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

Thankfully Mai and Kevin didn’t listen to me and suggested their engagement shoot be done at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline. Whenever I’m asked suggestions for a park or an open spot, the Public Garden downtown is the one that always comes to my mind…and to many others’ minds as well, so had they gone with my idea, our late afternoon shoot we would’ve been overrun with after-work traffic.  At Larz Anderson we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, and Mai and Kevin could even do a quick wardrobe change. We made a slow circuit around the pond and finished at a garden patch just as the sun was beginning its final descent behind the trees.  Hello willow trees and WELL HELLO brilliant golden sunshine! Who says such a thing doesn’t exist in New England?

The last shot is my favorite, in front of the Temple of Love. I just found out that’s what it’s called, and not That Gazebo Thingy Over There. Thanks Mai and Kevin for wonderful shoot! Looking forward to the big day more than ever…

Amy and Matt were married at Arnold Arboretum’s Vine and Shrub Garden in Jamaica Plain, MA. I loved this wedding. I arrived early to scope out the area, do a little recon and whatnot, but ended up wilting and panting underneath a tree instead, where the shade was not much cooler. While figuring out where to do the portraits, I spotted the groom and his party arrive with a cooler, all decked out in their multi-layers of finery. Magenta vests and ties! Hot! So very…hot…

{ ^ Amy attempts to place Matt’s ring on the wrong hand, but they recover }

{ Winners of the Best First Kiss Award 2010 }

There was a very happy grove of trees on a small incline that I wanted to do the portraits in. But in the heat, the patch of unshaded lawn we had to traverse to get there looked like a death march, so we stayed under the pavilion.

The reception was held nearby at West on Centre, where Amy and Matt first met.

{ ^ A collection of music from all the concerts they’ve attended together, as party favors. Outer envelope calligraphy by me! }

Dance party time!

Hair today…

…gone tomorrow…

This is us the next evening when Dan and I crashed their mini-moon at the Liberty Hotel. Forgive the icky camera phone quality but you can still see what a night’s worth of being thirsty can do to one’s head.

Congrats Amy and Matt!

If I had such a beautiful cat with such a snowy coat and such shiny green eyes, I would name him Snowball. His full name would be Snowball Igloo Blizzard the Third as I have had two cats named such before. Luckily this cat dodged this unoriginal if obvious moniker and is known as Eppa. Eppa of the Back Bay.

He’s seriously the whitest cat I’ve ever seen, even with his gray streaks at the top of his head. And he is quite large too, as large and sweet as a baby seal on an ice floe. His face reminds me of Easter with his fluffy baby bunny fur, and his eyes and nose made out of jelly beans.

I love cats.

I met Willow and Nala recently for a photoshoot on a lovely almost-summer’s afternoon. Willow is a happy Jack Russell mix with Pippi Longstocking ears, Nala is a pretty calico with supersized thumbs. They’re moving to Chicago soon, so I was glad to be able to document a day in their South End home before they say farewell to Boston.

Here are Gracie and Dewey, a pair of Golden Retriever urbanites living high above the city of Boston. Go ahead and treat your eyes to these golden puffs of fuzzy goodness!

{ couldn’t resist including this stellar view of the South End and Boston’s skyline }