Two juxtaposition shoots in one day! I’m working til noon from a hotel room overlooking the Boston city view, and I have to tell you being warm and cozy during the day is a nice change of pace. We live in an old drafty triple decker that will not stay warm, and it’s not very good for efficiency on colder days. So I will take advantage of this editing spurt and tell you about Mikki’s shoot.

Mikki was excited to do her fashion bridal session in Boston’s North End, or Italian district. She and her now-husband Scott used to live there and have many fond memories. We met up at Mike’s Pastries (of course!) since it’s such a landmark, then walked down Hanover Street and toward the Columbus Park waterfront area where Scott proposed.

Peeking through the shelves at Mike’s:

Mikki showed up all tan and glowing and cute with her brand new husband. We did the shoot the day they got back from their honeymoon.

They were doing some construction off Hanover Street, and I love how this looks like Mikki is the toughest, most badass bride in the world. Bride vs. truck.

I think this style is called a Mantilla veil. Is that correct?

JUXTAPOSITION.012
recent bride: Mikki
assisted by: Scott
photographer: Rachel Hadiashar
hair and makeup: Tricia Askew
location: Boston North End – Hanover Street, Mike’s Pastries, Columbus Park

[ artist select images here ]
[ full gallery ]

Juxtaposition sessions have fallen by the wayside in the past couple of weeks as I leverage the final fall days here in New England for outside shooting. Now that it’s getting colder out and I have some time, I’m able to finish up showing off the sessions.

Today I will have two sessions for you — 011 Colleen and 012 Mikki! First up is the Old Hollywood glam girl. And let me tell you, it was POURING on the day of Colleen’s shoot, but since we had already rescheduled, we needed to shoot that day. Sarah did a FANTASTIC job with her hair (and it stayed up all day through the rain) and was able to integrate the birdcage veil my friend Gwyneth made for my own wedding.

Colleen had a very specific idea about wanting to shoot in and around Wellesley’s campus. So we met in the parking garage and went from there. Can you believe how interesting this parking garage shot is? I love the rain seeping into the concrete on the walls and the funky lines:

Next, we headed inside to the Wellesley Student Center. We spent most of our time in this fabulous bathroom up on the fourth floor. It has gorgeous light and interesting tiling, so we got some incredible shots.

We also did some art shots at a cemetery at the end, and the gloomy skies set the mood. More of those in the full gallery. Wellesley College we love you!

JUXTAPOSITION.011
recent bride: Colleen
photographer: Rachel Hadiashar
hair and makeup: Sarah Bortner
location: Wellesley College parking garage, student center 4th floor bathroom, and town cemetery

[ artist selects here ]
[ full gallery ]

We met up with Gwen and her mom at a place I have been eyeing for awhile now. You know near that one rotary at Alewife, where there’s an eccentric-looking burned out nightclub called FACES?

We started the session at Lanes and Games, since Gwen loves bowling. What a fun and interesting place to shoot. Luckily, Meg was able to come with me for the shoot, because lighting in there was tricky. The owner and employees at Lanes n’ Games were really fun to work with and helpful. I think we must have been the most interesting thing the guy at the counter had seen in awhile, because he was getting a kick out of a bridal shoot in a bowling alley!

We got a wonderful range of images inside the alley, then outside with the blue wall, then out at the burned-out club.

Big props to the Lanes and Games employees for letting us use the building as a studio for a couple of hours. We love you Lanes and Games!

bride: Gwen
photography: Rachel Hadiashar
assisted by: Meg Belanger, and Gwen’s mother
location: Alewife (Cambridge, MA) – Lanes and Games bowling alley, FACES
hair and makeup: unknown

[ artist select images here ]
[ full gallery here ]

I have already shown a few of my favorites here.

Deanna was my ninth juxtaposition session, and I have to admit I was looking forward to this one even more than most of the sessions. When Deanna told me she has worked at a family-owned amusement park for a good portion of her life, I knew that would mean backstage access to the facilities and lots of colors and fun. You can probably tell from the photos we were all having a really good time! We were laughing most of the day. Since it was a Monday holiday, Ali didn’t have to go into work and came with us to assist instead so he was a great extra in our carousel shots. These shoots are so much more difficult when I don’t have people helping out… so many props and some of the credit for these fun and hilarious photos goes to Carrie (also a Canobie Lake employee) and Ali.

True to the Yelp reviews I had read previous to our visit, Canobie Lake Park staff members were helpful and kind. They waited while we went on the rides and let us jump the queues, despite another photographer who ruined the policy for everyone else and did stupid and dangerous things to get shots a couple of weeks before our shoot. Thanks for accommodating us, Canobie Lake!

If this doesn’t say awesome I don’t know what does.

bride: Deanna
photographer: Rachel Hadiashar
assisted by: Ali and Carrie
location: Canobie Lake Park (Salem, New Hampshire)

[ my favorites here ]

here’s a sneak peek for Deanna!
what a fun session!!

bride: Deanna
location: Canobie Lake Park, Salem NH

I just found this company through a facebook ad (!!!). Thought some of you gals who want to clean your dress might be interested.

PERMISSION TO GET DIRTY
slate. [blog]

What a wonderful year of fearless bridal shoots for the JUXTAPOSITION project. Many thanks to all who followed through on their photo sessions and introduced me to wonderful new locations around Boston.

juxtaposition001 :: lindsey  [ link ] Worcester, Burncoat Middle School
juxtaposition002 :: tiffany [ link ] Boston Sand and Gravel, Chinatown
juxtaposition003 :: carol [ link ] the Fells, Winchester rail station
juxtaposition004 :: marilyn [ link ] George’s Island, Fanueil Hall
juxtaposition005 :: melissa [ link ] West Boylston, Old Stone Church
juxtaposition006 :: brittany [ link ] Frankin Park Zoo
juxtaposition007 :: sarina [ link ] L’Espalier, Newbury Street
juxtaposition008 :: kristen [ link ] Fenway Park, parking lot
juxtaposition009 :: deanna [ link ]  Canobie Lake Park (Salem NH)
juxtaposition010 :: gwen [ link ] Lanes ‘n’ Games, FACES, Alewife
juxtaposition011 :: colleen [ link ] Wellesley College parking garage, bathroom, cemetery
juxtaposition012 :: mikki [ link ] Boston North End
juxtaposition013 :: rachael [ link ] Salem MA waterfront
juxtaposition014 :: lindsay [ link ] Cambridge MA, Boston MA
juxtaposition015 :: sarah [ link ] Sudbury MA old grist mill
juxtaposition016 :: jill [ link ] Dover MA

And ummm… this dress-trashing session in NYC looks so perfect. I have always wanted to go to Coney Island for a shoot. Takers? And, if you need to convince your husband or anyone else why you’d want to do a shoot like that, just show him that crazy video. Pretty sure he’d be willing to take off work for that. Or, um, show this one. (Day-um stillmotion, you guys continue to amaze.)

I wanted to let you know that I absolutely LOVE the photos that you put up in my bridals gallery.  I love my wedding photos, but realized after the fact that somehow none were taken of just me or just my husband, and I was really bummed to not have that.  The bridals that you took are absolutely stunning and I’m so grateful to have them to add to my [wedding] photos.  (Looking back, I wish I had thought to find a way to have you at our wedding, along with our photographers)  You just have a way of catching the life, beauty and silliness inside of people and using it to make them even more beautiful on the outside (if that makes any sense?)  Thank you for all of the work that you’ve done, from boudoirs to bridals for myself (and for my husband… he’s equally as grateful)…

-M

We started off in the parking lot behind Kristen’s condo. We could have ended there – so many fantastic, old urban angles to shoot. Next we walked over to the area around Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox), a few blocks away. Then we were invited inside Fenway Park. Well, that was unexpected.

To say the husband was jealous… probably the Boston-based understatement of the year!

I was really happy that Kristen not only had Sarah work her magic on the hair, but hired Tricia to come along on the shoot for on-shoot styling. Tricia was our key to success — because of Tricia’s connection with someone whose office is inside Fenway Park, we were enthusiastically invited inside the park to shoot. Um, wow.

JUXTAPOSITION.008

location: parking lot, Lansdowne Street, Boylston St.(?), Fenway Park, Absolut Lounge
recent bride: Kristen
photographer: Rachel Hadiashar
assistant and shoot stylist: Tricia Askew
hair and makeup: Sarah Bortner, Athena Salon
many thanks: to the folks at Fenway Park and the Absolut lounge who invited us in.

[ more photos here and here ]