Chelsea and Andrew's Wedding
They never stopped smiling. Welcome to Chelsea and Andrew's wedding! Chelsea's maid of honor said it best, "When Chelsea gets excited, her whole body shakes." Ha! That is totally Chelsea. They are another UNH romance story. Well, Chelsea worked in Res Life and met Andrew while she was there. Now they have started a wonderful life in the beautiful Seacoast area.
Andrew and Chelsea were wed at the gorgeous Clay Hill Farm nestled amongst the trees and minutes from the ocean. They were married at 11 a.m. by one of Andrew's longtime friends, and they kept everything sweet, heartfelt and the details were bursting with color. I loved the flower arrangements and cake. In fact, I even sent a photo of the centerpieces to our local florist for a work related event. What masterpieces!
One helpful part about knowing the bride and groom before the wedding is that I know some of the things important to them without them even telling me. Chelsea was always the force behind bringing Tom's shoes on campus, even going barefoot some days in awareness of the need for shoes for all children. Of course she wore Tom's down the aisle!
Chelsea and Andrew prepped me about their big, happy families, and they were not exaggerating! They each have two sets of parents who all get along swimmingly. I would say it's safe to say they are surrounded in love. After I get all the images edited, we'll have many big group photos in the full online gallery.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from that day:
1. Chelsea and Andrew invited everyone to bring in a wedding photo to display around the reception area. I couldn't resist taking plenty of photos of photos. It was a beautiful sight to see so many happy couples on their wedding days and now.
2. The ring warming ceremony. Each guest passed the rings amongst the entire congregation and then sent them back up to the front for the ring exchange.
3. The ring exchange. Chelsea and Andrew can tell us more about what happened, but I can tell you there was a lot of laughing.
4. The dancing with Andrew's (and now officially Chelsea's) 18 month old twin nieces. I mean, seriously. There could not be anything more cute.
I hope you all enjoy the sneak peek. I'll have the whole gallery coming soon to an email inbox near you! Stay tuned. Thank you, Chelsea and Andrew. Your laughter, happy moments and all-out joy made my job a piece of cake. xo!
Music graciously provided by the Adam Ezra Group. My heroes! They play in New England a lot, and I keep hoping the stars will align one year for me to go up to the Stone Church in NH for their Halloween Bash. Sadly, not this year, as I have another wedding back in Amherst but hint, hint! :)
And now for a little vendor love:
The dress: Chelsea scored this number from Preowned Wedding Dresses and it was SO lovely. Did you see how it twirled?
The shoes: Tom's
Hair: Jessica Todd at Jessica Todd Salon
Ceremony musician: Pat Keane
DJ: Ryan Parker
Cake: Hippie Chick Bakery
Flowers: Katherine's Garden
And of course, the venue who puts it all together with their terrific wedding packages: Clay Hill Farm. Chelsea and Andrew worked closely with Rachel Davenport at Clay Hill to choose their vendors.
Lauren and Mike's Wedding
Lauren and Mike started their marriage off right. Everything came together nicely for these two on their wedding day. The skies were bright and their smiles radiant. They brought together all the details at the Red Barn at Hampshire College in such an exquisite way. Probably the most time-intensive project was the wedding quilt Lauren made to hang behind the sweetheart table. I couldn't help but snag multiple shots of this labor of love. The quilt fit right in at the Red Barn and added even more charm to the fairy-tale space.
Before their wedding, I had only met Lauren and Mike very briefly at an Atkins Farm wedding expo (with a baby strapped to my chest!). But when I got to Lauren's room at the Lord Jeff, I felt like I had known her forever. She and her bridesmaids welcomed me into their space, and we captured some of my favorite bridesmaids photos to date. You can feel the laughter and the years of strong friendship/sisterly love.
For a bit of history: Lauren and Mike met at a house party after a swing dance event about five years ago. Lauren was the dancer. Mike didn't dance, but he sure was taken by the girl with the beautiful eyes. The rest sounds like history. They have started a life together surrounded by those who love them. I should also note Mike has perfected his dance moves! There were dips, spins and a lot of laughing.
At their ceremony they put love letters to each other in a box with a bottle of wine to open on their fifth wedding anniversary. What a great idea! My favorite part of the reception had to be the extensive candy bar Lauren's mom designed. Wow. I'm happy to see this trend amongst weddings. Candy is always a fabulous idea, and Jan took it to the highest level.
I could go on forever about how much I enjoyed at this wedding: Lauren and Mike's happiness, their sweet relatives, the hoppin' dance party with a great DJ, Mike's little brothers as groomsmen, the delicious food and service at the Red Barn...
All my best to Lauren and Mike. It was such a pleasure to document your day. Now onto the good stuff. Go ahead and hit play for a slideshow of the highlights. The slideshow is best viewed on a computer with the music turned up, maybe even with a nice glass of wine.
Music is graciously provided by Nina Shallman, who has a new album coming out this summer. Nina is a singer from California and attends Amherst College. Her soulful voice will make anyone feel relaxed! I worked with Nina a few times over the past year, for winter portraits and again for a show at the Iron Horse (on page 4 of the Amherst Magazine). I highly encourage everyone to listen to Daisies on her website. It's Laurel's favorite!
The Happy Valley Vendors:
Ceremony, catering and reception: The Red Barn at Hampshire College
Flowers and cake: Atkins Farm
Music and day of coordinator: Alex and Lori Hanks
Hair and makeup: Sei Bella Salon in Amherst
Officiant: Dennis Helmus
Slideshow music: Nina Shallman
Hotel accommodations and bridal portraits: The Lord Jeff
Lindsay and Dan's Wedding
My dear friends Lindsay and Dan got married last weekend. As I'm sifting through the hundreds of photos, I'm struck by the beauty of the day, the laughter, and, quite simply, how blessed we all are to have these two in our lives.
Dan and Lindsay met as hall directors at UNH, where I used to work. We all knew them as individuals and now as a couple. I'm so happy they found each other and have thrived in their adventures post-UNH. Right now they are on an amazing honeymoon through Europe. Anyone else jealous?!
Their wedding day went as smooth as could be. I tell everyone it was the perfect backyard wedding, where Lindsay always dreamed of getting married. When I arrived at her parents' house, her mom and dad gave me a tour. The tent and ceremony site were all set up. All the colors, activities and little touches, were ready to go, and the ceremony was exactly what Lindsay imagined: right in front of the barn.
One of the most meaningful touches was highlighting the Quaker traditions of Lindsay's family (most notably her beloved grandmother). These traditions included friends standing up during the ceremony to offer their support of the couple and everyone signing the marriage certificate to be displayed in Lindsay and Dan's home. Another idea Lindsay and Dan implemented was an unplugged wedding where their officiant asked everyone to put down their cameras and phones to be fully present. Dan and Lindsay hired me for a reason, and it was my job to capture the moments. I've never had a couple do this, but I've always wanted to ask. I guess I'm too nice, but honestly, it was the best. My photos are available to everyone at the wedding, and I didn't end up with an iPad in the bridal recession. ;)
The flow of the day was lovely. Dan and Lindsay chose to do a first look, so we met up in Exeter to have them see each other and do their portraits. Then all the guests started arriving at their house. They were wed by the lovely Michelle Blanchette (another amazing former hall director), and then the party began! It was a hot day but no one seemed to mind. We all dined on lobster, laughed (and cried) during the toasts, drank a lot of beer, visited outside until darkness fell, and then the dancing BEGAN! I knew it would be a good dancing wedding with Lindsay as the host. At all our past UNH weddings, Lindsay was always leading the Cupid Shuffle, but now she was the one in a white dress but still leading!
My camera could not get enough of Lindsay and Dan's beautiful faces. Their laughter, their love and their style were too much to handle. Check out these bowties, the yellow polkadot shoes, the brilliant sunflowers...It's all there. Oh, and at the end, everyone lit sparklers, the DJ blasted "Wagon Wheel" and they danced. It could not have been more perfect.
Music graciously provided by Adam Ezra. You know, every once in a while, a little miracle happens. I was surfing Adam's website, wondering if he has released a new song that would complement Dan and Lindsay's slideshow, and low-and-behold, his group released this video of "Let Your Hair Down." You'll want to watch it, but you might want to be ready to shed a few tears. Adam Ezra is donating proceeds to the SamFund, an organization assisting individuals and families recovering from cancer treatment. All profits from the online photo gallery (coming soon) will go to support the SamFund. Thank you, Adam, for your philanthropy and for using your artistry to move us all. Everyone at this wedding will know just how powerful your work is. Thank you.
Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go dry my eyes.
Love you, Dan and Lindsay!
xoxo,
Beth
Classy vendors:
Slideshow music by Adam Ezra.
Amazing lobster/clam bake provided by Fosters.
Venue: Lindsay's childhood home
Brewskies by Throwback Brewery
Dress by Madeleine's Daughter in Portsmouth, NH
Hair and makeup by Elation Salon in Kingston, NH
DJ: George MacMahon of McMahon Sound Systems
Day of Coordinator: The amazing Amy Allgaier (Thank you, Amy!)
Laurel in the Lilacs
In a last-minute decision tonight, we all jumped in the minivan and went over to Lilac Land. We lasted about 5 minutes, but 5 minutes wasn't too shabby for this cute girl!
Cabin Fever
Well, if you're anything like the rest of New England, you had a snow day today. We had a great time being outside this weekend, but the temps seemed a bit too drastic to take the kiddos sledding today. Come this afternoon, we had exhausted just about every trick in the book, including plenty of Fireman Sam videos and nap time for the little one. We had a lovely day relaxing, but I decided to break up the boredom a bit and grabbed my camera for some play-time shots.
My "little" guy is looking too big!
A little yoga baby...
It wouldn't be a true "lifestyle" shot if someone wasn't picking his nose...
Oh the love...both earnest and sarcastic...
Even baby dolls get tickled!
MUAH!
Happy Snow Day to all you followers. Thank you for always supporting this dream of mine to become a better photographer for THIS reason: Taking good pictures of my kids.