Four Seasons Boston Wedding :: Old South Church :: Patty + Nate

As a professional photographer it's really important to network with other photographers - for education, emergency back-up reasons, critiquing each others work, competitions - I'm a member of PPA (Professional Photographers of America), a member of DWF and I attend WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) annually. Locally, there's a Boston Photographers Forum and also a great Boston Photographers Facebook group with over 200 members that I participate in. There are occasional meet up events (like the monthly PUG meetings) and a lot of conversation happens online so you kind of get a feel for people's personalities and styles.

A while ago I noticed that I always enjoyed reading comments and seeing images from one particular Boston-based photographer called Kate. I clicked through to her website and started reading her "about me" page. And as I read the description of Kate I was all "whoa, me too! huh, spooky!"
- Kate is English. So am I :)
- Kate prefers working in the evening. I would ideally keep the hours of 2pm - 2am if I didn't have a husband who prefers to sleep at night
- Kate loves Vegas. We got married there!
- Kate doesn't wear heels but owns many pairs. I had to have my Dad build a wall of shelving in my closet just for my shoe collection
The list went on and on and I got so excited. Could this be the photography BFF I just hadn't met yet? Then I read that Kate's preferred drink is a pint of Mannys and I was all "What?! I like me a glass of champagne" but I figured I could deal.

I sent Kate an email. In true stalker fashion I wrote about all the things we had in common and ended by saying we should totally meet up and we'd either get on like a house on fire or hate each other immediately but at least we'd know. Kate is super friendly and obviously too trusting because she happily agreed to meet me the next time I was in Boston.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I was in Boston for a shoot and I mentioned to Paul I was meeting a photographer for a quick drink and I'd probably be home around 9ish. I may have gotten home at 2am :)

Fast forward nearly two years and I am super happy to call Kate my friend. She's hilarious, has a wicked sense of humour and is always up for some madcap trip to the camera store. She's also thoughtful and kind and generous not to mention a kick-ass photographer! Last year we decided we'd "trade" a wedding i.e. second shoot for each other. It's a really great opportunity to try new things (I shot the whole of **this** wedding in black and white for example) and it really doesn't even feel like work when we're together :) Even better is that our pictures really seem to work together which is awesome for the clients who get a rather over-qualified second photographer!

We're both insanely busy with our own weddings in 2011 but we had so much fun last year that we figured we'd do it again this year. Kate second shot one of my January weddings and so a few weeks ago it was my turn to return the favor.

It's been a while since I second shot and it's quite a mindset change - you don't have to be on high alert to get certain shots - the vows! the kiss! - but you have to be on super-high alert to stay out of the way of the primary photographer. And when you're shooting for Kate who is especially ninja-like it can be hard. There were occasional moments when I knew she was in the room because the flashes were firing but I honestly couldn't see her. And I know I always appreciate it when my second photographer (thank you to the awesome Julia Snider!) has my back - grabbing equipment, setting up lights, reminding me about things, getting me a diet coke - so I tried to do the same for Kate.

Anyhoo...I think that's probably enough blah, blah, blah from me. Let's get to the pictures. The wedding reception was at Aujourd'hui at the Four Seasons Boston. I have Amanda & Joe's wedding to photograph there over the July 4th weekend this year so it was fun to scope it out in advance.


I obviously don't know Patty and Nate so I'll keep the chatter to a minimum but I can tell you that it's completely obvious that they love each other. There was SO much emotion throughout the day. Here's Patty coming down the beautiful staircase in the Four Seasons for the first look. Hello Kate Spade shoes in red:



How much do you love Nate's socks?


The wedding ceremony was held in Gordon Chapel of the Old South Church in Boston. I will be photographing Jessica & Mark's wedding there in September. It's a beautiful chapel but very very dark - one of the many times I smile with relief at being able to photograph at ISO 8000, 10,000, 12,000 with my D3s.






After the beautiful wedding ceremony we hopped on the trolleys and arrived back at Aujourd'hui for the wedding reception. As Patty and Nate had wisely chosen to do a first look they were now free to avail themselves with champagne and yummy truffled french fries and sliders and mingle with their guests:



So so so many lovely toasts from Patty's father, Nate's mother, brothers, and friends. Here's just a tiny fraction of them along with my favorite moments from the parent dances:



I'll leave you with the dessert station. Mmmmmm. Fiona and Emilie from Pink Orchid Weddings were fabulous and I would highly recommend their services if you're looking for day-of coordination. I'll be working with Emilie next May (if not before) for Daniella & Mark's wedding at the Taj Boston - yay!


And who is this Kate I speak of? It's Kate McElwee and you can see her fabulous pictures of this wedding on her blog **here** and **here** and **here**. That's it from me. I've got 2 weddings, 5 engagement shoots, 1 vendor spotlight and a partridge in a pear tree coming up...

3 comments

  1. YEAH!!!! These are fantastic - really, really beautiful photos. Especially love what you got in the church. Thank you thank you thank you for helping out with this wedding, but mostly for just being an awesome friend :) x

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  2. Awww, you guys are so cute! :) Beautiful photos, as always Leah! I love the one of the bride hugging her dad! Very sweet! Hope you and Kate are doing well!

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  3. love these photos!! it was so nice working with you and I'm excited for next May at the Taj!

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