So, I posted the black and white highlights yesterday to give you lovely readers something different to look at, but I was dying to also show you these, the color photos. Since we shoot in all digital (aka color), we convert to black and white after the fact.We started as black and white film photographers (in fact, our first wedding ever was shot almost all in black and white film. I think there were only 3 rolls of color.), and always convert a selection of the wedding photos to black and white. But you can’t deny that you were dying to see the color photos too! So here they are…

If I had to pick a word to sum up Erin and RJ’s wedding (which I don’t HAVE to do, but it helps tell the story!), it would be chill. Both Erin and RJ are such easy-going people that there wasn’t a second of the day that wasn’t relaxed and peaceful. That vibe infused everything, even the 2 hours that we took to travel around the city and take portraits of them, their wedding parties and their parents. At first, I have to admit, I was a little nervous about 2 full hours of formals (we usually crank out the wedding party in 20 minutes or so and send them to the bar!), but they made the bus a traveling mini bar and everyone had a great time. And we got to take wedding photos at places we’ve only dreamed about: the White House, the National Christmas Tree, in front of the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Add all that to a lot of happiness, laughing and fun, and it was a pretty awesome day.

The stats:

Reception: Fairmont in Washington DC
Makeup- Matron of Honor Cori, an aesthetician
Dress Designer – Maggie Sottero
Officiant – Rev. O’Hara (close family friend)
Florist – Amaryllis
Cake – Fairmont
Band – Nightsong

I love this moment - RJ and his best man hanging before the ceremony

These photos looked great in b&w, but that blue in the background is so beautiful that I love it in color

That stained glass is such a beautiful backdrop! This church had great lighting.

This is hysterical! The guys all had flasks, and when they did the jumping photo, this groomsman's fell out. Everyone lost it!

scroll below to see this in b&w. I think I might like the color version better.

This is great in color, b&w, vintage toned. I just love this photo.

I couldn't resist a photo w the White House, even if it's just a posed one.

RJ has the best laugh!

I love dancing photos- though I think I like this better in b&w because it narrows the distractions...

This one had to be in color- Erin hired a painter to come to the reception and paint as the party happened. This is the painter painting Erin's dad into the scene. Such a cool idea!

RJ and Erin doing a funny family dance.

This is a perfect ending photo... it really tells the story of the end of the night. I can't wait to end their album with this... and I think I like it in color because of the craziness of the night!

I’ve never done this before, only publish select black and whites from a wedding. While Jesse and I originally started as black and white film photographers and still have a deep love of how black and white can eliminate all the clutter in a photo and really focus you on what’s important, I still shoot very much in color. However, I thought this would be a neat experiment for my blog readers – to strip away the “jazz” and help you see the emotion. Tomorrow, I’ll post some color (maybe some of these same photos, just to let you see the difference) but for today, it’s purity I’m aiming for. That’s also why I didn’t add captions. I’ll let you add your own captions today

Oh, and you might have noticed- this looks a lot different than the boston weddings we photograph. That’s because this wedding was in DC! I can’t wait to blab all about how awesome this wedding was. tomorrow…..

You might remember Pam and Luke from their Cohasset engagement shoot (See Cohasset Engagement Shoot here.) They’re young and fun and wanted their wedding to be the same. From the way the dance floor was packed all night, I think they were successful!

We had such a blast with Pam and Luke, especially during their portraits. Since we did an engagement shoot, they were totally used to our style and were game for anything (Hop up on a bar in your wedding dress? Yup, sure! Hang out in the freezing cold? No worries!)

We also can’t say enough good things about the Red Lion Inn. First, it is so New England-y. It’s super old, but still has some modern looking places to shoot.(The bar downstairs! Holy hotness!) The staff even let us into the wine cellar to take photos.

The stats:
Dress Designer(s) – Maggie Sottero
Officiant – Dan Haig (uncle)
Florist – Lisa Reinhart
Cake – Montillios, Quincy MA
Band/DJ – Andy Cortad

So New England

Some details of the Red Lion Inn

The guys hanging at the bar!

Pam is so funny.

The soft lighting makes this look dream-like

This photograph shows the movement of Pam and her father going down the aisle. Such a perfect photo!

I had a great vantage point for the ceremony

Why it's awesome to have two photographers: Jesse got Luke's ring being put on too

full moon

constant laughter

I love that you can see the wedding party having fun on the other side of the stairs

Every bride should have a big dramatic shot of themselves on their wedding day

Not only is this shot kick ass, but Pam loves mermaids! This would be a great canvas!

In the wine cellar... The Red Lion Inn had so many different places to shoot without just standing in front of a fire place or something

I just thought these two were so cute as the cake topper! Though, I think they underestimated Luke's height!

Awesome guest book idea- thumb prints!

Even a celebrity was in attendance

Jesse snagged a nice aerial view from the mezzanine.

Love this- how the flash really froze the movement

Doesn't the Red Lion Inn look so dramatic at night?!

Dancing the Night away!

Cara & Nicole’s wedding was featured on the blog soyou’reengayged.com! I love the story that they told that ran with the photos.

More photos to follow soon, but in the meantime, check it out here:
http://www.soyoureengayged.com/real-weddings/real-gay-wedding-middleton-massachusetts-cara-and-nicole/

Isn’t this photo striking? I first love the drama of the sky…

This photo took a little while to set up and some trial and error. We pride ourselves on fast and efficient portraits that are mainly candid, but the sky was too amazing to not capture. Plus, Tara and Howie needed a moment to relax after the ceremony.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to take a picture of someone in front of a sunset or a beautiful sky like this, but it can’t be done with just one camera and a flash. If you take the photo without the flash firing, the sunset (or sky) is exposed correctly, but your subjects are too dark. If you use the flash, your subjects are either too bright or exposed correctly, and the sky is too light to be interesting anymore.

Instead, we use two flashes that communicate with each other. By using two flashes, we get nice side lighting (because direct flash is the devil) so Tara and Howie are not only exposed correctly, but have depth, but the sky is also amazing. I intentionally underexposed the sky slightly to make it even more dramatic. No photoshopping was necessary.

So, as a photographer, I love this photo. But as someone who cares about the well-being of Tara and Howie, I love that they got to relax. While they saw each other before the ceremony, it was a bit hectic. They had a quick first look, then they did wedding party and family portraits. Then they ran to the Ketuba signing, then to the ceremony, then to more family photos. We finally dragged them outside, past more guests who wanted to hug them, and it was getting pretty dark and the bugs were out! But it was so quiet and peaceful that we let them breathe and have a quality moment with each other. In between swatting mosquitoes, this happened. I love this photo!

I’m in love.

Oh, that face! He looks so wise and thoughtful

Joyce and Andrew’s wonderfully talented florists posted about their flowers. You can see the details about the flowers that I didn’t know (for starters, the names of everything)
http://petalena.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/purple-green-and-silver-an-elegant-farm-wedding/

I was in awe of these flowers. One of my favorites of the entire season.

Joyce's bouquet

To see more of Joyce and Andrew’s wedding:
An overview: http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/warren-center-wedding-joyce-and-andrew/
More details: http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/warren-center-wedding-details/

It’s always so exciting and difficult to shoot a family member’s wedding. I am absolutely thrilled to contribute to my family in such a meaningful way, but I get particularly nervous. Just because we’re so kick ass doesn’t mean that we’re not humbled and scared at each wedding! Lisa, my cousin, has great taste and that made me even more nervous to be a part of the elegant, modern, and thoroughly thoughtful wedding she and Eric planned.

As always, the wedding went fabulously. I got to see all the behind the scenes stuff that I love at weddings- when Lisa put her dress on, it was just her, my aunt and me. (I may have forced myself in there a little bit, but the lighting was too good to be locked out!) And, I restrained from making comments about how ugly Lisa and I were as teenagers as I usually like to joke about (seriously. words can’t express how awkward we were) because she was drop dead stunning.

The wedding featured flowers from Winston Flowers (arguably the best florist in the Boston area), two wedding dresses (I mentioned Lisa has style, right?), the most delicious wedding cake ever (from someone who had never made a wedding cake before!), a hand-made veil, sparkly pink shoes!, and one of the most adoring grooms to ever walk the earth.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your wedding.

The stats:
Wedding Coordinator- Lisa MacVarish
Hairstylist – Kashmir
Makeup- Jen Opeka from Sarra
Dress Designer(s) – Priscilla for first dress, Sarah Seven for second dress
Veil Designer(s) – Lisa’s mom Anne
Officiant – Charles Worthington (good friend)
Florist – Ryan Zoeller from Winston Flowers
Caterer- Season to Taste, Sam is our day of chef and he is the best!
Cake – Diane from Cupcakory (normally known for her cupcakes, this was the first wedding cake she’d made!)
Bus (to bring folks back and forth from the hotel to the reception) – Local Motion
Wedding rings – Tiffany
Band/DJ – Michael Antonio, The Flashdance

Dress # 1- and yes, those are feathers around the midsection.

Those aforementioned feathers

Dress #2... wow!

These are the most beautiful shoes- Lisa found them in a magazine; they weren't even on the market yet. She hunted down the designer and got a pair!

The beautiful bouquet by Winston Flowers

LOVE this shot- Jesse snagged Lisa coming up to see Eric for the first look

The other view of Eric waiting for Lisa

Seeing each other- I love first looks!

Some cool portraits

I love the graphic element to this photo- not to mention that the grey dresses look perfect with the grey columns. Man was it cold, but everyone put their game faces on.

Very cute, but also huddled together for warmth.

I was so happy that there were still leaves on the trees! It looks so nice and fall, even though it felt like the dead of winter!

Not posed at all- I love how they're looking in opposite directions while holding hands!

Inside the Renaissance Boston Hotel. This is one of Eric & Lisa's favorites

Artists for Humanity

Lisa walked down to Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire. Awesome.

Isn't the room so unique?

The first dance, bathed in pink

They had all the guests at big long tables. It felt like everyone was sitting together, even though there were a lot of people.

The second dress!

Dancing the night away....

We have a new page (under pages, above) of commonly asked wedding photography questions! Check it out!

Oh, and just because I can’t post a blog without an image:

a unique take on a formal photo, courtesy of Jesse