Blog— Weddings — Massachusetts — 2022 —
Lake Pearl Wedding Photos
Jessica & Jonathan
Lake Pearl, Wrentham, Massachusetts (Ceremony & Reception)
November 4th, 2022
Whenever you see a wedding in a movie or a television show, it's always the big moments that make it to the screen: The groom seeing the bride come down the aisle. The first kiss. The first dance. I love these moments. Truly. But what I often remember best about a wedding are the little moments that make the day standout and for Jessica and Jonathan, who said "I do" at Lake Pearl back in November, the best moment of the day for me was a moment that only the bride, the groom and I saw.
Standing near Lake Pearl's beach area midway through their bride and groom portraits, about an hour after their wedding ceremony officially ended, Jessica and Jonathan read off private vows to each other. It was a little moment where they could be themselves, and say what they wanted to say, away from anyone else and away from the glitz and glamour of their wedding celebration.
It was a moment where both got emotional and it was a moment, that to me, summed up their relationship best. And on a day full of love and happiness, it's the little moments that you cherish most.
I knew from the second I walked into Lake Pearl that Jessica and Jonathan's wedding would be different than most. For one thing, everything was planned in the early afternoon. Given that this was my first November wedding of the year, though, I appreciated that aspect of Jessica and Jonathan's day.
My only hope was that the early celebrations still had the same fun and passion of an evening wedding and walking into the last bit of Jessica's bridal prep, I knew I had nothing to worry about as she and her girls were all in great spirits and ready to rock all day long.
Jessica herself looked a little nervous about how things would play out but who can blame her? When you look as amazing as she did in her wedding dress, it's only natural to want everything to go perfectly.
Luckily, Jessica's bridesmaids kept her spirits up and anytime I could see her looking anxious to get this show on the road, her girls centered and calmed her.
And that's why it's so important to have good people by your side on the day you become a bride.
Jonathan, meanwhile, was all smiles every single time I saw him in the lead-up to his and Jessica's ceremony. Whether it was in the final bit of his preparation or walking down the aisle, Jonathan wore his emotions on his face and he was clearly excited.
I couldn't tell if he'd be the type of groom to cry or not but even without tears, his reaction to seeing Jessica walk down the aisle said everything. Look at that ear-to-ear smile. It's hard to convey your genuine love more than that.
I don't know if Jessica and Jonathan could have lucked out any more than they did for their wedding ceremony. Not only was it above 70 degrees, which in November in New England is a miracle in and of itself, but the skies were clear and it was beautiful and sunny.
And though their ceremony only lasted a little over 10 minutes, it may as well have been an hour with how focused and in the moment these two were. I loved seeing the genuine emotion on both Jessica and Jonathan's faces and the silly little laughs they shared in between words by the officiant and the traditional beats of their ceremony.
By the time these two walked down the aisle, I could almost sense their relief at having achieved this major milestone and knew the excitement was just beginning for this amazing day.
The one downside to shooting a ceremony at Lake Pearl in the middle of a sunny day is, man, it's tough to find a nice spot for formal photos that doesn't feel like you're on the surface of the sun.
Literally every spot on this property is bright and blinding when the sun is at its strongest so I did what all photographers do in these situations and improvised. In this particular case, that mean formal photos right on the venue's front garden and I've got to be honest. These were stunning. I genuinely loved the way Jessica and Jonathan's family and wedding party formals came out and am definitely going to utilizing this location the next time I'm on site with these conditions.
Most importantly, though, this bride and groom were amazing to work with. I could have shot their portraits for hours.
As I mentioned above, however, Jessica and Jonathan had something special planned for their day before we went inside for their reception. Down by the beach, the two decided to share a private moment reading personal vows to each other and, somehow, this little moment felt more intimate and more connected to their love than even the best moments of their ceremony just a little while earlier.
As we made our way inside, I was glad I captured most of Jessica and Jonathan's details before their guests arrived as they did an amazing job decorating what is already one of my favorite places to shoot a reception and I thought their red and white-themed decor popped beautifully for this early afternoon fall wedding.
From the moment Jessica and Jonathan walked into their reception, I had no idea what to expect from the rest of their wedding day. The pair struck me as super fun and I had a feeling they could tear it up on the dance floor but it's rare to see a hopping party in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.
I shouldn't have doubted them, though, because these two made even the most timeless wedding song — "At Last" by Etta James — seem like a party track. I love Jessica and Jonathan's first dance and have to say: It set the tone of their reception perfectly.
Jessica and Jonathan had a pretty low key start to their reception, choosing to have a slew of toasts and their cake cutting take place prior to the dinner portion of their event. And what a series of speeches it was as both Jessica and Jonathan's mothers talked about how amazing these two are as a couple and their maid of honor and best man, respectively, shared quite a few great stories about them as well.
Following dinner, the only "signature event" of the rest of the night was a dance between Jonathan and his mother and it was a dance that was so sweet it was the only real big moment of the reception these newlyweds needed.
Almost on cue, meanwhile, Jonathan tossed off his tie and got ready to cut loose the minute his dance with his mom was over. And it's only fitting because that was the attitude most of their friends and family members took, too.
I wasn't sure how much dancing we'd get in the early portion of this reception — it was still sunny out — but this crew was ready for a party and they let everyone know, right away, how this was gonna go down.
What's nice about Jessica and Jonathan's reception being so early was I was able to capture a bunch of dance shot photos and still take them outside for sunset formals. And while we didn't get much of a sunset on this particular night, I loved Jonathan's casual look once he ditched his tie so much I just had to get a couple extra shots of these two sweethearts before I packed my gear up and headed home.
Funny story about that. My time with Jessica and Jonathan had technically concluded with the completion of their sunset formal photos and I knew I had everything I needed as I started collecting my things and got ready to head out of Lake Pearl but their dance floor was so fun I simply had to stick around for a little while longer and get a couple extra photos. It was that fun.
As I headed home from Jessica and Jonathan's big day, I couldn't help but smile at how great everything turned out. It's tough, sometimes, to have an early wedding day at the end of a long wedding season, especially when you go into it thinking you may not get to see a big party vibe given the timing of the day.
But at no point during Jessica and Jonathan's wedding did I want to be anywhere else. These two had an amazing day and were one of the absolute sweetest couples I worked with in 2022. Getting to capture their moments, both big and small alike, was so much fun and such a great time. I can only imagine how they felt getting to live such a perfect day.
So, congratulations on a beautiful wedding Jessica and Jonathan and best of luck on this new and exciting chapter of your life together. I'd wish you the best but it seems like you've already found that in each other.
-Paul J. Spetrini
Check out more of my most recent wedding blogs:
The Red Lion Inn,
Cohasset, Massachusetts
October 31st, 2022
Trinity Church, Wrentham, Mass. &
Kirkbrae Country Club, Lincoln, RI
October 28th, 2022
Five Bridge Inn,
Rehoboth, Massachusetts
October 23rd, 2022
The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Bride's Hair: Hollyann Leonhardt of Eyes and Irons Beauty; Bride's Make-up: Jordyn Klegraefe; Bride's Dress: Spark Bridal Outlet, Cranston, Rhode Island; Groom's Suit: Men's Wearhouse; Florist: Ling's Moments; Ceremony & Reception Venue: Lake Pearl, Wrentham, Massachusetts; DJ: Kate Bay of Beat Train; Cake: Konditor Meister, Braintree, Massachusetts; Tailor: Michael Kingsley, Cranston, Rhode Island.