The photos below come from weddings in grand hotels, such as the Four Seasons Boston and Taj Boston, from couples’ homes, parents’ homes, even tiny rooms in the most modest of hotels and inns … The weddings took place in Boston and all over New England … even two in Seattle … and I photographed Jewish weddings, Christian weddings, my first Indian wedding, my first Cambodian ceremony, and a ton of multi-cultural and non-religious weddings. I’ve experienced the full gamut of emotions, and I hope some of them are apparent below. I’ve seen a whole lot of nervous anticipation, emotional tears, but most of all, excited and delighted couples, full of laughter and huge smiles. Enjoy the highlights reel – with more coming soon!

I started the day much earlier, at The Langham Hotel in downtown Boston where Heather was getting ready (and in fact where the couple put up their ten guests for the weekend). Some fun details to start – I am so happy that they took my recommendation of New Leaf Flores for the beautiful bouquet and boutonniere:

Heather was all big smiles and excited chatter as she was having her makeup done.

I love these two photos of Heather and her friend Sarah:

Time to get dressed! And what a gorgeous dress it was – the Waterfall Gown from J.Crew’s wedding collection.

While Heather was at the hair salon, I snapped some photos of Peter getting suited up:

Despite the chilly breeze, we held their look outside in the tiny park across from the hotel. Heather was so excited to show off her shoes.

Some sweet moments – and some funny ones – followed. Don’t these two kiss like movie stars?

After the first look, we all headed down to Plymouth to the boat launch. I arrived a little earlier than the wedding party, so snapped a few photos of the beach. It was so beautiful …

Led by their fantastic British celebrant Lucille Wymer, everyone made the short walk down the steep hill to the boat launch. Spirits were high:

This was the third smallest wedding ceremony I’d ever photographed and it was perfect. I hope these photos capture some of the intimacy and emotion of the event.

There were beautiful readings, and an emotional account of Peter and Heather’s lives together thus far.

I love this:

It was just the perfect setting … *sigh*

Towards the end of the ceremony, each couple wrote a message which they placed inside a bottle and threw into the sea. It made for great pictures, and lots of laughter.

Rings! And more happy tears …

Peter had prepared a surprise reading for Heather in the form of a poem – it was beautiful:

We stayed on the beach for a few more minutes to take some portraits and detail shots. I can’t get over the bouquet by New Leaf …

These guys were so excited to be married!

The reception was split between post-ceremony drinks back at The Langham Hotel and dinner at L’Espalier. I stayed for the first part and had fun playing with lighting up the crazy dark bar without freaking out the staff there – it was a challenge! But I love the photos we got:

We made a little outing to see the Christmas tree at Faneuil Hall but my very favorite portrait of the night was actually outside L’Espalier – the emotion was perfect. Thank you all so much for a beautiful day, and for trusting me to capture the story of your wedding. I hope you’ve enjoyed the teasers! The full set will be ready in a couple of weeks.

I started the day in Sophy’s bridal room, grabbing some photos of her having her hair and makeup done, and photographing her many beautiful details.

I was especially taken with her gorgeous Miu Miu gold ballet flats. I need some of these myself! Loved those classy, modern invites too …

Richard arrived a little later to get dressed with his guys in a friend’s room at the hotel. His Paul Smith striped socks were AWESOME. I think all grooms should get to wear fun wedding socks.

Back down to Sophy’s room … I loved that she and Richard kept the red ribbons that were tied on their wrists during the previous day’s Cambodian ceremony:

Love this one of the girls – and don’t they look super cute in their purple dresses?

The weather was not the best that day, so we held the first look outside a conference room on the fourth level. Not a bad space!

I had to work in the cool spiral staircase somehow …

Sophy was keen to take the majority of the portraits over at the Public Garden. The rain held off for us, thank goodness, and we got some really cute photos there.

Rich’s glasses came in handy for a fun photo – I LOVE their expressions here.

The beautiful flowers were by Michele Bernard.

A few last photos from the Public Garden to finish off today’s post … do you like the cute little doggy that we stole for a quick picture? I think these guys might just be as crazy as I am for dogs.   The final installment of this multi-day, multicultural celebration will be coming along after the weekend!

The girls had their makeup done by the utterly fabulous Veronica Shin (one of my absolute favorite makeup artists in the Boston area), and it was also a pleasure watching hair stylist Jennifer Fusco work her magic. Jason + Chrissy’s sweet doggy Reggie was missing from the celebrations so I worked in one of his toys for some detail shots. Oh, and the beautiful invites are from Hoopity on Etsy.

Chrissy was glowing:

We then all headed up to Turner Hill in Ipswich, MA to complete the getting ready. I am in love with this venue. Look at it!

Love these photos of Chrissy’s girls helping her into her Private Label by G gown:

Jason’s sister and Chrissy’s sister fixing the veil:

The guys, meanwhile, were fully dressed and playing poker at the other end of the hallway. Love it!

I grabbed Jason to have his boutonniere put on by florist The Singing Flower (whose work was gorgeous, by the way). Jason obviously found something about this quite amusing.

And then it was straight into the first look. This light … wow.

These two are so sweet and natural with each other. It made my job easy!

Time for some bridal party photos! Turner Hill could not be any prettier. I mean, really. And that light was just spectacular …

Love this one of the guys (thank you for being brave, Jason!)

One last teaser before the ceremony and reception … which will likely be along on Tuesday next week. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, head on over to my Facebook page and like it – there are often a few little extra sneak peeks posted there first!

Annie bought her bridesmaids purses from Etsy – I love that each one is slightly different:

Some fun getting ready moments – everyone was SO relaxed. Also, they were watching the Tour de France when I arrived – Annie’s an avid cyclist but it was still cool to see the girls watching pro sports while getting ready for a wedding.

Annie’s beautiful dress was from The White Dress by the Shore, a store that she highly recommends for its small but impeccable selection:

Annie’s sister Sarah’s baby boy paid us a little visit – he was a cutie-pie, and there was a lot of cooing going on in that room.

Once the girls were ready, we headed into Stonington for the first look. There’s a hilarious sequence that I’ll be posting to my facebook page next week, but I wanted to share the more emotional shots here:

After tears and giggles came champagne and giggles:

The guys looked great in their suits in various shades of gray:

And I loved the ladies’ navy J. Crew bridesmaid dresses:

Ryan and Annie allowed me lots of time for pictures (thank you!!) and we got some great stuff around the cute-as-a-button town of Stonington:

The shot above might be one of my favorites of the day … and I have to give a quick shout-out here to Newtown Florist who did a beautiful job with the fresh green and white bouquets and boutonnieres:

Mid-afternoon and time to head over to Saltwater Farm. Love this place …

Ryan was on an emotional roller coaster during the early moments of the ceremony …

We had some crazy tough light to work with (direct sunlight with not a cloud in the sky) so I’m pretty happy with how these turned out:

I can’t wait to bring you Part Two later this week – these kids sure know how to party! – and sundown brought the most perfect soft light for some sweet couples portraits … so stay tuned! And if you haven’t already, head over and like my Facebook page for sneak peeks and other fun extras.

K’s beautiful lace dress was hanging on the cutest hanger from Etsy.

There was a very relaxed atmosphere at the house and I split my time between taking candids of the girls hanging out and taking fun detail shots … including K’s spectacular shoes which went on a little “shoe safari” a la Mister Phill.

The girls from Moss Salon did a great job with the hair, and I loved working with Gina Vanacore of 2 Shine Cosmetics – she was not only great fun but also a speed demon!

The flowers by Nancy at Dyer Avenue Florist in Cranston, RI were gorgeous, and unique. The mint in K’s bouquet was so pretty (and smelled wonderful):

A’s sisters joined us late morning. Aren’t these dresses so pretty? I love the beachy colors that K and A chose.

I just adore this next shot of K being helped into her dress:

A couple of last photos of K before I left to meet the guys at the church:

A was all smiles … and I love the sand colored suits his guys were wearing:

The ring bearers were adorable and hilarious:

A few favorite moments from the Catholic ceremony at St. Thomas More Church:

There was a great little courtyard at the church where K and A greeted their guests after the ceremony:

And I’ll leave you with a little taste of things to come after the long weekend … have a great Independence Day and I’ll be back on Tuesday or Wednesday with part two! If you’re a newly engaged couple wanting some kick-ass wedding and engagement photos, view my portfolio here; if you’re more interested in kids and pets, click here; follow me on Facebook here … or contact me here!

Jen is above, with her sister Libby and her mom below (love these ladies!)

Jen’s dad commented that her magnificent silver Jimmy Choo sandals deserved an album all their own … hopefully a couple of photos will do for now though.

I was in love with Jen’s peony-filled bouquet by The Secret Garden in creams and pinks … divine!

Some details of Jen’s dress (from Kleinfeld’s in New York) and veil (more on that later):

I hope Kath doesn’t hate me for posting this photo of her darling flower girl daughters – it’s just too cute-funny not to!

And a couple of final touches in the front room of the Inn:

I was greeted at St. Augustin’s Church by Morgan who was looking very dapper (and happy!) in his tails and ascot.

Those flower girls were the cutest things ever:

I love that I caught Morgan checking out Jen’s veil here. The veil is a Fulham family heirloom; it was purchased in France in 1913 and has been worn by at least 15 brides through four generations.

Such a gorgeous church …

Jen was beaming throughout the ceremony; perfect!

And out into the pouring rain!

Stay tuned for photos of the beautiful reception at Castle Hill Inn, which will be along in a couple of days. And if you’re a newly engaged couple wanting some kick-ass wedding and engagement photos, view my portfolio here; if you’re more interested in kids and pets, click here; follow me on Facebook here … or contact me here!

I’m a big fan of mirrors and windows … especially together:

Emily was so excited all day, she was an absolute joy to photograph … and her mom Wendy was full of emotion, watching her prepare for the events ahead.

Once Emily was dressed, I grabbed a couple of portraits, then we headed out for the first look:

Love this thoughtful moment just after the first look:

And time for some cute couples portraits (these were taken at the edge of the Inn’s parking lot – love it! )

Next stop was downtown Rockport for some fun portraits. It was insanely busy out, and crazy hot … these guys were troupers. We spent a little time at the famous red buoy wall:

We stopped at the utterly delightful Bean & Leaf Cafe for a cold drink and I grabbed a couple of shots of Emily and Seth while they were talking with the owner (a gracious and generous host):

The ceremony and reception will be along after the weekend … watch this space! And let’s finish with what might be my favorite shot of the day … overlooking Sandy Bay:

Yes, those are indeed some red hot Kate Spade shoes (love):

And here’s Patty (fabulous hair by Jennifer Guerriero and beautiful, natural makeup by Veronica Shin Kim):

Lots of time to spare while folks are getting ready means fun pictures of rings:

Love Patty’s expression here – she was soooo excited.

While the guys were waiting for the girls to finish up, they played poker. With pretzels and raisins (a pretzel is worth 10 raisins, and Nate did not win – but he did play well).

Back up to the girls and time for Patty to get dressed. I don’t usually post *quite* so many dressing photos … but I loved this whole series:

This one might be my new all-time favorite getting ready photo – what do you think?

And those expressions again – awesome!

Nate’s boutonniere by Hanaya Floral was so cool (very Japanese) and he looked quite dashing:

We held their first look on the grand staircase at the Four Seasons. What a spot …

And what emotion …

Tons more photos coming soon … from the gift exchange and portraits through the ceremony at the Old South Church… and back to the Four Seasons for the super fun reception, all expertly coordinated by Fiona of Pink Orchid Weddings. And if you like what you see here, come by my Facebook page … it’s where the very first sneak peeks get posted!

Bernie, Mike and Beth’s lab mix, is basically my second son. Bernie and Porter have spent a lot of time together and still seem to really miss each other. Fellow dog-lovers will no doubt understand the significance of the next few photos … I love how Bernie gazes at Beth as she has her hair done … and how she touches him gently on the head as he stands before her:

Beth’s mom, Karen, was on an emotional roller-coaster all day – perfect! I hope she doesn’t hate me for posting these … but I love the emotion here.

Beth made all the hair accessories for her and her bridesmaids. I love the peacock feathers, and the teal of the shoes to contrast with the main accent color, red.

Some more favorites – Beth helping her sister Kate with her makeup, then working on her own:

After a sweet first look in the front yard, we gathered up the guys and girls and headed over to Discovery Park, one of Mike and Beth’s favorite places. We started with couples portarits and detail shots:

… then added in the bridal party. These guys scrub up well!

The weather had turned to full-on miserable by this point, but I begged Mike and Beth to let me take a few final shots down by the lighthouse. They were absolutely freezing, but I promised them it would be worth it.

We headed over to Ballard for coffee and pastries at the Dutch Bike Co. I loved this space! It is so very Seattle – a mixed purpose coffee shop and bike store, in a mixed purpose building. All with gorgeous exposed brick and huge windows. Hurray!

Courtney Kroymann, of Designs by Courtney, did a phenomenal job with the bouquets. I especially love the trailing flower ribbon on Beth’s bouquet. I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. I’m a fan!

I’m not sure why, but I love this next photo.

Part two – the gorgeous ceremony and reception at Ray’s Boathouse, all expertly coordinated by our good friend Stacey Jehlik of Breath … Savor the Day – will be along in a few days. If you’ve enjoyed this post, please come over and check out my Facebook page … If you’re a newly engaged couple wanting some kick-ass wedding and engagement photos, view my portfolio here; if you’re more interested in kids and pets, click here; and of course you can always contact me here!