Frank DiMeo Photography

We discovered this stairway the night before the wedding

I like this image in color too but I felt that the B&W allows the viewer to focus more on them instead of the beautiful background

I like this image more each time I see it. Her expression may make this my favorite image of the day.

This wedding was so much fun for me! The love that Maureen and Justin showed for each other at their engagement session left no doubt in my mind that the wedding would be incredible. Communicating back and forth for all these months with them has been an absolute treat for me, and it saddens me to have this wedding in my past instead of my future. I wish we could redo it every couple of years because they and their families are such a pleasure to be around. I have been blessed with fabulous couples to work with, and I would like to say again that I appreciate all of you.

I notice a lot of emotional and behavior traits as I am editing the thousands of images I shoot. One thing that really stood out to me was that Maureen always kissed her Dad first, but then he was also the last person she kissed. I’m not sure what it was but there was something about Maureen’s Dad that made me feel like I had some kind of lifelong connection to him. Maybe it was his relationship with his daughter? It reminded me so much of the relationship I have with my daughter (who is much younger) including the first/last kiss thing. If I could get to the point in life that they are at, and maintain the kind of relationship they have, with my own children…well, I can’t think of anything else that would make me happier or to feel more complete.

Justin works for FOX TV, his dad is a professional photographer, and their cousin is a photographer for ESPN so there was a little added pressure to do an amazing job. It seems that more often than not there are professional photographers at the weddings I have been shooting. They have great gear like me, and it is actually fun for me to see them react to an image that they know I have captured. This wedding was a little more challenging than most though because it was on the Cornucopia Princess cruise liner, and also happened to be visited by a helicopter when we were by the Statue of Liberty. We toured the New York Harbor and enjoyed a spectacular sunset view of the fabulous New York City and New Jersey skylines. Sometimes I would almost forget that we were on a ship until I looked out the window and saw everything moving. I actually thought that I was pretty fortunate because I wasn’t the type of person that gets seasick. That would have been a disaster. Please make sure that your photographer can handle being on a boat before you book them for your cruise.

I was also very fortunate to have Jennifer Davis join us as a second shooter. I can’t say enough how impressed I am with the way Jen works and shoots. She captured so many incredible images, and she is very in tune with what needs to be done without my having to ask her. It should come as no surprise because she is a seasoned shooter with her own thriving photography business in NYC. Her presence made the day a whole lot more manageable and pleasurable for me. Thank you for everything Jen.

I have been asking my couples to write a little history about their relationship (if they want to) and any details they might want to mention. It has been fun for me to learn more about them and I am happy to share it here with everyone. Thank you Maureen, Justin, and your wonderful families and friends for welcoming us into your lives with open arms. It was a pleasure to do this for you and I hope that our relationships grow stronger as time passes. This is their story.

And so the love story begins…

It was the summer of 2004. Maureen had just gotten off tour and was looking for her next gig.  She saw a posting for an audition for a host of a children’s exercise series called, The Monkeydoos.  Maureen submitted her headshot and resume to Mazzarella Brothers productions in Bristol, Connecticut.  She was called in for a private audition in front of the cameras and the green screen.

Meanwhile, at the offices of Mazzarella Brothers productions, Justin (an editor/producer at the time) was sitting at his desk. The boss walked in and held up a few headshots for Justin to choose.  ”Which one do you like best?”  Justin pointed to Maureen’s picture and said, “I like her!”  And so she was hired.

In the summer of 2005, Maureen was doing a stage version of the show called Monkeydoos LIVE!  Maureen had to go up to Connecticut for several weekends that summer.  She was put up in a hotel with no car, or friends for miles.  Justin would come pick her up at the hotel and take her out to dinner and the movies so she wouldn’t be alone in the hotel.  In the mornings, before performances, he would pick her up with Dunkin Donuts coffee and breakfast.

It was the last performance of the summer and Maureen knew it would be a long time before she saw her new friend again. So she invited him to come to the city & she would take him out on the town.  Their first date was like something out of a movie.  He met her with a huge bouquet of flowers.  They went all around town that day.  Rowing on Central Park Lake, eating Ice cream sundaes at Serendipity, walking hand in hand across the Brooklyn Bridge.  They sat on a bench in Brooklyn Heights looking back at the city skyline and fireworks started to go off!!!!  It was the most romantic moment ever.

They fell fast and hard.  Justin & Maureen would commute every weekend back and forth to see each other. (Justin was living in New Haven, CT at the time).  The following June, Maureen & Justin had enough of the distance & moved in together.  And the rest is history…

When deciding on the venue for their BIG DAY, they both agreed it had to be unique & featuring the place where they fell in love:  The BIG APPLE!  They wanted it to be very glamorous and romantic like all those old movies taking place in NY. When they realized it was possible to have a wedding on a boat circling Manhattan at sunset, they new that was their first choice.  Their guests would get to see the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building…it was perfect!

AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY:  Frank DiMeo & Jennifer Davis
Frank, I just want to say an extra special Thank you to you and Jennifer.  I know it was a crazy day at an unfamiliar venue and with lots of crazy surprises (um, maybe a helicopter).  So thank you so much for going with the flow & being so easygoing.  The day was a dream come true and these pictures we will cherish forever.  So Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Sincerely,
Maureen & Justin

Dress: Pronovias

Flowers: Fleurs- Kathy Sky Lacouture
Trumpeters: Fanfare Brass
String Quartet: Cappriccio Ensemble
Cantors: Bride’s friends - Broadway’s Eric LaJuan Summers, Catherine Remmert, Laura Kummer
Organist: Andrew Cyr
Catholic Cathedral: Our Lady of Grace Church Hoboken, NJ
Reception: Cornucopia Cruise Line aboard The Princess
DJ: Steve & Company
Helicopter: Surprise for Bride & Groom - Courtesy of Al Cerullo and Darren Cerullo

So Many people went into the planning and preparation to make this day a dream come true.  We would like to thank EVERYONE who helped out through the months of preparation.  THANK YOU!  WE LOVE YOU!