Blog— Weddings — Massachusetts— 2022 —
Saphire Estate Wedding Photos
Jennifer & Zachary
Saphire Estate, Sharon, Massachusetts
May 20th, 2022
I'm a firm believer that the real story of a wedding day isn't in the moments everyone sees. It's not reading vows or the first kiss or even the first dance. It's the moments INSIDE the moments, that most don't notice, that say so much more than words or actions.
For Jennifer and Zachary, who were married back in May at Saphire Estate in Sharon, Massachusetts, these moments were hidden in the way Jennifer choked up looking at her dress on a hanger. Or the way Zachary pursed his lips together to hold back his emotion as his bride walked down the aisle.
It was these little moments all day long that made the hugs, laughs and a rowdy celebration once the dance floor opened up feel that much more special.
Because it was clear to see for anyone looking close enough that Jennifer and Zachary had more than just a fun wedding day. They had the wedding of their dreams. And I can't think of a couple that deserved it more.
I knew within moments of walking into Jennifer's bridal prep session that we were in for a great day as the bride-to-be was almost ready to go — not just on time but early — and so happy she could barely contain her smile. And the same can be said for her super fun bridesmaids, who spent the last hour or so before we left the hotel room swapping stories, practicing dancing for the reception and watching a movie.
Perhaps more importantly, Jennifer's bridesmaids were there for whatever fun photos or ideas the bride had and I loved that about them. So whether it was posing for a photo on the beautiful purple couch in the room — despite the oddly taped painting behind them — or jumping on the bed for an impromptu "action shot" I knew these girls would be fun all day and I was right.
Picking the right people to stand besides you on your wedding day is an art and Jennifer knocked her choices out of the park.
The nice thing about Jennifer and her girls being ready quickly was it gave me plenty of time to shoot detail shots of the bride's dress hanging up in the beautiful Saphire Estate bridal suite once we arrived to the venue.
And in this moment was one of my favorite little parts of the day as Jennifer got caught up in her feelings looking at the dress hanging up. It wasn't something a lot of people in her suite noticed but I did and I appreciated seeing just how much this day meant to Jennifer in the way she got a little choked up when the reality of the moment hit.
As always, one of my favorite things to do on a wedding day is see how different in tone the last few moments are for a bride and a groom before their wedding ceremony begins and, for Zachary, those moments were full of laughs and jokes with the groom and his groomsmen.
I will say, though, that part of those laughs were courtesy of the bride herself as Jennifer surprised Zachary with a beautiful signed photo of David Ortiz and a hilarious note that made him laugh hard and that little moment definitely had the groom in good spirits before he walked down the aisle.
One good turn deserves another, though, and when Zachary had one of Jennifer's bridesmaids surprise HER with a gift, well, that moment wasn't full of laughs as much as it was tears and it was easily one of my favorite photos of the day as Jennifer did her best to not smudge her makeup wiping away her tears listening to the final words her groom would share in a special note before they said "I do."
Talk about setting the stage perfectly. If these two soon-to-be newlyweds weren't already dying to see and hold each other at their wedding ceremony, their first touch right before they walked down the aisle certainly did the trick. And while they didn't get to properly SEE each other until Jennifer walked down the aisle, I know a lot of their nerves went away the moment I was able to guide them into each other's arms for an eyes-closed hug.
Yeah, sometimes you don't have to explain how two people are feeling. You can just show the photos.
Speaking of photos, once Jennifer and Zachary's wedding ceremony properly began, there were no ends to the moments I wanted to capture.
Every bit of this ceremony was beautiful, from the way Jennifer choked up coming down the aisle to the way their officiant made them laugh by talking about their hobbies together, this little ceremony was simply the best it could have been for this bride and groom and there was no hiding how excited these two were to make their love official in front of all their friends and family members.
If I had to pick an underrated MVP of Jennifer and Zachary's wedding day, it would be Mother Nature as you simply couldn't have asked for a better day weather wise. The absolute perfect combination of temperature and overcast clouds made the Saphire Estate ceremony site look stunning and all I had to do was stand back and let the beautiful moments happen in front of me.
And there were a LOT of them.
With their wedding ceremony in the books, Jennifer, Zachary and I headed over to the Saphire Estate bridal garden for formal portraits and even this part of the day was a breeze.
While I normally dread family and wedding party formals because of how long they take, Jen and Zach's crew was super fun to work with and really well organized and we breezed right through them. Which was great for me because all I really wanted to do was fast forward to bride and groom portraits and get some alone time with the bride and groom before the madness of the reception kicked off.
It doesn't hurt that I knew from our 2021 engagement session just how casual and fun Zachary and Jennifer can be in front of the camera. While I would have LOVED another full two hour session to work with them, we made the most of the time we had and got a great variety of photos while keeping them on schedule to maximize the time spent with friends and family members at their reception.
Speaking of their reception, I can confidently say it was one of the most beautiful I've seen in years ... and not just because of the fantastic purple uplighting.
I loved everything about Jennifer and Zachary's reception, from the lighting to the decorations and the general vibe and knew we were in for a special night.
And if I had any doubts, whatsoever, they were gone the minute Jen and Zach were introduced and took the floor for their first dance, set to “My Side of the Fence” by Dan & Shay. The nearly four-minute track gave me plenty of time to capture this beautiful moment for these two in a variety of ways and boy am I glad it did because this was one first dance that really set the tone for an incredible night I won't soon forget.
Jennifer and Zachary's reception was full of sweet moments, both planned and unplanned. Whether it was two great toasts, some lovely "sunset" photos down by the beach or a pair of special dances between Zach and his sister and Jennifer and her father, there was no shortage of times I thought to myself "That was so sweet and beautiful" and I'm sure the bride and groom felt the same way.
In fact, my one and only worry about Jennifer and Zachary's wedding day came when I noticed the bride and groom hadn't opened the dance floor yet because they were so engrossed with going table to table and thanking everyone that showed up to their big day.
But, as many of my couples often do, Jen and Zach made the most of every single song the minute they did make it to the dance floor. In fact, I can confidently say I don't think I saw either of them let up from the first until the final song of the night.
Neither did their guests and the final result was without question one of the best and most rowdy receptions I've ever seen. Needless to say, I loved every second of it.
As Jennifer and Zachary's wedding at Saphire Estate came to a close, I sat on the floor utterly exhausted from running around like a chicken with my head cut off and for good reason. These two newlyweds had what I can only describe as the perfect wedding day and it was my honor to get to capture it all.
Even though Jen and Zach's wedding was only my fifth of 2022, I know it'll be one that ranks at or near the top of my favorite days of the year when all is said and done because it really was everything I hoped it would be and so, so much more.
So thank you Jennifer and Zachary for allowing me to document the day you became husband and wife. I wish you the best of luck as you navigate this new chapter of your life and have no doubt you started it off on the best foot possible the day you said "I do."
-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 Make-up: Glitz and Glam Bridal Hair and Makeup, Somerset, Mass.; Bride's Dress: Julies' Bridal Boutique, New Bedford, Mass.; Florist: Quality Fruitland, Seekonk, Mass.; Groom's Suit: Professional Image, Fall River, Mass.; Ceremony & Reception: Saphire Estate, Sharon, Massachusetts; Videography: B. Remembered, Westborough, Mass.; Cake: Sweetness and Honey Bakery, Foxboro, Mass.