Kelly and James, Part 1

On June 30th, my wife Laureen and I shot together at the wedding of Kelly and James. This was such a wonderful wedding and wonderful people that I don't even know where to begin this tale. So I thought I'd share with you a little dialogue that occurred between us and the videographer as we were seated for dinner at the reception. Let's listen in:

Bruce (gobbling down baked stuffed shrimp, to no one in particular): "Can you believe this food? I guess I can go put my PBJ back in the car, eh?"

Laureen: "This is amazing. I'm totally stuffed. Couldn't eat another bite..."

Videographer: "Um, you guys have never been to a Portuguese wedding before have you?"

Bruce: "Well, no I guess we haven't. Why?"

Videographer: "This is only the first course... "

And so it went. What a celebration! Wonderful people, a very close family, delicious food; all the ingredients were there for an incredible wedding!

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We started at Kelly's parents house for some getting ready shots. It was a beautiful home with lots and lots of windows for plenty of natural light. We hardly needed flash inside...





Beautiful light, beautiful bridesmaids...



Sometimes, to get shots like this....



You need to do stuff like this ;)



We went to Elizabeth Park in Hartford for some pics (more on that later) but this was right in Kelly's parent's back yard! I think Elizabeth Park has nothing on their gardens!



A smooch from Mom and Dad...



A champagne toast before they left. No brainer, right? Not so fast...it was in Portuguese. Now according to Kelly it went something like "up, down, to the left, to the right..." Anybody following this? No? Me either. Aw, heck, you'll have to ask Kelly. I think they made the whole thing up to pick on me anyway ;)



One more kiss from Dad and off to the church.









The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Fatima church in Hartford. One of the biggest challenges wedding photographers face is the low light conditions typically found in churches. We are always sure to consult with clergy before a ceremony to ensure flash photography is permitted (it isn't always the case). But still, flash units can be annoying. And obtrusive. All those things The Sweetest Days Photography claims NOT to be!

So what did we find at Our Lady of Fatima? A HUGE skylight right over the alter! Just like at Kelly's parent's house, we once again have tons of beautiful natural sunlight streaming in throughout the ceremony. What a treat!





Ok that's the end of Part 1! This was a huge wedding and we really took lots of great pics so I decided to break it up into 2 separate posts...come back for Part 2!

-Bruce