My fretting was all for naught as everything about the day was as smooth as silk.

I first arrived at the hotel to find the girls just finishing up with their fabulous makeup artist.

 And then, Caitlin showed me her shoes. And I swooned, and wished desperately I could wear heels.

 Stunning.

 The flowers were all done by Tom’s mom — she owns a flower shop in Reading, MA — my original hometown!

 Once I arrived at the church, they stashed Tom up in the balcony so he wouldn’t accidentally sneak a peek of the bride arriving.

 But I wonder if he heard the chaos of the limo not being able to get close to the church and two of the groomsmen, who also happened to be Reading Police, stopping traffic so that the limo driver could very adeptly back in!

 Perfection!

 I love the old fashioned feel of the room where she signed the marriage license.  And the minister holding her flowers for her.

 And then, it was time to get married.  And Tom was smiling from ear to ear.

 The minister recounted the tale of the earlier traffic shenanigans, and how touched he was that the police department wasn’t going to send them a bill as part of their wedding gift.  While perhaps you had to be there to get the full effect, let me assure you it was hilarious.

 Those two in the middle — they’re the heroes.

A first for me — ringing the bell!

 Then it was off to Stage Fort Park for photos.  And I tell you, I was photographing this fun, laid back couple and I kept thinking — they look like they just fell off the pages of a catalog.   Come to find out — Caitlin works for a catalog and sometimes has to stand in as a model. Duhtown!  I know a natural when I see one!

 Ah! Look at that awesomeness!!

 hi.lar.i.ous.

 And breathtaking. All in the same minute.

 I don’t usually post these shots, but this one makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.  :-D

 Have I oohed and aaahed enough about the colors yet? Because it was like a technocolor dream world.

 After a fabulous time with the ‘formals’ (for the record, I hate that term — I’m nothing remotely close to formal when I shoot the group photos.. we have fun, we laugh, poses are often regarded with hilarity, and sometimes we’re even inappropriate. nope, nothing formal about it.) But anyway, whatever you call them, we finished them up, laughing the whole time and headed off to the reception!

Details!

 The Cruiseport was gorgeous, full of interest and LIGHT!

 A toast, complete with a few tears.

 And then one of the more crazy centerpiece giveaways.  I love when the group embraces the ridiculousness of the situation and RUNS AWAY WITH IT.

 Caitlin, you look gorgeous, but perhaps a little too knife happy.…

 And the dancing began -

I wish I could remember now, even though it’s only been a month, how long this amazing couple had been married. I want to say it was 54 years, but they don’t seem that they could be old enough for that!  I love the style of anniversary dance when the other couples who are “disqualified” don’t go back to their seats but simply continue to dance on the sidelines and the newlyweds stay on the floor the whole time.  This picture speaks volumes to me.  Love, support, past, present and future.   It was the perfect way to end my time with this crew, who I KNOW continued to dance the night away!

Thank you Caitlin & Tom for having me at your spectacular day.  I couldn’t have asked for a better kick off to the 2011 wedding season!

Hi Melissa,  I am SSOOO excited about the photos. They look fantastic! I get a little giddy when I flip through them. You really captured the day and the joy. I absolutely adore the slideshow! Thank you so much for being a part of our day. You were so fun to work with and help to make our day perfect. Tom and I couldn’t be happier with the photos and can’t wait to share them with everyone. Just so you know, I am SUCH a fan of your work and will continue to “stalk” your Web site. I feel like the people in your photos are my best friends and I love reading their stories. If anyone is looking for a photographer I will not hesitate to recommend you. You are so fantastic! Thanks again! Caitlin

I know this post has been a long one — but there’s something new on the MKP blog and I’m excited to share with you some info from the couples point of view on the big day!

 [scenes]

• Getting Ready | Rockport Inn & Suites
• Ceremony| First Parish Church, Manchester, MA
• Formals | Stage Fort Park
• Reception | Cruiseport Gloucester

[sounds]

• Processional | Trumpet Voluntary/Prince of Denmark (played on the organ) It took a while to pick a song. I wanted to do something completely non-traditional and contemporary, but then I decided that was too much to ask of the organist to learn a random song I selected (especially since the aisle was so short and he wouldn’t have to play it too long). So then I just picked a happy song that wasn’t Cannon in D or something the every bride uses. Actually, the song the moms walked down to was more important to me. I picked Sheep May Safely Graze because my mom and I both love the song. I would have used it …
• Recessional | Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. This was an easy one. They use it in every movie as the recessional. I guess i wanted it to feel like a movie! we wanted to be movie stars!
• Reception Introduction | Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows It was happy and fun. Again, Tom and I wanted something a little different from every wedding we had been to, but a song people would know. This song actually took longer to pick than any other song we had to pick. Tom kept trying to pick songs that were too slow and I kept telling him that people needed to be happy to walk in happy to it. It’s not a funeral. Unfortunately, most of the songs we love are slower songs. But finally I suggested this song and we both agreed it worked.
• First Dance | “You and Me” by Dave Matthews Tom is a huge Dave Matthews fan and I’m a fan, too. This song came out while we were dating and we’d listen to it often in the car and we love it. We love the lyrics. Again, a running theme in our music selections.…we wanted something we hadn’t heard at any of the 12 weddings we’d been to in the last 3 years. I guess when you go to so many weddings (I’m sure you notice this too) you start hearing the same songs all the time.
• Parent Dances | Tom picked the Long and Winding Road for his dance with his mom. He was not aware that this was actually the same song she danced with his dad with at their wedding. His dad passed away when Tom was a baby, and it was really an emotional moment between Tom and his mom. I danced to My Little Girl by Steve Kirwan with my dad. After months of trying to get my dad to pick a song I finally sent him 5 songs to pick from. This was his favorite. I had hoped he’d pick it because it was a “my little girl” song without making it sound like I was still 10 years old.
• Last Dance | It’s a Love Thing by Keith Urban. My brother, Zach and Andrea used an upbeat song to end their wedding and it was really nice, so I thought I’d do the same thing. I like the message of the song…that we’re together because we love each other, and all the other things aren’t all that important. The wedding, our new shared name, and everything else is things we’ve chosen to do, but we love each other and that’s most important.

[support]

• Dress | David’s Bridal
• Wedding Party Attire | David’s Bridal in Horizon Blue
• Hair | Kate Amiro from Shear Action in Beverly
• Make-up | Brea from Make-up by Brea  She was so nice and did a great job!
• Cake | Andover Cakes Delicious!
• Caterer | Vinwood Catering (We were required to use them at Cruiseport. But we were very impressed and they actually made the shrimp dish per my request. The chicken dish was off their menu but was also delicious.)
• DJ/Band | Greg Gates
• Florist |  My Personal Florist — Tom’s Mom’s business. (and were they ever gorgeous!)

[sentiment]

• What was the most memorable moment from your day? | Entering the reception. It was so great listening as the wedding party was announced and then to round the corner and see everyone and everything.
• Any advice for future couples getting married? | Do as much as you can as early as possible. We were engaged for 14 months and managed to really spread the “workload” out across the entire engagement so when we got down to the last month or so before the wedding we weren’t stressed at all.
• Funniest moments from your day? | The kickline! Everyone was funny to watch.
• Where did you go on your honeymoon? | We started with 4 nights in Disney World then went on a Carnival cruise to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. (It was fantastic!)

[story]

• Together since | February 2007. Our friend Sean (one of the groomsmen) introduced us. I went to high school with Sean, and Tom went to college with him. So Sean introduced us a few years after college when Tom and Sean moved in with each other.
• Engaged on | April 4, 2010
• Occupations | Caitlin is a buyer for NorthStyle catalog.  Tom runs the marketing department for a construction company.
• Proposal Story | It was Easter morning. We had slept over at my parent’s house. I had gone downstairs to get ready for church. When I went back upstairs to wake up Tom he had set up an Easter egg hunt in my childhood bedroom. The ring was in the very last Easter egg I found! We aren’t certain i even said “yes”.…I just ran out of the room and said “I have to show my mom!!!

Congratulations again!

Looking for some new staff photos they asked me to come in for a few hours and hang out.   I have to admit I was sort of expecting run of the mill head shots, line em up and bang em out.  Boy was I surprised when this fun loving crew took it to the next level.

What — you don’t alway wield a samuri-esque sword when you’re on the phone?

Caroline’s prop was her cutie patootie son — a total ham!

Loving the ducky is none other than Vanessa — many thanks to her for throwing my name into the ring!

We did take some ‘standard’ shots too — but these folks are all so gorgeous it was a walk in the park!

Or rather — this was a walk in the park!  We took the show on the road  to enjoy the fresh air and green grass.

I love the reflection photo .. It makes me think of like Sex in the City or some such thing — this place has to be an amazingly great place to work!

Before my time was up we did some impromptu office shots — they were working really hard on the task at hand.  The looking fabulous came easily.

A great conference room is a must — my favorite thing? That whole wall on the right is dry-erase board!  Talk about big ideas!

Thanks 360pr for letting me usurp your Friday morning — Congratulations on all your accomplishments and best of luck in all your future endeavors!  And thanks for the fantastic pizza… I’ll crave it forever now!

OH! And their mircosite launched yesterday! The headshots can be seen here ->http://www.360publicrelations.com/10th/headshots/ Don’t forget to roll your mouse over them

SO COOL!

After hanging out with the boys for a little bit Secret and the girls arrived.  She had one major request — that I take a photo of her pinning the boutonniere on her adorable son, Bailey.  check and mark!

Then Bailey walked his mother down the aisle to give her away.

And was received by Shawn with open arms at the end.  *cue tears!*

These three were so ready to make their family ‘official’!  It was very obvious throughout the day how important it was for them to be a unit.

After the ceremony we headed over to Greely Park in Nashua, NH for some wonderful bridal party shots:)

After that we headed to The Loft at The Brewery Exchange and Secret shared some special moments with her two special guys.

The loft is such a cool place, I love the lighting and the dance floor!

One of many toasts loving these two — I love weddings where you can really feel the love (oh Elton John, please get out of my head, yes, I can, I can feel the love tonight!)

Everyone was emotional when they started talking about how much Shawn loves Bailey <3

And of course how much they love each other.

More family time in the Photo Booth!

let them eat cake!

dancing and love from their parents

And then they danced the night away!

I loved how they took time to dance with each other’s parents too.  So sweet!

And a dance with their sibling

Have I mentioned how much I loved the lights?!

As the night wore on it was time for me to go.  I have no doubt this bunch partied ALL night long but it was time for me to take my leave.  Thank you Secret & Shawn for inviting me to your family affair!

~melissakoren

Melissa Shot our wedding In September of 2010. She was the first photographer we interviewed and after speaking with her, we canceled all our other appointments. Her artistic flare was evident from her website, but meeting with her in person to view her portfolios was an experience in and of itself. Each photograph my husband and I saw seemed to be alive with the atmosphere of the wedding. What impressed us the most was that no two pictures were alike – and no two wedding collections were the same. Melissa seemed to capture each couple’s individuality and allowed her pictures to tell their story. My husband and I were instantly impressed by this. Melissa herself spoke about her passion for her work and the joy of photographing weddings.
Everyone who has seen our photos is so impressed – each of them say that mine and Shawn’s personality jump off the page. If you never knew us, or how much we loved each other these pictures show that . Three months later, after looking at them millions of times, I still get emotional; and to me that is the mark of a great photograph – you never tire of it, and looking at it brings up so many memories. Melissa did this with each photograph, with each proof.
Being photographed by Melissa was a terrific experience. Not only was she fun to work with, but she was so excited to work with us. Again, this set her apart for me. I have been to so many weddings where the photographer treats it as a job – get in, take the picture, get out – but for Melissa, there is nothing monotonous or rigid about shooting a wedding. She walks into each “job” as a new and exciting experience. She leaves all expectations at the door and tries her best to capture the essence of the couple and their love for each other.
Her genuine love for her work, her passion, sense of adventure, and her easy going personality have made Melissa a true pleasure to work with. I would recommend Melissa Koren Photography to anyone and look forward to doing our family portraits with her for the years to come. ~ Shawn & Secret

I want that pebble rug.

Lisa’s mom made sure the planter boxes coordinated with the wedding, that’s advance planning!

I love the green & pink!

The ceremony took place at All Saints Parish Church in Haverhill, MA

And it was a tremendous church!  The sweet and precocious flower girl looked so wee bitty!

But Doug’s smile filled the church a thousand times over.

A smile precipitated by the stunning woman coming down the aisle to be his wife.

That’s right Lisa, make sure it gets all the way on!

no joke — tremendous!

Married & celebrating!

Then it was on to DiBurro’s Function Facility for a par-teh!

Green, or pink?!

Doug’s brother was full of expressions.

Speeches!

Hello bridal party!

best.speech.ever

…that must have been some good cake!

This is one of my favorite wedding games.  We played it at our wedding and it’s always a great time.

A family affair!

So good, so good, so good!

I love to see what my clients do with their photos

Oompah!

Followed by showers of money! Hoorah!

My favorite photos from the night!

Pink is my favorite color.…

Break it down. (I think from now on I shall only blog with song lyrics)

Can’t touch this.

The right stuff.

We are the champions..?

Ok ok enough of that.. bouquet toss!

..and garter. Interesting approach Doug…

I don’t always recommend to my clients that I stay the whole wedding.  I truly enjoy the receptions but sometimes if you’re looking to cut costs you can easily do with out a professional photographer for the last few hours of your reception.  However, when I am asked to stay I’m always overwhelmed by the last dance circle.  And this was a big one!

Lisa & Doug — thank you so much for inviting me to your beautiful wedding.  May you always remember the happiness you were surrounded with!

~MelissaKoren

I don’t have enough words to describe how happy I am with my wedding photos. Melissa did an AMAZING job. I was so suprised when I saw them. She was extremely unintrusive — I don’t even remember seeing her too much (although, it WAS a very overwhelming day), but she always seemed to pop out of nowhere whenever someone stepped on my bustle (which happened a LOT) to help fix it. She was so helpful before and during the wedding, through everything. When we had first met with photographers, we met with one that I loved her pictures, but she had absolutely no personality, and didn’t say boo when we met with her, and was kind of pricey to be able to get everything that we wanted. The second was much more in our budget, but came off to me like a used car salesman, and the pictures weren’t very good at all. (Why have an affordable all-inclusive package when the pictures look like crap?)…But Melissa was JUUUST right. She is very friendly and personable, and her pictures are amazing for a great price. We just got our pictures two days ago, and I am already trying to choose some for our album, and it is too hard when I love them all! I would HIGHLY recommend Melissa for yor wedding, and I think we will be calling her for pictures when we start our family! ~Lisa

]]> http://melissakoren.com/2011/01/08/lisa-doug-married-08-21-10/feed/ 0 http://melissakoren.com/2010/12/29/michele-stan-married-07-13-10/ http://melissakoren.com/2010/12/29/michele-stan-married-07-13-10/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:07:12 +0000 melissakoren http://melissakoren.com/?p=2950

That’s right, 1pm on a Tuesday.  I don’t get many calls for Tuesday weddings.  I love them!

Michele & Stan had been together for 26 years before they decided to do the “legal thing”.  They had the opportunity to be the first couple married in the newly built Townsend, MA meeting hall — a beautiful space!

Michele’s 3 granddaughter’s danced down the aisle to “Girls just want to have fun” and did they ever!

Michele was escorted down the aisle by her 10 year old grandson.

So filled with emotions!

Michele’s younger grandson waiting to make his grand entrance with their rings. 

… It’s not always exciting being the flower girl!

Look at all those grandkids!  What a great family!!

Stan is quite the character but Michele doesn’t seem to mind.

I love this photo.  They really just wanted a quick shot or two after the ceremony and it was so hot outside they opted to stay in.  This simple piece of art adorned the wall in the lobby and it all just fell into place.

Then it was time to celebrate!

SOoooooo cute letting the kids take a taste of the cake before it was cut into!

Then sweet Stan retreated and Michele got nailed good with her piece of cake!

Stan and his mother <3

Two of their beautiful granddaughters

Edible arrangements for everyone! What a great centerpiece idea!

The bouquet toss — no one was injured in the catching of this bouquet — although it certainly looks like someone is about to get creamed!

The kids requested a special song for their parents to dance to — I love how their looking on.

The last dance of the evening was “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” and Michele came in with her cowboy hat passing out 100 dollar (fake) bills and two stepping all across the floor while Stan watched his past, present and future.

What a great way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!  Thank you Michele & Stan for inviting me to capture your long awaited day.

~melissakoren

Hi Melissa,

Took a while to go through all those pictures! Wow! Doesn’t look like you missed anything.
Thanks so much for all your skill and attentiveness. We are glad we chose you.

After everything we’d been through already including engagement photos last August, I knew that this Plymouth fabulousness extravaganza was going to be a blast.  Liz called me from the house they’d rented where I’d be staying the night and said it was fabulous.  When I got there I couldn’t agree more!

Each level held different wonders and nooks & crannies.  Like the one I found for the stunning dress.

Liz arrived home from the salon with some time to relax and so I headed over to the boys at the motel down the street.

Jon is demonstrating his best GQ shoe tying.  Meanwhile the ring bearer looks so nervous.  And his little white socks melt my heart!

Marylou’s Coffee is a staple but I’m not sure what Jon and his groomsman is doing.

A pep talk before the walk.

The things I learn — in the cup is a ‘manmosa’ none of those girly mimosas!

Then I headed back to the house to catch Liz kicking the stunning up a notch!

Getting in the dress was a multi person job —  There are so many people trying to get Liz in that dress you can’t even see Liz!

Here she comes, pinky first!

Dear Santa, for Christmas I could use a thesaurus because Liz is so gorgeous she renders my vocabulary useless!

Then  it was up the street to the church!

These two are so emotive they tell their own story <3

The get away vehicle!

And get away we did — to the same home where we’d gone for their engagement photos.  What a gorgeous crew!

History repeating itself. <3

The simple but jaw dropping hot pink hydrangea accented the wedding perfectly.

And one with camper, a little more conspicuously, but we couldn’t leave that memory out too!

Then we headed down to the beach (with out 300 stairs thank goodness)

Finally it was time to party!  More hot pink & sea theme.

Man & Wife! Booya! (really? booya? ok…)

The photo on the right makes me feel peaceful; and I’m just a bystander!

Speeches.

I can’t remember what happened but going through the photos it looks like Jon fed Liz and Liz said seeya so Jon had to feed himself too.…

But at least they kissed and made up!

Parent dances

And there goes Jon again — the ladies man for all ages.  On the left was probably the biggest hubub of the night.  After the parent dances Jon went over and got Evie, the woman who owns that sweet cottage, and gracefully glided with her across the dance floor.  We were all in tears.  Heck, I’m in tears again just typing about it!  Chivalry is not dead my dears, not dead at all.

I’m not sure how Liz has Mark’s tie around her waist and not around his neck, but she does!  And once the walk was over, the ring bearer perked right up and tried to compete for my job!

If I had to guess they’re singing Mazel tov!

But I’m pretty sure they’re not doing the hora…

Sorry Liz, I love you so much, I had to post this photo — so much concentration for the bouquet toss!

All this preparation…

And so little action.  And also? Jon? Did no one teach you the behind the head not looking technique!?

I call this one, Joe and the legs that go on forever.

What a spectacular wedding, thank you Liz & Jon (and Kate & Marcus and Melissa & Lonnie and Jenn & Hammy too) for making me a part of this wonder!

The wedding ended early evening and we went back to the cottage, gathered up a few things and headed down .. 150? steps to a beach bonfire after party.  Way make the most of your day!

I can’t wait to see what’s next from these two

~MelissaKoren

They were up for anything — and they look so at ease posing with the (not actually) Gorton’s fisherman!

I loved this art installation!  Its one of my favorite engagement photos so far

I can’t wait to share their wedding with you!  We partied til we could party no harder!

~MelissaKoren

]]> http://melissakoren.com/2010/12/15/lisa-doug-engaged-05-22-10/feed/ 0 http://melissakoren.com/2010/09/03/boston-stay-cation-02-10/ http://melissakoren.com/2010/09/03/boston-stay-cation-02-10/#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:48:08 +0000 melissakoren http://melissakoren.com/?p=2529 February Vacation.

Bought house: check

Moved in: check

Made it through holidays: check

Still winter: check

So what to do?!  We decided to take a mini-vacation to Boston.  And it was the best decision ever. Despite the rain/sleet/deluge that was about we managed to time the weather well and experience so many things new, and old, with Benjamin.  We ate at Fire & Ice and Wagamama.  We went to the MOS, the MFA, the Top of the Hub, & the Aquarium.  We stayed at the Hilton Back Bay for 2 nights with a gelato bar in the lobby and had coldstone.  It was just fabulous family time.

I put my point and shoot to the task trying to demand high performance while still fitting in my pocket with my phone & keys.  It tried  it’s best to keep up with me.

First stop was the MOS (Museum of Science) - it’s crazy how much it hasn’t changed since I was a kid — the basics of science are still just that! Basic!  However, the ‘exhibits’ of what a cassette tape is were a little off putting.

The next day we went to the aquarium.  My mom came down for the day to hang out with us.  She is recently visually impaired.  Depth and shadows and monochrome are difficult for her to discern and the glass of the tanks was an interesting experience for her.  The octopus was hiding in the back of his ‘cage’ and mum couldn’t see him.  She put her hand on the glass and wished he would come closer.  And he did — he traversed right over, looked her in the eye, and then went back to the corner.  It was pretty amazing.  And also, I love jelly fish exhibits.

The Aquarium, like the MOS hasn’t changed much since I was a kid and it’s been a bit since we took Benjamin down.  The photo on the left is from.. maybe 2004/2005 and although I tried to get the seals to cooperate they refused.  The water level is nearly the same though. *sniff*

Most of our days looked like this — it gave a really neat feeling to the city.

Every once in a while we’d get a break in the clouds though and I loved the shadows in this old stone church.

One of the most surprisingly interesting things we did was go to the Top of the Hub at the Prudential Center.  I’d never been up there before and when we got to the top the skies cleared up long enough for us to take the tour; which was actually really informative and not so boring! (I was skeptical)

Our last trip was to the Museum of Fine Arts.  It was much less hit or miss than I thought it would be with the 10 year old boy.  He LOVED the Egyptian exhibits and the musical instruments.  He managed to find a decent attention span for the ‘classics’ too.  My most favorite part was this all sided mirrored bottle collection.  My photo makes it look kind of like a painting but it was fully three dimensional and just STUNNING.  It was probably the only time I really regretted not having my pro-camera gear with me.   But I made the best of it!

We had a great time.  He’s definitely at the right age for the mix of child like wonderment and the ability to keep himself entertained when it’s not all go. go. go.

~MelissaKoren

]]> http://melissakoren.com/2010/09/03/boston-stay-cation-02-10/feed/ 0 http://melissakoren.com/2010/08/20/nicole-jay-11-07-09/ http://melissakoren.com/2010/08/20/nicole-jay-11-07-09/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:33:55 +0000 melissakoren http://melissakoren.com/?p=2312 After the oh so perfect weather for their engagement photos the  month before, Nicole & Jay hit the weather jackpot once again — the most perfect November afternoon I can remember — for their wedding day.

I met up with Nicole at her parent’s house as her very talented friend & bridesmaid began her wedding beauty regime.

Though she’s already pretty stunning if you ask me.

There’s a “Dummies” book for everything these days!  

After hair and makeup they moved over to the church to get dressed.  She put her own unique touch on this perfectly simplistic dress with the cream ribbon & amazing broach.

A last minute hug and then it was time to walk down the aisle! 

This cutie did a precision A+ job!

 I don’t know if “beaming” is a word commonly used to describe the groom — but I can’t come up with a more fitting word for Jay upon seeing his betrothed!! 

 There was an overwhelming amount of love everywhere! 

There was full range of emotion in the kids too  

Jumping beans!

The reception was held at the building where her father works.  Can you imagine this kind of scenery every day? 

They are just so romantic! And late afternoon sun in November? yum! 

Once inside the dancing began! 

This is the cafeteria in the office building — seriously! I would never leave work!!  

Some chose to watch the dancing, others chose to make their own dancing!

I’ve seen a few grooms now do this to their moms.  I wonder if my son will pick me up if he has a wedding?  

  Their table markers were Disney characters done in silhouette — it was a really neat effect!  

mmmmmm cake! 

A little sweetness, a little bouquet toss and it was back to dancing the night away as I bid them congratulations & farewell.   

Nicole & Jay!  Thank you for our whirlwind ‘courtship’!  I enjoyed every minute of our time together and I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors!

~MelissaKoren 

 Melissa, THANK YOU!!! This was such a wonderful Christmas present!!! Jay and I got your email later in the day on Christmas Eve, and then had to rush around, and got home late — we looked at half of the pictures that night, and then the rest Christmas morning. I was glued to the screen! These are just beautiful, we loved them all. It’s so much fun to relive the day, and you caught everything so beautifully — thank you so much! I can’t wait for everyone else to see them as well — family and friends will be thrilled!!

–Nicole and Jay

I arrived as the ceremony was just about to start and Tom was anxiously waiting for his bride to be.  First though his son and to-be brother-in-law headed out to join the guys with the rings.

As I watched them I saw Tom break into a GIANT smile and little Tommy got this look in his eyes — - I knew Nicole must have made it to the door way

And there she was with her dad looking radiant!

The outdoor ceremony setting by the water was just gorgeous.  I adore that huge tree.

I’m not 100% sure the story behind this but they were presented with this ornament at the end of the ceremony by the captain/officiant it was pretty cool!

Just after that — they were man & wife!  It had been a long time coming for these high school sweethearts — Such a kiss!!

Tommy was such a cutie.  He was so ready for his photo shoot!

A ladies man already — watch out girls!

The set up at Jones River is amazing — I was in awe of this hanging appetizer display (until later in the evening when I accidentally backed into it and thought I was going to break it — -  no harm no foul but yipes!)

I also loved these creative river rocks for place cards and the watering can in keeping with the ‘water’ theme!

The girls were doing Nicole’s bustle.  They were so full of concentration!

While I waited for the bustling and the rest of the festivities to get under way these two boys were hamming it up for me in front of the camera.  And then, there they were, Mr. & Mrs!

They had put together a really heartwarming slideshow of their years as individuals, a couple, and then a family.  Tommy had been dancing with his mom on the floor twirling her around and when this photo of the newborn came up on the screen he exclaimed “hey, that’s me!” it was so cute.

The cupcake tower with Pink “N“s and Blue “T“s.  These babies tasted like gourmet hostess cupcakes.  It was unreal.

Nicole & Tom had barely started to cut into the cupcake when Tommy realized what was going on and ran up to them upset they were going to eat cake without him!  They assured him he’d get his too and sent him back to his seat.

I love this picture of Nicole & her father — he looks so full of memories and love.

The centerpiece giveaway was funny — the DJ made everyone dance with their flowers.  It was interesting to see people’s interpretations of that!

Then it was time to get down! Lots of dancing for young and old!

I think the juxtaposition between boys and girls sometimes!  Get funky? Nah, I’ll just sit and read thank you.

It was a fabulous evening.  These two are most certainly supported and surrounded by love and family!

They wanted to get together at the gorgeous White Cliffs Country Club where they will be having their wedding so after meeting up and having a quick bite to eat for lunch we made the trek to the club and walked down the 300 stairs to the beach. (I’m not sure I’m exaggerating…)

The photo on the left is one of my favorites, trumped maybe only by the photo on the right.  Liz & Jon are ADORABLE.

Their wedding is right around the corner! Nothing like waiting til the last minute to blog about it.

I love how he loves her.  I also love that they stopped every landing on the way up to “pose”.

After we made it to the top and they showed me around the wedding layout we did something so amazingly sweet.  We went down the road to Liz’s family’s house from when she was a little girl. These photos are so personal and hold such amazing connections!

This camper had been out back and sedentary for .. a long time. Earlier in the day Jon had mentioned to me how he didn’t really get the photos where not the whole person was in the picture — but when I saw this camper and heard its tale, I asked Jon to humor me.  He’s a good sport and I thank him because I love this shot!

Then we went inside this sweet cottage to a land where time stands still. The windows are hinged. And the ceiling is just barely cropped out of this photo.

The art, the cutains, the Red Sox jersey, the lamp, the love!

I’m so excited for their wedding next month! I spoke with them on the phone this weekend and the countdown is on!

When the wedding day came I met Melissa at Andover Wyndham just as the final details were getting started.  The buttons & beading on her dress were stunning.

The littles in this wedding were so sweet.  Everyone helped out getting them dolled up!

A few quick portraits before the ceremony.  I love the sweetie in the mirror!  Mostly she was just trying to entertain herself and keep from wrinkling her dress or mussing her hair

Sparkling rings & bright flowers!  Melissa’s sister was holding the flower girls wand & drying off the bouquets (I always remind the girls to dry off of the bouquets — dripping water on satin dresses = spots)

One of my favorite bouquets to date.  I love the color palette and the mix of flowers.

Then it was time to head to the Tewksbury Country Club for the ceremony & reception!

The weather was amazing and Melissa was stunning.  Her dad was a little misty eyed walking her down the aisle.

The bridge at the Country Club is an amazing place for a wedding!

It’s a hard life being the ring bearer.…

With this ring.…

They were wed!

Gorgeous!

This crew was great — and so were the grounds!

Then it was inside for a great party!

With cupcakes — cupcakes always make a great party!

There was never a dull moment on the dance floor!

For the last dance everyone gathered around and filled the room with love.  And these two look loved.

And in love.  A final kiss to end an amazing evening.  

It was so awesome to meet up with Melissa & Lonnie and Rachel & Michael and their crew again!  I had a blast, thank you all for ‘passing me around’!

Thanks Melis! They are awesome!  Thanks again! Your work is beautiful! ~ Melissa & Lonnie

Also — a quick shout out to BlogStomp — blog it faster, blog it better! And I did!

Kim’s niece Tini didn’t seem to care though — her cuteness couldn’t be deterred by anything!

I love this photo — this beautiful flower girl had a little bit of stage fright,  so all the bridesmaids were helping keep her mind off things — here they’re comparing manicures.

Here she is with her twin brother — they were THE BEST formal kids.  Too cute. Kim looks gorgeous also!

The bridesmaids were trying to keep as cool as possible — the AC vents could barely keep up!

Hot, muggy AND windy! The veil was well secured though.

She did it — she toddled down the aisle alone with a few spins, twists and happy dances — all the way to her Curious George waiting for her at the end.

These two were a great follow up act — stealing the hearts of everyone.

Kim’s mum was so happy and excited — I love her here trying to sneak a peek at her daughter and her husband before they got to the end.

St. John the Evangalist in Cambridge is SUCH a gorgeous church!

After the ceremony and formals at the Hilltop in Saugus, MA, Kim asked all her bridesmaids to put up her bustle, it’s was a great scene!

These two rocked out the grand entrance.

I loved these Hershey decal stickers!

These families have so many adorable kids.  They totally dominated the dance floor.

Schooled!

Kim was sweet enough to take a moment and celebrate her cousin, who’s birthday was that day also!

Happy 13th Birthday!  So cute!

Then it was time for Kim & Bryan to eat their cake.

Beautiful!

Tini & her mom Kelly, Kim’s sister and maid of honor.

The whole group!

The Hilltop Cactus, an iconic sign on route 1 in MA.

Thank you Kim & Bryan for having me at your wedding — it was a wonderful affair full of friends, family & love!  I wish you all the best!

Thanks so much. I saw them this morning and I love them! ~Kim

I only brought my camera with my new 50mm 1.4 prime lens just for some fun practice with it. Sadly, we were only there for a few minutes, as I had to get back and edit edit edit, but we visited with the goats and chickens and got some good stuffs to eat — only I ate the donuts before I remember to take a picture of them. Hehe.

He wanted to bring home all the pumpkins.. and apples. Try as he might he never quite broke the skin on the one I picked for him, but we all had a great time none-the-less!

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