little girl loves to kiss things.  She kissed our scarecrow while it was out for Halloween too, so cute!

We had our friends over for a brunch one afternoon, and the girls exchanged their gifts together.  This was my daughters first time sharing a present with a friend.

We had gotten our first snow fall the night before, so they were able to go outside and play together too! 

Her cute (can I have a lollipop?)  smile…I’ll never forget it ♥

Our family’s traditional Italian style Christmas Eve dinner!
Fried calamari, fish stew, smelts, lemon calamari salad, mussels, garlic shrimp, shrimp cocktail, Italian bread, linguini with home made sauce, red wine, Parmesan shaker, greens and beans, roasted chestnuts, ricotta canolis, (and I brought scalloped potatoes with steamed broccoli) LOL. Mangia!

Christmas morning Belgian Waffle with strawberries!  And it snowed!!  She is looking out the window with excitement for all the snowflakes.

We have realized that we’ve now entered the ‘some assembly required’ phase of parenthood.
“Are the trains in there? When can I play with the trains?”  she asked after opening the huge box which needed at least a 2 hour assembly  :/   LOL

She waited patiently, and got a lolly as her reward…as well as getting to play with the amazing train set!  It gives mommy a minute to herself for a second too!

Such a lucky little girl to have so much family around her.  Later that week she opened more presents and was surrounded by more love each time.
I focused on the Mickey Mouse bag for this one because I want to remember how much she loves him this year.

During a break, we made her a little snack of grapes….only a grandma would put festive toothpicks in there.
P.S. did you do a double take?  See anything else out of the ordinary in this picture?

Another of her favorite characters this year has been Snoopy…she was mesmerized with this music box snow globe with Snoopy inside.

Her first night away from home and first time in a big girl bed since traveling….we knew she would climb out of this pack and play and needed to figure out another alternative.
My Husband suggested turning it on its’ side so it was more like a fort…brilliant!  She LOVED it in there and slept peacefully every night.  Especially when Grandma read her stories.

One of her cousins came to play during the week and introduced her to dress up!  Here she is guiding her through the kitchen as she wears ‘high heels’ for the first time.
She loved shuffling around in them, and twirling her tutu!

Look at that smile!  She loves her Gramps and couldn’t wait to show him her newest dinosaur!

We had JUST missed a snow storm while traveling but got to enjoy it once we had safely arrived.
Two more of her cousins were visiting, and we all went out on a toboggan together!  Kids and the snow just go together…how cute!

We were so lucky to have all the cousins together at one time in front of the tree.  This took a few tries, but we got it!

On our way out of town, we stopped at our sisters new home.  She will be painting this wall but wanted the kids to draw on it before it gets re-done.
We left her lots of messages and fun drawings to fill her new home with love.

We arrived home that week to a HUGE snow storm and couldn’t even pull into the driveway.  My husband leaped over the snow bank, ran up the driveway with snow up to his knees,
and thankfully got the snow blower started.  Once there was a path to the door, we could walk inside…my little girl could NOT wait…I wouldn’t believe it myself, but I think she just might love the snow more than me.

New Years Eve was spent playing in the snow….we built a ramp off our deck for her to snow tube down, so fun!

New Years Day was spent on the couch, mostly … just recuperating from all the holiday excitement.  But the next day when my Husband came home from work, she threw on her boots,
and ran to the window begging to go outside to play.  And so they did. ♥

And so begins my New Year…blessed with my family, blessed with a Winter’s snow, and continually blessed with all of your support as I continue to live this amazing life as a photographer.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Happy New Year 2013 to all of you, and THANK YOU for sharing your smiles with me.

The post My Holidays at home – photographing the every day moments of my life appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.

They can literally create anything you’re looking for with elaborate designs, or simply delicious tasting treats.
Have you ordered your holiday cookies yet?  Give some time back to yourself, and let them bake for you…we all need a little treat now and then.  You can taste the love and dedication that goes into her baked goods.  Enjoy!

Here are 4 cakes I’ve ordered from her in the past.
The latest creation was made for a friend and colleague of mine for her going away party.  The logo of her business is red lips and Gourmet Goodies created it perfectly.  It’s a double layer cheesecake inside with raspberry swirl.  She even thought to create it allowing the top layer to be peeled off to save…who thinks of that?  AND, there’s edible GLITTER on top too!  So gorgeous.

You can see the excitement in her eyes…she loved it!

I also ordered a special cake for my Husband’s 40th Birthday this year….it was right around when the Avengers came out (which he loves) and I knew it had to be that.  Again, I just gave her some thoughts,
and she put together more than what I could have imagined.
SO fun!

(those little smudges are from me … I think I was too excited and rushed getting it out of the box)

She’s also created special cakes for my daughters first and second birthdays…and I can’t wait to order her third coming up soon!
What to do, what to do?!

A HUGE thank you to Gourmet Goodies for all the tasty memories!
You can also find them on Facebook…follow along and see what’s baking!

The post Gourmet Goodies bakery Rochester, NY – cakes and cookies for all occasions! appeared first on Sue Egan Photography Blog.