Kelly & Brian
The Bay Pointe Club in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
November 12th, 2016
One of my favorite parts of working with couples to plan their wedding photography is the journey we take between the time we sit down for our first consultation together and the time they walk down the aisle as newlyweds.
If I'm lucky, during that time I get to know a bride really well and it makes the wedding day go that much easier and that was exactly the case for Kelly and Brian, whose November wedding at the Bay Point Club in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts was one of my last of the 2016 season.
I first met Kelly through a mutual friend and, in our first meeting, I found out quickly she's a no nonsense New England girl who loves the Patriots, shoots straight and tells you exactly how she feels about whatever the topic at hand is.
It wasn't until I saw her and Brian together during their spring engagement session that I saw a different side of her ... the lovely, romantic bride-to-be who is head over heels in love with her soon-to-be husband.
And on her wedding day, it was this version of Kelly that warmed my heart as watching her light up on the biggest day of her life was truly a sight to see and, without a doubt, one of my favorite memories from a jam-packed year full of great moments.
My coverage of Kelly and Brian's wedding day began toward the end of the bride-to-be's prep session.
Kelly is a pretty simple girl so I figured her prep would be fairly straightforward and I was right. In the hour or so we spent together while she got ready, I watched as the nerves slowly crept over her face but she remained excited throughout.
This wedding day was a long time coming for this bride and you could tell by looking at her that she was excited to get it started.
I especially loved the great job Kelly did picking bridesmaids and color coordinating the day with a nice light blue for her girl's dresses and the ribbon that tied her dress together.
It was a little touch but one that really showed how much thought this bride put into the little details of her day.
And what a day it was.
When Kelly first told me she was going to get married in mid-November, I'll be honest in that I was a little bit worried as New England is not known for having nice Novembers and you're just as likely to get a blizzard as you are a sunny day.
But Kelly and Brian lucked out with one of the nicest days of 2016 ... even if it was a little bit chillier than any of us would have liked.
Kelly and Brian's ceremony was a lovely and quick 15-minute affair in which both showed their emotions but didn't drag anything on for the sake of dragging it on. And as a photographer dealing with a very quickly fading sun, I appreciated it.
Thankfully, we were in and out of the ceremony fairly fast and that left us plenty of time for formal photos after the ceremony, which is my absolute No. 1 concern with November/Winter weddings. Add in the fact that we took care of almost half of the formals before the ceremony and it's easy to see why Kelly, Brian and I had plenty of time to get all the photos we wanted of the two newlyweds.
I really have to say I was skeptical of Kelly's plan to go down by a local beach in the middle of November and, when we got there, I was even more so as it was freezing but you could hardly tell we were having a rough go of it and, I think, the photos were worth it.
My favorite part of the day, though, was still to come as I knew going into this wedding that Kelly ran a dance studio and expected the reception to be a huge party. And, boy, was I right.
Kelly and Brian had all the standard beats of a wedding reception but added their own little twists to each one. For the first dance, the pair moved smoothly and effortlessly while friends and family watched. For their parent dances, both chose classic songs that made the seriousness of the moment standout and, of course, when it came time for the cake cutting, they made sure to inject their fun personalities as Brian smashed the cake into Kelly's face worse than any groom I've seen. It was downright hysterical.
Those funny moments in the signature reception events paved the way for what I knew would be a crazy dancing portion of the evening and Kelly and Brian did not disappoint one bit.
Kelly had a TON of her dancing students in attendance and they ruled the floor from start to finish. Brian, meanwhile, often showed he had moves too and together this bride and groom cut loose all the way up to and through the final song.
By the end of the night, it was clear Kelly and Brian left it all out on the dance floor and both were exhausted and ready to head to the airport to start their awesome honeymoon in Bermuda.
I can't really blame the two. After planning a wedding for well over a year, the stress of the day can make anyone crack under pressure but Kelly and Brian held it together and pulled off a truly fun and memorable wedding day.
The most impressive part, I think, is that they did it exactly the way they wanted to and managed to have a blast enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Kelly and Brian are an awesome couple who I've had the privilage of getting to know over the last year and it was an honor watching them celebrate this special day ... the first, I'm sure, of many special ones they'll come to celebrate over the course of the rest of their lives.
And if that's not reason enough to get married, I don't know what is.
-PJS
