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In the meantime, this is a fun one I’ve been waiting to share with you until the couple had shared the news with all their friends and family.  Greg and Preston’s touching proposal.

Greg and I were in touch all day via text as to which place on the High Line would work best.  The original spot he had chosen was super windy and barren and I didn’t think it would be easy for me to blend in and not ruin the moment.  I was there early and able to move to our plan b spot after conveying the message to Greg.  It was a cold spring day so contrary to normal, there were very few people on the High Line.   Preston told me later she didn’t notice me at all though, despite my bright yellow top.   Not the best camo, I’ll admit, but as Greg has never met me I wanted it to be easy for him to spot me and I know I was there before he proposed.  I pretended to be shooting the flowers and the scenery as they walked by…

He sat them on this lovely bench, I kept my distance, but I can only imagine from their posture the sweet words he was telling her here…LOVED the look of black and whites for this session – I think it adds to the photojournalist vibe of my super sneaky sniper secret proposal photography.  Also black and white has the effect of making the eye focus on the emotion rather than the outfits. As the big moment drew near, I knew I had to get closer, so I got behind some bushes and pretended to be photographing flowers while adding some soft foreground dynamic .  Love the raw emotion on each of their faces:

We snapped a few quick portraits after the big moment and then I let them be to enjoy their moment and to call their Moms! :) One of which contacted me shortly after the session to buy a gift print for them of the big moment!Preston you are toooooo gorgeous.

New York proposal photographer Caroline Frost

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I had the misfortune to stumble upon the show “Hoarders” while I was in Jamaica (Alex and I don’t have cable) which cured me of thinking that maybe I had the title illness, but also scared me enough to make me want to go home and throw stuff away just to prove I could.  It also just grossed the heck out of me.   But it served the purpose for which it was sent because both of us couldn’t stop talking through the whole trip about how we couldn’t wait to get home and start our pre-move spring cleaning.  See, Alex and I recently made the move back to Manhattan from Astoria, Queens.   Despite the fact that our new apartment is my dream Manhattan home (brick wall, inside a brownstone, near Central Park, huge windows) it is also Manhattan-sized and comes with only two closets.  We were moving from a place with 5 closets (some of which were enormous) and lots of kitchen cupboards to a much smaller apartment that offered nowhere to hide anything.  It forced us to give away, sell and throw away a lot of stuff in what ended up being a hard but valuable lesson for me in holding on and letting go.

Some stuff was easy, as soon as I got home from Jamaica I threw out boxes we had of lotions,  perfumes, makeup that I had been keeping forever “just in case” even though I never venture into them for “experimental make up” or a new scent.   I realized, when I buy something new in that category, I usually stick with it until I buy something else new so there is no reason keeping old stuff “just in case”.  TOSS.

Other things were a little harder, but doable.  Into my closet we go.  I realized there were several problems here.  The major one is that I keep things out of GUILT  (I’m sure you’ve NEVER done this).   I buy something, wear it once, realize  I don’t like the way it looks on me or makes me feel and then keep it for 10 YEARS almost as punishment for having bought it and trying to convince myself I will make it work somehow, someday at some point.  There was a pair of red gingham shoes with a bow (very Dorothy from Wizard of Oz…) that I had bought in Ireland almost 10 years ago and have worn maybe once.  At the time they were the most I’d ever spent on shoes and even though now that is more of a normal shoe range, I’ve still kept them out of guilt and moved them between 6 or so different apartments over the last 7 years, never wearing them once!  I was finally able to part with them and DONATE.

Other things we hold onto because they are connected to our dreams.   In Highschool I was majorly into theater and I loved being in and directing musicals and Shakespearean productions in particular.  I had been holding onto a pair of black “Character shoes” often used in shows ever since I moved to NYC 7 years ago and haven’t worn them once as well!  Finally was able to part with these.  What I was able to tell myself is 1) I have new dreams now and I’m living them and 2) if ever the opportunity to act comes up again I can always buy new character shoes!  This was a huge lesson in letting go for me.

Lastly are memories-  Alex and I are very sentimental and we used to keep every card people sent us, every letter, every article that my Dad sent to us etc, but those build up enormously over the years and you know you’ll never go look at them again!   Don’t keep cards that are just signed with no special note.  Receive the message gratefully and toss them out!  For the special ones I discovered my new best friend: EVERNOTE, an awesome app for storing and filing just about anything easily and you can access it from a cloud on your ipad, iphone or computer!  Alex gives me a specially card every valentines day and anniversary and usually writes a very personal message.  I’ve saved up a lot of these over our past 7 years together.   Now I can just snap a picture of it, put it in my EVERNOTE notebook labeled “CARDS” and write “Valentines day 2013″  Now I can access those cards any time I want for the rest of my life without cluttering my house. :)

I really had trouble giving up this pretty little fainting sofa, which we had to sell unless we wanted our apartment to feel crowded with furniture…I coped by crying, making Alex take a picture of me on it and by buying better furniture to replace it that would actually fit in our house! ;-)

This really just scratches the surface on things I had to confront while spring cleaning, but I hope this has been helpful to you!  Alex and I ended up giving away over 20 bags of stuff, selling 15 or so pieces of furniture and throwing away another 10 bags probably.  I’ll admit some weren’t easy.  There were a few things I would put in the pile, walk away, and then walk back, grab and hide in my closet.   Parting with stuff can be hard!  But we are almost all moved into our new place now and it just feels so refreshing not to be bursting at the seams or drowning in stuff you’ll never use or look at.   Everything has its place.    I honestly feel like a lighter freer person because of it!  Because our closet here is pretty small,  I’ve also resolved to now give away a pair of shoes every time I buy a new pair.  It’s the only way I’ll have enough room and it honestly makes so much sense!  I’ve also become much more careful about buying things and returning them if I don’t think they work.  Spring cleaning has forced me to think about what things are important to me.  What do I like? What do I actually use?  All these questions have helped me to create a clean, open space that reflects all those things, and that doesn’t carry with it figurative or literal baggage!

For your convenience I’ve made you a Spring Cleaning List – a few items you may not think of :)

SPRING CLEANING LIST

TOSS

-Extra lotions, cologne,  perfumes, make-up

Any craft projects that have been lying around for more than a few months that you haven’t worked on – I threw away a bunch of old candles I was going to re-melt and combine  in a mason jar…

- Magazines more than 6 months old – and if you haven’t read them yet, don’t think you will because you won’t!

-Cards, articles

DONATE

-Jewelery, scarves, clothes and shoes you haven’t worn once in the last year

-T-shirts – do you still need your high-school Sophomore t-shirt or the camp t-shirt from 8th grade?  It’s not like you’ll forget what camp you went to!

-Purses!  Yes you loved it once when you bought it, but its been replaced by a new favorite and that’s okay.  Give it away to someone who can love it for the first time like you did! ;-)

-Extra Tupperware, plates and cups that that don’t match the set you have now,  extra mugs (we had WAY too many mugs)

-Gifts people have given you that you won’t use- this is a tough one but if your Great aunt gives you a scarf for Christmas  you know you’ll never wear or a decor item that doesn’t go with your house, don’t let it sit in your closet for a year with the tags, just donate it!  Someone out there will love it and you can still love your Aunt and appreciate her thoughtfulness without overflowing your life with things you don’t need.

-Books you’ve already read and won’t read or reference again, be honest with yourself!  I know you’re proud that you read those textbooks, but you don’t even work in that field, will you really ever look at them again ever???

- Old electronics

- Extra power cords and cables

EVERNOTE (snap a pic and then throw it away)

-meaningful letters, cards,  drawings or art projects from your kids or nieces and nephews

-articles you may want to reference

-reviews of books, restaurants or movies that you want to remember to try or visit

I’m sure this list is far from complete.  Leave a  comment if you have more ideas of things people keep that they should be giving or throwing away!

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Well, my love for flowers didn’t die with my wedding bouquet, I still love to be surrounded by them.  In fact I almost considered being a florist as a career change before I realized that I have trouble keeping even a fern alive.  So when Alex isn’t looking, I steal our grocery money and buy flowers along with our usual milk and seaweed snacks at Trader Joe’s!  This week I picked three different kinds of flowers and got them all for under $12.99!  Score.

I’ve been focusing a lot on design lately since we are decorating our new place, and any good interior designer will tell you that fresh flowers are the finishing touch.  In fact, I challenge you to find a photograph in a home magazine of any room without some sort of botany.  I’m so eager to show you pictures of my new place, but it’s just not quite ready!   So this will serve as a little sneak peek!  I just love how playful pink ranunculus in a mason jar can lighten up a kitchen island or open shelving…Sunflowers belong on a window sill basking in the sun, and even this bouquet of a filler flower brightens up this little entryway table.

Which reminds me:  Bridey brides who haven’t had to throw away their dried up bouquet yet, here are some awesome florists I recommend in the area!

Splendid Stems (Hudson Valley) and L’Oasis (NYC)

Have a beautiful weekend!!

xo Caroline

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Spring hasn’t quite sprung yet here in NYC:  for some reason flowers are blooming, but trees don’t even have buds yet!  So we followed the light, which never disappoints in creating magical photos, and on this first warm day of the season we were able to find some glowing magical corners of central park that gave the impression of spring.  We then made our way down to the meatpacking district for a bit more of a city vibe.

Shannon and Anna- it was such a pleasure meeting you and spending the afternoon with you.  I hope you have an awesome rest of your trip around the states, an amazing life together and that our paths cross again in the not-so-distant future!

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It was nearly freezing on this April day, which we were hoping would have brought us some more springish weather, and all of us had numb hands by the end.  However, you can’t tell because their love and laughter just warms up every image.  We started at a little nook on the east river right by their old apartment.   We then zoomed down in a cab to their Chelsea apartment and captured a little bit of a lifestyle session vibe, which basically means we tried to encapsulate an average day in the life.  We ended the session with a gorgeous sunset at The Highline park.  Enjoy every moment of their NYC love story here.

I’m just loving black and white’s right now…

James just loved the idea of taking some shots telling the wedding planning story.  I’m sure many grooms can relate…

Had to share this one, she is just too precious!!!

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Alex and I were doing some major spring cleaning the past few weeks (more on that to come) and I came across a shoebox of memories that had all these photos in it.  Photos I took almost ten years ago on my family’s trip to Europe.  I knew nothing about shooting in manual, RAW probably didn’t exist yet, and my little point and shoot was about the size of my hand, but you can already see my love for light, nature,  unique perspectives and leading lines.  Even though I knew zero about those things.  I remember thinking on that trip how cool it would be to be a photographer one day, traveling the world.  And I remembered especially taking this picture of my youngest sister, Cameryn, and thinking how much I loved photographing people more than anything.  Little did I know God was taking notes!  I was always going to be a photographer.  Even when I picked my major of human rights instead of Film/Video (which I strongly considered) at NYU, even when I was suffocating in desk job after desk job,  even when I was crying out to God to show me my calling.  He knew it was coming, He was preparing me all along through every hard experience, and I was always going to be a photographer.

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For a soft, romantic, yet not-trying-too-hard look, she stuck with simple white lingerie.  We used mostly natural light which at first gave us a beautiful,  innocent glowing light on her face for us, but as the sun dipped behind the buildings, the rooms got a little darker, and the photos a bit darker and moodier. We had a great time bringing out her inner fierceness.  Oh and ladies, her hubby LOVED the photos and was so surprised!

I know what you’re thinking, she must be a model right?  Actually, no!   Starting out, she was just as nervous as you probably are.  My style is simple, sweet, and sexy without trying to hard, so no I’m not going to make you do anything weird or uncomfortable.  We keep it relaxed and have a lot of fun.  After only a few minutes, this lovely lady went from nervous to completely relaxed and at ease!!!

I have permission to share these two photos with you, but we did a lot more with a lot more variety!  Contact me for more information on how to set up the perfect shoot.  Please note that I’m only taking bridal boudoir clients (pre or post wedding) at this time.

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All hail the Jamaica beer- Red Stripe!  We were at an all-inclusive resort, so we did have quite a few of these…

 You better believe my honey that can eat like a sumo wrestler took full advantage of the fact that it was an all inclusive resort…Alex: “Should I have the steak or lobster? Given that it’s all included I’m gonna say both…”

Let’s be honest, I went on this vacation with the sole purpose of doing nothing, so I didn’t want to take a ton of pictures.  But I did take Alex out one evening at “Golden Hour” (the half hour before and after sunset…aka the best light), taught him how to shoot in manual and a little bit about posing, and then I took a few photos myself…

Go Alex!  He posed this (almost) by himself.  Don’t tell him I said that…

And you may have noticed there are really no photos of me on here, and that’s because I’m usually the photographer.  But Alex took this one on our last day

Alex – proud of himself for shooting in manual and for “finding the good light”. :)

All images taken of Caroline (not of Alex or scenery) are copyright General Alexander T. Shea.  Yes, he made me say that.  No, he’s not a general.

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But the fact remains that we are downsizing and have to get rid of A LOT OF STUFF.   As sad as it is giving up my tiffany blue Marie Antoinette fainting couch (that I’ve never fainted on I’m happy to say)  I am so excited to redecorate and do something new in our space and to design it and pick pieces that will make it feel open, airy, welcoming and bigger than it really is!

When I need inspiration for home decorating, the obvious place to turn is Pinterest, full of helpful pictures that I can pick out and put on my board, way easier than flipping through and clipping from magazines!  God bless the inventor of Pinterest and all the people who scour the internet for these great inspiration images.  This is part of one of my favorite boards wishfully called “My Future Home”

Pinterest is also great in that, almost like taking a vacation or a walk through the park, you can kind of vacate life and relax in a fantasy world.  That’s what I do on my Fairy Tale Garden board…

But really Pinterest gives you endless possibilities of what you can “pin” and collect onto different theme boards.   I collect healthy recipes, workouts, paint swatches, and craft projects, as well as photo inspiration for my business.   It’s also amazing for brides looking to gather inspiration for their big day!  I definitely hope all of you will follow me on Pinterest, and I promise to follow you back!

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