Bret & Sam
Quonset 'O' Club, North Kingstown, Rhode Island (Ceremony & Reception)
September 5th, 2025
It's easy to get lost in the bells and whistles of a “traditional wedding” when you're getting married but I really appreciate when I'm working with couples who haven't lost sight of why they're there.
Bret and Sam, who said “I do” at the Quonset 'O' Club back in September are a great example of why I feel this way. While they had what you could consider a fairly standard wedding, at no point did they let the idea of the celebration they were attending overtake the importance of WHY they were attending it.
These two introverts, who in most situations would likely have eloped, had a wedding day with their friends and family members but kept their ceremony to slightly more than a dozen witnesses and insisted on doing their first dance in a room by themselves and that, to me, told me everything I needed to know about these two: They were there to celebrate their love for one another and that love was all they needed to have the wedding of their dreams.
My time with Bret and Sam started off as all my weddings with introverted clients do: Knowing I wasn't going to be on hand for any bride or groom prep photos because they didn't need it and knowing the first task I had to shoot was their wedding ceremony.
I never mind when this happens but always hope I'll at least have a chance to say hello to the bride and groom before they walk down the aisle. Thankfully, I captured a couple of shots of Sam finishing getting ready right before the ceremony began and it was clear from the moment Bret and Sam walked down the aisle together that this would be a wedding unlike any other I shot in 2025 and that they were determined to have all of the moments of their day together, arm in arm.
I thought that was beautiful.
Bret and Sam's wedding ceremony took place under the tree overhang at the Quonset 'O' Club, a venue I love so very, very much but a ceremony location that might be my least favorite in the world on a sunny day.
Thankfully, because I've shot enough weddings here to know what to expect, I was able to time my shots and get some nice clean photos of the bride and groom during their short and sweet celebration of their love.
I really loved how relaxed Bret and Sam's vibe was for this ceremony, thanks in large part to their laidback officiant Gibson from “Will Marry You For Pizza.” The ceremony was full of fun laughs and really felt personal in a way I know the bride and groom appreciated and I could tell by their body language alone that these two soon-to-be newlyweds were excited to get the big formality of the day over with and get out of the center spotlight for the afternoon.
I shouldn't have been surprised but Sam and Bret had one of the most relaxed formal photo sessions I had in 2025, thanks in large part to how small the circle of people they had on site with them for their ceremony was.
More importantly, though, the folks on hand were all incredibly supportive of the bride and groom and getting them to line up and pose for their photos was a breeze … even when the session was almost overtaken by the smallest dog I've ever seen running by and capturing everyone's heart.
I especially loved how chill Sam's bridesmaid's and Bret's groomsmen were. This was my kind of crowd and I appreciated how easy they made things so I could get to formal photos with the newlyweds before we lost the sun on this beautiful early September afternoon.
One of the reasons I love working with quirky, quiet type couples like Bret and Sam is that I know once we politely usher all of their friends and family members away, we can focus on taking photos that feel more like “them” and that's why Bret and Sam's bride and groom portraits were my favorite photos of their entire wedding day.
We started out simple enough with some standard poses I like to use to break the ice between me and a couple but it wasn't until we started walking the grounds of the 'O' Club that I really saw how pretty the venue looked on this particular afternoon.
My favorite shots, by a mile, were the ones with Bret and Sam in a random spot in the parking lot with a stunning tree overhead.
As beautiful as those photos were, though, they didn't quite tell the story of this couple the way our last ones back near their ceremony location would before we headed inside.
Whether it was the photo that led this blog off of Sam sticking her tongue out (one of my favorite photos of the year) or Bret giving her a big bear hug, I really appreciated seeing these two come out of their shell the longer we worked together.
Following their formal photos, Bret and Sam had one last “big” formality left and it was one I was waiting all day for: The most private private first dance I'd ever seen.
Wanting to have this moment just for themselves, Bret and Sam asked me during our consultations what I thought would be the best way to ensure their first dance could take place without an audience. My answer was simple: Tell no one about it.
I took the bride and groom right from their formal photos to a side room in the 'O' Club and told them the floor was theirs.
What followed was a four-minute dance set to “Ordinary” by Alex Warren that was HIGH on the list of the most beautiful things I saw in 2025. This moment melted my heart and I felt special for even being one of the only people lucky enough to witness it. It was sweet. It was touching. It was Bret and Sam through and through and I'm so glad they got to have this dance the way they dreamed it.
Of course, we had to cap it with a non serious photo of the two of them jumping in the air … mostly unsuccessfully. I mean, how else would we have ended such a lovely moment?
After their private first dance, Bret and Sam got ready to head into their reception and I finally had a chance to capture some of the little details that made their wedding special.
Bret and Sam didn't go crazy with the décor at their wedding but every bit of it felt deeply personal and well thought out and, more importantly, was cute.
I especially loved their cake with the paw tracks on it and the cute animal cake topper that stole the show.
I didn't know what to expect from Bret and Sam's reception as the pair decided against almost all of the formalities of a traditional reception but the minute they walked into the 'O' Club ballroom, I understood why.
Bret and Sam spent a good chunk of their reception mingling with friends and family and preferred to keep the night more personal than performative with center-of-attention things like toasts or formal dances scrapped in favor of more 1:1 interactions. I thought that was sweet.
I did appreciate that they kept the standard cake cutting, though, if only for the look on the bride and groom's face when they realized fondant on a cake is much tougher to cut than you think it will be.
With how much luck I've had this year with nice sunsets, I couldn't help but ask Bret and Sam if they wanted to head outside after dinner for some night photos and I'm glad they said yes as we got some really cute shots of the two of them as the light faded in the sky.
I thought this was a nice transition from their dinner portion of their wedding to the open dance floor though, admittedly, I still wasn't sure what kind of party crowd we were going to get on this evening.
Because of how casual Bret and Sam's itinerary was for their wedding day, I didn't spend a ton of time with their friends and family members before the dance floor opened so I could only hope they were as fun as the bride and groom and that we would have a solid party crowd.
It took a few minutes but once the crowd warmed up, the dance floor was substantially more packed than I thought it would be, especially with the bride and groom out vibin' to the music.
One of the things I loved about Bret and Sam's reception was once the dance floor opened up, they were able to be themselves and really relax and enjoy the night.
And that left the floor open for a couple of unplanned but beautiful little tributes from their family as Bret's brother gave a touching toast and Bret took some time out to dance with his mom.
In all, I don't think Bret and Sam could've asked for better vibes for their wedding day and things only get more fun as the night went along.
As my time with Bret and Sam came to an end, I couldn't help but feel grateful that the universe takes me to a handful of these smaller, more intimate weddings a year. You can learn a lot about love by seeing weddings like Sam and Bret's, weddings that never lose sight of what really matters on the day you pledge yourself to your soulmate.
Bret and Sam's wedding was one of the sweetest I shot in 2025 and I'm just glad I was able to be on site to witness the love so thank you Bret and Sam for allowing me to play a small role in making your special day so successful.
I wish you nothing but the best on your journey together and hope every day is as joyful and loving as the day you became husband and wife. Best of luck!
-Paul J. Spetrini
