Blog— Weddings — Massachusetts — 2022 —
Granite Links Golf Club Wedding Photos
Katie & Michael
Granite Links Golf Club, Quincy, Massachusetts
September 16th, 2022
I've long said if you're going to be a wedding photographer, you need to have two abilities more than any others: You need to be flexible and you need to know how to work fast.
Both of those skills were on full display for me on the afternoon of Katie and Michael's September wedding at Granite Links Golf Club as the timing of this couple's beautiful wedding day found us in an almost unwinnable scenario of having just a half hour to shoot all of the couple's family, wedding party and bride and groom photos before the sun set.
Luckily, this is a situation I've been in before and with Katie and Michael being an awesome couple to work with and knowing when it was time to charge head-first into go-go-go mode, we not only managed to achieve our objective during this small window of time but we exceeded it.
And, honestly, I'd say that's the best way to describe this day and this wedding itself.
I knew heading into Katie and Michael's wedding day that it would be a busy one but a truly fun one at the same time. And right from the moment I walked into Katie's bridal prep session at the Marriott hotel in Quincy, Massachusetts, I knew we were hitting the ground running as the bride-to-be already had her dress hanging up and all her details out and ready for me to photograph.
Thank goodness she did, too, as we had less than an hour before a party bus arrived to pick the bride and bridesmaids up and take them to the ceremony/reception venue.
I think we made the most of every second and was particularly thrilled at the photos I got of the bride putting her earrings on and reading a note from her groom before we departed.
Once we arrived on site, the crunch never stopped as this wedding had a LOT of moving pieces to coordinate, including photographing Katie and her bridesmaids/immediate family and THEN photographing Michael and his immediate family in the short time before their ceremony while also keeping the two sides completely separate so we didn't ruin the surprise of the bride's dress.
To her credit, Katie was a champ when it came to staying loose and making sure her nerves didn't get to her and that was crucial because once it became time to start their ceremony, there was no stopping until the end of the evening.
Katie and Michael said "I do" at Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy, Massachusetts and it is, without question, one of the most beautiful views you can have for a ceremony in New England ... provided you can see.
On the afternoon Katie and Michael became husband and wife, their ceremony just happened to fall at the exact right time on the exact right day to have the brightest sun I've seen in quite some time beaming right in everyone's face.
You'd never know, however, as the only thing this bride and groom cared about was soaking in every moment together and sharing this day they'd never forget.
I mean, for real, that sunshine was BLINDING.
Lucky for me, I've become accustomed to rolling with the punches and while the sun was less than ideal for direct shots of the bride and groom, with a little finesse, I was able to capture some really fun candids of both Katie and Michael as they shared their vows and officially became Mr. and Mrs.
As for the ceremony itself, Katie and Michael asked a friend to be their officiant and he made sure to keep the energy high and fun. I'm not sure I've seen a bride and groom with bigger smile and laughs than these two on this beautiful September afternoon.
With their ceremony in the books, it was time for Katie, Michael and I to try to race the sun to see if we could get all of the family, wedding party and bride/groom portraits done while it was still light enough to see.
Luckily for me, this bride and groom took the approach of "Just tell us what to do" and thanks to having worked with them on an engagement session last year, I knew they had the basics of posing down and would look great once we got them all alone.
All told, we had 33 minutes to shoot 23 different photo combinations AND bride and groom portraits but I think we nailed it, particularly the wedding party photos where Katie and Michael were clearly having an absolute blast.
While working with the clock in the back of my mind was a bit stressful, I do LOVE how you can watch the progress of sunset as you go along with Katie and Michael's formal photos together. And for having less than 10 minutes in all for their bride and groom photos, I think the three of us did a great job getting a wide variety of sweet shots that really showed off how beautiful the sky looked on this amazing evening.
It's no wonder some of these sunset shots were my favorite shots of the entire wedding day.
With formal photos out of the way, it was time to head into the reception tent at Granite Links and I was super interested to see how Katie and Michael would have this area lit as Granite Links had an amazing dance floor with the right lighting.
I couldn't initially get a good read on it when I shot detail shots earlier in the day prior to the ceremony — and what a great job this bride and groom did on this part of their wedding planning — but I knew walking in post-sunset that we were going to have a lot of fun once this party got started.
And boy did we. From the moment Katie and Michael walked in, the vibe in their reception was lighthearted and fun and I knew this would be a great night for dancing and candid photos.
I particularly loved Katie and Michael's first dance, which was set to "Forever After All" by Luke Combs. These two looked so in love in this moment and even though there was NOTICEABLE height difference between the bride and groom, I thought it was adorable watching Katie hold her man as they swayed to the lyrics of a beautiful love song.
One of the things I found most interesting about Katie and Michael's wedding was their ability to also roll with the punches, like, for instance, when they decided they wanted to move parent dances up before dinner and right after their first dance.
It took me a minute to process the change but I'm glad they did it this way as it got the biggest moments of the night up front right away and each felt unique and emotional in its own way. I even got a little teary eyed watching Katie wipe tears out of her face while she danced with her father. Talk about some heartwarming stuff.
Katie and Michael were determined to knock out all of the signature moments of their reception before dinner and I think that was a terrific idea as the pair had great speeches from their maid of honor and best man, respectively, and the rest of the night was simply about kicking back and having a great time.
If I had any doubt that was the right call, it was gone the moment the DJ played the first song to open the dance floor.
Katie and Michael's reception was one of the most jam-packed, busiest dance floors I saw in all of 2022 and it was so much fun trying to capture all the wild moves and laughs their friends and family were having.
Best of all? The bride and groom were right in the middle of it all and I can confidently say they left it all on the floor that night.
I was fortunate enough to capture a lot of great moments for Katie and Michael on their wedding day but I think my absolute favorite was the photo below of these two in their photo booth midway through their reception. It was a simple one but one I appreciate more than most because it was clear to me in that moment how much this bride and this groom were on top of the world.
Wedding days are supposed to be fun and even though they can be wild and crazy at times, and are somehow always busy, busy, busy days, it's always worth it when you see the happiness and pure love on the face of newlyweds when the stress is over.
So thank you Michael and Katie for allowing me to document this fantastic wedding day for you and I wish you luck on this new chapter of your lives together as husband and wife.
-Paul J. Spetrini
Check out more of my most recent wedding blogs:
The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Bride's Make-up: Wicked Makeup, Boston, Massachusetts; Bride's Dress: Tulle Bridal Couture and Outlet, Andover, Massachusetts; Groom's Suit: Mens Wearhouse; Florist: Fleur De Sol, Providence, Rhode Island;Ceremony & Reception: Granite Links, Quincy, Massachusetts; DJ: Jason Demers, Warwick, Rhode Island.