what was going on with the groom & his posse was a similar scene though a bit more structured. funny how one can see & feel the difference here. we first found them {groom, best man, best man’s wife} in the hotel lobby…watching the olympics {yes like the girls, very zen group here!} & went to the room to document the groom grooming {ha!} which included shaving, tux, shoes, tie, cuffs…the whole gamut. at one point there was a question of suspenders, cummerbund or both which prompted a frenzy of calls and google searching…{the decision was both} but what caught my eye in addition to the animation of the groom’s mom, was the casual methodical preparation – i particularly liked the friend carefully ironing a shirt the entire time only to discover a large stain from the iron which as you’d imagine ushered in a mad scramble to rewash/dry/press the shirt! outside of a need to sew on a button – yes, we had a sewing kit on hand as did the hotel – things went smoothly.

mj – here are a few of our time with you.

a wedding is one of the single most important moments in a person’s life and photographing it is not an endeavor to take lightly. there’s a lot that goes in to covering them -  not only technically but artistically – things that only come with time & experience. i’ve sadly seen the unpleasant results of more than a few first time wedding photographers and lets just say it wasn’t pretty .

so when asked by a bride if i’d consider photographing her day i hesitated as i’ve never photographed one. on one hand, i so wanted to say sure; on the other, lacking experience in this, i was inclined to say no. instead, i listened to my inner voice that said why not find out what she’s looking for and see how you feel then.

when i learned….her gathering was unique & intimate – as in fifty family & friends – and taking place on an herb farm (the herb lyceum in groton, ma) in early evening on a summer day. i also learned that they chose me for my work, for the type of pictures they saw on my website…an artistic story with images that conveyed the sentiment and experience of their day.

my decision – i’m in.

but before i agreed, i wanted to be clear that this would be my first – tho i believed in my ability to document their day, it would still be my first one. i also noted my former profession was event management so the nuances of the day as in those items that can/do/will change on the fly and move very quickly wouldn’t bother me. {if i hadn’t had that background, i never would have agreed – i can’t say enough for this background for it was one huge thing i didn’t have to worry about.}

while they appreciated my honesty, they still wanted me & i conceded with a happy heart.

as the new couple returns from their honeymoon, i thought it’d be kind of fun to share a little bit every day – a little peek at their day. one filled with playful magical  intimate moments and spaces – the words they provided me to describe how they wanted their day to feel.

so…cpp – this is where we began. with you on your day.

to say the girls were a bit casual would be an understatement. the vibe was zen-ful – a lot of laughter & love in a wave of calming joyfulness.

dress & vintage veil by anthropologie bhldn; hotel room at hampton inn westford/chelmsford

powerful, beguiling, spellbinding, hypnotic….still in awe with the grand finale of this amazing event. & without further delay, i present more than a few images of aepril schaile for combined, they give you a feel for what it all felt like watching her dance.

well…i sadly missed most of them including that of my good friend alikya (aka xylinia) tho i was able to do some concept portraits with her outside; i was able to see th’ bones & circus sideshow, jason cohen  & vadalna  – who i spent a little time with afterwards….and then there are those of  aperil…which will be in a post of their own

so while the real event was going on inside, i couldn’t resist what was outside…the light, the vignettes & watching beautiful masks parade up the hill underneath the trees…it was exactly as i’d hoped it would be – spell binding. there are so many & i’ll be sharing a slideshow link with them all shortly but for now…here are these.

as the dark goddess masque is but a day away, thought i’d share these of our hostess…who’s strikingly haunting in these stunners.