Connecticut Wedding Photographer : Alissa Dinneen Photography

John and Alissa (me!) : Our Engagement Session

 I can't begin to tell you how nervous I was before our engagement session. It took me forever to figure out what John and I were going wear (black and grey was the tough one, the red shoes was easy!). Then the day rolls around; storm clouds are brewing, rain drops are falling, and my hair is getting bigger by the second. Did I mention we were in Las Vegas, what are the chances are that it rains the one day we picked for pictures? 

Looking back on this day, I'm thrilled with the photos (By Laura Pineda of Alternate Angles) and so pleased to have had professional pictures taken of us (note I had my make-up done by Kelly of Smooth Brides). I've forgotten what it feels like in front of the camera. Now that i'm introduced to the other side (of the glass), I'm a better photographer for it.

Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy! 

John and I were standing on top of a ledge for this image, so Laura could see more of us. 

I have this framed in our living area (inside the Venetian).

One of the following two images is on our save the dates. I'd like to mention we had some tourists join us for a few photos while we were up on this fountain!

If I had enough time, I should have gotten my jeans hemmed...you couldn't really see my awesome patent red shoes! John was making fun of my ridiculous laugh here, I love this picture (big mouth open and all)!

 I This picture is just so fun. We all know how much I love a blue sky, not to mention the warm lights, shiny wet ground, and John making fun of me for turning the wrong way all made for a perfect capture!     I really like (for some odd reason) the lady in to the left of us. 

We waited for a while for these lights to come on. I had been in this spot years prior wanting to take a portrait. I love how Laura cropped this image, tree in the foreground.

 

At this moment after spinning the wrong way and laughing at my fake laugh I really got comfortable in front of the camera.


      

John is 100% Sicilian. When we're in the Caribbean he's always mentioning that the islands "reminds him of Sicily." This reminds me of me laughing every time he says that, not to mention I now say it too for fun (even though I haven't been there, yet).

   

Whoa! You can see my red shoes, hollar!   

Again, red shoes, there they are!     I wasn't lying, you can see the rain here: in the sky and on my sweater. 

 

Being a photographer makes me really love light. I love looking at light. I watch movies and disturb myself and the story line to think of how the scene was lit. I often find myself driving around during the low light (sunrise/sunset) hours just wanting to give the light a big hug and thank it for being so pretty. I LOVE this picture, yes you can barely see us and yes we're dark: it doesn't matter. Look at how that rain really worked out, without which this image wouldn't exist. Big hug to Laura!!

 
 
   All photos taken by: Laura Pineda of Alternate Angles.

2010 Caribbean Cruise

John and I went on a two week cruise about two months ago. It's taken me forever to pick out a few snapshots (taken with my point and shoot camera) to share with my blog followers, and the people we vacationed with. Now that the weather is warming up a little bit, I can handle looking at these pictures just long enough to put a few online.

Click here for a slideshow. I couldn't use the song(s) that I really wanted, since it's limiting. I went with a song that is currently often stuck in my head.

The two following pictures below were taken at Crane Beach in Barbados. There is resort on the beach, which we got to walk through, called The Crane. It would be a fabulous place for a honeymoon. The waves were so much fun to play in and the water was crystal clear.

 

The next two pics are from Morningstar Beach in St. Thomas. I know everyone tells you to go to Megan's Bay, but if you prefer a less crowded location this is the spot!

 

In Grenada we went out an excursion, with our friends Shannon and Erik. We hiked to the Seven Sisters Waterfalls, where John and Erik jumped off the falls (the bigger was 35FT) and Shan and I cooled off in the pools.

 

This last pic I'm posting is from the boat, sailing away from St. Thomas.

       

2009 Cruise Slideshow

2008 Cruise Slideshow

www.alissadinneen.com

Napa, California

I just got back early this morning from my trip to Las Vegas and Napa and had to share a couple preview pics. Enjoy!

 

www.alissadinneen.com

Location, Location, Location: Litchfield, Connecticut

I have not been a good blogger these days. As some of you know that I'm in the process of buying a house with my boyfriend John (who is now John Dipollina, PGA Golf Professional as of Tuesday--congrats John!). Here is a small update on the house situation; we're currently under contract and deposit on a home in Bristol, Connecticut, and had our inspection last week. I have pictures of the house, and I'm excited to share it with everyone. However, the house is not ours yet, so I'm not ready to share as of yet.

Recently, I've really been itching to get outside and take some personal pictures. For my first stop I am thinking of Northfield, Connecticut to the Laurel Ridge Foundation Daffodil Plantings. 

Description from website:  "Laurel Ridge is a 700 acre estate located in the Northfield sector of the Town of Litchfield. It is protected by the surrounding Waterbury Reservoir property. The natural beauty is enhanced by lakes, ponds, fields, woods, wetlands and a daffodil planting. Miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and bridal paths open the woods up for walks and rides."

Updates on the locations flowers, click here.

One of my favorite stops in Litchfield, Connecticut is Haight Brown Vineyard. It's a super cute vineyard, where you can do a tasting, grab a glass of wine (my favorite is their Covertside White), and sit outside on their deck and enjoy the day. On the weekends, at noon, they do sangria and mimosas.

If anyone else is excited about spring, as I know I am, the Litchfield area is a great place to visit.

My Vacation in the Southern Caribbean

The past two weeks I was lucky enough to travel the Southern Caribbean (with my boyfriend John) on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship. I was at sea for two full weeks, visiting San Juan, Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Virgin Gorda, and St. Johns. 

My favorite part of the trip was The Baths at Virgin Gorda, the cruise stopped at Tortola however I had heard so many wonderful things about visiting The Baths that I had to take the ferry over to check it out. The Baths are huge boulders that form a maze, from one beach to the next. In the maze there are grottos, ladders, and ropes along the way. 

  

My favorite travel items that I could not live without were; my Canon SD950IS PowerShot point and shoot camera (I do not care to lug around my gear on vacation), the dedicated underwater camera case for my PowerShot, and  Frommers Ports of Call book. The underwater case was wonderful, my favorite picture from the cruise wouldn't have been possible without this handy gadget.

CLICK HERE to view a slideshow from my vacation.

To view last year's cruise slideshow, click here.

www.alissadinneen.com

Still Catching-Up from Vacation

I was doing so well with my blogging from Newport, and then it stopped. So I thought that I'd share just a little bit more about my vacation, including one more image of my bridge.

My friend Lisa and I spend most of our time on the beach reading in Newport, which was very relaxing. I read Are you there, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea written by Chelsea Handler of Chelsea Lately on E! I loved this book, light and hysterical, great book for the beach. I found myself laughing so hard I had to stop reading, several times. Lisa read Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner, which is a follow up to one of our favorite books Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner--she also wrote the book In Her Shoes which later became a movie. I just finished reading Certain Girls this weekend. It was great to revisit with one of my favorite characters from a book, Cannie.

Lisa and I found the best breakfast place while we were in Newport. Atlantic Grille is in Middletown, Rhode Island in-between first and second beach. I am a huge fan of breakfast food, and this place by far was the best ever. Check it out if you're in town for breakfast, yummy!

I took a lot of pictures of this bridge. I don't know the name of this bridge, so I called it My Bridge. This is the view of My Bridge from our hotel room.

Day Two in Newport

Today was suppose to rain around two in the afternoon, so Lisa and I thought that we were geniuses by coming up with the idea to just go shopping and skip the beach today. It didn't rain, but we did get our shop on. I bought a pair of $25 sandals, so I'm happy! 

After shopping we visited two local vineyards, which was fun--I love a good wine tasting. The first one we stopped at was by far my favorite. I highly recommend stopping by Greenvale Vineyards if you're in Newport. All of their wines are made from their own grapes, which I think is pretty rare. A lot of the Connecticut vineyards bring in grapes from other vineyards (in California perhaps), which is kind of like cheating isn't it? The server was friendly at Greenvale, and we learned a few new things. Today I discovered that the taste of the grape is partially dependent on when the vines were planted. This is because the older the vine, the deeper the roots are in the soil, which brings different flavors to the grapes. AND I've known for a while now that New England doesn't do a heavy body red, but I didn't know why. It's because the growing season is shorter, and the grapes become a deeper shade of red the longer they are on the vine. There were five whites to try at Greenvale and one red, I haven't gotten into the reds yet so this worked out well for me (and Lisa too).

The second winery was The Newport Vineyards. There was a huge selection of wines (I think around 32), however my I found it to be confusing to have to select five out of 32. Wines I knew I normally like, I did not.

Off of my number one blog reader and mother of the bride's recommendation, we had a early dinner at The Red Parrot. And we did get the yummy burger and fries! Thanks for the info Robin! Next time you go to Newport, I suggest a wine tasting at Greenvale.

August 2008 Vacation to Newport, Rhode Island

This week I am on vacation with my friend Lisa. Last August Lisa and I went to the Cape, and did day trips to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. This year we are in Newport, Rhode Island, staying at the Hyatt Regency on Goat Island. We got here around noon yesterday, checked in and hung out by that pool by the parking lot (see below). Then we had dinner at Lucia, which is an Italian. The food was good, we both said we'd go back!

Does anyone have any Newport suggestions? Please share! We're going to try to find a good beach to go to later this morning.

Here's a pic taken with iPhone from our room, I think the boy at the front desk liked us because we did not pay extra for the pretty view! 

Seattle

This past March, I got a chance to visit my friend Sarah B who just moved from Boston to Seattle. Since I was in the area, I figure why not visit.

Seattle was great, I went on a bus tour to five of Washington's five hundred wineries. I also saw Pike Market--where they throw the fish around and where the original Starbucks is located. I didn't get a chance to go to the top of the space needle, there wasn't a clear enough day for it--I did see it from afar. Apparently, if you can't see the mountains then it's not worth it. Maybe next time.

Here are a few pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

WPPI: Las Vegas 2008

This past March I traveled to Las Vegas for the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention (WPPI for short). The convention was held at the Paris and Bally's hotels. It is my fourth year going to the WPPI convention, and it was another great year! One of my favorite things is the new camera that I purchased, I already posted some pictures that I took with it last weekend--check it out if you haven't seen them yet.

I'm slightly delayed with posting these images, it was on hold for a few weeks. I was super home sick after a week of being in Vegas--I'm not really a Vegas kind of gal, at all. Here are a few of my travel pics...enjoy!