Second Shooting for the Rat Pack

I pretty rarely assist other photographers, but it's also a lot of fun when I do, getting to see the wedding from the groom's side. It helps when, as with Mark and Olivia's wedding near Boston, the guys are funny and excited about looking dapper.

I was working with Melissa Nicastro, covering the guy's prep and the ceremony. Which, awesomely, meant I got to catch the guys doing their best Reservoir Dogs impression.

The church was beautiful. We got some great pictures of the couple not quite meeting before the ceremony.

And then, maybe the best part of the day... After photographing 74 weddings, I finally had a couple get pelted with rice. Which is as awesome as it looks in the movies.

(NB: Rice has fallen out of fashion because it may be unsafe for birds who eat the dry rice. Whether for cleanliness or concern for wildlife, the couple's uncles swept up all the rice.)

As nice as it was to get a half-day at work, I was sad I wasn't going along to the reception. I'm sure it was a beautiful and fun celebration. Regardless, it was great working with Melissa, and I wish all the best to Olivia and Mark!

Perfect Together

I joked on Facebook before my wedding yesterday that photographing a friend's wedding makes me especially nervous. It's true! Every wedding makes me nervous to some degree - which is good, since it makes me triple check my gear and the schedule - but with friends you also feel a personal pressure to not let them down.

I needn't have worried with Shannon and Andy.

Not only was the wedding beautiful, but they were as laid-back and fun-loving as I've always known them to be. It was a day filled with familiar faces, actually, with a neighbor, a former wedding couple of mine, and a handful of other acquaintances joining in.

The day started off with the girls getting ready at Shannon's parent's house, a fun process with this bunch.

The ceremony was very traditional, in the beautiful Our Lady of Sorrows in West Hartford. 

Then we moved to the Webb-Dean Barn for a lively reception DJ'd by Collins Entertainment. Shannon, Andy, and their friends and family know how to enjoy a party, but it was also marked by touching moments. After they each made a speech about what the other meant to them, the videographer and I were both misty-eyed.

So yes, friend's weddings make me nervous, but that's only half the story. They are also my most satisfying weddings, and the most touching.

Congratulations, you two! I don't know another couple as perfectly suited for each other as you two are.

Married on Prom Night

I arrived at Elizabeth Park on Friday for Ben and Chelsea's small, intimate wedding, and was confused to find... crowds of sharply dressed teenagers.

It turns out, Elizabeth Park is a popular spot for pre-prom photos.

Luckily, Chelsea and Ben had a couple of determined guests to help herd the crowds away from the gazebo, and everything went off without interruption.

After the ceremony, we did a bunch of group photos with their close family and friends. Then Chelsea, Ben, and I wandered around to find some beautiful spots for portraits.

It was a great time! Ben and Chelsea were easy going and have a great sense of humor. 

Congrats Ben and Chelsea!

Alabama Meets Massachusetts

I headed up to Westwood, MA yesterday with my second shooter Jeff to capture Lauren and Amy's wedding.

I knew going in we were going to have a great time - Lauren's bubbly personality and laid back style were definite good signs.

The wedding took place at Amy's parent's beautiful old home, with most of the festivities in a giant tent lovingly decorated and catered by Wicked Catering.

After a short, sweet, and funny ceremony, and a handful of posed photos, we quickly got down to the important things in life: food, drinks, and dancing!

Lauren's family, proud Alabamians, really represented for their home state. I had no idea "Roll Tide!" could be worked into so many popular songs!

All in all, a beautiful and fun day. Congratulations Lauren and Amy!

Marissa and Jan

(Finally, the third wedding from my very busy weekend in October.)

It's a fact of the wedding business that you are constantly popping into and out of people's lives. One day you sign a contract, months later you're part of the inner circle for one of their most important days of their lives, and then you're back to being strangers. It's weird.

Which is why it's always such a pleasure to work with people who really are good friends of mine.

Some of my clients will recognize Marissa - she has often worked for me as a second shooter at weddings. We met back in our college days, during long nights toiling in the darkroom.

Over the last couple years, she's caught me up whenever we worked together about her and Jan buying a house in the country, and then pouring themselves into fixing it up. (It helps that Jan is a contractor.) I could tell from the way Marissa talks about Jan that he was something special, but I've never had a chance to meet him until their wedding.

It's clear she's made a good choice.

I can't say how happy it makes me to see my friend so clearly in love with a man who so clearly loves her.

Congratulations, Marissa and Jan!

Sunny Season at the Tradition

(I'll be traveling through the 19th - for now, here's a post about the second of three weddings from a very busy weekend in October.)

I met Tricia and Andrew at the Seasons at the Tradition for their early-October wedding. After a rainy wedding the day before, I was excited to have bright sun, green grass, and a hint of fall color in the trees.

Tricia was dealing with a painful injury from the night before, but she was such a champ! I would never had guessed if someone hadn't told me, and she didn't let it stop her from having a blast.

In contrast to my wedding the day before, this time we had the full suite of special events - fitting at a venue called "the Tradition". Cake cutting, parent dances, bouquet and garter toss. 

Still plenty of time for dancing, though, of course. There is always time for dancing!

(Also, one side note: It's a very strange feeling to be really moved by a song I've never heard at a wedding, only to learn it's by Adam Sandler...)

Congrats, Tricia and Andrew!

A Bittersweet Celebration

I can't say Nancy and Jeff's wedding went off without a hitch - suffice it to say it was not a universally happy day. However, thanks to the resilience of the couple and their guests, and some heroic work by their maid of honor (and fill-in best man), it was still an incredible, intimate day.

I don't often get into the details of a couple's backstory, but I'll make an exception here. Nancy and Jeff dated in high school, but went their own ways, had families of their own, and only reconnected recently, decades later, through Facebook.

It's clear that they are deeply in love, and take the "in good times and bad" very seriously.

This is my last wedding of the year, and number 70 in my career (but more on that soon). I'm so glad I got to wrap up my year with this amazing couple.

A Windy Wedding

Kamila and Kedar's wedding got off to a chilly start - literally, the weather was not cooperative. But they powered through, and the day made for plenty of beautiful photos.

From there, we moved inside for some posed photos, a few polish traditions, a very tasty dinner...

And dancing. Don't. Forget. Dancing.

A quick one but a lot of fun.