Li Ward photographer of pets and weddings. Fat Orange Cat Studio is a fresh and candid boutique photography service in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jessica & Wade are getting married this June in Cambridge. In the meantime, we had a little portrait session around Boston’s Back Bay and Beacon Hill with their cute Havanese puppy dog named Jack!

Here is a peek at some of the little goodies I included with their photos. I calligraphed their names and made a little stamp. I loved how the it turned out that I immediately made three for myself. Who knows why it took me this long.

Stamps great on this DVD surface.

I also made a customized notepad and a mini accordion brag book, both from my friends at Pinhole Press.

To my upcoming – and previous! – wedding clients, you can make your own fine-paper notepads, brag books and much more by clicking this link or entering the code FOCSTUDIO when registering!

A wonderful spring session in the city with the handsome and playful Marley! We are all so happy to be under the sun and amongst the flowers.

Last week I held my first Open House at Audrey’s on Newbury Street. It was a smashing success, even better than I could have imagined. And I only say that because I hardly remember what happened. Suddenly I was collapsed at home on the couch, happy, hoarse, and STARVING because I forgot to eat. Good sign of good times, right?

I had albums and canvases propped on shelves all over the store and a slideshow of favorite pet and wedding photographs scrolling on the TV.  Parrott Design Studio had their suite of letterpress printed wedding invitations nestled in between bags of dog food, and their big binder of stationery samples sat atop a cat scratching post. My sister-in-law Meg took charge of the drinking station in the back of the store, surrounded by cushy piles of dog beds, and The South End Buttery catered the food, none of which I ate (talking talking talking!) but heard was very delicious. Oh I did have one cupcake! That I remember.

Here are some new wedding canvases for the Open House, waiting to be displayed. No need for pet ones – Audrey’s has seven of them on the walls already!

And floral arrangements by Petalena, made pet-friendly:

Beautiful spring bridal bouquet of tulips, ranunculus (swoon), sweet pea (swooon),
peonies (swooOOoOOoon) anchored by a ruffle of sage. HOLD ME!

Show time!

I was still setting up when people started arriving. You guys are punctual. I was still setting up 15 minutes in, heads down, running around, moving things, forgetting things, panicking, and then decided to just let it go and Start Mingling. Otherwise known as The Whole Point of this Open House.

With so many great raffle prizes, we raised over $400 for the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Thank you to Brittany, Sarah, Apryl of Petalena Flowers, Jennifer of Esq. Events, Kerrie of Back Bay Framery, as well as Grettacole and Top of the Hub for your contributions!

Your hosts above, L-R: Brittany, owner of Audrey’s and Sarah of Parrott Design Studio
Your host below: Me with four-legged friend Emma, my husband Dan and his sister Meg

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who came to the Open House and making it such a fun evening. Maybe we’ll have to make this an annual thing!

All Open House photos by my kitty-in-law Lisa Rigby
(our cats are bros, and ARL Boston alumi!)

This shoot features Louise and Brian, a young couple who just celebrated their 2nd anniversary. They are both originally from the South and have been in Boston for several years as Brian finishes up his PhD at MIT. The theme of the shoot is A Lazy Afternoon in the City. As Louise told me, “It’s pretty common for us, especially in the fall, to just grab a cup of coffee or cocoa and wander around the Back Bay, Beacon Hill…”

So on crispy and gray fall afternoon, we met in the historic neighborhood of Beacon Hill, traversed our way to the Public Garden, wandered through the Back Bay, stopping to window shop at AllSaints Spitalfields and admire their collection of vintage sewing machines — Louise’s family is in the textile business and she is an avid sewer. We stopped at the Old South Church where Louise sings in the choir, and finally warmed up with a glass of red wine at a Newbury Street bistro.

It turns out that Louise and I grew up in the same Atlanta suburb, and graduated from the same high school! We both agreed that despite the frigid cold, being transplanted from suburban sprawl to a tiny, walkable and beautiful city like Boston has not been a bad thing at all. Strolls from one neighborhood to the next, all steeped in history, is a weekly ritual and like me, they feel lucky to have been able to experience and appreciate Boston in this way.

Morgan is mastiff puppy and a fellow South End-er of Boston. I met up with Morgan and some of her friends at her home (Sarah her BFF was over for a playdate) (Sarah is a dog) (haha) and after some shots indoors, we took a walk around the neighborhood and visited fellow puppies at the dog park, stopped for treats at favorite haunt Polka Dog Bakery, and browsed for accessories at Looc Boutique. Just a typical, lazy Sunday afternoon for Morgan. And can I say, Morgan knows everybody. Like, everybody. Being so big and so beautiful definitely has its perks.