Blog— Weddings — New Hampshire— 2024 —
Atkinson Country Club Wedding Photos
Helen & Brandon
One of the best feelings I get as a wedding photographer comes when I walk out of a reception after a full day of shooting and can say to myself "That felt right."
What do I mean by that? Well, in this world, I've often found many couples spend the day they become husbands and wives living up to some idealized vision of what a wedding is supposed to be and don't spend enough time planning the wedding THEY want.
I knew from my first meeting with Helen and Brandon that they wouldn't be one of them and their April wedding at Atkinson Country Club not only "felt right" in every sense of the word but it felt PERFECT.
Helen and Brandon said "I do" on a beautiful early spring day and their wedding was 'Them' to a tee. From super chill bride and groom prep periods to the world's shortest ceremony and a casual party vibe that lasted all night, Helen and Brandon's wedding was everything the couple could have asked for and more. And me? I was just glad I was on hand to watch it all play out firsthand.
My time with Helen and Brandon began with trying to figure out exactly where they were getting ready as the Atkinson Resort and Country Club, site of their wedding day, was a much larger and more sprawling complex than I've seen in a while.
And I loved that for them because not only was everything on site for this bride and groom but I was able to easily move from one prep session to the other, which is always a positive sign as I start coverage of a wedding day.
One of the most striking parts to me of shooting Helen and Brandon's big day was how similar they both were in the lead-up to their wedding ceremony. Upon arriving in Helen's bridal suite area, she was laughing and joking around with kids and having a great time.
Brandon, meanwhile, seemed completely relaxed and ready to get the day's events going. If either of these two were feeling any nerves or stress, they did an incredible job hiding it.
In fact, I can honestly say I don't think either of these two felt any emotions other than joy on this day.
I think I most shocked at how chill Helen remained as we approached the ceremony start time, though. Typically, most of my brides are cool as cucumbers during bridal prep but once they put on their wedding dress, there's at least a little bit of panic and stress over hoping everything runs smoothly.
Not for Helen. She made plenty of time to play with her nieces and enjoy her last few moments as a single woman and even seemed eager to walk down the aisle, something I'm not used to seeing.
But I can't say I blame her. We had an exciting day planned and there was a lot to get to.
I've had a lot of short wedding ceremonies in my day but I think Helen and Brandon may have been trying to set some sort of world record with their ceremony as it was stunningly short. All told, Helen and Brandon's wedding ceremony was 2:52 and, having worked with them during their engagement session, I completely understood why.
This wasn't a couple that wanted to make a big deal out of having a “moment.” They're not center of attention type folks. They wanted to get to the real reason they had a wedding: Celebrating their love and that meant breezing through the pomp and circumstance and getting to the real, authenticity of the day.
That doesn't mean Helen and Brandon's ceremony wasn't without it's beautiful moments, though. I loved watching how locked in and focused this bride and groom were as they held hands and listened to their officiant and as they somewhat nervously exchanged rings and said “I do.”
With their ceremony out of the way, Helen and Brandon headed outside for formal photos and while we were blessed that their early Spring wedding had a nice, sunny day … it was still a bit breezy and I could see everyone was a little colder than they would have liked to admit. But that didn't stop Helen and Brandon's family from doing everything they needed to during this formal photo session and it was clear the bride and groom may have been a tad cold but they weren't in a hurry to get through these photos as it meant a lot to them … which is all I ever ask.
And they even managed to have fun at times. Who could ask for more?
Without a doubt, my favorite part of Helen and Brandon's wedding day was getting to work with them for their bride and groom portraits though, admittedly, I knew that would be the case before I ever stepped foot on the property of the Atkinson Resort and Country Club.
These two are just great to work with and their wedding day was no exception.
Even though I didn't have the kind of time I would have liked for this part of their day, I feel we captured a ton of variety in the eight minutes we were allotted for bride and groom portraits and, more importantly, I feel we really captured the heart of their relationship perfectly.
As we headed inside for Helen and Brandon's wedding reception, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the night. Helen and Brandon's reception was likely going to go one of two ways: Either it was going to be a constant party or there would be no dancing and everyone would just be having fun in their own way and talking at their tables.
I knew one thing for sure, though, Helen and Brandon spent a good amount of time putting together the little details of their day and knocked that out of the park for sure.
Helen and Brandon started their reception off on the perfect note with a first dance set to “Just Close Your Eyes” by Dean Martin.
I'll be honest. The Atkinson Country Club Ballroom might be a bit larger than I love for wedding receptions but, man, their dance floor is nice and Helena and Brandon took full advantage of it for their first dance together.
It was a beautiful moment that really set the tone for a night of fun and casual vibes.
In keeping with the tradition of taking their reception as relaxed as possible, Helen and Brandon only had one formality prior to dinner: a speech by the best man. And it was a nice one that had the bride, groom and the room cracking up.
Following dinner, the newlyweds went out of their way to not make a big deal out of the remaining events of the evening: choosing to have a low key cake cutting out of the sight of most of their guests and a mother-son dance that really only had Brandon and his mom at the center of attention for a few moments before everyone else was invited to the dance floor to share the moment with them.
I loved this approach Helen and Brandon took to their wedding and could tell once Brandon's dance with his mom was over that the party was about to kick off in a big way. And it sure did.
Between the outdoor patio area, the photo booth, the dance floor and the tables themselves, every guest at Helen and Brandon's wedding reception spent the night doing something, and that something was always fun.
Perhaps most importantly, every time I looked around, the bride and groom were right in the middle of something with their friends and family members. Brandon may have spent more time taking photos in the photo booth than any groom I've seen before and Helen? She was all over the dance floor from the first to the final song.
In short, these newlyweds had an amazing night I know they won't soon forget.
As I began to break down my light stands and call it a night with Helen and Brandon, I couldn't help but think their wedding just felt perfectly them and they couldn't have asked for a better time.
I love when I get that feeling because, in my heart, I know that means the bride and groom at the center of the wedding day did things exactly how they wanted and will walk away with no regrets and I think we could all strive to say the same after the big days of our lives.
So thank you Helen and Brandon for a wonderful spring wedding day full of laughs and fun. I wish you the best on this new and exciting chapter of your lives together as husband and wife and I know it's already off to the best start you could've asked for.
-Paul J. Spetrini
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The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Bride's Hair: Mikayla Pockett, Parlor Salon, Concord, NH; Bride's Dress: David's Bridal, Nashua, New Hampshire; Groom's Suit: Men's Wearhouse; Ceremony & Reception Venue: Atkinson Resort & Country Club, Atkinson, New Hampshire; DJ: DJ Entertainment NH, Concord, New Hampshire; Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes, Burlington, Massachusetts.