Blog— Weddings — Rhode Island— 2023 —
Grupo Amigos Da Terceira Wedding Photos
Elizabeth & Arthur
Grupo Amigos Da Terceira, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (Ceremony & Reception)
October 8th, 2023
When I sit back at the end of a year and think about all of the weddings I've shot, one of the things I appreciate the most is getting to meet couples who genuinely feel like long lost friends.
It's one of the cool little bonuses this industry has afforded me and that's why all of my favorite couples each year tend to share the same characteristics: They're fun, they seem like they'd be a great hang in a restaurant or bar and, most importantly, their love comes across as genuine and beautiful.
That's why I was so excited to shoot Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding day from the literal day I met them. And, somehow, their amazing wedding not only met my. expectations by exceeded them. Wildly.
Elizabeth and Arthur said “I do” at Grupo Amigos Da Terceira in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and it was one of the most heartwarming, beautiful and inspiring weddings I've seen this year. More than anything, though, it was authentic and I couldn't possibly have asked for anything more from a couple that are nothing if not true to themselves and one another.
You can tell how excited I was to shoot Elizabeth and Arthur's big day by the fact that I didn't even mind getting up ridiculously early in the morning to do so.
Normally, a start time before 8 a.m. means I'm going to wake up grumpy and VERY annoyed but, for Elizabeth and Arthur, arriving to the bride's father's house for groom prep wasn't a burden, it was very much something I was looking forward to and Arthur made it easy to start the day in a great mood as he was in good spirits and ready to roll the minute I showed up.
In fact, I only need about 20 minutes to get everything I needed from the groom before heading over to bridal prep and, honestly, that easy start was a great way to begin the day.
The nice thing about starting with Arthur and knocking his groom prep photos out quickly and easily is it left me a little extra time to get to the bride and catch the end of her hair and makeup preparations.
When I arrived at Elizabeth's location, I found a bride who had her fair share of nerves but was otherwise excited for the day she waited a lifetime for.
Elizabeth was also in great spirits and I can't say I blame her as I know from becoming Facebook friends with her after our engagement shoot in November 2022 that she was getting more and more excited for this day the closer it got.
And once she got her dress on? Oh, things got very real, very quickly.
As fun as it was documenting both Arthur and Elizabeth's individual prep periods, I knew the real excitement of their wedding day would begin when they saw each other and I was right.
Elizabeth and Arthur chose to start their day together with a first look at Slater Park in Pawtucket and I'm so glad they did as it was sweet and adorable and gave me a TON of beautifully romantic candids between the two before we transitioned to the formal photo portion of their special day.
One of the reasons I loved working with Elizabeth and Arthur so much, both during their engagement session and on the wedding day itself, is everytime these two are around one another, it's just an overload of sweet interactions.
This was especially true during their formal photos as we picked a nice and shaded spot at Slater Park to knock out their family and wedding party shots and it was an absolute breeze and super casual.
I wish all my formal photo sessions went this smooth to be honest.
The one and only time I was concerned about ANYTHING on Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding day was when it came time for bride and groom formals. I could have worked with this pair for a legit hour on their couple portraits but we simply didn't have that kind of time.
With a ceremony set for noon and a timeline that had us leaving Slater Park at 11:15, starting Elizabeth and Arthur's formal bride and groom photos with just 10 minutes to work with was a bit worrisome. Thankfully, these two have already worked with me and knew exactly what I was looking for: Pure, wholesome, magic.
And while we ended up having JUST 11 minutes to work with, we made the most out of every second and I can truly say these are some of my favorite bride and groom formals of the year. They're just so sweet and true to Elizabeth and Arthur's relationship and, more importantly, I feel like they capture this couple's genuine excitement about their upcoming wedding perfectly.
As tough as it is sometimes to let a bride and groom go from their formal photo portion of the day, I know sometimes that it's for the best and in the case of this wedding day, I knew from the moment I met Elizabeth and Arthur that their wedding ceremony was the absolute most important part of their wedding day.
And it was everything these two could have asked for and more.
I knew we were in for a great time when Arthur's reaction to Elizabeth walking down the aisle was to give her a big kiss and for Elizabeth's father to joke “Hey! She's not yours yet!”
That lighthearted joke set the perfect tone for a wonderful and fun ceremony that you could tell meant the world to these newlyweds.
One of the things that really set Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding apart for me was how keen they were to spend a ton of time at cocktail hour with friends and family members. The newlyweds had a full lower level of their reception venue dedicated to the cocktail hour and they took full advantage of every minute they could, laughing and joking with friends and family members now that their marriage was official.
I, meanwhile, used the time to capture the details of their wedding because there were a lot of them and they all looked fantastic. My favorite was the little paw prints on the back of their wedding cake. As a cat owner, I loved that little touch for this bride and groom on their special day.
Speaking of special, there's not really a more fitting word to describe the start of Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding reception. The pair opened up the festivities to the appropriately-titled “Just In Time” by Tony Bennett & Michael Bublé and I loved this first dance so much.
You could feel every ounce of love in the room for these two as they swayed side to side in each other's arms on the dance floor.
The love didn't stop there. For a day where things were never too emotional, Elizabeth managed to spark tears in both her own eyes as well as the eyes of her dad and brother with two special dances following her first dance.
I loved these little moments for the bride and you could tell how much she wanted to honor each of the most important men in her life on the most important day of her life.
It was beautiful and hard not for anyone in the room to not feel the emotions themselves. Talk about a sweet moment.
Following the signature dances of the evening, Elizabeth and Arthur finally had a chance to sit down and relax for a bit while members of their wedding party gave toasts in their honor. All told, there were four toasts and all four had similar themes and vibes, most notably about how much the folks on the mic loved the bride and groom and were inspired by their love and relationship.
To say it was a room full of appreciation and happiness for this wedding is an understatement.
Elizabeth and Arthur capped the formality portion of their reception with a sweet cake cutting and then it was time to PARTY.
I wasn't too sure what to expect from Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding reception dance floor as the wedding itself was taking place on a Sunday afternoon but, truth be told, this party was great regardless of time of day.
Elizabeth and Arthur were clearly having the time of their lives and their friends and family members weren't far behind … especially once funky glasses were introduced.
As I headed to my car following my coverage of Elizabeth and Arthur's wedding, I was absolutely exhausted. Turns out shooting back to back weddings with just a few hours sleep is not the best idea but, man, I don't think I can blame myself.
In fact, I think my post-wedding sleepiness following Elizabeth and Arthur's reception was more from running around trying to capture everything I could for this bride and groom who deserved to remember every ounce of their big day for the rest of their lives.
So thank you Elizabeth and Arthur for being an awesome couple whose love story is an inspiration and whose affection for one another is contagious. And thank you for letting me ride along and document one of the most wholesome and fun weddings I've seen this year.
I'd wish you luck on this new and exciting chapter of your lives together but I know as long as you have one another, you've got everything you need and more. :)
-Paul J. Spetrini
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The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Bride's Dress: David's Bridal; Groom's Tux: Men's Wearhouse; Florist: Flowers By Roland; Ceremony & Reception Venue: Grupo Amigos Da Terceira, Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Cake: Ellie's Bakery; DJ: George Ayoub of GS DJ and Lighting.