Brittany and Ben: The Old Stone Church
Fall weddings in New England are beautiful. You don’t really need more than a nice place with awesome people. Check out some photos from this wedding at the Old Stone Church in West Boylston, MA.
Brittany’s sister reached out to me a couple weeks before Brittany and Ben’s wedding to see if I would be available. Like a lot of people, Brittany and Ben’s plans had changed and they decided to get married at a small ceremony outdoors followed by a nice dinner celebration afterwards surrounded by the people they love.
Their wedding took place at the Old Stone Church in West Boylston in the middle of the fall. The colors were beautiful. I have shot here a million times but this was actually my first wedding here. We had a nice layer of clouds to kill any harsh light coming directly onto us.
Brittany and Ben, along with their families, were awesome. I enjoyed talking to everyone before Brittany arrived and this continued through their ceremony and onto their dinner at O’Connor’s Restaurant in Worcester- a place that I always love.
Everything was relaxed and simple and I think it’s really obvious that weddings in New England don’t have to be complicated to be beautiful.
If you are planning an intimate wedding celebration at the Old Stone Church, O’Connor’s, or any other place then I would love to hear from you!
Rebecca and Jason: Love in the Time of Corona
The Corona virus pandemic has forced us to accommodate strict health guidelines in our lives- including our weddings. Just because our weddings are smaller, quieter, and, well, different doesn’t meant they aren’t full of love and celebration. Check out some photos from this socially distant wedding in Worcester, MA with a portrait session at Elm Park.
So much of the past few months has been about coping with the situation that we are all in. If I were to go back 6 months ago and tell my past self that the wedding season, spring portrait season, headshots, event photography and basically every other part of my business would be at a standstill for months, I wouldn’t have believed myself. To think of how much our lives have changed since spring is so utterly bizarre that I sometimes have trouble walking through everything that happened. Sure- life is different but love still calls us to get married. Weddings certainly look different but the meaning and the impact is still there- maybe more so. This was definitely true for Rebecca and Jason’s socially distanced wedding in Worcester.
Rebecca shot me an email a couple weeks before their wedding. Like many other couples, their big dream wedding was sidelined by the pandemic. They decided on an intimate church ceremony with just immediate family present. I feel for all of the couples who have seen their dream weddings necessarily altered, I really do, but Rebecca and Jason’s wedding is proof that you can have a wedding that is just as special without a ton of extras.
Rebecca and Jason’s wedding photographer canceled shortly before their wedding. They reached out to me and luckily I had the day free. This is really not a shocker- most of my days are free. I go on and on whenever given too much space to write about how I love the storytelling aspect of photography. Every wedding is a story but its not super often that I get to tell a wedding story that is on a level of intimacy that this level was on. Within a few minutes I knew pretty much everyone involved and I felt that I was able to spend at least tome time with everybody. It’s easier to see how people fit together when things are a bit simpler. It was also great to see their ceremony being live-streamed straight from the church.
Afterwards, we headed to Elm Park in Worcester where we grabbed some quintessential photos on the bridge (you know the bridge) and attracted a lot of attention.
Check out some of my favorites!
Hopkinton State Park: A Family Session
Hopkinton State Park is a great place to hang out during the summer- it’s beach is accessible and there are plenty of picnic spots. It’s also a great spot for fall family portrait sessions. Add in one of my favorite families to photograph and it’s an easy day at the office.
Roop, Vikram, and their family have really been a constant in my photography business since it started a few years ago. Seeing the same family year after year makes me happy because it means that I am doing something right. I always feel fortunate with this family because they’re enthusiastic and a ton of fun to be around. This was our third session and to a certain extent I’ve seen these kids grow a bit in general and they’ve certainly gotten a more comfortable around me. The first session we ever had was at Moore State Park, like, two days after my wedding and a day before my wife and I were headed to Korea to see family and friends. I tend to like all of my photos but two of the photos that came from this session are probably my all-time favorite photos. I used them so much on social media because I was so proud that I had to pump the brakes a little and diversify a bit. If you are reading this I guarantee you have seen those photos. All of our past sessions have been at Moore State Park in Paxton- this time they were looking for something a bit different so we headed to Hopkinton State Park.
If you ask any family photographer, they are going to say that they like shooting in shade, under clouds, or at the hour before sunset. This is because the light is easy to work with and adds a soft touch. Hopkinton State Park had little shade and it was super sunny when this session happened. We really had to find the little bits of shade we could in some spots and then really embrace the sun. I am happy with these photos in part because they are really the total opposite of our sessions before- surrounded by trees and in moody fall light.
One bit of trivia- for some reason our sessions almost always happen immediately before I fly to Korea. I actually really like this because as someone with some pretty bad flying fears it gives me an hour or so to think about something else. This also means that almost all of this family’s photos over the years have been edited from the home office in my in-laws apartment just outside of Seoul.
Anyway, check out a few faves!
Usually at this point in the blog post I make some clever pun and suggest you reach out to me to talk about your session. Today is a little different. I am offering family session gift certificates. This is still a little bit salesy as I really do think that a family session would make an awesome Mother’s Day gift but there’s another point to this. In light of what is going on, I have been donating 25 percent of all gift certificate sales to the Worcester Together Fund by the United Way of Central MA. This fund was created to help out communities that have been hit hard by this pandemic- both with immediate needs and what is needed in the long term to get out of this mess. It’s a worthy cause to say the least giving this money is something that we can both feel great about. Check out my gift certificates by clicking here.
A Backyard Wedding in Andover: Sharon and Bill
Backyard weddings are making a comeback- especially with event rules up in the air due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gone are the days when backyard weddings always meant casual dress and coolers of six packs. I’ve been fortunate to photograph a number of awesome backyard weddings in New England and Sharon and Bill’s backyard wedding reception in Andover was definitely one of them.
Sharon and Bill know how to throw a party. I met them at their house in Andover, where they would be hosting their wedding reception, a day or so before their wedding with my wife, SiEun. SiEun would be shooting with me for their big day and I always feel a lot more comfortable taking photos if we can all meet up before hand. While we would be photographing a backyard wedding in Andover, it’s important to note that Sharon and Bill have one hell of a backyard. There were tents, facilities, linens, tables- the whole works.
I sometimes feel like backyard weddings get a little bit of a bad rap. I have photographed TONS of backyard weddings and they have never been anything but awesome. There’s an added level of comfort that comes with the familliarity but there’s always so much effort that goes into decorating and planning.
With the current health situation and large events being a no-go for who knows how long, I expect to see more backyard weddings. Whether those are really intimate ceremonies with only a few people or hybrid weddings with a formal ceremony at another location and the party coming back home doesn’t really matter to me- I love photographing these!
As I mentioned to Sharon and Bill, I also love real estate photography. One of my first thoughts while revisiting this wedding through their photos was, again, “wow, what a great livingroom!”
Check out some of my favorites!
If you are planning on a backyard, front yard, or vacant lot wedding I would love to hear from you!
Cally and Cory: A Wedding at the Manor
Wedding photography at the Manor in West Boylston is probably a rite of passage for any wedding photographer in the area. Check out some wedding photos from Cally and Cory’s wedding with elements inspired by their love for Japanese culture.
The Manor in West Boylston is one of those places that has been around forever. It’s basically an institution in the surrounding towns. I grew up with people who owned it and have been in the wedding business for long enough that I should have shot there a few dozen times by now, at least. Somehow, this was my first time doing wedding photography at the Manor in West Boylston.
When I first met Cally and Cory they told me that Japanese culture had been a big part of their relationship and that they were hoping to include that love in their wedding. When I arrived I was greeted by these unique twists on basic wedding elements- paper cranes as seat markers, a bamboo plant that held the well-wishes of their guests, things like that. Cally had added Japanese-inspired elements to her dress and had fashioned “shrine” maiden dresses for some of her bridal party. One of the coolest things was a fan game that they played in the middle of the reception. The game is common enough- back to back the bride and groom rat each other out to questions like, “who is the better cook?” Instead of raising hands or pointing they had colored paper fans that added this pop of color.
All in all- it was a great night for a wedding at the Manor.
Check out weddings at the Manor by clicking here.
If you’re getting married with themed elements from a culture that means something to you or in full Halloween costumes then I want to hear from you.
Tom’s Blog:
Pictures are worth a thousand words but check out what goes on behind the scenes during my sessions.