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 :)

Christine contacted us waaaaaaay back on January 23, 2010 about her September, 2011 wedding. We asked her to check back in May as we weren’t booking that far out at that time. Sure enough when May rolled around, Christine was ready and we’re SO glad she found her way back to us! Both Curtis and Christine are really fun people to be around. Totally genuine and upbeat. They have been some of our biggest champions and muses and we had an alarmingly good time in their presence! We’ve grown quite fond of them. :)

Christine’s preparedness was not limited to finding a photographer, and it paid off big on their wedding day, even in the face of record high temps and a micro monsoon—we were just able to sneak their first look in right before it hit! The ceremony and reception took place at the posh mountain retreat, Skiesta House in the western Maine mountains surrounding the Sunday River ski area. The place was amazing, as you’ll see. It was our first time working with Meghan Torrieri, the wedding planner/owner of b merry events & occasions and we were in awe. She displayed the calm composure of a field commander when said monsoon turned a planned outdoor ceremony into an a decidedly indoor affair. Meghan was also very helpful and friendly to us which helped us do our job and made our day that much easier. Christine, Curtis & Meghan were a wedding tour de force and all of their planning and execution is the reason we had to present their day in two parts. Part I chronicles getting ready, the first look and pre-ceremony…(Part II can be had here)

Of all things that could be considered a close call, sneaking a wedding in before an impending hurricane is up there. Whatever fortuitous circumstances led to it, Fraser and Kristin decided to have their wedding, which was held at the lovely Church Landing in Meredith, NH on a Friday…thus narrowly escaping the winds of Irene. Actually, here in the NH, we didn’t experience as much wrath as others but for the sake of the story and to further emphasize Fraser and Kristin’s impeccable timing, we’re going with complete, cows-in-the-trees destruction. Whew…good call guys! ;)

We had been looking forward to their wedding for a long time and were so excited to be working with such interesting and great people! They are both deeply committed to the environment and sustainability and have chosen careers that put them in the front lines. Very admirable indeed. And they’re pretty cute, too. The wedding was, of course, beautiful and we were so impressed by all the details and hard work contributed by all involved. We were also enamored with all their friends and family which reminded us that it’s not a bad gig, being in the company of such fine and friendly people all the time. We hope that we were able to tell their story well through the following photographs and convey even a microcosm of the great love that day. There is a line in an Ani DiFranco song that goes: “It took me too long to realize that I don’t take good pictures ’cause I have the kind of beauty that moves.” Though I’m sure we could all agree that Kristin and Fraser are quite photogenic, I do believe it’s hard to capture the real life beauty of anything and we’re just happy we got to witness it. Congratulations guys and I’m sorry, but I hope your love has a ridiculously huge footprint! ;)

As we contemplate the conclusion of our wedding season, twenty-eleven, one golden thread that was noticeably woven in from start to finish was that of love. “Well, of course, you’re talking about weddings, aren’t you?!” you might say. Yes, it is true love and weddings are definitely no strangers, but I’m sure we’ve all been to weddings that we couldn’t help but mentally speculate as to how long the newlyweds might make it. Am I wrong, here? So we are beyond thrilled that that thought never reared it’s ugly head at any of this season’s weddings (or last season, for that matter). Nope, not one. In fact, the quality of love that was on display every single time was of the finest vintage…and had stood the test of time. As artists who feed off real emotion, that’s a very welcomed component to a wedding shoot. Which brings us to Gregg & Rachel. If we had to choose one word to describe their very obvious love for each other, it would be FUN. Yep, FUN love. As far as we’re concerned, starting right where they left off from our Portsmouth engagement session earlier this year. It became apparent to us right off the bat that G&R took the opportunity to just have fun with each element of their wedding day. From getting ready in-town Portsmouth, their First Look at Odiorne State Park in Rye, New Hampshire, to their ceremony at the historic Moffat-Ladd House and beyond, their fun-love was in full effect, and contagious! As you would expect, this translated to a very laid-back and awesome to work with couple. We think you’ll see what we mean… Gregg & Rachel, it was an honor and a pleasure to be entrusted with documenting such a fine—fun—love, and we trust that that love will serve you both for a very, VERY long time! :)

We LOVE Portland, Maine!!! Hang out there every chance we get. So of course, we’ve been chomping at the bit to shoot our first wedding in Portland… Ben & Danielle gave us that opportunity and we can’t think of a cooler couple to introduce us to the world of Portland wedding photography :) And, their reception was at none other than Grace, a restored church that is now a chic Portland eatery and ultra-cool wedding reception venue! Ben and Danielle chose Fort Williams Park to do their ‘First Look,’ and we especially loved the Goddard Mansion, a mid 1800′s Colonel’s mansion which is abandoned, but aging with it’s own grace and beauty. You’ll see Ben anxiously awaiting his Bride while tucked away around the corner of the grand stone ‘ruin.’ We also had a blast getting creative with the bridal party on the old Fort ramparts. Danielle was especially excited that her little guy, Duncan was able to make an appearance :) We had a great time with the happy couple and all their adoring friends and family and wish them all the happiness (and more!) of a Sunday morning stroll through the Old Port!

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!

Ben and Katie are just good human beings. That should be noted. They are the sort of people that are perpetually kind and as fellow humans, we really loved that about them. So, we are a special kind of excited to share their lovely wedding. We met them through our friend and wildly talented wedding filmmaker, Meg Simone. (Check her out!) We are thankful to Meg for putting us all in touch and as always, were glad to be working alongside her for Ben and Katie’s wedding.

In April, we got the chance to shoot their engagement session in Crawford Notch in the beautiful White Mountains of New Hampshire. It was a fitting location because Ben and Katie are accomplished hikers. They have both hiked all the 4,000 footers in NH… Katie, having started her mountaineering career as just a little girl. Clearly, the mountains are near and dear to their hearts and so their wedding was held at the gorgeous Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH. And it was perfect. Well, aside from the black fly apocalypse that was occurring outside, it was perfect. (Much thanks to the couple for enduring such things for the sake of photos!) Katie is a graphic designer and actually designed and made her own invitations, which were beautiful! A great detail, among many. Of course, they both looked wonderful and truly happy as they were surrounded by all the ones who loved them on a pretty June day. We want to thank Ben and Katie for the privilege of being a part of their day and wish them joy and love that grows so big they can hike up it someday. ;)

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!

A Gloucester beach house, an Essex seafarer’s estate and a gorgeous May Saturday, what more could you ask for? Well, throw in a lovely bride and tons of friends and family ready to laugh, dance and party and you’ve got all the makings for an epic wedding day on Massachusett’s North Shore! Stylized/arranged bridal shoots are great, but nothing beats the variety, personalities and true joy—the realness—of the real thing! Justin and Jessica (view their Newburyport, MA engagement session here) kept our streak of awesomely laid-back and easy to work with couples very much alive and we had a great time capturing all the joy and love that they were conducting! As you’ll see, the timing was perfect for the full bloom of spring, which made an already beautiful occasion that much better…