John and Lorrie were married earlier this year in Medfield, MA with a wonderful church ceremony and backyard celebrations in Lorrie’s parents’ home that made for a truly special day for them and all their friends and family. Having a backyard reception was a great way to create a wonderfully customized atmosphere, in a setting that was very close to Lorrie’s heart, and I was grateful that they allowed me to capture their New England wedding day photos.
I started off with John and the rest of the guys at John’s brother’s house just a short distance away from Lorrie’s parents’ house. Both Lorrie and John were from the Medfield area, and with lots of friends and family based nearby, it was nice to have the wedding local to them. Shooting with John first, we got some photos of him getting ready and spending the morning with his brothers and other groomsmen, before getting some more formal and fun shots of them all together once they were ready for the day. It also gave me the chance to capture John opening the moving card and gift that Lorrie had sent over that morning.
I had a good bit of time with John and the guys before heading over to Lorrie, so it was nice to be able to set up a few different looks and shots with them. It’s always nice when you get around to designing an album if you have nice variety in the shots, and I always recommend leaving a little more time than you think for these photos as you’ll be glad after the day.
After shooting John, it was time to head round to Lorrie’s parents’ house which was just down the road from the guys. Lorrie and the girls were nearly ready to go, with Lorrie ready to get into her dress. Not all of the bridesmaids had seen the dress yet, so it was a nice to capture them seeing it for the first time. Once Lorrie was in her dress, we were able to capture some shots that would compliment the shots we had captured with the guys and that would go well together in an keepsake album of their day. It’s always my aim when shooting to try and keep a similar feel to all the shots, so that you have a consistent feel to the whole day when you go back and look through it again and again, years down the line.
John and Lorrie were married in their local church, again not far from their home, and I had visited it earlier in the year with them when we were going through all the details for the day. It’s always nice to see a venue beforehand and although I don’t need to see a place before shooting there, it is nice to get some ideas by visiting before the big day. Each New England wedding day has something unique about it, and meeting with the couple before the big day means that I can make sure I know exactly what to look out for.
The church was beautiful and had lots of great angles to work with. As it was a full mass, it gave me lots of time to explore these potential different shots, again allowing for lots of variety when it comes round to album shots. The church was decorated in a similar style to the reception back at Lorrie’s parents house and I loved the mason jars and flower choices.
John and Lorrie’s wedding ceremony was full of friends, family and their children. One of Lorrie’s younger relatives even played guitar and sung for them, which was a particularly moving moment for them both as well as the young girl’s parents. It was clear that family and friends were very important to both Lorrie and John, and there were lots of warm welcomes for the newly married couple during the receiving line after the mass.
I always like to shoot the portrait shots of the couple in a few different locations if possible, and after all of the family had headed back to the house for the reception, we took the time to get a few shots of Lorrie and John together at the church before following behind them. Once we were back at the house we made the most of the wonderful back garden space to capture all of the group photos.
This was my first time shooting a New England backyard wedding, and I have to say that it was really great fun! It was a very nice and relaxed atmosphere, and the celebrations got into full swing as soon as we got back there. I particularly liked the canoe full of iced beers! Who wouldn’t like that?
As I said before I always like to try and shoot couples at a few different locations and times during the day. Taking shots at different points during the day means that I don’t keep you away from friends and family for too long, and it means that you have a wider range of images at the end. Although if you want to give me an hour or more to shoot just the two of you, then I’m definitely not going to say no! :)
Once the dancing got started, it carried on through the night and well after I had packed up my gear and left. It was really great to have been part of such a wonderful day in John and Lorrie’s lives and I’m looking forward to catching up with them very soon to look through all the photos for their wedding album.
I couldn’t help but sneak in one final shot before leaving though. The twinkle lights that were strung up around the garden created a wonderful light in the background and placing Lorrie and John in the foreground we were able to capture this wonderful final shot from their wonderful wedding day.
If you’re interested in wedding photography coverage for your Boston or New England wedding day then please don’t hesitate to get in touch by dropping me an e-mail via my contact page here. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to “like” the facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/rfarrenphotography for updates and photos.
All the best and thanks for stopping by,
Roberto Farren | New England wedding photography
