Published :: Editorial Shoot for Seacoast Weddings at Rivermill at Dover Landing :: NH Wedding Photographer

Last August I was invited to take part in my first editorial photoshoot for Seacoast Weddings. The article is entitled "A Celebration of Color" and seven different wedding colors were to be photographed. I was assigned to Team Lilac (or Team Purple as we called ourselves!) and it was delightful to work with new and old wedding vendor friends:

The shoot took place at Rivermill at Dover Landing. Kate Parker worked with Seacoast Weddings (thanks to Crystal for her tireless work scheduling everyone and answering all kinds of logistic questions) to put together the day and Be Our Guest of Boston, MA provided the furniture, china, glassware and linen rentals. Donna Fulcaloro and Danielle Maccini of Pepperberry's Flowers of Byfield, MA came up with the table setting design and the beautiful purple and pink flowers. The wedding stationery was designed and beautifully printed by Albertine Press, Somerville, MA and the cake and wedding cupcakes were lovingly baked by Wild Orchid Baking Company.

I put a shout out on facebook to see if any of my previous brides would like to model for the day and was delighted with Bridget & Katy volunteered to play dress up :) They were beautifully outfitted by Flair Bridesmaid Boutique, Boston, MA (extra thanks to Stacey for driving up on her day off with an amazing selection of purple dresses). They were made even more beautiful with make up by Kathy of Beleza Spa and the ridiculously talented Lena of Hair That Moves came up with the chic updo and...what's the opposite of an updo? A downdo?

Initially the plan was that only five of the seven colors would be selected for the magazine and so the pressure was on. It was lovely to hear that each team did so well that all seven colors would be featured, and even better to hear that Team Purple would be getting an additional page ;) Go pick up a copy now and check out all of the pictures!

Here's the magazine and the two pages for Team Lilac:




As you can imagine after a full morning of photographing my "bride and bridesmaid" and then spending the afternoon photographing the table and all of the details there were a TON of pictures so I'll share some additional/larger versions here for you to enjoy. Katy is wearing the Lotus dress by Siri in the color Iris, I loved the pleating on the top:


I had way too much fun with Bridget and Katy. It kind of makes me want to put together an end of year party and invite all my couples so I can see everyone again and they can meet each other - is that weird?


Who says that bridesmaids have to carry bouquets? This is the Rose Tulip Mini dress by Lynn Lugo from Flair (side note I interviewed the Flair team last year and you can read more **here**)


We did both traditional flower centerpieces and elegant candle arrangements:


I'd totally photograph Anna and Andrew's wedding if they were real people"


I am sure that Bridget will not mind that pretty much every picture of her involved a martini glass. Alas, it was filled with only water but Bridget is an excellent fake martini drinker :)


Letterpress menus inside and out:


[You have to sing the next part of my blog out loud to the tune of "These are a few of my favorite things" please]
Cupcakes and tulips,
Purple and lilac.
Letterpress ca-rds,
Chargers and glassware.
Professional airbrushed make up and hair.....
...these are a few of my favorite things!


And if you missed yesterday's blog post about Erin & Jeffrey's robot-themed real wedding that was featured in Seacoast Wedding you can catch up **here** or see Arianne & Roger's real wedding published in The Knot Boston magazine **here**.

Thank you to Seacoast Weddings for allowing me to take part in the shoot and for publishing the pictures! Thank you to Team Purple :) and thank you to Katy & Bridget!!!

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Published :: Seacoast Weddings Magazine 2012 :: Real Wedding and more...

It's totally cool to walk into Barnes and Noble, pick up a wedding magazine and see my images inside! And when the 2012 edition of Seacoast Weddings hit the newstands last week it was even more cool as many of my pictures were featured throughout the magazine! In fact, so many that I'm splitting this blog post into two!

The Seacoast Weddings team are all kinds of fabulous and you can tell how much they really enjoy being part of the wedding industry. Mary Jo, the publisher and creative director, recently gave a talk to the Maine Photography Group that I'm part of where she shared some of the considerations that go into choosing images and weddings to be featured. I was especially pleased to hear that colorful and joyful moments are always in demand :)

Anyhoo, I'd highly advise running out to buy a copy before they sell out! There are tons of real weddings from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts wedding photographers, inspiring details, lots of eye candy, cute stories and helpful planners. Probably the only thing I'd (respectfully!) disagree with is the recommended 9-12 month timeline for choosing your photographer. If photography is important to you then I'd start the search as soon as you have your venue booked. My 2012 is 95% booked at this point (and I feel so sad having to tell couples that their date has been gone for months) and I already have 4 weddings booked for 2013!

So without further ado, here's the 2012 Seacoast Wedding Magazine:


Third row down, fourth image from right - there I am. And in the editor's letter about wedding trends the image of Katie & Dan's placecard by the awesome Rachel Carl was included as an example of the great wedding products and services you can find on etsy:


I was totally honored to have Erin & Jeffrey's robot-themed wedding from 2010 included as a real wedding. Many wedding magazines have submission dates in late summer/early fall and so it's nice to look back on the weddings from the previous years. Fun fact - it was at Erin & Jeffrey's wedding that I first heard Flair Bridesmaid Boutique and they subsequently provided the BEAUTIFUL purple dresses for the editorial shoot (in tomorrow's blog post).


And just a few more of my pictures...these little green ballet slippers were worn by Corey at her wedding to Isaiah back in 2009 (and they just had their first baby who I'm dying to meet!) and the silhouette image on the right belongs to Catherine & Rob who just got married in October 2011:


I'm going to blog about the editorial color shoot I was involved in tomorrow as there are a ton of extra pictures I want to share but if you want more pictures now, why not check out:

Seacoast Weddings "Moments" Gallery described as a "collection of images that each capture a unique moment in these couples' weddings" it was fun to see 4 of my images included :)
or if you're in the mood for something sweet then this Cake gallery is all kinds of awesome (and includes 9 of my cake images!)

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2011 Review :: First Look Wedding Pictures and real advice from couples

Should we do a first look? What is a first look? Isn't it bad luck for the couple to see one another before the ceremony?

All very good question that I will happily answer in this blog post. Lots of fabulous first look pictures will follow :) and then actual responses from couples to the question "What advice would you give other couples considering a first look?"

5 Reasons to do a first look:
1. Quiet time for the two of you together on your wedding day. You can talk, hug, see each other properly without everyone watching you both
2. Nerves and stress are reduced and you are more relaxed and in-the-moment for your ceremony
3. You get to enjoy cocktail hour and spend more time mingling with friends and family
4. Hair and make up will be fresh and fabulous (especially important when you're getting married on a hot summer day and your church doesn't have air conditioning)
5. More time for relaxed and beautiful pictures! Of the two of you, with your wedding party and with your family.

Reasons not to do a first look:
1. You don't want to see each other before the ceremony
Just for fun I would like to point out that the whole tradition of not seeing one another before the wedding comes from the olden days when marriages were often arranged. The groom wasn't allowed to see the bride until she met him at the top of the aisle in case he didn't like what he saw and wanted to back out. Of all of the strange wedding traditions - the groom stands on the right so he can draw his sword easier to fend off other suitors trying to steal the bride - the bride wearing a veil to show her virginal status and protect her from evil spirits - I find it funny that the whole "not seeing each other" is the one that remains...

And in no particular order, here are some of my favorite images from 2011's first looks and from the extra time we then have for couples pictures:

































And don't just take it from me. I recently did a little survey of my couples that did first looks and asked the question...

What advice would you have for a couple considering doing a first look?

DO IT! It is so worth it. Having time to spend with your family and friends during cocktail hour is the best. Plus, your hair and makeup are so fresh! It is such an intimate experience.
D.V

Do it!! It's worth it and isn't bad luck (so far...). But really, I think it creates a whole other meaningful moment for you on your wedding day, and one that is just yours. My bridal party and family members were so happy to have the photos done before the ceremony, our hair and makeup still looked great (and that was extra important since it was 100 degrees outside), overall it just took a lot of stress out of the need to fit photos into a really short time frame. Three of my engaged friends have told me that my wedding convinced them to do first looks.
C.B

DO IT!!!! It was the best decision we made (besides having Leah as our photographer:) and made our day just perfect day!

B.T

I would tell them that they should do it, especially if they are at all nervous about time or even the weather. I couldn't imagine that anyone would ever regret it!
T.H

Just think about how a first look fits in with your idea of what a wedding should be and how it fits in with your personalities. We had a good mix of traditional and non traditional. Doing the first look helped us to accomplish two things: we were able to take a moment away from the 120 guests for just the two of us and spend that moment together and we were able to make more time to enjoy with our family and friends which was the most important thing for us. I was the groom and the first look was incredibly exciting. it was nice to be in a private location and share the first time seeing my soon to be wife alone together. It was very intimate and emotional and I really appreciated having the that moment to look at her and hug her and see how gorgeous she was and to admire her for a few minutes. And also to tell her those things. It was also a perfect time to give her a wedding gift! I am very happy we did the first look.

P.B

If the bride's reason is wanting to see his reaction as they walk down the aisle, I can assure you he'll be just as enamored after a first look. We are so happy we got to enjoy our pictures beforehand, and then spend the whole cocktail hour with our friends and family. It made me feel so much calmer seeing him before the ceremony. I can't imagine not being together for so much of the wedding day. I still felt so excited during the ceremony, but I was thinking about being in the moment rather than wanting to talk to him or say how handsome he looked (because we already got to do that!).
L.Y.

As the Groom, the first look experience was truly exciting. I knew my wife had spent all day getting ready, and even though I had an idea of what she would look like in the dress, I was still floored when I saw her and I knew that it was all really (finally) happening. It's a great moment to have on film, to say the least.
J.O

I would highly recommend it. I think having time before the ceremony to take pictures eliminates some of the stress of worrying about getting back to the reception, keeping your guests waiting, trying to rush family into their positions etc... Seeing your partner for the first time on your wedding day will feel special no matter where you are. To take some time for just the two of us, before the craziness really ramped up, was very memorable. Our wedding ceremony still felt amazing. To see my (future) husband standing at the altar was a unique and beautiful sight. Our 'first look' didn't take anything away from the drama of the ceremony.
E.O

Ever hear the saying that your wedding day goes by like a blur? Well, it certainly does. If it wasn't for Leah and our videographers, we would not have all the memories captured so timelessly. The wedding day is filled with moments where the bride/groom are the stars of the show, and everyone wants to be part of a picture or video with the bride/groom. Honestly, I cannot remember who pulled me in for which photo and I'm sure my wife cannot remember either. But the first look is JUST the bride and groom. It is a time for them to spend a few minutes alone to bask in each others' love. And I remember EVERY second of our first look session. When I turned around my heart started to beat so fast. I felt like I had been gone on a business trip for months and was dying to get back. I turned around to see my wife, and I could not believe how beautiful she looked. She was more beautiful than I had ever imagined, and the best part was that I would be marrying her in just an hour. I think Leah's pictures captured that moment of revelation so clearly... there's one shot where I am hugging her with my eyes closed, and I am just about in tears... crying for happiness. I am the luckiest man alive!
R.K

I would absolutely recommend that they do it! Seriously, the rest of the wedding day was so busy and crazy, the first look was my favorite moment. And it is so cute to see the look on his face when he first saw me in the first look photos. It makes me smile whenever I see it. Truthfully, it was one of the only calm moments that we got together during the day. It gave us a private moment to enjoy together before all the wedding craziness began. We really enjoyed it and it is one of the happiest memories I have of the day. The rest of the day was extremely fast and busy, and it went by in a blur. I'm so glad we had that private moment just the two of us. I don't think it really affected my feelings during the ceremony. If anything, I think it made me a little calmer walking down the aisle.
N.B

And if I photographed your first look and you haven't yet responded to the survey it would be super awesome if you can click *here* and complete it :)

Comments below lovely blog readers, are you planning a first look? If you didn't do a first look do you wish you had? Coming up next is my 2011 review of ceremonies and couples pictures. Although...first looks aren't just for couples, sometimes we do them with parents,,,do you want a bonus post of parent first looks? Answer below....Happy Friday!

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2011 Review :: Best Wedding Florists in Boston, NH and Maine

Did you see my favorite 2011 engagement pictures? And the 2011 getting ready/wedding details review? My favorite first looks of 2011 are coming up but as I went through all of the weddings I photographed in 2011 I kept seeing so many beautiful wedding flowers - bouquets and centerpieces. So I thought I'd throw in a little bonus 2011 review - wedding flowers. I got a little "feedback" that the last review post was too long so I'm not showing ALL flowers, just a small selection....

I think we're a little spoiled in New England - SO many amazing and creative florists - hence the separate blog post. Plus maybe it'll be helpful for those who haven't yet figured out their wedding flowers yet. I will also admit to a couple of occasions where I don't know who the florist is for these wonderful creations. So if you recognize your work/florist comment below or email me and I'll update asap!

Top tips for awesome wedding flowers:

1. Talk your florist through your timeline especially as it relates to photography. If you're planning a first look then ceremony then more pictures on a blazing hot summer day you might want to use more robust flowers in your bouquet to avoid them wilting.

2. Consider getting a couple of spare boutonnières if you're doing a receiving line (they'll get crushed/fall off/lost).

3. To reduce your costs, talk to your florist about seasonal flowers and be open to creative substitutions.

4. Please, please, please avoid tall centerpieces on your table at the ceremony. It's almost impossible to get a great reaction image during toasts if your heads are hidden by a giant vase filled with flowers!

Winston Flowers - oh adore! - I got Paul a Winston Flower loyalty card and he used it a couple of times but seems to prefer sending me flowers from 1-800-flowers...it's the thought that counts right? For your wedding you NEED to check out Winstons....

Way back in 2009 I got to work with the talented Kristin from Local Color Floral Design and it's been an absolute pleasure to cross wedding paths with her many many times since then in Boston, New Hampshire and Maine . A lot of florists specialize in just one style but from what I've seen (and photographed!), Kristin manages to transcend this. I've seen modern/elegant (like these images below) to rustic/vintage chic flowers (coming up later in this blog post...)

Dogwood Floral were the most excellent team behind these beautiful peonies and pink and orange bouquets and centerpieces - so colorful and happy:

Yay - June of 2011 brought my second wedding with Kristin from Local Color Floral Design as the florist, love the natural/rustic feel of these bouquets:


Les Fleurs in Andover, MA. Yes please! I first saw their work at Alison & Matt's wedding in October 2009 and I was stuck by the very European feel to their floristry (is that even a sentence? - you know what I mean!). Their flowers in 2011 (and lemons!) were all kinds of beautiful and interesting. You must, must, must take a little trip to Andover, MA to meet with Les Fleurs team (plus you can stop in at Soiree for invitations and gowns at Christina's bridal)!





Pepperberry's designed these spectacular centerpieces and incorporated the names of the couple into the flowers:




Milestone Florist made these elegant bouquets and colorful centerpieces. I particularly enjoyed the curled leaf detail:



Flowers and More in Walpole, MA did these beautiful soft romantic bouquets and stunning tall centerpieces:



Edison at Madison Floral cames up with these yummy purple hued bouquets:

Blanking here too, although I love the personalized button detail that the bride chose for each of her bridesmaids:


Bowler & Jones Fine Floral Design in Merrimac and Ogunquit, MA took color to a whole new level and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Mr Phil Bowler himself:



Help me out people - who did these flowers? They're yummy :)



Local Color Floral Design again? Oh yes! And Kristin outdid herself at this beautiful Kennebunkport, ME wedding, love the twine detail on the bouquets. Even more amazing was the hops boutonniere for the groom:





Michele Bernard is always a pleasure to work with:


Flowers from Lopez the Florist in Dorchester, MA, love the little horseshoe charm in the bride's bouquet:




Twig Boston made the State Room Boston look amazing in wedding pictures:


Now we're at the Fairmont Copley and I don't know who is responsible for these beautiful flowers, especially the petal filled centerpiece vases that filled the air with their perfume:



At Tower Hill, Michelle Bernard worked her flower magic again:

I've been wanting to work with Jennifer of The Tangled Web forever and she did a lovely job here:

Rustic, free flowing, gorgeous flowers in Vermont by Cobblestone Florist in Concord, NH. Are they yours? Do you recognize each tiny petal and miniature furled leaf? Speak up and I'll link to your site so more couples can enjoy your flower artistry :)

So many flowers, so little time. A a a a a a a chooooooooooo
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