As the winter cold keeps me cooped up inside I’m dreaming of the spring that is coming! Last spring I took the Duvall boys spring pictures at Croft Farm. I love watching them grow up and they always do amazing! We did portraits of them together as well as individually. to give Mom and Dad lots of variety. We also fit in some first birthday portraits! Get ready for some cuteness overload!
Brayden came to visit me in the studio for his first birthday and cake smash session. This session was super special and a bit emotional because Brayden is a special little boy. He was born early at barely 30 weeks and fought hard to grow strong over the last year. Mom and Dad wanted to incorporate his NICU picture and I was happy to make it happen! Brayden wasn’t really into smashing his cake but we still had a great time.
Brayden's 1st Birthday and Cake Smash session in studio by South Jersey Cake Smash Photographer Abbey Bradshaw.
Read MoreJulianna and Thomas’ engagement session was the most unique one I’ve done so far and it was so awesome! Julianna reached out to me about having the session at the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden and I was so excited to shoot someplace new. I’ve never been to the Shofuso Japanese House before and it was so interesting to visit there.
Tom and Julianna Engagement Session at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden - Philadelphia Wedding Photographer
Read MoreMermaid themed First birthday cake smash session. Photographed by South Jersey Cake Smash photographer Abbey Bradshaw.
Read MoreJoe and Kelly’s Cottage Green wedding at Village Catering in Northeast Philadelphia.
Read MoreChelsea and Matt were married earlier this month at Running Deer Country Club in Pittsgrove Township. We planned for rain for weeks but in the end it was such a beautiful, fall day! They were married at the Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Vineland and then we headed over to Running Deer. It was a bit of a race against the sun setting but we ended up with gorgeous light during portraits! The bridal party rocked it and then we headed out with just Chelsea and Matt to do their portraits out on the golf course. I have a favorite little nook with tall grasses that I love to shoot at. Chelsea and Matt trusted me when I asked the to jump into the middle of the weeds and the resulting portraits were so worth it!
Vendors that made it all possible:
Venue - Running Deer Country Club
Church - Our Lady of Pompeii Church
Photographers - Abbey Bradshaw Photography
Videographers - Command Performance NJ
DJ - By Design Entertainment
Florist - Shop Rite of Williamstown
Baker - Stella Baking Company
Shoe Designer - Badgley Mischka
Joe and Kelly’s Philadelphia Art Museum Engagement Session. Session done by Philadelphia Wedding Photographer Abbey Bradshaw.
Read MoreStephanie and Jake’s Fall Rhode's Barn Wedding. South Jersey Wedding Photographer
Read MoreCape May holds a special place in Danielle’s heart so it was no surprise that their wedding was at the beautiful Chalfonte Hotel, Cape May’s oldest hotel. We lucked out with the weather and ended up with a gorgeous fall day. The rain changed the ceremony plans but Jeffrey and Danielle just rolled with it and moved it to the porch of the Chalfonte Hotel.. The wedding from start to finish was full of love and a lot of personal details and touches. For the first look we did it a bit different than normal. Jeffrey and Danielle held hands around a tree and then turned together to see one another. It was such a beautiful moment. I loved how they personalized it! During the ceremony their niece was the adorable flower girl and their pup served as the ring bearer (with a well tied on ring bag). Danielle’s godfather Tim officiated and gave a very emotional and heartfelt service. For the reception, Jeffrey’s sister Sylvia made the beautiful wedding cake. She’s not a professional baker but you’d never know it!
And for a final touch, the favors were made by the students at Jeffrey and Danielle’s school. Jeffrey and Danielle met at the vocational based high school in the Bronx where they work. Each class runs their own business and The Little Dipper Chocolatier is a booming business run by the class of one of their colleagues. Danielle and Jeffrey knew they wanted them to make their wedding favors because they're so beautiful and delicious. They also sell them so anyone who might be interested in ordering can contact Erica at ebesikof@schools.nyc.gov
At the end of August I met up with Matt and Alyssa on a warm summer night to discuss their upcoming wedding. It has been over two years in the making and you could just tell they were so excited to be getting married. We spent over an hour chatting about everything and planning out their day. Fast forward to September and it was their wedding day!! The entire day went so smoothly and we ended up having beautiful weather!
Lucien’s Manor holds a special place in my heart because its where my own wedding reception was held and they do such an amazing job with every wedding. I hadn’t been there since they renovated the room and added the chapel outside. I was afraid we wouldn’t have space for portraits but Alyssa and Matt ended up with so many great portraits from around the grounds. They also had a beautiful ceremony filled with tears of joy and happiness (this happened a lot all day) in the new chapel. Afterwards, the dance floor was packed all night long as well as the photobooth!
The team that made their day special included:
Florist - Always Beautiful Floral Design by Stella
DJ - SEK Productions
Venue - Lucien’s Manor
Dress Designer - Maggie Sottero
Limo - Alberts Transportation
I absolutely love shooting proposals. The excitement, the planning, the challenge of not being spotted, its all so much fun and it ends with one very happy couple! I loved helping Luke plan out how he was going to ask Kacie to marry him and it was an added bonus it was happening at one of my favorite places, Prospector’s Steakhouse and Saloon..
As we stood out in the rain with all of Kacie’s friends and family, huddled together under the side of the neighboring Walgreen’s awning, you could feel the excitement and nervousness radiating off Luke. Kacie was just inside the bar spending the evening line dancing with her mom. She had no idea what was about to happen! While she was busy we all snuck into the bar and stood on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully it was busy and she wasn’t expecting us so she didn’t even notice. Earlier in the night her mom had told her that she had entered them into a sweepstakes for a cruise so Kacie thought she had won when she was called out onto the dance floor. Instead Luke walked out and dropped down on one knee!
This is when Luke pointed out all of us to Kacie!
On a warm, rainy day in June I headed to Pine Hill, NJ for Sonny and Kiah's vow renewal. The day was incorporating two religious ceremonies so our first stop was the Sikh Gurdwara of Pine Hill. It was my first time photographing a Sihk wedding ceremony and everyone was so welcoming! Kiah and Sonny are surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. After the beautiful ceremony we headed to Medford, NJ to have a 2nd ceremony. The rain had started to come down before we went into the morning Sihk ceremony but the weather cleared in time for us to head to Kiah and Sonny's house in Medford, NJ. After we took some portraits Kiah then changed into her wedding gown. She looked stunning in both outfits! After she changed we did a first look since Sonny and Kiah hadn't seen each other yet since she changed. Afterwards we headed to the backyard for the Christian ceremony and then the reception. The entire day was so wonderful from start to finish and the weather held off for us!
I had so much fun doing the Watermelon Mini Sessions. All of the kids enjoyed their watermelon treat and their parents and I had quite a few laughs watching them. I've been thinking about doing these sessions for a few uears and I'm so glad I did them finally. The set came out just like I pictured it and the kids had a blast. I can't wait to do it again this weekend. There are still some session times open if you'd like to join us! www.abbeybradshawphotography.com/watermelon-minis
Last week the Mama-togs all got together to exchange pictures of each other with their children. As photographers we always end up behind the camera and rarely get pictures with our families so this is a great chance to focus on the moms! We met up at Boundary Creek and let the kids play while we all took time in front of the camera. I'm so happy to share my favorites of the night with you.
I met Chelsea and Matt in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia on a chilly spring day for their Philadelphia engagement session. We explored the streets while discussing all their plans for their upcoming wedding. It was such a nice afternoon and the weather held off just long enough for us to get our shoot in before it started to rain! We began by walking around the cobblestone streets and then ended at Malbec Argentine Steakhouse for some cozy inside portraits. The diversity the city offers is why I love shooting engagement sessions in Philadelphia!
Baby Salvatore came to visit me in the studio for his first session. He wanted to eat during most of his session but we were still able to get tons of cute poses with him and even his big sister joined him for a few!
Daddy owns a pizza restaurant so we had to do a few pizza themed pictures!
It's not often that the groom does most of the planning, but Danny took the reins on his wedding. I knew right off the bat they were going to be such a sweet couple to work with and I was right! I met them on their wedding day as Danny was running around making final preparations and Emma was inside surrounded by her closest friends getting ready. As soon as I stepped out of the car I knew that we were blessed with such an awesome location.
They held their wedding at Emma's family bee farm and incorporated the bee theme into the decor. The farm was the perfect backdrop for the wedding and there was honey and bee themed touches all over. I absolutely love details and DIY weddings so it was right up my alley! Top that off with an amazing couple and you have a perfect wedding day!
Ava is about to celebrate her first birthday so she came into the studio to visit me for her first birthday and cake smash session! I had so much fun planning out her session with her mom and LOVED her birthday dress. Ava's mom and I both share a love for Etsy inspired outfits and decorations. I designed a flower themed set for her birthday outfit that let Ava stand out and then we did a Wild One theme for her cake smash. I absolutely love when babies go face first into eating their cake and Ava didn't disappoint! She touched her cake a few times and then just went right in for eating it. She definitely enjoyed it!
As the snow is coming down I can't help but dream of last week when the weather gave us a beautiful 50 degree afternoon! Andrea wanted to try to do her maternity session outdoors if the weather would cooperate and we were able to do it just three days later! I met her and her family at Smithville Mansion in Easthampton for her maternity session. We had fun taking family portraits and then ending with portraits of the mama to be by herself in a gorgeous lace gown. I'm now offering gowns like the one she is wearing for all of my maternity sessions!
First off was the family portraits with big sister to be Ava. There is so much personality packed into such a little girl! She had me cracking up with her dancing, singing and playfulness.
A couple weeks ago my group of mom photographers got together to celebrate two mom's to be with a maternity session. It was so much fun being in the studio! I think I've fallen in love with maternity shoots now after having so much fun playing with different looks and posing. I look forward to doing it again soon with a few mommas who are expecting this spring!
