Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Kerri & Brandon: Wedding

I recently had the pleasure of shooting Kerri & Brandon's wedding in Bangor. As you may know, 'The Summer Of Rain' continues here in Maine so I was soooo happy for Kerri and Brandon that their wedding weekend was blessed with great weather! They drove 30 hours from North Dakota to be in Maine so they definitely deserved beautiful weather for their special event :)

Kerri's plan was to get dressed at the church since we were doing the group pictures at the church prior to the ceremony to ensure everyone had plenty of time to enjoy the cocktail hour and we would have time to do some 'Alone Time' portraits post-ceremony. Always looking for a new and unique place to hang and shoot the dress, I knew we had to take the dress outside and shoot it against one of the church's side doors. This created one of my all-time favorite dress shots!

The Dress...


Wider view...


The beautiful Bride...




Kerri & Brandon chose to do a 'First Look' before the ceremony which I LOVE when my couples decide to do! :)

Brandon waiting to see his Bride...


When he heard the door opening he got a huge smile on his face...


The tap on the shoulder...


The moment of seeing each other for the first time is priceless...


Brandon checking out the back of the dress...


Enjoying the moment...




Walking down the aisle with her Dad...




I love this moment as Kerri is looking at Brandon :)


A couple wider shots of the beautiful St. John's Catholic Church...




Again, I love how Kerri is looking at Brandon, and how he is looking at the Priest...


At rehearsal the Priest told me he prefers to have his back to the guests so that the couple is up on the alter so they can be seen better as they have to turn towards him and the guests. Great idea...except when it came to the ring exchange the priest was right between me and their hands so I had to quickly work my way into the pews and find a 'somewhat' open line of sight before the moment was gone. I'm on the tall side but I still had to squeak out a couple more inches by standing on my tippy-toes to get this shot...


Mr. & Mrs.




Then Kerri, Brandon, and myself sped away to reach The Lucerne Inn before the guests. Once there they jumped in with me and we drove up a steep, rough, winding, mountain road to reach Sunset Rock to do some 'Alone Time' portraits as their guests enjoyed the cocktail hour below.
As we were testing the light I told them to, "just do whatever for a minute" and the next thing I knew Brandon had Kerri swept off her feet :)






What a great location for us to shoot the 'Alone Time'




Then it was time to descend back to the Reception Venue where guests were anxiously awaiting the Bride & Groom.

The newlyweds being toasted by Kerri's father...




I love this shot! :)


First dance in the gentle evening breeze...




The touching Father/Daughter dance...


The adorable flower girl enjoying a dance with the bride...


And I have to include a picture of this little guy. He rocked the dance floor all night long!


Evening stroll along the grounds of The Lucerne Inn as the celebration continues...


A big thank you to Kerri and Brandon for letting me be a part of your most special day! Kerri and Brandon are so laid-back and easy going...it was a lot of fun spending time with them and getting to know them. A great couple who are sooo in-love. I wish you both all the best as you journey through life together. Cheers!

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Christina & Adam: Wedding

Maine has been very wet this summer...too wet actually with rain almost every day since early June. We have had a couple days here and there when the rain has taken a break and fortunately Christina & Adam's wedding at the Spruce Point Inn in beautiful Boothbay Harbor fell on a couple of those days. Christina, Adam, and myself met a couple of times in Boothbay Harbor last summer to shoot their E-Session and I have been anxiously awaiting their wedding weekend ever since. Christina and Adam are two of the sweetest people I have had the pleasure of knowing and it was wonderful spending time with them once again, as well as meeting their great families and friends.

The Dress






The guys were getting ready right next door which made it soooo easy to bounce back and forth between rooms

Adam had plenty of help getting ready :)


With Olive




On Friday Christina, Adam, and I scouted out some locations to do some 'Alone Time' Portraits before the ceremony but due to some unforeseen challenges we were not able to risk the time it would have taken us to drive to the spot, shoot, and return in time. This change in plans did allow us ample time to do a 'First Look' however. :)


I love the way Christina is looking at Adam


Adam was all smiles seeing his beautiful bride-to-be


Christina and her Dad on the way to the ceremony


Great moment as Christina's father announced, "her mother and I do"


It was a very joyous ceremony filled with a lot of emotions and laughter


Christina placing the ring on Adam's finger


The Kiss


Married!


A relaxed Portrait before shooting groups with the wedding party


After we shot with the wedding party we had some alone time and captured some beautiful images. The fog was slowly creeping back into the bay during the ceremony and by the time we started shooting our 'Alone Time' images the fog was quite thick and set a beautiful mood and tone for the photographs


Maybe my favorite




Then it was up the hill to the Pemaquid for a night of celebration

First dance


Mmmmmmm cake


Nothing like the Hora and Chair Dance to get the party really going!


What a great, great weekend! A big thank you to Christina and Adam for allowing me the absolute pleasure of being a part of such a wonderful event. I had so much fun with you last summer and this past weekend :) Couples like you make my 'job' sooooo enjoyable!! I wish you both the absolute best in all that life has to offer you. Cheers!