Alison and Paul chose to wed at The Peace With Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast in Freyburg, Maine (near North Conway, New Hampshire).  Alison and Paul actually got ready in the same place, making for a really relaxed environment.  On the left, is Alison’s ring, the penny that was in her mom’s shoe on her wedding day, a penny for Alison’s shoe on this wedding day.  On the right is Alison’s awesome dress.  The texture of the fabric was amazing!

Even though they got ready together.  Alison’s dress was top secret.  She put it on right before meeting Paul for pre-ceremony photographs.

They were so relaxed all day.  This is the only time that Alison was emotional about seeing Paul and everything coming together.  It was a really nice moment.

We abducted the bride and groom (willingly, of course) for some photos in this beautiful field.  At the rehearsal, Alison said “We scouted around and found a great place to take some photographs.  There is a large, open field with mountains in the background.  We should be there right before sunset. We think you will like it.”  My mouth was watering…..justifiably so!

Alison was so outgoing and willing to walk through these tall grasses in her dress.  Hi Linda (Alison’s mom)!  I think Linda would have had a heart attack if she saw the trek Alison made through this field.  So worth it and no body could tell!

The field was directly across from this old, weathered church.  On Monday, I got this in an email from the bride “Forgot to add that when we were heading out for our sight-seeing on Saturday we passed that church and they were painting it!!!! Seems they had re-painted the three other sides (hence the ladders on the other side of the church) and the one that we photographed in front of was the last one to be completed. Perfect timing for us, right?????”  Amazing!

Alison purchased (and returned) seven different pairs of shoes before deciding on these pink heels.

Alison’s parents walked her down the aisle together.  I think this is the only time when Alison’s dad didn’t have his camera out taking photographs.

The ceremony was beautiful! I thought it was really great because they chose a reading that I had also chosen for my own wedding.  Union by Robert Fulghum.

Unexpectedly, the temperature dropped to a low 29F that night.  Guests hung out by the fire or inside of the Inn.  Luckily, the real cold didn’t begin until the wedding and dinner was over.

I had a wonderful time and am so honored that Alison and Paul invited me to be with them for two very special events.  Stay tuned for more “a&p” at the end of October.

Wedding and reception location – The Peace With Inn

Caterer – Chef’s Market – SO GOOD!  The dinner was wonderful.  Ryan and I traveled to their store on Saturday for lunch because we couldn’t get enough!  Worth a trip to North Conway just for this meal.

Hair and Makeup – Head Games

Flowers – Dutch Bloemen Winkel

Bed and Breakfast – Admiral Peary House – Ryan and I stayed here.  It was a really nice place with a wonderful breakfast too!

Here they are coming into their wedding reception.

Tina greets Steve’s grandfather before sitting down to their lovely meal.

Tina and Steve shared a slideshow presentation filled with images from their wedding ceremony a few weeks ago.  The bridesmaids thought it was great to see photos and remember that day.

Tina and Steve finally share their first dance.

We had some time for more photos of the bride and groom and the wedding party.

I asked Tina to be “sassy” and this is what she gave me.  She knows how to work it.  So perfect.

Tina specifically requested this photo of “almost a kiss.”  They had to act it out several times.  I’m pretty sure Steve was in heaven for this one….

It is harder to walk and kiss than you would think.

And finally, their wedding rings on this mini cake.

Entertainment: Betsy Lawrence Band – this band was awesome.  If you want a talented band at your wedding, check them out.

I have known Laura since we were 13 and in middle school.  She was cooler than me then, and she is cooler than me now!  haha  Here are some images from her gorgeous and fun wedding.

Laura and her bridesmaids spent their morning at the The Spa at Nail Galleria in the Omni William Penn.  She then went to her parents’ home to get ready.  I had been to her house many times while growing up, but I’d never been in several rooms in her house as they belonged to her older sisters!  Since her sisters are married with homes of their own, Laura got ready in one of these rooms.

Laura and Mark had a “first look” meeting before the ceremony.  We took these in this beautiful area next to the church’s school.  Laura and I worked on some bridal portraits before Mark arrived.

When Mark came out to meet her, he was all smiles….and so was she!

We had a great portrait session!

The rest of the bridal party joined us so we took all of the necessary shots.  After the ceremony, we took a few family shots and headed to the reception.  I think it s great when a couple can attend their cocktail hour.  Friends and family have come so far to see the wedding and its great spend the wedding day with the people you’ve invited.

This beautiful pin attached to Laura’s bouquet belonged to Mark’s grandmother.

The light was perfect just before they got on the limo bus to go to the reception.  This is a seriously gorgeous couple!

Their first dance.

Laura is a aerobics/pilates/yoga/everything/dance instructor and personal trainer.  During the line dances, you could hear Laura giving instructions and encouragement to the guests.  Mark turned and said to me “Look, Laura is turning this into a dance class.”  He loved it.

Now it was Mark’s turn to lead.

My absolute favorite moment of the whole day.  Laura was singing “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas right into my camera.  This is totally her personality!  I laughed so hard that my abs hurt when I saw this next image on my camera’s screen.

Laura is always the life of the party.  She was in a dance-off with Ryan’s brother, Chris when Ryan and I got married. And this one was definitely “I’m so 3008 – you so 2000-late!”

But things were so fun and easy all day!  The party went late into the night…..

Laura was so happy at the end of the night!  Congratulations Laura and Mark!  I love you!

Ceremony: St Therese in Munhall
Reception: Cefalo’s
Flowers: Plants and Flowers by Lisa
Salon: Spa at Nail Galleria – Owner, Michelle Yaksich
Entertainment: Jankowski DJ: 412.761.7077
Transportation: Tortorice Limo

Danielle was so calm AND had an awesome manicure.  She was very excited about her bracelet (the flower girl had a similar bracelet too).

They had a lovely ceremony at Duquesne University where Danielle went to college.  We took some photos on the campus afterwards.

For me, all weddings are exciting and fun.  On this day, I resorted to trespassing  (last time at Sara and Nigel’s wedding) AND destruction of private property (kidding of course) but I did take down this yellow rope to get it out of my photo.  The field was “Closed for reasons of public safety,” but some athletes were using it far away from where we were working.  I’m so focused!

Here is the shot that I got.  I left the yellow rope in there so you could see where it was.  Could you imagine it being right in front of the flower girl!?!?  No way! For the record, I put the rope back up when we were finished.

Danielle’s flowers (and her bridesmaids flowers too) were beautiful!

Check out how vibrant the flowers looked with the blue dresses.  WOW!  I LOVE this photo.

Cake photo is by Christina Montemurro who was kind enough to second shoot with me all day.

Thankfully, this wedding had a record number of AIR GUITARISTS!  The groom kicked things off.  My fave is the groomsman on the lower right.

When I met Danielle and Tom in February, the first thing that Tom told me about their wedding was that “We’ll have Penn Pilsner or better.”  I knew I had to work some beer into my photographs. Tom’s ring on a bottle.

Tom is also a huge music fan.  At his request, the DJ played “Sugar Mountain” by Neil Young during the dinner hour.  As soon as I heard it, I knew it was Tom’s doing.  So nice to get a vibe from the groom during a day!

Ceremony: Duquesne University
Reception: Radisson Hotel Greentree
Video: Heartsong