Stephanie & Kevin: Married! 07.30.11 | Moffatt-​Ladd Wedding, Portsmouth NH

After our killer e.pics ear­lier in the spring, I was com­ple­tely rev­ved up and ready to go for Stepha­nie & Kevin’s mid-summer’s wedding.

I caught up with the girls at the new and swanky Resi­dence Inn in Down­town Ports­mouth and was com­ple­tely stun­ned by Stephanie’s gor­geous lace dress.

With a spe­cial heart hand-​sewn inside. I love get­ting ready shots. And it’s all the more fan­tas­tic when the ‘maids’ are so atten­tive and uni­ted in their approach to read­ying the bride

Once she was all but­to­ned up we made our way to the Moffatt-​Ladd House for a gar­den ceremony.

I love that she and her girls wal­ked over. Admit­tedly, I loved it for per­so­nal rea­sons — there’s me in nearly the exact same spot on my wed­ding day! (photo cre­dit Clo­sed Circle Pho­to­graphy) (My wed­ding was at the end of April and it was sort of blus­tery and cool, and I might have been run­ning late (oops) so I was defi­ni­tely more run­ning than saun­te­ring, haha!) It defi­ni­tely brought back a fan­tas­tic fee­ling of deja vous and sort of a circle of life fee­ling too.

And we’ve arrived!

I’ve been by the house a million and one times, but I’d never been inside. I’m not the big­gest his­tory buff, but I cer­tainly appre­ciate the dedi­ca­tion of those who are pas­sio­nate about kee­ping his­to­ric loca­tions like this alive and well, and the kee­pers of the Moffatt-​Ladd House are no exception.

Then it was time for the gar­den cere­mony to begin. They wal­ked up a path beside the cere­mony loca­tion, so Kevin got his first glance at his bride from a dif­fe­rent angle than ‘usual’, but his reac­tion was still the same. Awe & Love.

Stephanie’s mother finished the job of wal­king her down the aisle. It was emo­tio­nal moment for everyone.

So spec­ta­cu­lar! Like a lush sec­ret gar­den in the middle of the city.

My second shoo­ter

ring + kiss + fist pump = married!

Look at that train! Those layers! That lace! THAT BRIDE!!

And the win­ner is… [Stepha­nie & Kevin orde­red a BIG print of this for their home]

Am begui­led by the grass stair­case. And late July, late after­noon sunlight.

Details! Pro­grams, Keep­sake Plate, A Memory Table: filled with pho­tos of those that were only able to be there in spi­rit, and a hap­pily ever after cake.

They were toas­ted and hono­red by many speeches each one with the full scope of emo­tions, and some towel twirling.

Moffatt-​Ladd is such an enchan­ting place to have a wed­ding. The out­door gar­dens are full of cozy sea­ting poc­kets and space for a tent too.

And even room for sword figh­ting!

This pic­ture makes me laugh out loud. Kevin’s sure he wants to get away with something, but com­ple­tely unsure he should try.

This sweatshirt was a gift from her friends. Go Team Hew­son! [ok, to be honest, there’s an sweet funny story behind it. i remem­ber loving it when she told me. and i don’t have a clue what it was now. #wai­ted­too­long­to­blog #fail]

one ringy­dingy. two ringydingy.

Our time together was nea­ring it’s close as the sun was nea­ring the hori­zon. We esca­ped the mêlée of the recep­tion for a few more pri­vate moments about town.

2^nd win­ner .. it’s like second break­fast; cause you can’t pick just one favo­rite! [and a fond fare­well to the Memo­rial Bridge that star­ted decons­truc­tion just last night!]

Many thanks to the 25 folks that were milling about outside the Bre­wery who clea­red out for a second to let us grab a shot! (A photo that is, there was no alcohol invol­ved at that moment..)

And favo­rite #3. Folks, If we have the time, let’s go for a walk. There’s nothing more fan­tas­tic than the jux­ta­po­si­tion of fancy clothes and newly­wed grins against the every day of the world around you.

Back to the house to get the party started!

The barn on site is sen­sa­tio­nal. I want to stage a whole shoot there. Who’s in?!

Their first dance was the sig­nal of my last moments with them. I took my leave with fond memo­ries of fabu­lous peo­ple, pla­ces & things.

Hi Melissa,

Thank you!! We got your email on Satur­day just as we were about to leave for a friend’s wed­ding and so we didn’t get a chance to really look at the pic­tu­res until last night (although it killed us to have to wait that long!) They’re awe­some!! We’re so plea­sed with how they tur­ned out and what you cap­tu­red – you’re so talen­ted and we’re so lucky to have found you!
Thanks again so much for everything. We can’t wait to call on you again to cap­ture the next miles­tone in our lives. Thanks again and take care!
Stepha­nie and Kevin

Thank you both so much and many many happy years to the two of you. And I’d be hono­red to cap­ture the next miles­tone for you!!