When Eric and Alison first contacted us in 2010, Eric told us he loved photography. When we were invited to check out some of his work and did, we were quite impressed, and honored. It’s definitely cool when a photography aficionado appreciates your work to the point of entrusting you with capturing one of the most important days of their life. It’s hard to believe that it’s been well over a year now since the first time we got to hang out with Eric & Ali while shooting their engagement session in the Squam Lake area. That was such a good time we knew their wedding at the Brass Heart Inn in Chocorua, New Hampshire would be pretty amazing and it was in more ways than one! When we arrived I (Kerry) got to chase the guys around during their spirited game of touch football. I knew I was doing my job getting into the heart of the action when during one play I deflected a pass with my head. That’s right, the ball bounced right off my noggin! The excitement didn’t stop there however…as you’ll see the outdoor ceremony was ‘punctuated’ with a torrential downpour. That had no effect whatsoever on the joy and emotion of the day and we all were well rewarded with a double rainbow right after the ceremony! When does that ever happen?? We’re so glad we were able to capture this and many other moments for Eric & Ali and their friends and family (tho’ I wasn’t quite able to come up with a shot of the football rebounding off my cranium…) Of course, the double rainbow was completely fitting for these two, it’s pretty easy to see they’ll be making the most of whatever comes their way for a long, long time :)

I don’t think one could truly convey the superlatively beautiful nature of a Hindu wedding ceremony! You kinda’ have to be there. And we were…and we’ll never forget it. Keri and Mo began their 12+ hour wedding festivities with a Hindu ceremony. Something we found really endearing was how “family-centric” it was. Everyone was up there, mothers and fathers and brothers and cousins and uncles…and everyone had a part. There were fires, coconuts, blessings and lots of rice throwing! Almost everything has symbolic significance and there is so much love, which we were happy to be in the midst of. :)

Following the morning’s ceremony was an Indian luncheon and then everyone regrouped for Part II! The evening ceremony was at the beautiful Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro, NH. The weather was less than stellar but everyone seemed to take it well and remain in good spirits. Happily, the rain even broke long enough for us to sneak in some portraits before the ceremony!

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most visually stunning weddings we have witnessed but also so heartily comprised of good, happy, in love people! We never get sick of that. Keri and Mo, you are of the wonderfulest kind! Thank you for sharing your day with us. Thank you also for sharing your beautiful families and your Chicken Tikka Masala! We hope you enjoy the recap. ;)

*Many expressions of amazement to 1. Mindy Rossignol of Private Weddings and Events for the most beautiful execution and planning! Wow. 2. Emily Herzig Floral Studio. Probably the most incredible arrangements I’ve ever seen. If you’re in need of either, these women are amazing!

Part II of Sean & Emily’s woodland wedding adventure (Check out Part I here…) kicks in as they finish up their First Look couple’s portraits and get down to the business of getting married! The lakeside ceremony was beautiful with plenty of smiles, laughs and poignancy. The vintage summer camp vibe was carried out to perfection and the food was amazing (major kudos to Windy Fields Farm for their emphasis on local harvest foods)! Being a part of such a special day in the lives of 2 people in such an ‘organic’ locale was not lost on us. We loved it! We hope Part II completes the picture for you…

This is Emily and Sean’s magical and wondrous wedding day! So wondrous, in fact, that we couldn’t fit it all into one post. So, today we will share Part I. We are almost disturbingly excited about this.
Truly, Emily and Sean’s wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings we have been to. It was beautiful in its simplicity and its inclusion of natural things. Emily and Sean put together so many details by themselves and with the help of friends. We met up with them at the camp a couple weeks before the wedding to get familiar with the surroundings and get a feel for how the day would flow. I remember walking around with Emily and a distinct feeling of pure joy as she described her plans of mason jars and burlap (among many other lovely things). The land was so beautiful….ferns and tall pines and that great balsam smell. A good place to be married.
We’re very well aware what a gift it is to meet truly good folks like E&S and that’s what they are. They’re like presents in the form of people and I’m sure all of their friends and family feel that way. It was a privilege to share their day with them! And lastly, I would like to say a little something about Sean and Emily’s green sofa, which I will continue to covet. Way to go guys. ;)

Part I…..

Christina and Arkady were married at Searles Castle in Windham, NH amidst the copious and enveloping love of their family and friends and the equally enveloping heat of a New England summer! Despite the heat, it was a lovely and perfect day, filled with great folks! Christina and Arkady, laid back and brimming with wedding-ish joy were so much fun to work with! We enjoyed sneaking away for a few quiet minutes for their first look. Something we noted about Christina and Arkady was a deeply rooted connection to the people around them and how in love with them their families are. Supportive and loving families are so good for us, kind of like a great people fertilizer and it seems the two of them will have a good, strong love….with perfectly balanced soil. ;)

Other notably great moments of their day were Neruda poems, exerpts from The Velveteen Rabbit and a performance by Arkady’s fellow members of The Beelzebubs (Tufts University’s oldest, all-male accapella group!). Arkady himself picked up the guitar and wooed Christina with a gripping version of Extreme’s “More Than Words”. Well played!

Christina and Arkady: we had so much fun…thank you for inviting us into your day! Be obscenely in love forever and happier than necessary for just as long!!!

Say hello to Erin and Ryan…two of the best folks you could ever hope to meet! Their beautiful, British-themed wedding featured so many fun elements! Erin is originally from New Hampshire, where she maintained her reputation as the meanest, baddest Lacrosse player this side of the Mississippi. (She was featured in Sports Illustrated!) Five years ago, she moved to England for a temporary job opportunity and she met Ryan and decided to stay. ;) They chose to have their wedding at Erin’s parent’s home in NH and every detail was so beautifully executed! Erin’s dad contributed amazing details like transforming their deck into an authentic British pub and building an exact replica of an English mail box for guests to put their notes and well-wishes. There were signs and photographs and flags and a CANDY BAR! Doesn’t get a whole lot more fun than that. In addition to all the beautiful touches that Erin’s parents contributed, event planner, Amy Piper of Signature Events went above and beyond to turn their backyard tent into an elegant and classy wedding venue! She also watched over the whole day to make sure things ran smoothly for the Bride and Groom and was a pleasure to work alongside, as always! Also contributing her creative wonders was Emily Herzig of Emily Herzig Floral Studio. Her arrangements and attention to detail are incredible! So, Erin and Ryan had quite a team to help make their day as perfect as it could be and they deserved it. In addition to being a talented and beautiful couple, they are just nice people….with wonderful families. :) We are very thankful to continue to meet great people on our travels and it’s never lost on us what a privilege it is to witness such prodigious love. Congratulations Erin and Ryan!!! (ed: View Erin & Ryan’s engagement session from last summer here)

One of the things we love about what we do is experiencing the unique personality of each wedding. Bobby & Nicole’s Lake Winnipesaukee wedding at Church Landing in Meredith, New Hampshire, featured a giant dancing fireman along with real dancing firemen (though not suited up as was their inflatable cohort), which was great because it was so nice to see the men that protect us from all kinds of peril having a fun time together! Other elements included a cool vintage Mercedes Benz and some images snapped on a fancy boat at the invitation of some friendly strangers. It was also a gorgeous day for two people to share the ultimate expression of love and commitment and friends and family were there in full force to complete an epic day for our couple. Here’s how we saw it…

And the weddings roll on… to Kateri and Greg and their lovely July day!

We met Kateri and Greg at a wedding last September (happy anniversery Ryan & Jessica!), though we did not realize at the time that we would have the privilege of documenting their day 10 months down the road! So, we got to “re-meet” them earlier this year in a little coffee shop by the ocean and learn of their plans of coalescence…

It turns out, they’re just great! Like, really good folk. From our first meeting to the wedding day, they were an absolute joy to be around and to see other people be around (if that makes sense). It’s just that you can tell what truly good people they are and how much they care for others. So…. that’s good. :)

Of course, time passed quickly, as it always does, from our coffee shop meeting and it was marrying time! The wedding was held at The Granite Rose in Hampstead, NH and they did a wonderful job of keeping things running smoothly and accommodating everyone. During the day, leading up to the ceremony, I heard Kateri say a few times: “I can’t wait to marry Greg” and I thought that was great…to be so fully focused on that part, the real part. Unfortunately, there was some minor precipitation happening but everyone braved it for a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the garden. The ensuing reception was great and many thanks to DJ/guitarist, Mr. Tom Bruhl for keeping the feet moving! We also definitely witnessed some air guitar by the lovely bride! So, it was a good day.

We got a phone call from Kateri a couple days after her wedding, just asking us how we felt the day went. She said that she wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves because, in her words: “…all I could see was Greg.” And this is my favorite part of the story because it is a very genuine person that cares enough to know another’s perspective and it made me quite happy to be able to tell her it was fantastic! We are sure Kateri and Greg will be almost intolerably happy, doing nice things for each other, forever. :)

Congratulations guys, and thank you for including us in your day! Here’s how we saw it…

Quite a few of our couples are from out of the area and come back to New England to have their wedding in their hometown, near their friends and family or just because they love the natural beauty that resides here. Occasionally, they book us over the phone or Internet and the first time we meet face-to-face is on their wedding day. This was the case with Tim and Kim. They live in Las Vegas, but have roots here in New Hampshire. Because of the distance and busy schedules, we weren’t able to meet them until the very day they were getting married. Let us say, that despite never having met us before, they welcomed us to their special day with an abundance of kindness and warmth and any feelings of unfamiliarity between us quickly dissipated! Needless to say, this made photographing their beautiful day a joy and we believe that joy shines through in these images. This was also our first time shooting at the Bedford Village Inn and the day went smoothly thanks to the friendly professionalism exhibited by the staff there.

The day was punctuated by the special bond Kim and her family has, her Sisters were all bridesmaids and kept things lively and fun. Also ever-present, was the camaraderie Tim shared with his groomsman. I unwittingly kind of broke up a practical joke that would’ve made for an interesting situation during the ceremony when I asked Tim’s best man Gary for the rings to photograph them. What I, as well as he, didn’t know, was that the rings had been swiped from his jacket! Have to say, it was fun watching him desperately search for them until Tim let him off the hook…I have a great picture of that, which I’m pretty sure is going to appear on Facebook shortly :) Anyway, congrats to you, Kim & Tim! We were honored that you chose Birch Blaze to help you hang on to the great memories of this day!

As a photographer, I have documented many walks down the aisle and otherwise have walked back up “the aisle” twice in my lifetime. When I found out last year that my own Daughter was going to be getting married, my first thought was, “Wow, my Daughter’s getting married… I’m WAY too young for that to be happening!” Turns out I guess I’m not. Besides not having seen Lindsey a ton the past 2 or 3 years due to her increasingly hectic life, the wedding was a long way off. So while I knew it was coming, it wasn’t hugely impactful. Yet. What I did finally realize, about 2 weeks out, was that the day had been coming for me, all along. Like an unstoppable zombie army, marching unceasingly toward its inevitable mission, it was coming. So, being the emotional guy that I am (I got teary-eyed during Toy Story III, I’m not kidding) I started to worry about my duties. Not worried if I could competently perform them or not, but rather, could I competently perform them without melting into a gelatinous puddle of blubber on the floor. Ah yes, the Father-Daughter dance, the FOB (Father-Of-the-Bride) speech, and yes, the most important Fatherly duty of all, walking my little girl down the aisle. Now it was finally hitting me… “WOW, MY DAUGHTER’S GETTING MARRIED!!!!!”

So the next thing I know, I find myself at the rehearsal. It’s at the gorgeous Moody Mountain Farm on the Wolfeboro/Ossipee, NH town line. We’re standing inside what I’m guessing was once a livestock corral—you can supply your own jokes about being led to the slaughter—the fencing being a 3 foot thick stone wall probably dating back to the 1800′s. It’s now lined with yellow lilies along with other various wild flowers in full bloom and is where the ceremony will take place. I’m watching my little girl… <ahem> Lindsey, listening to Jalum (her Fiancé) and their officiant, Jason, discuss some final details and it happens. You know that commercial, the one where the father is talking to his daughter, sitting in the car, about all the safety precautions she needs to take whilst taking his car out for a drive? Yep, that one. They show the Father’s view of his Daughter and she looks to be about 6 years old…even though she’s really 16 or 17. I studied my Daughter there, saw her furrowed brow squinting out the sunlight, the quizzical look on her face, wondering what would be said next… I was sucked back in time and saw, not a 20+ year old woman standing there, no, it was my 6 year old little Lindsey. And you know what? Her facial expressions were exactly the same!

Two days later, still worried about not losing it during my duties, I walked into the farmhouse where my girl was waiting for me to take her on the walk of her life. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I was about to encounter. I knew she would be beautiful, but my oh my, she was STUNNING! As soon as I entered the room there was the most amazing atmospheric transformation. The air was replaced with pure emotion. Lindsey, sitting in a pudgy living room chair, started frantically waving her hands and chanting, “Oh, no…no,no!” in an effort to will away the anticipated tears threatening her make up. I looked at her…I tried, I really tried. But that was it. Lost it. There she was, my little girl, looking SO amazingly beautiful. I had no choice but to lose it. A milestone. A moment in time I will never forget. It’s quite sobering. It’s like standing in the surf, watching a wave come towards you….your grandparents, your parents, you. The wave buoys you up, only for a moment, then continues on without you….your children, your grandchildren. It’s part of life though, so what else to do but embrace it? Relish it. The payoff of course, besides the memories, is an ever-expanding family and love. Lots of love. Welcome to my Family Jalum :)

The rest of the day was cake (pun intended). The trepidation of scattered showers dissipated into glorious sun and blue sky. As Jason gave his finest wedding talk, I just took it all in. To all you parents and parents-to-be out there yet to experience the wedding day of a child, I’ll repeat the advice I received from the MOB from one of the weddings we photographed last season. She said, “Just take it all in…it will be glorious!” She was right. The warm summer breezes stroking the fields of wild flowers, the mountains, the diving swallows, a soaring red-tailed hawk. Perfection. Lindsey was truly giddy with happiness and love as she repeated her vows. We ate, we laughed, we danced. It was a good day.

Of course, this was just my perspective that I’m offering you here on our blog. There are many others. We are so grateful to our dear friends, Kevin & Heidi (Kevin is Lindsey’s cousin) of Sweet Pea Photography for coming up from Pennsylvania to photograph and be a part of Lindsey & Jalum’s wedding, allowing me to just be “Dad” (you’ll ‘meet’ them in the second-to-last photo). They’re the ones to blame for Taylor and I becoming wedding photographers ;) and we can’t wait to see their perspective! (we’ll keep ya posted on that) The love of my life, Taylor, looked SO gorgeous this day and I terribly regret not taking a photo of her (K&H are you listening? :) but I thank her for taking most of the lovely images you’ll see below. We begin however, with a series of images I snapped with just my girl and I—no one else in the room (did I mention she was giddy?)—just before our walk down the aisle…

And lastly (above), the hard core crew (AZ representin’!) that stayed till the end. What great time we all had! Thanks to everyone that had a hand in making this an amazing event. And the wave rides on…

View Lindsey & Jalum’s Boston engagement session (with Tay and I at the helm) here. Oh, and thanks to the amazing vintage clothing store, Bobby From Boston for supplying my killer vintage seersucker suit!