Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA :: Glen Magna Farms, Danvers, MA Wedding :: Helen + Matt (Part II)

What a week it's been! On Tuesday I hosted around 20 Maine wedding photographers for a mid-season cookout which was a ton of fun. On Thursday I ended up working on a very exciting last minute request for a local wedding blog that I'm excited to share with you in August. Hence part II of Helen & Matt's wedding is coming to you a little later than planned but I promise it'll be worth the wait.

If you missed the fun and high-jinks in the photobooth you can catch up **here** but for now we're at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA which is where Helen & Matt got ready.

After saying hello to Helen and her bridesmaids - I decamped to the hotel reception to shoot some detail shots. The Hawthorne hotel is very historic and manages to be very cosy at the same time in the dimly lit lobby. If you love Helen's jewelry and accessories just wait until you see the flowers and all sorts of other surprises at the reception. Right now I have 2 wedding blogs both vying to publish this wedding based on the teasers on my facebook page alone!

Back up in the bridal suite the music was playing, the girls were dancing and the ever fabulous Joanne from Joya Beauty was making everyone look even more beautiful. I've said it before but it's worth repeating...hiring a professional make up artist is one of the very best decisions you can make on your wedding day. It's relaxing to have a moment of quiet while your make up is applied, airbrushing means you'll continue to look flawless even on a hot humid day and you'll not only look beautiful but you'll feel beautiful. Joanne from Joya Beauty is my go-to recommendation because she ALWAYS runs to time which is HUGE. Read more about Joanne **here** (wow - just clicked to make sure the link works - my hair is really dark in these pictures, sorry, off topic)

The fab ladies from The Salon @ 903 Central in Dover, NH made the last minute tweaks to Helen's up do before adding her gorgeous bird-cage veil. Do you know in over 5 years of photographing weddings I've only had two brides with bird-cage veils? They're so beautiful. I'm seeing a lot more little jackets/boleros and sleeves on wedding dresses though which is all kinds of awesome - so elegant. 

I had the always-wonderful Lindsay Flanagan with me to photograph the wedding and Lindsay took these pictures of Matt getting ready along with the shot of the custom monogram cufflinks resting on his hat:

We made our way to Glen Magna Farms in Danvers, MA for the first look and family pictures followed by the outdoor wedding ceremony and beautifully tented reception. I attended a function at Glen Magna years ago and I have been dying to shoot there since. If you're looking for a Northshore wedding venue where you can get married outside then this would be my choice everytime. The grounds are just stunning and the Glen Magna team are awesome to work with. Enough rambling, we found a quiet little spot for Matt to hang out while Helen got into her dress for the first look:

No words needed to describe these first look pictures at Glen Magna Farms:

Lindsay took this picture:

This is my absolute favorite: These spectacularly beautiful flowers are by Flower Kiosk in Portsmouth, NH and Helen's dress is Madeleine's Daughter also in Portsmouth, NH: Time for some relaxed family picture. A lot of photographer's choose not to blog family formals but I love family pictures, I think they're a really important part of the day - documenting your family for future generations. If I add any more pictures this will take forever to load so I'm stopping here! Next up we'll have the wedding ceremony and pictures of the styling wedding party :) followed by the tented wedding reception with the most stunning tablescapes and flowers and a very special surprise performance.... Better make our way to the wedding ceremony: