Emily & Mitch *
The Lakehouse, Halifax, Massachusetts (Ceremony & Reception)
May 15th, 2025
Life as a wedding photographer can be a bit lonely. Most of the time that you're working, you're by yourself and you don't have a group of co-workers you can chat with in the traditional sense. That's why I've always appreciated second shooting opportunities and, without question, my favorite person to second shoot for is Becky MacDonald of Pretty Nerdy Photography, my closest friend in this industry.
I know a few things whenever I work for Becky. First, I know the couple is going to be awesome because Becky attracts great clients. Second, if the couple has also hired Becky's video team, I know that bride and groom are going to get exceptional work. Lastly, I know all I have to do is show up, chill out and take some pretty photos. There is no literally no stress.
I think that's why I was so surprised when I got home from shooting Emily and Mitch's May wedding for Becky because, somehow, I had taken almost 4,000 photos and didn't even realize it because the day's vibes were so relaxed and casual. But, then again, when you have as beautiful a wedding as Emily and Mitch did, it makes perfect sense that your photographers just want to keep shooting and shooting and shooting ...
* These photos were taken as part of my work as a second photographer for Pretty Nerdy Photography.
and are presented here strictly for portfolio/display purposes.
My coverage of Emily and Mitch's wedding began, as all my second shooting weddings do, with some basic groom prep shots and I always use this initial half hour or so to get to know my groom for the day as I almost never meet the couples I second shoot for before the day they say "I do."
I could tell within moments of saying hello to Mitch for the first time exactly what kind of wedding this would be and I was right as he and his side of the wedding party were super fun and spent our time together knocking out the basic prep photos ... and then going right into playing foosball and toasting with champagne.
It was clear to be we were in for a day of good vibes and with the weather FINALLY doing something besides raining, I was thrilled to be here.
The first major moment of Emily and Mitch's wedding day itinerary was their first look and I really loved this one. Not only did Emily look absolutely adorable with a large smile across her face as she approached Mitch but it was clear from the moment he turned around that they were both so totally lost in this moment together that the rest of the world faded from view.
I love first looks like this and could tell, just based on this one moment for these two, that they were intent on soaking in every second of this special day in their special way.
Emily and Mitch chose to do as many of their formal photos as possible prior to their ceremony but, truth be told, we really only had time to get wedding party shots taken care of before guests started to arrive. No matter. These two had a great group of people behind them and, as the second photographer, it was a lot of fun for me to sit back and see how much fun candids I could get of this group before we tucked the bride and groom away and prepared for the afternoon's main event.
If I had to choose my favorite part of Emily and Mitch's special day, it would be their ceremony without a doubt. I haven't had a lot of nice weather this year but things were absolutely beautiful for Emily and Mitch's celebration of their love and as a second photographer, this ceremony was great for me creatively as I was able to go wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted photographically which led to some really fun shots of the bride and groom coming down the aisle.
Emily and Mitch's wedding ceremony was on the longer side of the ceremonies I've seen lately ... but with good reason. The pair had not one, but two, officiants and their entire ceremony was focused on telling their story as a couple and why their relationship was so special.
I think the highlight of Emily and Mitch's ceremony was their custom vows as they both shared several of the same stories and inside jokes and really did a wonderful job expressing how much this day meant to them in a way that was inspiring to watch. I always love good custom vows and Emily and Mitch knocked theirs out of the park for sure.
Following their wedding ceremony, Emily and Mitch made their way back to formal photos while I, as their second shooter, tried my best to capture all the special moments their guests were having during cocktail hour as well as some of crazy elaborate and detailed decor these two put on display for their special day.
Seriously. I've seen a lot of weddings with decor created by the bride and groom but with Mitch being a handyman and Emily having a flare for the creative, these decorations were special. Whether it was the book case that doubled as a seating chart or the painstakingly customized centerpieces, it was clear how much time and effort this bride and groom put into making their decor stand out and, boy, did it ever.
The only downside to being a second shooter for a wedding is, typically, I don't get a lot of time to work with the couple during their bride and groom portraits and that was certainly the case here. Thankfully, before Emily and Mitch headed inside for the start of their reception, I was able to snag a few photos of them together with the promise that we'd do a couple additional for sunset after their dinner period.
With how great everything was going all day long, who was I to complain? Plus. these photos by themselves were super cute ... though I can't wait to see what Becky was able to come up with for this very adorable and sweet couple.
I could tell just by the vibes of cocktail hour that Emily and Mitch's reception would be a fun one and the pair wasted no time in proving me right. After a slew of fun introductions for their wedding party, the newlyweds took the dance floor and wowed the room with an obviously well-thought out first dance full of little twists and turns and even an unexpected dip I was thrilled I got in position for before it was too late.
Following their first dance, Emily and Mitch finally had a chance to sit down and catch their breath and were treated to a trio of super sweet toasts celebrating this special day for their love and their journey together.
One of the day's sweetest highlights, to me anyway, were the parent dances Emily and Mitch had with their dad and mom, respectively. I really thought these two dances were super sweet and loved how different they were.
While Emily spent the entirety of her dance with her dad in his arm's, Mitch and his mom were way more low key than that and planned a cute little number together that somehow got even more adorable when one of the flower girls decided she wanted to jump in as well.
As dinner was served and Emily and Mitch took a well-deserved break in the action, I couldn't help but count down the minutes to sunset because I really wanted to make sure I had at least a FEW photos of the bride and groom together and, thankfully, our time together at the dock as day turned into dusk was well worth the wait.
Emily and Mitch were a lot of fun to work with during their sunset formals and even though I was defaulting to Becky, I was fortunate enough to have some time to get a bit creative on my own, capturing some nice off-camera flash shots by the water and even getting some cool perspective shots with these really interesting bird cage type decorations I had my eye on the moment I arrived to this venue.
Almost immediately after Emily and Mitch headed inside for the rest of their reception, the tone of the entire night shifted in the best way as it was time to cut loose and PARTY.
I could tell just two songs in that this was going to be a night no one in this room forgot anytime soon and I'm not sure I've seen a group of people all vibing together all night long the way Emily and Mitch's guests did. Talk about a night to remember.
It would be tough for me to choose one moment of Emily and Mitch's reception that stood out the most for me but I will say one of the things I loved the most was how much the bride and her bridesmaids were ALL ABOUT that party. It seemed like every time I looked, Emily and her girls were throwing it down and rocking out and I loved that for them so much.
As my time with Emily and Mitch came to an end, I couldn't help but smile on the way to my car knowing that as fun a day as it was, I somehow managed to treat what should have been a low key, second shooting assignment much more like a wedding of my own and, honestly, that's just what happens when I work for Pretty Nerdy Photography.
I always love the couples that hire Becky and have great fun being creative on their wedding days and this one was no exception so thank you Emily and Mitch for a lovely afternoon of beautiful weather and even more beautiful moments and I wish you all the best on this new and exciting chapter of your lives together as husband and wife.