Total Drama presents "Murder at Cafe Noir"

Last week, I had the great pleasure of meeting and photographing the dynamic cast of Murder at Cafe Noir presented by Total Drama Performing Arts Center & Women's Wellness Center.  Total Drama opened in 2012 under the leadership of Claire Guadagno, who also directs and performs in this interactive play where everyone is suspect! 

I can't wait to see them in action! 

Their next performance is on Saturday, November 8th at 7pm at A Taste of Honey at Nansen Park located at 3465 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY.  Call 347-938-7870 for tickets and reservations or visit http://totaldramasi.eventbrite.com

Claire Guadagno - director

Claire has been in theatre her entire life and has a passion for teaching children and incorporating women's wellness into her work.  Read more about Claire and her road to success on silive.com

A great thanks to this entertaining group of actors who were so much fun to photograph and know who to make a girl feel welcome! 

Claire, Jodi, Joe, Dom, Christine, Rob and Roman, I look forward to seeing you soon!

Jodi Dareal Rogers and Joe Naimoli

Dom Bertucci and Christine

Rob and Roman

 A great warm thanks to Lemuel Ayudtud who assisted me with this shoot and took these really fun behind the scenes images!

Mansi + Matt: Brooklyn Botanical Garden Wedding

Mansi and Matt are a really fun couple whom I had the pleasure of meeting last year! They met in Manhattan while attending Columbia University and Barnard College a few years ago and became inseparable ever since!

Their wedding was held at the gorgeous Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Palm House with over 200 of their closest friends and relatives.  It was such a joyous occasion; guests had traveled from many different parts of the world, including India and London, to attend this event!

It rained terribly on this particular Spring wedding day, but you'd never know it from the look on Matt and Mansi's faces.  Even though they had originally planned to get married in the midst of the 45,000 bluebells that form the sweet lavender field by the Cherry Esplanade, they were very flexible when plans had to be made to have the ceremony in the Palm House where the reception was also held.

Eventually the rain ceased and we were able to sneak to the fields to capture a few unforgettable moments.

Photography – Jessica Crespo Photography \ Ceremony Venue – Brooklyn Botanic Garden \ Reception Venue – The Palm House \ Floral – Opalia Flowers \ Ceremony Musicians – Los Acustilocos \ DJ – DJ Sadhu Scratch Weddings \ Hair and Makeup Artist – Naz Beauty \ Wedding Planner – Soraya Weddings & Celebrations \ Hotel –New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge \ Transportation – London Towncars \ After Party – Beauty Bar Brooklyn 

Success thru Business Guild 2

    As a business owner, I have been very fortunate these past couple of years in part thanks to a very special group of people known as Business Guild 2.  When I joined the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce two years ago, I was quickly embraced by this amazing networking group formed by local business owners.  We meet every week at the Hilton and we offer one another referrals and business tips to help each other grow.  

What I love about this group is that we are formed by reputable businesses from many different industries and we genuinely care for each other's success.  Among our current members we have:

• Accounting: Gregg T Iliceto, CPA
• Advertising: Showtime Publications
• Attorney at Law: Fiore & Wierzbowski, PC
• Auto Repair: AAMCO Transmissions
• Auto Sales: Spencer's Auto Sales
• Computer Consultant: IDA Technologies Inc.
• Corporate Benefits & Design Services
• Hair Sculpting by Beth
• Home Improvement: Phase One Construction
• Home Care Service: Caremates
• Insurance: Nationwide Insurance
• Interior Design: Golden Key Interiors
• Jeweler: Vik's Fine Jewelry
• Locksmith: Advance Lock & Key
• PAC Plumbing
• Medicare Plans: Aetna
• Fidelity Merchant Services
• Nail Salon: Princess Nail & Spa
• Shamrock Paints
• Pinot's Palette
• Thrifty Exterminating
• Pet Care: Merry Mutts
• Printing & Websites: Metro Ink, Ltd.
• Real Estate: Master Realtors
• Wealth Management: UBS Financial Services
• and Photography of course by yours truly!

This year's group picture was a lot of fun to take. Everyone was a in great mood and it shows!  We even did a few headshots after the group pictures.  Thanks everyone for being great subjects!

Tara + Bentley: Destination Wedding in Antigua

Life with two toddlers and a baby is not the most relaxing thing I can think of, as rewarding as it may be. So when our friends Bentley and Tara decided to have their wedding in Antigua last month and invited my husband, Derek and me to come along, we just couldn't say no.

They booked a week long cruise from Puerto Rico that visited St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados so it was a wedding and a honeymoon all in one.  We had such a wonderful time traveling to thru these islands of paradise, spending time with some of their other friends also from New York and celebrating such a joyous occasion in the middle of it all.  We are truly blessed and grateful to have had this amazing experience.

As is typical of the Caribbean, the day of the wedding had nothing but clear blue skies and delicious sunshine.  Tara, who is originally from Antigua, was able to have her family and childhood friends also attend the wedding which was held at the luxurious Blue Waters Resort.  It is such an amazing venue.  Derek and I would go back in a heartbeat!

Tara looked absolutely stunning and Bentley looked like felt like the luckiest man in the world.  They both radiated such joy that it was contagious.  Being the photographer I am, I was so happy to have brought my camera along and to be able to share a few images from their beautiful wedding.

Everything from the perfectly blue Caribbean Sea, the clear blue sky, the steel drum band and the colorful orange and magenta flowers made for an absolute magical wedding.  Tara and Bentley could not have planned everything better.  I wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness.

 Yep, definitely a place we would love to go back to... maybe for their anniversary? Hmm, a girl can dream, right?