The shoe above is mainly pansy petals.

This shoe is made from dyed mustard seed. It’s the perfect “glass slipper.”

This one was the prize winner. I don’t remember the names of all the flowers and seeds used, but here is a detail shot of the back. So intricate!

(It would be pretty fab with a champagne colored gown, right?)

Each artist placed a little index card explaining the materials used next to the shoe.

The grand finale! No one would be able to tell this wasn’t made of diamonds! Now, how do I get me a pair of each. Size 7, please.

Jaron emailed René a few days before the session explaining exactly the look he was after. The hotel has great natural light with its many windows and angles, which we used for the brighter pictures. We found a darkened room and strategically placed lights around the couple for the more sultry shots, as requested. Here are the results:

The view from the house:

This is René’s favorite photo from the entire trip. He loved this guy so much he made me watch an episode of “Monster Bug Wars” after we got home because it featured a praying mantis…

A few more beach pictures. Because you can never really get enough of this:

Thanks for viewing! More vacation photos are up next week, and then we’ll return to portraits and engagements!

Below you will find part 1 of the vacation photos and little snippets about each. If you’ve never been to Costa Rica, I suggest you get planning!

This photo was taken at the gorgeous outdoor spa at our first hotel in Arenal, Costa Rica. The grounds were covered in lush greenery and unusual flowers. It was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been:

An up-close view of one of the plants. Although it’s very hard to get perspective from a photograph, this leaf (and many, many of the others in the vicinity) was HUGE! It measured, probably, 4 feet wide by 5 feet tall:

On the second full day of our trip we rafted down one of the many rivers in the area, taking in wild howler monkeys, a sloth, iguanas, birds, and more. After the rafting trip we were taken to a small farm to taste some local delicacies. This cheese, below, was made onsite by the woman of the house and was amazing! It was a little squeaky when chewed, but had a smooth, subtle flavor. Unfortunately, due to agricultural laws, she can’t sell it…so we couldn’t bring any home:

One of the many pretty, pretty flowers on the grounds of the hotel:

Arenal volcano. It is active (though not overly so) and on a clear day (rare, from what I hear, though we had blue skies on each day of our visit) you can see some smoke billowing from the top (that white dot is the smoke. The volcano is not high enough for a snow cap). The last time the volcano erupted was in 1991; it wiped out an entire section of land on the other side, which you will see in a bit:

The red-eyed tree frog. This little guy is amazing! When he feels threatened, his colors come out in full force:

When he is more relaxed, he camouflages himself by blending in to the greenery. You can see his colors already starting to fade:

Lake Arenal is the largest lake in Costa Rica. It is a man-made lake, dug to provide hydroelectric power to towns in northern Costa Rica.

During one of our treks we climbed a small portion of the way up Arenal volcano. The vibrant orange of this lone flower was a stunning contrast to the black lava rocks that surrounded us everywhere. As you can see, some vegetation is just beginning to grow back after the last eruption:

The “death side” of the volcano. Beyond the trees in the foreground, the rest of this side of the volcano is completely barren:

I hope you enjoyed this virtual escape. More vacation pictures to follow soon!

You might remember beautiful Evelyn from a previous family portrait post. This time around she’s all grown up and sharing the spotlight with little sister Megan. As they played at home on a fall day, René chased them around their playroom, capturing the girls looking and acting as they would on any other day. No stiff poses here – just big blue eyes and bright smiles!

Since this was a family portrait session, we couldn’t possibly leave out a picture of the family dog!

Family portraits…?? Why, yes! Baby Carter is now part of their fun-loving family. A blond-headed ringer for dad, Carter was a little shy at first when we met mid-fall at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. But as soon as we found a good spot for pictures, he was off and running! He gave Rene quite the workout chasing after him to get good photos, but by the end we were all laughing and singing along with Carter.

It was great to catch up, and more importantly, we think Carter posed for some extra adorable images:

Amanda was our favorite pin-up bride for 2011. She was sexy, spunky, and a whole lot of fun to photograph!

This is my favorite cake shot of 2011. This picture was taken right after the bride proclaimed to her groom that, yes, she was eating the whole piece she was cutting…all by herself.

This cake topper was just too cute to leave out of our “favorites” for the year.

Our favorite ceremony location of 2011? This gorgeous beach setting in Connecticut.

Wedding dress choices are so subjective, but Lindsay was absolutely stunning in this Lusan Mondongus curve-hugging gown!

It’s hard not to love The State Room. It might win every year for favorite venue-with-a-view.

One of my absolute favorite portraits of the year – maybe of the last few years! Rene found the perfect light and Christine and Stan simply melted into it.

Our favorite royal wedding inspired wedding. The bride adored everything Kate & Wills, so she and her bridesmaids donned these little English-style fascinators for the reception.

This Newport, RI wedding wins hands down for favorite theme: the Roaring Twenties. This shot was taken at the rehearsal, to which the bride-to-be wore a flapper-style dress picked by her groom (we love that, guys!).

My personal fav for bridal portrait. This was not a posed picture; Rene caught Amy just a few seconds before she was poised to leave for her ceremony. The look of sheer joy and excitement on her face makes me smile every. single. time.

Brandy and Andrea are our favorite mix of old and new. They chose a very traditional old Boston landmark in which to celebrate a new (hopefully growing) type of wedding.

This first look photo wins as our favorite for many reasons. Notably,  just moments before she was to see her groom for the first time the bride proclaimed, “I know exactly what he’ll do when he sees me,” and demonstrated a silly smile and eyebrow-raising look. She was spot on!

Radhika and Jeremy are our favorite determined couple. Not only did they insist that the show would go on during a New England hurricane (?!?), but they were so focused on their love for each other during the day that the roof could have fallen down and it still would have been perfect.

So here’s to 2011! We know there will be many more favorite moments in 2012 and we look forward to being part of just a small few.

I promise, Kenny and Jenny were perfectly willing and cooperative models.

Now for their individual portraits…

If you want your own family photos to display in the New Year, don’t forget that we’re offering an end-of-year portrait special. Happy holidays to all!

Tom and Maria loved being able to use a variety of locations and backdrops to create different looks for their photos and were happy to meander anywhere in order to get them.

I just loved the thoughtful, personal touch of their favors
Balance Design Studio

And their cake topper was the cutest we’ve seen this year!

Maria and Tom were lucky enough to have some musical family members who helped make their wedding that little bit of extra special every bride and groom should experience. Congratulations, Maria & Tom! We hope the next part of your journey together is as wonderful as your wedding day!

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: The Harvard Club

Dress: Casablanca

Makeup: Kim Fosher

Photographer: René Tirado, Tirado Photography