With Gratitude and Thanks

Can we do it all over again?  Man, Thanksgiving you are so amazing, what a beautiful holiday to give us the excuse to disconnect and just simply be together.  I really wanted to post a Happy Thanksgiving yesterday and had every intention of doing so but spent the morning writing a special message to my families from this past year, so thankful for those memories I treasure so much from each session.  So many families and children who have entered my heart and made me SO grateful this year.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, I tried to get a one-line post out there, to simply say Happy Thanksgiving and thank you but if you follow me, then you know my words are reflective so this sentimental soul has a tough time keeping anything to one line, especially when it comes to saying thank you!

When I think back to where I was this time last year in 2014 having just ended my first "official" season as Anne Marie Photography, I would have never thought I would have the year I just had, no...for real.  It's because of all of YOU that I am here today finishing out the most mind-blowing, amazing, and incredible season.  It's because of all of YOU and your support, encouragement, comments, "likes", shares, texts, emails, phone calls, you name it that I have had such a memorable year.  From my teachers, mentors, behind-the-scenes supporters and dear friends, to the last minute coffee dates, and of course my own incredible family, I am so fortunate to have you all in my life, by my side--there is so much gratitude and endless amounts of hugs and thank yous' for all you continue to do for me.  

I do my best to reflect and give thanks every day, but yesterday was extra special and wonderful.  I sat at my parent's house, the house I grew up in the West End of Hartford, as we all gathered around their dining room table, beautifully decorated with crisp ironed linens, polished silverware, glowing candles, the good china, we gave thanks to our health and happiness.  My mother always puts her heart into her cooking, every last detail perfected.  The timing of the meal, the seamless way she somehow gets each dish out all at once and hot, amazes me.  My dad raising a glass to say grace, his words always so reflective and meaningful, and yes, now you know where I get it from!  It was a beautiful afternoon that spilled into the late evening, as most of our family gatherings do.  No one ever wanting to leave.  I am blessed.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving with your family and dear friends.  I know I have so much to be thankful for this year.  I have been blessed by so many of you who I am thankful who take the time out of your busy day to read my blog or look at my posts on Facebook or Instagram.  I am so fortunate to have you all in my life whether we've been friends forever, or have yet to meet. Thank you for touching my life in the most meaningful way.  I am grateful for your encouragement and love you show me and the future excites me beyond belief!

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, the Christmas music will officially start playing non-stop in our house starting on Monday till after the New Year!  But today, I'm heading to my sister's house for round two Thanksgiving with my Mastronardi side and I can't wait!

And of course, my final thanks and gratitude goes to the leading man in my life- my rock, and my biggest believer.  My husband, Justin.  My love.  He knows how thankful I am for him but wow, this year he has seen me at my lowest of lows and at my highest of highs, his calming nature, comforting words, and kind heart, he has given it all to me, unconditionally.  He's picked me up and pushed me along in the latest of nights and the earliest of mornings.  So much of my inner strength comes from him, we are a team and without him (as I often tell him) I wouldn't be where I am today.

Enjoy your weekend, celebrating the gift of togetherness and the beautiful people in your life.  I celebrate all of you and wish you peace today and throughout this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!
xo
Anne

I took this photograph on Drift Inn Beach up in Port Clyde, Maine this past August where my family spent the week on vacation while visiting my brother who owns Yardbird Canteen, across the street to Drift Inn Beach. It was right after my time with photographer Tiffany Farley,  a time I am so grateful for.  I was waiting for my dad and Justin to arrive as they were paddling from Marshall Point Lighthouse in my dad's canoe as the fog and pouring rain set in.  I love the mood, colors, and texture this image portrays.  It's a photograph that holds a ton of meaning for me and I can't wait to hang it in our house!  

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your  2016 session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_

       

A Family Portrait Collection | West Hartford, Connecticut

As we make our final preparations for Thanksgiving, run out to get those last minute shopping items, get the table set and look forward to our homes being filled with the smells of the turkey roasting in the oven and the laughter of our family and friends, a special time for family traditions to be carried on and new ones to be created.  This gal is SO excited for her mother's home cooking and for two full days of family time!  So as we work up our appetite and travel safely to our holiday homes, I couldn't wait to share more from my time with this beautiful family!

Last month I had the absolute pleasure and delight of meeting this wonderful family for the first time. They were celebrating their daughter's third birthday on the day of our session.  And as busy as they were getting ready for a weekend of celebrating with family and friends, it was so nice to see them enjoying a special Friday evening together.  These family memories are truly what matters most.  

When this lovely mother Jenn and I talked for the first time, I loved learning about how she and her husband, Maciej met, their love story and how their family has moved and grown throughout the years!  We even realized we knew some of the same people and that her mother was the librarian at my middle school, such a small world!

It was a perfect fall evening with the most gorgeous sunset light.  There were so many moments when their son was snuggled up in his parent's arms and so curious watching his big sister run around, wanting so badly to be independent.  It was amazing that only a few short weeks after our session that he started to walk!  I'm so thrilled they have these photographs to remember this special time for their family.

Wishing everyone a very restful, peaceful, and Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for SO much this year and could go on for paragraphs, ok probably pages, but will save that for an entirely different blog post :)!!   

Here are a few of my favorites from their collection!

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your  2016 session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_

A Lasting Legacy

A week of giving thanks.  Giving thanks for our family, friends, and the most beautiful connections in our lives, the endless gifts and multiple blessings. Grateful for quiet moments like this image that leave me feeling whole and appreciative for all the incredible families who have welcomed me into their lives.  I’m honored to share in this ride together and capture life as your family evolves and changes, in all its seasons, in all its forms.  Family matters most. 

Today I’m heading down to Southern Connecticut to say my last goodbyes to the home my grandfather, Enrico “Rex” Joseph built with his own two hands in 1951.  A home that my father, uncles, and aunts grew up in, a home my siblings, cousins, and I would visit and play.  Beautiful memories that make me tear up as I’m writing this very sentence.  Growing up, Thanksgiving was spent at my grandparents’ home, eating delicious food my grandmother would prepare from scratch.  The table filled with treats and extended into the living room to fit our growing Italian family.  It’s with mixed emotions that we all say our final goodbyes to an era gone by. 

The memories I have of my grandfather around the holidays were ones of him with his video camera and huge aluminum light that he would walk around the house and blind us with, tripping over the extension cord.  I was the kid who always posed and acted overly dramatic when being filmed.  “Grandpa, look at my dress”, making faces and being obnoxious, haha.  As my family has been cleaning out my grandparents’ home, my father has brought me some old camera equipment, in pristine condition.   It’s been my reminder throughout the years as I continue to create a future of my dreams.  I love thinking about my grandfather and his passion for documenting and preserving our family history.

This is what inspires me when a family steps in front of my camera.  It’s a powerful feeling I get every. single. time.  It’s with great pride that these timeless memories are being preserved for the years ahead.  Memories for you, for your own children someday, for your children’s’ children, for your family to look back on, to remember and laugh.  It’s deep within my soul that I step head first into these moments with you to create lasting memories, a legacy to live in hearts forever.

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_

      

A Family Portrait Collection | Worcester, Massachusetts

As I eased into this week, keeping my thoughts and prayers with those whose lives were forever changed a week ago today and as we look forward to a week of giving thanks, I have been in a reflective and grateful state of mind.  Grateful for the gifts of the people in my life and the families I have the privilege to work with, they bring me so much joy and happiness--each experience truly leaving a lasting impression in my heart.

Last month, I had the honor of photographing my college roommates loving family up in Massachusetts.  We enjoyed a memorable afternoon reuniting as the leaves in New England were changing.

My dear friend Alycia is one busy mother who I admire so very much with everything she juggles!  She was the college roommate who kept me organized and always knew how to ease this homebody's worries about being away from home.  One of our favorite parts of the day would be watching A Wedding Story on our tiny 13" SD television and enjoying an afternoon cup of freshly brewed French pressed coffee, which was a big deal for us to make in our room!  She took the best notes in our Communication classes, would help me study through the night, and took care of me when I was sick.  Teachers would often get us mixed up or ask if we were sisters and we still crack up thinking back on all the fun times we had together, a sisterhood built on love, trust, and friendship.

Seventeen years ago when we first met, I would have never imagined that I would someday be a photographer photographing her beautiful family.  She is married to an amazing man, Tony, who makes her laugh and who loves her dearly.  And can we talk about their two adorable girls?!  I met their oldest daughter right after she was born and had yet to meet their youngest!  This was a reunion I had been looking forward to for months!  And now the girls and I send video messages to each other saying how much we love and miss one another.

Their little personalities are full of love and are independent, curious, and hysterical!  They are a beautiful mix of their parents, kind and strong just like their gorgeous mother and witty and playful just like their loving father.  It was a very special afternoon for us all, I loved every minute of capturing their special connection.  Moments like this is what it's all about!

Here are a few of my favorites from their family session!

 

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_

Pray For Paris | Saturday Reflection

As so many of you, I'm saddened this morning that yet another country so full of love and beauty is devastated and broken by the acts of others.  Too many innocent lives lost, families, and a loving community forever changed.  Yet, even in the darkest of days the support and togetherness of the world come together.  These days social media connects the hurt and suffering and it's a powerful way to send messages to all those around the world who can join and unite in the saddest of times.

So as I get ready for my family portrait session tonight, with a family that is built on strength, love, and commitment, I'm holding Paris and those sadly affected close within my heart.  Praying for the comfort, courage, and strength of so many lives forever changed. 

I was so fortunate to travel to Paris in 2006 for work covering ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.  I'm so grateful my mother was able to come with me on this work trip because she had the time of her life exploring and soaking in all the rich history and beautiful art Paris has to offer.  Only having one day for me to see the sights of the city, after we landed we took a quick nap and made our way to the Eiffel Tower.

This trip changed me.  It was my first trip out of the country at the age of 26.  It opened my eyes to a whole new world and introduced me to appreciating and finding beauty in the streets, in the language, the architecture, the textures, colors, and smells! It was a trip my mother and I will never forget.  

Here are a few pictures I took on this trip.  Each picture has a wonderful story, whether it was something that moved me in the textures on the streets, the lighting, the location where I was filming, they are all stories I cherish.  Thank you Paris for inspiring me with your beauty. Keeping you in my prayers.  xo

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_

  

Maternity Portrait Collection | West Hartford, Connecticut

As the seasons here in Connecticut were beginning to change, I enjoyed a special afternoon with these incredible first-time expecting parents, Mike and Elise, a stunning mama to-be!  We started our session indoors which was so relaxed and perfect for them to enjoy a few private moments together in the comfort of their home before heading outdoors to photograph them under the gorgeous sunset sky.

There is something so special about photographing expecting parents and documenting all the joyful emotions around this memorable time. Who will she look like?  What will her little personality be like?  All the unimaginable newness of life soon to be cradled in your two hands.

Photographing families as they evolve and change is what my heart speaks to, it resonates deep within my soul.  Children deserve to see how it all came to be, how they arrived, to be able to connect the dots of life, to understand their family history and their story.  I picture Mike and Elise sitting down years from now, looking through these photographs together and showing their first born what life was like as they awaited with great anticipation and excitement in the months leading up to meeting and holding her for the very first time.  

Mike and Elise- Congratulations on welcoming your baby girl!  Many blessings always to your beautiful family.   

Here are a few of my favorites from their maternity session.

Makeup by the fabulous Bonne of KiSSandMakeUp

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Anne is a Connecticut based natural light photographer specializing in family portrait photography.  

To inquire about booking your session, please contact Anne at annemariephotographyct@gmail.com

Facebook: Anne Marie Photography

Instagram: _annemariemiller_