Sandra & Joseph
Crystal Lake Golf Club, Mapleville, Rhode Island (Ceremony & Reception)
September 20th, 2025
Because of the nature of wedding photography, I often book a bride and groom over a year before they walk down the aisle and, in that time, my couples can develop some pretty high expectations of what their wedding photos will look like. I don't mind the pressure but, sometimes, a bride I've booked will follow me on social media or cross paths with me at bridal shows or other weddings and I worry about living up to those expectations.
That was the case with Sandra and Joseph as their September wedding at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Mapleville, Rhode Island came a year and a half after they booked me and Sandra was crazy complementary about my work for that entire period.
Thankfully, any worry I had about living up to their expectations was completely unnecessary because this couple had a stunning fall wedding that required me to do little more than click a button to capture the beauty.
But, given their love story and how beautifully perfect they are for one another, it's only fitting that their wedding day would be a dream come true for everyone involved, myself included.
I shot a lot of weddings in 2025 but I can't think of many brides who were more full of nervous energy while getting ready than Sandra was. I knew from our many talks through the year leading up to her wedding that Sandra wanted everything to go smoothly but it's one thing to talk about your wedding and quite another to experience it and Sandra definitely had a little bit of anxiety bubbling up the closer we got to her ceremony.
Joseph, meanwhile, was the picture of cool. In fact, he only had one request of me before the ceremony: Grab some photos of his son helping him get ready. I thought this was a really touching moment that set the tone for the groom all day so, of course, I was happy to oblige.
One of the underrated reasons why I love shooting weddings at Crystal Lake is just how prepared the venue staff is for their clients. Anytime I am shooting more than basic bridal prep at the venue, I know I'll have a chance to grab details before the wedding ceremony as their wedding coordinator Kayla is always on the ball and has things ready as soon as possible.
This was helpful as Sandra and Joseph put a LOT of thought into their décor and it all really popped in this beautiful room.
To Sandra's credit, I can't really blame her for being nervous before her ceremony. Weddings are important days and she waited a lifetime for this one.
In fact, seeing the emotion of the moment hit her as she got her dress zipped was one of my favorite moments, not only of her wedding day but from the fall wedding season as a whole.
After getting dressed, Sandra wanted to share a moment with her bridesmaids and a first look with her uncle before we headed over to the ceremony and after many hugs and some tears, it was time to go get this bride married.
I shoot a lot of wedding ceremonies in all kinds of weather, at all times of year, but there's just something special about shooting an outdoor wedding at Crystal Lake Golf Club on a beautiful fall afternoon. Perhaps more so than any venue I've been at multiple times, Crystal Lake is at once incredibly challenging to shoot at but insanely rewarding when you know what you're doing.
I knew before I picked up my camera on Sandra and Joseph's wedding day exactly what to expect from their ceremony as it was a gorgeously sunny afternoon. But that meant I was going to be fighting that same beautiful sun when Sandra walked down the aisle.
Thing is, it didn't matter. You literally could not have lessened how beautiful that moment was, and not just because she arrived via horse-drawn carriage.
This moment was insanely special just for Joseph's reaction alone and it set the perfect tone for these two to tie the knot.
Remember when I talked about the beautiful lighting at Crystal Lake? It was on FULL display during Sandra and Joseph's ceremony. I mean, the beautiful sunlight bouncing off the lake behind them was top-notch but where this venue shines the most is, quite literally, where it shines.
On this September afternoon, the foliage at Crystal Lake was picture perfect and so, too, was Sandra and Joseph's quick but personal ceremony and, before I knew it, rings were exchanged, kisses were made and the couple was pronounced husband and wife.
If you've followed my work for a while, you may notice I've really been trying to up my portrait game with off-camera light and that's one of the biggest things I was looking forward to with Sandra and Joe's wedding portraits as the area near their ceremony site looked stunning with rich, dark foliage that I felt would make for awesome portraits of the newlyweds.
I was right.
I love how beautifully saturated these shots look in that area. After grabbing a handful of images here, Sandra and Joseph hopped in the horse-drawn carriage and rode back over to the reception side of Crystal Lake for some family formals, wedding party formals and a couple of last-minute water fountain photos before we headed inside to get this party started.
From the moment Sandra and Joseph walked into the Crystal Lake ballroom for their wedding party introductions, I could tell the vibe of this night would be a fun one with some beautiful moments sprinkled in between.
This was especially true during their first dance, set to “A Moment Like This” by Kelly Clarkson. I love shooting first dances in the beautiful Crystal Lake ballroom and Sandra and Joseph's proves why. There so much space but the overhead beams and layout of the room give each first dance an added sense of significance and make the moments stand out that much more.
And the look Sandra had on her face and she savored every second of this dance? Priceless.
Sandra and Joe had a lot of special moments at the start of their reception, with Sandra choosing to honor both her son and her uncle with special dances and Joe doing the same with his daughter.
All three dances meant a lot to the bride and groom and you could tell by how much they let the world around them fade away as they stood in the center of the dance floor with the people most special to them.
The same was true for their two toasts before dinner as Sandra and Joseph had their Matron of Honor and Best Man each take the mic for some special words.
With most of the formalities over, save for the cake cutting, I finally had a chance to grab some of the last details Sandra and Joe had one display and I'm glad I did because these little touches helped complete the room.
In many ways, the cake cutting after dinner did as well as it signified the planned portion of the night was complete and it was time for people to just enjoy themselves. And enjoy themselves they did.
Shooting the dance floor at Crystal Lake is one of the hardest asks couples have of me each year and no matter how many times I am at this venue, it's always a trick to figure out exactly how I want to do it.
So much of this room depends on outside factors like uplighting and décor but, for Sandra and Joe's dance floor, I decided to keep things simple and just try no focus on keeping the party well lit. And it was. Both literally and figuratively.
Sandra and Joe's dance floor was packed all night long and their DJ played a wide mix of bangers from a variety of decades but, of course, threw in some traditional reception songs and group numbers to mix the night up. All in all, the night couldn't have gone much better if Sandra and Joseph tried.
Before heading home from Sandra and Joseph's wedding, I let the couple know I wanted to take them outside for one final portrait, a night shot to cap the evening. I did a lot of these in 2025 because the use of gel lights and off-camera flash really spoke to me this year and Sandra and Joseph's veiled photo with smoke and blue and purple gels was easily one of my favorite this year.
I loved this shot and thought it was the perfect way to cap a great wedding for these two newlyweds. Plus, they loved it and you can't really ask for much more than that.
So, thank you Sandra and Joseph for a beautiful wedding day. I hope it was everything you dreamed of and more and wish you all the best as you begin this wonderful new chapter together as husband and wife.
-Paul J. Spetrini
