Jennifer & Eric
Pond House Cafe, West Hartford, Connecticut (Ceremony & Reception)
April 13th, 2025
Whenever I'm working with clients who are uncomfortable in front of the camera — and, trust me, this happens a lot —I'm constantly experimenting with what to say or what poses to do to get them to relax and be themselves. As someone who used to be shy myself, I totally get being rigid or robotic in posing and that's why when I see a couple finally take a breath and feel like their authentic selves, I stop everything we're doing and hone in on what worked.
That's why back in April during Jennifer and Eric's bride and groom portraits at the Pond House Cafe in West Hartford, Connecticut, the moment I saw the newlyweds let out a real laugh while I was testing my settings, I knew we finally broke through and the rest, as they say, was magic.
Jennifer and Eric said “I do” on a gloomy April afternoon that turned into a beautiful spring day and their wedding was, without question, one of the most intimate and personal I've seen this year. With a small guest list and the most casual vibes I've had in 2025, Jennifer and Eric had their day, their way and I was just glad to spend a Sunday morning getting to document it all for them to cherish for a lifetime.
I could tell from the moment I arrived to the Pond House Cafe for Jennifer and Eric's wedding that this wedding was going to be much different than most I shoot. For one thing, it was a Sunday morning wedding and everything was set to be over with by the time I'm typically getting started on a bride and groom's big day.
More importantly, though, this bride and groom were so laid back that they asked me not to even bother with basic bride or groom prep photos because they didn't care about documenting those moments at all. Instead, I was tasked with beginning my coverage with their first look and, when the two arrived, I totally got it as they showed up with no fanfare and no big splashy celebrations.
Their first look was super casual, super relaxed and we rolled right into some easygoing and chill portrait of the soon-to-be newlyweds with no stress and no fuss and I loved that for them.
What I liked the most about these pre-wedding ceremony portraits for Jennifer and Eric was how relaxed the vibes were. The two were incredibly causal with where they wanted their photos taken and we just strolled around the park near the Pond House Cafe for a few minutes stopping when we wanted to stop and not overthinking things.
In fact, the most direction any of us gave one another were little things like “Hey, those pink flowers look cool” and “I think we're going to pass by that bridge area I guess.”
As I've said countless times on this blog, I love when couples are themselves on their wedding day and if Jennifer and Eric weren't feeling the need to be flashy and performative for these portraits — which I truly believe came out beautiful by the way — I certainly wasn't about to interfere with how they were experiencing their special day. Go with the flow is my mantra after all.
My one and only regret about Jennifer and Eric's wedding day was the weather early on as it forced us to have their ceremony indoors but, even then, the bride and groom were so unconcerned about WHERE they were getting married that it didn't matter. Outside, inside, upside, downside?
As long as Jennifer and Eric were pledging their love to one another, I genuinely don't think they would have cared where the celebration was taking place.
It helps, of course, that the Pond House Cafe has a nice, big and spacious ballroom area that can easily hold a wedding ceremony so while some couples would be disappointed getting married indoors when there's a beautiful water background 90 feet away, I could tell looking at Eric watch Jennifer walk down the aisle that there was nowhere else he'd rather be.
As for the ceremony itself, Jennifer and Eric's nuptials were short and sweet but full of love. I adored having free reign to move wherever I wanted to capture both the bride and groom's faces as they started across from one another.
I mean, seriously, look at the deep love and affection Jennifer and Eric have in their eyes in these moments and you can tell how special this day was for them.
With their wedding ceremony in the books, Jennifer, Eric and I took our chances heading back outside for their family and wedding party photos and, to our great relief, were greeted with a suddenly nice spring day.
The pair chose to have their photos with their loved ones taken in front of the large gazebo on the back deck of the Pond House Cafe but I, for one, couldn't wait to get the bride and groom by themselves one more time for some nice photos with the water in the background. And when I finally did? To my amazement, the sun broke free from the clouds and we were greeted with some ideal weather for seemingly the first time in my 2025 wedding season.
As I said above, what I loved about Jennifer and Eric's portraits here were that I finally felt like they relaxed and could be themselves. That's always a risk you run when you do photos before a wedding ceremony as it's only natural for a bride and groom to have some repressed anxiety about the big moments still to come that day.
But with these two now officially husband and wife, and the sun greeting their new union, you could see how happy they were just in how relaxed they became. The result were some of the sweetest couples portraits I've taken this spring.
I always find morning weddings to be a little bit strange but it never hits me until we go inside for cocktail hour or the start of a reception. In my brain, wedding receptions are night time events and it's always a bit jarring when it's early afternoon and we're transitioning to the party portion of a wedding but, for Jennifer and Eric, this fit their vibe so well.
Immediately after finishing their bride and groom portraits, the newlyweds went inside to greet guests and celebrate while I finished up my detail shots and with Jenn being a bride who DIY'd most of the décor herself, there were a lot of things to photograph … each more adorable than the last.
In my final timeline chat with Jenn and Eric prior to their wedding, they made it pretty clear to me that they wanted to have a super chill and relaxed reception and that's why I knew we weren't going to make too big a spectacle out of the big moments of their party.
That doesn't mean their first dance was anything other than special, though.
The pair kicked off their reception with a special dance set to “At the Beginning” by Peter Hollens and it may have been my favorite part of this entire wedding day. There's something special about the ballroom at the Pond House Cafe and maybe it's just the draped curtains but I love a good first dance in this venue and Jenn and Eric's certainly fit the bill and then some.
In a move I think was pretty smart, Jenn and Eric rolled right from their first dance to their parent dances and each of those were special to watch as well. Jenn's dance with her father was so sweet and you could tell the two either practiced it before or just knew exactly what the other wanted to do. They were so in rhythm.
Eric's dance with his mom, meanwhile, was exactly the kind of moment a mother waits a lifetime for and you could see how much this moment meant for her as the two held hands and chatted throughout the song.
With formal dancing out of the way, the only thing left prior to dinner — and, again, this was an afternoon wedding so dinner was more like lunch — were a pair of sweet toasts by the maid of honor and a friend of the couple.
Both speeches really struck at the core of why everyone was gathered in this room for this bride and groom and how much love there was for this couple and it set the perfect tone for the rest of the afternoon.
After a delicious lunch — seriously it's been weeks and I'm still talking about good the pasta with meat sauce I had was — it was time for Jenn and Eric's party to commence. I'll be honest, I had ZERO idea what to expect from this as Sunday morning/early afternoon weddings traditionally aren't a rip roaring time.
To their credit, the guests at Jenn and Eric's reception did get out on the dance floor and while it was a more relaxed vibe than I'm used to at a reception, it wasn't one without its beautiful moments of love and happiness with the various couples enjoying the music and spirit of the day.
My last task before heading out of Jenn and Eric's wedding was to photograph the bride and groom cutting their cake. I can't think of a better way to have capped this wedding off as this low key little moment between the newlyweds really put a nice bow on the afternoon.
As I headed home from Jenn and Eric's wedding, I had a hard time adjusting to the fact that it was still early in the afternoon and I was free for the rest of the day but, honestly, I'll take all the morning weddings in the world if the couple is as sweet and easy to work with as these two were.
Jennifer and Eric's wedding was the perfect reminder than your special day doesn't need to be wild and over the top to be memorable and I'm so glad I got to play a small part in helping these two document it to cherish it for the rest of their lives.
So thank you Jenn and Eric for a wonderful Sunday afternoon watching you tie the knot and best of 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 Dress: Ruby by Eddy K Italia; Florist: Castle Rock Flower Farm, Woodbury, CT; Ceremony & Reception: Pond House Cafe, West Hartford, Connecticut; DJ: Harry Gambardella of HG Entertainment; Cake: Creative Cakes by Donna Haddam, Connecticut; Day of Coorindators: Leslie and Martha of the Pond House Cafe.