Hello! Can you believe it's Thanksgiving one week from now? The turkey in the oven, the potatoes on the stove, the pies in the fridge, the cookies on the counter - can't wait. In the meantime, let's feast (do you see what I did there?) on Janelle & Rob's Renaissance Golf Club Wedding in Haverhill, MA.
I'm a big fan of Renaissance Golf Club for your wedding venue for a number of reasons, some selfish (it's really close to home and Paul plays golf there) and some less selfish (it's a beautiful setting, Holly, Molly and the whole team are fabulous to work with, the ballroom has lovely high ceilings).
Janelle and the girls were getting ready in the Bermuda room with Kristina of the Flawless Makeup Company and Talk of the Town Hair. Check out the beautiful flowers from Les Fleurs:
The diamond in the center of Janelle's used to belong to her grandmother and Rob designed the ring around the stone. Janelle also had her grandparent's wedding rings tied with a blue ribbon and pinned to the petticoat under her dress.
Janelle's sister and MOH Nicole helped her into her wedding dress from Madeleine's Daughter, love the little lace cap sleeves.
Proud parents Louise and John were so excited and emotional to see their daughter as a bride for the first time:
Audrey was over with the guys and there was a big surprise waiting for Rob....
...the guitar that he really, really, really wanted:
Meanwhile, back at Renaissance, Rob had arranged for the delivery of a letter and gift for Janelle and it all got pretty emotional:
If you choose a wedding date in late fall or winter when it gets dark early, then you have a few different options:
- Do a first look and have all of your portraits and formals taken before the ceremony in the daylight (a good option especially if you have a pretty venue like Renaissance)
- Have an earlier ceremony with a break before the reception to take pictures
- Have all of your pictures taken indoors/in the dark
Janelle and Rob chose to do a first look and take all of the pictures prior to their ceremony so they'd also be able to thoroughly enjoy cocktail hour with their closest friends and family. I loved the nervous excitement and big hugs !
Cast your mind back to the TV show "Friends", now imagine this in Chandler's voice, "Janelle, could you BE any more beautiful?!?"
We were joined by Janelle & Rob's wedding party:
Looking very stylish:
As guests made their way to their seats they were handed programs and ribbon-streamer wands to wave for the newlyweds:
Janelle walked down the aisle on the arm of her father John.
Rob was patiently waiting:
I sprinted up the steps to the clubhouse to get this one:
The wedding was officiated by Janelle's brother Dan so it was super personal.
Rob's grandfather did a beautiful reading:
If I had to choose my favorite part of each wedding day, I think it would probably be the recessional. Couples are always just so happy and all "We did it!"
This is Audrey's picture:
While guests made their way to cocktail hour we stole away in a golf cart for 5 minutes to take a couple of pictures before the sun completely disappeared.
There's a rather fabulous little bridge out on the course where you get sunsets like this:
Signature cocktails, a raw bar and great conversation at cocktail hour:
The ballroom looked beautiful with both tall and low centerpieces by Les Fleurs:
Janelle and Rob danced to "Close your eyes" by Michael Buble:
Toasts by Nicole (Janelle's sister and MOH), Chris (Best Man) and John (Janelle's father) were funny and heartfelt:
Janelle danced with her father John, and Rob danced with his mother Teri:
And then Rob took the microphone and wowed everyone as he serenaded Janelle:
DJ Mike from C-Zone (always great to work with!) officially opened the dancefloor:
Rob & Janelle - what a wonderful day!!! From our initial shoot in Salem with the puppies to your most excellent wedding day, it's been such a pleasure getting to know you both! I hope you like this small selection, your gallery with hundreds of pictures is uploading as we speak!
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