Last but not least is Erin & Dustin’s New York Reception. Held at a former winery, Erin really tailored the event to them- wine from around the area, large canvas prints from the wedding in Jamaica around the room, 4x6s of the wedding as favors… the food was even made from food grown in her and her grandmother’s gardens. It was beautiful.

erin used large canvas prints from the wedding in Jamaica to decorate the reception

flowers matched the tropical wedding colors

Their favorite wine from the region

4x6s from the Jamaican wedding

Even the signs for the food matched the theme!

the grand fireplace, with a favorite photo from the Jamaican wedding

another favorite from Jamaica. It looked so nice against the grey walls

a view of the entire room

the exterior

the wedding party

Erin's dad making a toast

the best man was from Texas, so he toasts with beer

Erin and Dustin with their kids- a "family toast!"

the guys on the back parch, overlooking the lake

the first dance- perfectly choreographed

The father-daughter-granddaughter dance

a little moment

Dustin and his daughter

Faith getting down

Erin's adorable grandparents

dancing!

I posted about Erin and Dustin’s fabulous Jamaican wedding two posts ago, but here is the New York End of their wedding. Since I love too many of them, I’m posting here about their portrait session the day before the wedding.

It was great working with Erin because she not only loved photos and wanted as many varieties as possible to commemorate her and Dustin’s marriage, but she had such a distinct vision for the different shoots we did (all in all there were 4- the Jamaican wedding, the day-after shoot in Jamaica, the day-before shoot in New York, and the reception in New York). It was nice that she scheduled in the extra shoots to really capture the area they were in for the wedding and the reception… this allowed her a ton of time with her guests at both events. Plus, it let her and Dustin have a lot of time to get really creative (you think it was easy hiking up to that waterfall in a wedding dress??) and not be stressed for time.

Hopefully this shoot can be an inspiration to you who are trying to find a place to have your engagement photos- this was a special place to the both of them and they were excited to go there in their wedding attire. Erin has probably worn her wedding dress more than anyone else I’ve ever met!

i love kisses….

Since most destination weddings have multiple events, I was there to cover several different moments: the rehearsal dinner, getting ready, the ceremony and reception, and a day-after shoot. THEN, a few weeks after the Jamaican Wedding, Jesse and I traveled to Erin & Dustin’s Upstate NY wine country wedding that they shared with their extended group of family and friends. It was the best of both worlds- an intimate destination wedding (with tons of destination wedding photography, of course) and a big party back home!

Location: Ocho Rios Sandals Resort in Jamaica

erin enjoying the rehearsal dinner

the hysterical bridesmaids

a toast to tomorrow...

the amazing view from Erin & Dusin's suite

Erin getting ready and brushing up on wedding news

heading back to the suite

Erin preparing the garter, which had a pin on it from her great grandmother

the beautiful bridesmaids gifts! (and there was even one for me! how sweet!!)

Erin and her sister, Ali

Erin's dad approaching

the ceremony

inside the gazebo overlookingthe ocean

Erin's mom watching the ceremony

a good example of our "informal" formals

another good example- this time from the entire wedding party!

Dustin is so goofy and is always making Erin laugh

the view!

I love this!

the day after... around the grounds

I have a lot to blog from this past season- it gets so crazy! But even though I have lots to cover, I’ve been feeling as if I neglected the past post I did for Andrea & Joe’s Biltmore Hotel wedding in Providence. It was a beautiful wedding and the couple photos I posted before didn’t do it justice, so here are some more. Note how amazing the reception room looks… The pillars were covered in moss and had tree branches affixed to them to make the room look like an outdoor garden. Joe is actually a horticulturalist and did the entire room by himself! (Well, he had help in the assembly, but it’s his concept.) Because of their love of flowers and nature, we went to Roger Williams Park- and the rain held off just long enough for all the amazing photos of two happy people and their awesome wedding party.

Oh and the bar shots?? First, it just shows how cool Andrea is for wanting to do an Irish car bomb in her wedding dress… and secondly, it commemorated the first night they met- Andrea was waitressing and Joe wouldn’t leave the bar without her number.

Leah & Anthony Engagement from ciras photography on Vimeo.

Essentially, communication with your photographer about what you envision and who you are… and an engagement shoot!

Here it is said much better than I have:

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2010/01/14/working-with-your-wedding-photographer-by-christian-oth/

I hope you enjoyed looking at Andrea & Dan’s portraits from yesterday! Here’s the follow up post that brings you through their ceremony and reception at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

Wedding Coordinator:  Marisa Grassi (Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel)
Hairstylist & Makeup:  Bride’s Hair and makeup:  Erica Boudreau- El Coco Aveda International Beauty Salon

Dress Designer:   Bride’s Dress:  Reverie by Melissa Sweet Bridesmaids:  Jim Hjelm
Veil Designer:  Sara Gabriel

Officiant:  Joan Geddes  (Dan’s mom’s cousin)

Florist:  Whole Foods Newton- John Franchi
Cake:  Konditor Meister
Wedding rings  Bride:  Tiffany’s Groom:  Kay Jewelers
Band:  The Superband  -Siman Entertainment

Andrea and her dad about to walk down the aisle

the unique room for the ceremony

happy happy

the cake topper

the place cards- they are gold leaves!

the spectacular light pouring into the room

The room had such a beautiful golden hue

flare”]

entering... with [sun

the guest book we made for them from their engagement photos!

as the night went on, the view got better and better

then the craziness began!

this guy had a blast!

so did this aunt- who stole the hat form the singer!

and Dan said he's not a dancer?! Andrea got him to move!

Siman Entertainment Super Band- fabulous!

the outside of the hotel

No matter how many Boston weddings we shoot, we get excited for each one. Boston is an amazing city, full of nooks and crannies that we could have taken Andrea & Dan on a three hour tour and still have ideas of things to shoot. Jesse and I are so lucky to be Boston wedding photographers!

Andrea & Dan placed a special emphasis on portrait photos- we had a fabulous engagement shoot with them over the summer so they knew they wanted lots of photos of them enjoying each other on the day of the wedding. Since we had done that engagement shoot (you can see a couple of the photos here: http://cirasphotography.com/blog/index.php/boston-public-garden-engagement-photos/) they trusted Jesse and I to really rock their wedding day photos and they set aside an hour before the ceremony to have a portrait session. For all of you who don’t mind seeing each other before the ceremony- this is the way to go. You not only get real, intimate photos of the two of you right before you’re married, but you also get a chance to enjoy each other’s company because the rest of the day will be a bit of a blur!

Because we got so many great photos of Andrea & Dan’s Boston wedding photo shoot, I’m going to split this into two separate posts, one on the getting ready session, and tomorrow’s on the ceremony and reception inside the stunning Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

The details:

Wedding Coordinator:  Marisa Grassi (Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel)
Hairstylist & Makeup:  Bride’s Hair and makeup:  Erica Boudreau- El Coco Aveda International Beauty Salon

I love how Andrea and the model in the photo behind her are mimicking the same head tilt!

Andrea showing off her bride shirt while getting her hair and makeup done at El Coco Salon

The girls watcing Andrea's beautiful birdcage veil from Sarah Gabriel going in!

Andrea's stunning dress- Reverie by Melissa Sweet

The girls heading back to the hotel

The view from the wedding suite!

Getting into the dress!

Getting ready is a whole lot more simple for guys!

the men casually getting ready

The bouquet- designed by Wholefoods in Newton

the room was flooded in light. It couldn't have been more perfect!

A traditional formal photo- yeah, we do those too!

A no-so traditional wedding formal!

off to the portrait session

an "unordinary" portrait

using unique negative space to create a powerful image

here we used off-camera lighting to have high contract... if we had just pointed and shot, they would have been back lit (aka "unseeable")

playing in the street!

i love the sun flare in this photo

inside the hotel- how cool is this random hallway??

a happy little moment

Can’t wait to see what’s next? Find us on facebook and see tomorrow’s post today!

Jesse has known Katie his entire life, and so when we had the opportunity to photograph her wedding, we couldn’t be happier. Katie and Josh got married where Jesse and I grew up, and we love going home for weddings. (Our parents love it too…) Katie and Josh got married at Sacred Heart Parish in Webster, MA- where Jesse and both attended as kids (but never knew each other!) and it is by far the most beautiful church we’ve ever been (in the US). Their reception was at the Publick House in Sturbridge, which is antique and old-worldly.Even though Jesse and I are now Marshfield and Boston wedding photographers, it’s always fun to go home for Sturbridge weddings, especially when the couple is so nice and fun. Congrats Katie and Josh! Let’s get together soon!

Katie's Maggie Sottero Dress

The wedding ceremony in Sacred Heart Parish in Webster, MA

Detail of Katie's dress. It was so ethereal

Something a little artsy from the ceremony

Isn't the church striking?

They're married! (Where's waldo- try to guess where Jesse's mom and sister are.)

Katie and Josh made time between the ceremony and reception. It's possible to get nice photos between the two if you leave enough time!

the first dance

I love how happy Josh looks here

The wedding topper was Katie's grandparents'

Tears were flowing during the father/daughter dance- and not just from those on the dancefloor. It was a really beautiful moment

I love the use of berries in the bouquets- how autumny!

Spoiler alert! This will grace Katie and Josh's thank you cards. Katie wanted to take them toward the end of the night so they looked relaxed and happy!

Party! Rumor has it that the party lasted until the morning!