Lisa + Matt could not have had a more enjoyable wedding day. Besides the beautiful scenery of the mansion on the Hudson River, there were so many features highlighting their shared interests and genuine love for one another. We are more than thrilled for this awesome couple and so glad to have been a part of their day.

The complete gallery will be available soon in the “Boutique” area of our main website. Until then, we’d love to hear your comments below. And please be sure to click the button to “Recommend” us to your friends!

• venue: Sleepy Hollow Country Club
• bride’s dress: Maggie Sottero
• shoes: Badgley Mischka
• floral design: Arcadia Floral
• hair + makeup: Dana Bartone
• first dance choreography: Fred Astaire Dance Studio
• dance troupe: Troupe 212
• cake: Palermo’s Bakery
• more with Lisa + Matt

We’re thrilled about our latest news! We love the luscious bridal blog at Style Me Pretty, and the editors of SMP are in love with Juliana + Elie’s wedding, along with all the special DIY touches they included. We’re gushing over the full gallery, too. Check it out, and please leave your comments and questions there for the happy couple and other readers.

More with Juliana + Elie.

We adore this playful couple and truly enjoyed photographing their closeness and charm. In their own words:

When I proposed to Marsha last September it was on a very picturesque Maine peninsula. She had discovered the place and took me there the year before. When we started planning the wedding and engagement session it was paramount to us that we capture the spirit of both vacations by keeping with the outdoors theme. Marsha and I had been to the Mohonk Mountain House in the past and thought it would be a perfect location for the engagement session. It is a gorgeous resort located atop of the Shawangunk Ridge. We thought there would be many great photo locations throughout the property from the rocky cliffs, the glacial lake to the spring flowers that were popping up in early April.

The weather was in the mid 50s with a persistent breeze, this was fine for me but it made for a chilly day for Marsha. Both Ulysses and Jenni did an amazing job of keeping us distracted from the conditions and made us very comfortable during the shoot (it isn’t every day we have people taking photos of us)! They did a great job and made us feel like we were on a date.

We were very excited to see the results when it came time for the reveal. They really took such incredible photos that really capture our love for each other. We ordered numerous pieces of wall art that will always take us back to that wonderful spring day. We are more excited now for our wedding day! Thank you again Jenni and Ulysses for a remarkable experience! – Mike

More with Marsha + Michael.

Early spring is a time for romance, and it was perfect for Alanna + Marcos’ date day to sample the offerings of a fine Hudson Valley winery. They were so much fun to photograph. They gave us an inside look at the sort of relaxed, natural relationship they share. We’re really looking forward to photographing their summer wedding at the Tarrytown House Estate.

More with Alanna + Marcos.

We always look forward to Westchester Magazine’s annual Unveiled Bridal Event, an exclusive bridal event and fashion show designed to show off the very best bridal vendors and services the Westchester region has to offer. Ulysses Photography was there at the C.V. Rich Mansion not only to talk about our own services, but also as the official photographer for the event. It’s been an incredibly productive and busy year, so this show was a welcome change of pace to get reacquainted with some familiar colleagues in the industry, as well as to meet new ones. Best of all, we really enjoyed meeting enthusiastic new brides! While Jenni and Katie (one of our very own brides) were manning our booth and showing off plenty of photos, albums, and other specialty products, I was on the show floor photographing the runway models in this year’s designer fashions. Whether you wanted to sample king-sized cupcakes, have an evening drink to relax, listen to the beats of your favorite DJ, meet an enthusiastic event planner, or discuss flowers and makeup, there was something there for every bride!

Lisa + Matt hit a home run with their engagement session! In their own words, they describe some of their favorite things about it:

We decided that engagement pictures were something that we definitely wanted to have done from the start. Documenting our life thru pictures has always been an important thing to both of us, especially in our relationship together. So to be able to have high quality, professional pictures of us at such a special time of our lives was a must. Then the option to be able to include Rocky, our 10-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, was really special to us. Rocky isn’t just a dog, she’s family. One day she won’t be with us anymore, so the idea that we could have the pictures and include her in them was amazing. We are so happy that Jenni & Ulysses were so accommodating to work with Rocky- that really meant a lot. Not to mention how great the pictures with Rocky came out. It’s so hard to pick a favorite! We also loved the idea of bringing our baseball jerseys to the shoot. We are both known for our love of our childhood baseball teams and a lot of our family and friends still can’t believe that “Lisa is marrying a Yankee fan?!”. So to be able to include that playful side of our relationship into our photos and let our personalities shine thru the pictures is just awesome! Our own little “Subway Series” complete with engraved baseball bats! We can’t say enough how thrilled we are with our pictures. Then when our canvas wall art came… that was breathtaking! We are so excited to eventually share these pictures from some of the best times of our lives with our future children. Just the same way that we enjoy taking time to look thru our parents’ old pictures. We’ve already topped our parents’ pictures though- that’s for sure!! And that’s all thanks to Jenni & Ulysses! They are so awesome and so much fun!! Lisa was especially nervous for the photo shoot, and within the first few clicks of the camera they had already made her feel so at ease. You would never know by looking at the pictures that there was even the slightest bit of awkwardness or nerves. We can’t say enough about Jenni & Ulysses! We can’t wait for round two… wedding pictures!!

Lisa + Matt

We’re eager to join them for their spring wedding at the beautifully historic Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

More with Lisa + Matt.

What’s the most important thing to you when choosing a photographer? Is it their price? Is it their having the latest and greatest cameras available? Or maybe it’s the sheer volume of photographs received on a disc regardless? We’re glad to say these aren’t the points of focus with our clients; instead, it’s the high quality of our work and our personalized service that draws them. In his own words, Brandon shares how he discovered that his choice of photographer really matters:

Jenni & Ulysses,  I must admit very early in Jill & I’s wedding planning I thought, “How much difference can different photographers REALLY make?” And then I saw the engagement photos… this blog post [featured on Style Me Pretty]… and then our wedding album. WOW! is all I can say. You definitely made me realize just how much of a difference great photographers make – you guys are amazing!! Thanks so much for everything…expectations were thoroughly exceeded!

THANK YOU, Brandon! It’s incredibly gratifying to receive comments like this, making us work that much harder to ensure our clients’ entire experience with us is one of the most valuable and meaningful parts of their wedding narrative.

More with Brandon + Jill.

There were a lot of reasons that Jill + Brandon’s wedding was so unique, not the least of which was the fact that everyone rose to this joyous occasion despite it being the day of one of the worst blizzards in the northeast in years. We’re ridiculously excited and proud to see the editors of Style Me Pretty choose this beautiful, energizing, and genuine wedding to show off for this week’s “Wedding Wednesday“ feature. And don’t miss the 4-page complete gallery of gorgeous details from the day. Please don’t forget to leave your comments there at SMP! They love having a responsive audience (and so do we!).

More with Jill + Brandon.

Inspiration for portrait and wedding photography comes in many forms, and it often comes from outside the discipline of our own field. Photojournalist Christoph Malin, along with Babak Tafreshi of the TWANight.org (an organization whose goal is to present stunning views of world landmarks juxtaposed against the spectacular night sky) traveled to the Very Large Telescope, which is an array of four 8-meter telescopes positioned like enormous alien craft on Paranal Mountain in northern Chile to capture some truly awe-inspiring images. The extraordinarily clean air and the altitude provided a crystal clear window into the southern sky. Some 7,500 images (out of over 35,000 during their two-week visit) were used for creation of this breathtaking time-lapsed video. Please feel free to share this. Hopefully we can keep some areas around our own towns free of light pollution and light spill so we can all enjoy pristine skies the way they were meant to be seen.

This didn’t feel like a typical month of February, but neither was this your typical wedding. Juliana + Elie’s personal touches were everywhere to be found, from her bridesmaids’ stylish skirts designed by Juliana herself, to the way she’d customized her shoes with ribbons of tulle as well as her own gown with lace embellishments, to the beautifully sweeping calligraphy and wording of their stationery. So much thought and care had clearly gone into this day. We’re infatuated with these two, and we were energized by the emotions of the day. The turn of the century Roosevelt Hotel brought an old elegance to the day, which was a perfect fit for this amazing affair.

The complete gallery will be available soon in the “Boutique” area of our main website. Until then, we’d love to hear your comments below. And please be sure to click the button to “Recommend” us to your friends!

• venue: The Roosevelt Hotel
• bride’s dress: Augusta Jones (trim + veil by Juliana)
• dress beading: Brochade Creations
• dress + veil lace: Glenmore Lace
• shoes: Something Bleu (bows added by Juliana)
• bridesmaids attire: Skirts designed by Juliana
• floral design: Verde Custom Flowers
• makeup: Jill at JK Flashy
• hair: Ben Yeo
• paperie: design by Juliana, letterpress by Boxcar Press
• catering: Prestige Caterers
• more with Juliana + Elie

Courtney + Andrew + Logan found the very best day of the week to venture out to a favorite location of Logan’s for exploring, playing, walking, and enjoying the peacefulness of nature. Needless to say, following a three-year-old through the woods and around streams is definitely a workout, but it was incredibly fun and so worth it. It was an incredible privilege to capture meaningful photos for this happy family.

The beautiful and historic ArtsWestchester Arts Exchange served as the perfect space for hosting Westchester Home Magazine’s first-ever Home Design Awards and cocktail party. Thirteen of Westchester’s finest and most creative interior designers and architects were featured for their creativity, emphasis on comfort, and  amazing home designs. Congratulations to each of the award winners!

• Linda Blair, The Blair Interiors Group
• Niall Cain, Architect
• Sabrina Foulke, Karp Associates Inc.
• Danielle Galland, Danielle Galland Interior Design, Inc.
• Elissa Grayer, Interior Design
• Christina Griffin, Architect
• Phyllis Harbinger, Design Concepts Interiors, LLC
• Alice Hayes, Deane Inc.
• Lara Michelle, Lara Michelle Beautiful Interiors
• Rene Robert Muller, Architect / Planner
• Mara Solow, Mara Solow Interiors
• Robert Welsch, Westover Landscape Design
• Liam Winters, Architect

Another snow wedding! Amanda + William’s winter wedding had the theme of “fire & ice”. It couldn’t have been more appropriate for this twosome, who are full of passion, but who also know how to keep their composure when under pressure. Their beautiful snowy wedding day was a prelude to their honeymoon, which will take them from the vicinity of the arctic circle (hello aurora borealis!), to the volcanos of Hawaii.

The complete gallery will be available in the “Boutique” area of our main website as soon as the couple returns from their honeymoon. Until then, we’d love to hear your comments below. And please be sure to click the button to “Recommend” us to your friends!

• venue: Fox Hollow
• stationery: Postage Not Included
• honeymoon: Yellowknife, Canada + Kuai, Hawaii
• More with Amanda + Will

There’s nothing at all ordinary about Katie + Steve. It’s the reason we’ve enjoyed every single minute with them, and it’s the reason we’re happy to see their photo feature at the Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever bridal blog. Make sure you check out their story and the beautiful photos!  Some of them are among our personal favorites of the entire year!

More with Katie + Steve.

We could not wait to see Angela + James again. Their wedding was about a year ago, and suddenly here we were photographing their awesome baby boy, Justin. Just loves to snuggle, and word has it that he’s also a huge Jets fan! He’s already getting off to a great start.

Because we’ve had such a great history with Angela + James and their families, they shared a note in their own words about why these photos are so important to them:

James and I have been together for so long, and have always talked about our future. Little did we know our future was closer than we had ever dreamed! We were so blessed to be married, buy our house, and have our son Justin, all in one year’s time. This photo shoot was our opportunity to celebrate Justin’s safe arrival, and our love for one another. We always knew we would be a family someday, and it was so special to have our photos taken for the first time. When those photos came in the mail, I nearly attacked the UPS guy (as did my dog Clarabelle) and I ripped open the packages and smiled ear to ear. They were everything I wanted and more. I was scrambling around my house with my hammer and nails, moving things around and finding the perfect spot for all these new family pictures. I can’t wait for people to come visit so they can see our new art!

More with Angela + James.

Jessica + Ashlin are famous once more! We’re thrilled to see their wedding photos and story published at the Best Hudson Valley Wedding Ever bridal blog! This beautiful actress and her dashing playwright husband provided all the things we love to see in a wedding day, not the least of which was their brilliant personalities that brought a rockin’ celebratory vibe to the event from beginning to end. Make sure you check out the story. And don’t forget to leave your comments and questions there for the couple enjoy!

More with Jessica + Ashlin.

Everyone looks forward to Fridays, and so do we. And what better way to wrap up the week than by sharing the awesome news about Juliana + Elie’s engagement photos being published on Style Me Pretty! We had such a fantastic time with these two, and we know they’re going to be thrilled that others are enjoying their photos. Check out the article as well as the larger gallery of SMP favorites, and please leave your comments about your favorites, too!

More with Juliana + Elie.

I just wanted to let you know that one (or more) of your Real Weddings was included in our “Best of 2011” roundup! This post showcases the 10 Real Wedding posts that got the most hits this year. Congratulations and thank you for making 2011 a great year! I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings!

Jen

Thanks to both Katie + Leo, as well as to Brandy + Paul for choosing us and giving us the opportunity to make such beautiful images for them! You can read the articles featuring their weddings at the following links:

Real Weddings: Best of 2011

Multicultural Celebration at the Links at Union Vale

Lush Gardens and Handmade Touches at Catlin Gardens

With a fulfilling 2011 now behind us and an exciting 2012 ahead, we’re mindful of all the wonderful couples whose paths we’ve crossed, people like Naomi + Matthew, who had one of the most memorable days of our year. Naomi posted this five-star review at WeddingWire.com about their experience with us:

Jenni and Ulysses were a wonderful addition to our wedding day. Their photos are breathless and the positive energy they brought to both our engagement session and our wedding day was unmatched. They are a truly special couple who brought so much love and comfort to our wedding day. I was so sad for the day to end, mostly because I didn’t want them to leave! The photos they took are stunning and everyone I have shared them with adores them. I feel like the two of them were more than just photographers, but that they will always remain a part of my life (I hope!)

We definitely hope to see these two again soon!

More with Naomi + Matt.

When Nicole + Matt asked us to come out and photograph their family along with their beautiful baby girl, we couldn’t wait to meet her! It was also a great opportunity to see Nicole’s parents again and get photographs of some of their favorite things — their beautiful children, Jaye’s amazing home decor skills, Mike’s classic cars, and of course their gorgeous granddaughter, Ella. In her own words, Nicole penned the warmest note describing her thoughts about our history with this amazing family and what these photos have meant for the entire family:

At every family function, my mother’s homemade photo albums always end up being taken out at the end of the night. My two sisters, mom and I are usually cuddled up on the couch laughing and talking about something funny from a family holiday or reminiscing about our beloved dog Bernie Burns. Our family pictures are such a huge part of what makes us, us. My mother has instilled in each of us the love of our family albums and the time we spend together sharing our memories while looking through them.

That being said, meeting Jenni and Ulysses has been magical for us.  They photographed my wedding to my husband Matt in 2008 at Perona Farms, and when we met in person for the first time for our engagement shoot they greeted us with big hugs and made us feel so comfortable that they quickly became part of the family. At the end of our wedding, I remember actually feeling sad when they left, like saying goodbye to old friends.

Jenni and Ulysses take amazing photos without intruding on your special event.  Every year on our anniversary and even throughout the year, we receive friendly e-mails checking in to see how we are doing. They are very wonderful people that are not only amazing at their job but at making you feel special, as well. It was so much fun getting to do a family shoot with them and having my daughter Ella get to meet them.

More with Nicole + Matt.