kml photography - Kate Murphy Lowenstein

Most of the time, I meet my bride and groom before I am hired for their wedding. In this case, I did not. There were many emails back and forth and phone calls, but I didn't get to meet Karen and Graham until their engagement session. I felt like I knew Karen after all the correspondence and gave her a big hug when they arrived.

I absolutely can't wait for their wedding next June! This was the first frame I shot. Can you believe it?! Seriously, sooooo easy to photograph and perfectly comfortable with each other and in front of the camera. I love how Karen was up on her tippy toes with a huge smile on her face.


Frame #3... My job was so easy!


What I love about the two of them is that they are so comfortable with each other. They just seem so happy together and in love!


Playing around a little with their difference in height.


Are they adorable, or what?!






During our session, Karen was always looking at Graham so lovingly.


I love this shot. So serene. But the best thing was that it was followed by the two of them cracking up!


Thank you Karen and Graham for a ridiculously easy engagement session. I can't wait to be there to celebrate on your wedding day and capture the love and joy as you say "I do"!

Was it really over three weeks ago that I photographed this family?! Yikes! Sorry for the delay!

You will probably recognize this family from my website. I photographed them last year on Chappy beach. Corey (the dad) is a childhood friend. He summered in the same neighborhood as I did, just at the end of the block. He worked at the Chart Room too (as we all did) and we share some great memories of Wenaumet Bluff summers.

To mix it up a bit, we decided to pick a different location than last year's session. At first, we had decided on the Sandwich Boardwalk, but I had such a great time photographing the Schroff family (see below) the evening before at the Nobska Light, that we changed it once again!

Here are the kiddos.


This is their oldest. She was such a little model for me - I had so many of her I just loved!


The middle child. So cute!


And the youngest. Cutie-patootie!


It was a beautiful night with gorgeous summer light, but the wind was fierce! So, after some shots at the lighthouse, we decided to get to lower ground at the beach where the wind might not be so bad. The kids were pretty excited to head to the beach and the youngest took a digger on the pavement. A bandage on his knee and ride on Dad's shoulders was all it took to make him happy again. Seriously gorgeous family!


The handsome boys.


Mom, Amy, always picks the best outfits! This should definitely be an ad for the catalog!


Corey, Amy and kids, it was awesome seeing you again! Hope to see you again next year!

Another lovely evening on the Cape and thankfully not too windy this time at the Nobska Light. I met this family at my son Quinn's birthday party. Britta had showed up with her boys and not only was she such a pleasure, but so were her boys! Too cute for words! As they won't be spending too much time on the Cape since her husband is in the Air Force and currently located at Otis Air Force Base, she really wanted a really "Capey" location. So, the Nobska Light it was!

Here is their family.


The kids being kids!


These two brothers are great buddies and Mom really wanted me to capture that. I think this picture says it all.


After various poses at the lighthouse we headed to the beach.


I loved this shot because of the interaction between Dad and his son and the texture in the rock and in the ocean. Delicious in B&W!


Great shot of M&D as the kids made faces to make them laugh behind my back.


These two boys are so similar to my own, it's scary! Give your brother a hug does not mean choke him! Exactly what my boys would have done! Hee, hee.

She wasn't exactly looking for a vacation house on the Cape, but when she found out that her co-worker and next door neighbor to my parents was renting her beach house, she figured 'why not?' She'd be close to friends, on the beach - it would be great! In her two weeks here, I didn't see too much of my friend, Sara. It happened to be the 2 busiest weeks of summer for for me, the weather wasn't all that great and she was making what seemed like endless trips back to Boston and various other locations to pick up and drop off visiting family members. Anyway, I was happy that I could schedule photo session while her whole family was in town and get a chance to spend some QT with them!

It was a beautiful evening, but boy was it windy! I would have rescheduled it if I could, but Sarah's brother was leaving the following day and this was our only chance.




Happy (and drooly) baby!


This vacation was Little Miss M's first time on the beach. A little wary of the sand between her toes on the first day of vacation, she seemed to like it okay by the end and was a great playmate for my little Lainey.


Whee!!!


Sara & family, it was great to see you! I hope it's not too long before we can get together again!

It was a gorgeous and sunny day on Cape Cod - a day a girl would dream of for her wedding day at the gorgeous Chatham Bars Inn. It was a Saturday and also happened to be the day that 5500 cyclists would be riding the 200 miles from Sturbridge, MA to Cape Cod. In addition to renter changover day, it was sure to be a busy day with endless traffic on the Cape. It seemed as though the Cape Cod vendors were aware of the delays that would occur, and most of the guests arrived early as well. But the off-Cape rabbi got stuck in the traffic and was a bit delayed. But her late arrival could not put a damper on this beautiful day for Rachel and Neill!

Here is beautiful Rachel.


And her simply gorgeous bouquet by Courtney's Floral Creations.


And the handsome Neill waiting to see his bride for the first look.


Who says seeing each other for the first time before she walks down the aisle isn't as thrilling? For those people, I give you this!


After a bit of delay awaiting the rabbi's arrival, the ceremony began. Rachel and Neill's adorable ring bearer decided he didn't really want to walk down the aisle. What a cutie patootie!


Then it was Rachel's turn to walk down with her parents. I don't think they could look any more excited!


The ceremony under a simply elegant chuppah with the beach grass, fence and ocean as a backdrop. Can it get better than this?




We're married! Can't you just feel their happiness?


After their ceremony, family formals. And you are probably thinking, "what's up with the moustaches?" When I met Rachel and Neill for the first time, they had warned me that at every family wedding Neill's mother's family plays a prank. At one wedding where a family member was marrying a veterinarian, they all put on dog and cat ears. At another, Billy Bob teeth and overalls. There was sure to be something, we just weren't sure what. So in the middle of the formals, they pulled out these moustaches. I love that even the women and ring bearer had one on! Some became bushy eyebrows, ear hair... I have to admit though, from what they had told me about previous pranks, I thought to myself, "that's it?"




O-H-I-O


Rachel & Neill danced their first dance to Harry Connick Jr.'s "It Had To Be You". A little coincidental that they ran into Harry himself a few days before the wedding at the Impudent Oyster?


During some fabulous and funny toasts by Rachel's father, Neill's brother and Neill's father, the two just grinned from ear to ear.


At sundown, we took a walk down to the beach for a little alone time.


Happy and gorgeous!


This is admittedly one of my favorites of the day. A different perspective on the above shot captured by my assistant for the day, Cassandra (click her name for more info). I tend to like the angled shots that the bride and groom aren't looking at the camera. Coupled with the beautiful natural light at sundown, a great angle and a gorgeous couple, this is a keeper!


Another goodie with yummy light and cool angle.


The natural and unposed shots like this one are my faves!


But I couldn't resist with the moon in the background and rainbow sky at dusk a more formal shot.



When the formals were complete and the sun was down, it was time to PARTAY! The band, Boss, kicked it up and got the dance floor rockin'. Then came the surprise prank when about 25 of Neill's family members and other guests dressed up as the Village People for the YMCA. Hysterical!



Even the bride got in on it.






Rachel & Neill, thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding day with me! I feel grateful to have been a part of it and honored to capture the love and laughter. I know this is just the start of more to come for the two of you. XOXO, Kate

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of witnessing Arne and Julianne say "I do". Julianne was the most organized bride ever with lists and checklists and emails and conference calls and more lists...and I am happy to say that all her hard work paid off! She pulled together a beautiful event with amazing details that was also tons of fun for family and friends from near and far.

Welcome to the wedding of Julianne and Arne.


Before the ceremony we headed out to the Scraggy Neck causeway for some pictures. It wasn't exactly the beautiful blue sky sunny day Julianne had hoped for. In fact it was very gray and spitting a bit, but it made for a mystical feeling and was beautiful light for pictures! Look, no shadows!


I loved this one as Julianne's mother and father walk her down the aisle. They all just look so happy.


But this one made me laugh! Look at Julianne's father. In his speech following the ceremony he joked that he thought this day would never come. So here in this image, I like to think that he is thanking the powers that be.


And following the ceremony, a happy man and his wife.


Following the ceremony, everyone headed down to the beach for a wishing ceremony where they picked rocks off the beach and threw them into the ocean with a wish for the bride and groom. Then they gathered for a group photo.


After formal family photos, it was time for a little alone time!






We see this at most weddings we photograph - tables are assigned a name of a town, city or beach. What made this special was that the bride and groom didn't just select random places. They named their tables after places that meant something to them. Here it says, "BOSTON. One of Julianne and Arne's favorite cities! Julianne was living in Boston when they first met." Each one had a little story. And at each place setting was a hand written note from the bride and groom to each of the guests. A very nice touch!


The dancing lessons paid off!


But the ones who really stole the show on the dance floor were the kids!




It was a great and fun wedding, and a few days later I met up with the newlyweds again for some family portraits with Arne's family from Germany and his daughter who lives in England.
The newlyweds.


It had been a gorgeous day, but about 30 minutes before our scheduled session the fog rolled in. But like before, the fog made for some nice even lighting and I didn't have to worry about them squinting.


Arne's daughter, Ada, wasn't too thrilled about having her picture taken. But here she was hamming it up for the camera!







Here she was a little model working the camera!




And although she wasn't too thrilled to have her picture taken at first, by the end of our session I'd won her over! She wrote in the sand, "Kate Rocks". Thanks, Ada! I had a wonderful time with you and your family and I hope to see you again! You rock!

The evening I arrived for their family session, there was a bit of a crisis. One of the brothers had thrown out his back and was bedridden. Of course, the whole family was only going to all be together for a short time, so I suggested they all pile in his bed. (I was joking!) He was a trooper and after a couple muscle relaxers toughed out the family photos. Can you tell which one he is? He did a pretty good job, I think, of hiding the pain!

Here's the whole fam. at their home in North Falmouth.


And the siblings and spouses.


M&D on their gorgeous sailboat.


Love this family shot!


The kids "hanging" out on the boat.


A model in the making!


The newlyweds.


The kids in the hammock with their grandfather.


And a tickle from Uncle P.


Hope your photo session wasn't too painful! (hee hee! I am a little giddy from lack of sleep and staring at this computer for more than 10 hours today!)

I've known Beth for years. She summered across the street from my family summer home. She is also one of my sister's best friends. I was the tag-along little sister for many years. I was even invited into their clubhouse, as long as I paid my .10 dues and chipped in for the Entenmann's cookies and Wyler's lemonade. Now I am honored to tag along at the wedding as her photographer.

Beth and Ken met when they were introduced by a mutual friend/neighbor/co-worker and this past Christmas Ken proposed. They will marry at the end of the month in West Newton.

Here's the happy couple.




Ken really wanted one with his shades on. I love how Beth is looking at him and laughing!


This was my favorite of the whole bunch. Beautiful smiles!




Ken admitted he was a bit nervous for the photo session (as most men are!), but by the end of our session, he was clearly comfortable in front of the camera and looks like a Ralph Lauren model.


Thanks Beth and Ken. Can't wait for your wedding!

This is my friend, Sarah's family. She has 7 brothers and sisters. All together they are now a family of 32!

Our session took place on a rainy Saturday morning. It finally cleared up enough to get all the pictures we needed and the sun even started to peek through the fog. It's too bad we couldn't see the amazing views from their home on Scraggy Neck though. I have super fond memories at this house as a teenager sitting on the roof or in the gazebo singing James Taylor and looking out at Cleveland's Ledge (sorry Mrs. L!). Ahh, those were the days!

Here is the whole gang...



The brothers and sisters.


And their families...












And one of all the grandkids. Check out little Miss S. on the end to the right. That cracks me up!