people often speak of having a storybook wedding. well, this wedding comes literally straight from teh storybooks of alice in wonderland. shortly after photographing sam & hezzie’s wedding at gallery 1028, i was hired for sam’s sister liza’s wedding. i am picky when it comes to photographing on holidays, so if i was going to forfeit halloween, it had to be for a fun shoot. they convinced me right away when i was informed that the wedding was going to be themed as a mad hatter tea party. i met liza at her brother’s wedding, and at the time, i had no idea i would get to work with her again. liza plays by her own rules, she is an offbeat bride. heck she even made her own blue wedding dress! with the help of her mother deborah who owns norton’s usa (a unique all-american general store), the wedding would go down in the books as being one of the most memorable for everyone in attendance. they merged a mad hatter tea party theme with elements of autumn. the wedding was held at home, in a strikingly beautiful, yet mysterious house. during the ceremony, the bride emerged from a secret bookcase door, surprising guests. the groom, richard, is from manchester, uk.
it was a real pleasure photographing this wedding, as there was such great scenery and carefully thought out decorations to work with. liza’s family has two amazing horses, and a barn full of teeny kittens!
from the mother of the bride:
Hi Heather!!! They are wonderful! Glad you had fun! We all looked with Sam’s computer yesterday and we’re thrilled. Thank you so much for coming and shooting Liza & Richards wedding.
“I didn’t get to see all of Sam and Hezi’s pics but what I did see are fabulous! You really are so very talented!
Thank you from the bottomof my heart
Deborah”
i had the opportunity to photograph dora and diego before their wedding for an engagement shoot. they had an atypical wedding and put a lot of thought into the unique details. her good friend happened to be a costume designer and created a wedding dress that was exactly what dora wanted. she enlisted angela from lather to come up with a vintage pinup hairstyle for her wedding day. they wed on a rooftop in the presence of their friends and family and invited their friends inside zed 451 for a private reception where guests visited bountiful harvest tables full of so much food and then had churrasco – a variety of meats brought to each table, served on skewers. the newlyweds had their first dance to madness’ song “it must be love.” the bride said that “the wedding certificate that our guests signed is inspired by a traditional quaker practice. when quakers marry those who are attending the meeting sign a marriage certificate as witnesses to the promises that the couple made before God. ours served as a way to include friends and family in our ceremony and it was also used in lieu of a guest book.”
a review from the bride:
“when heather and i were discussing the final time line for my wedding i had very few things scheduled and not too many “must have” photos to tell her about… when i first looked at our photos i realized that she had managed to capture exactly what i had wanted. we had a smaller wedding so every guest was someone important to us. heather and her assistant were able to capture so many fantastic candid photos of our loved ones. it’s like we now have portraits of all the special people in our lives! she managed to get some gorgeous shots under some challenging lighting conditions and she put a lot of time above and beyond our contract into adjusting the contrast of those photos. i feel really fortunate to have found heather! she’s talented, dedicated, professional and easy to communicate with!
before their wedding, i had the opportunity to work with jen and grant during their engagement photo session. they selected to shoot at rock n’ roll mcdonalds so i wasn’t surprised when i found out that the shoot was profiled on the popular blog rocknrollbride.com. have a look here. when they added some McRomance into their engagement shoot, i had to ask, what can i expect at the wedding? they did not let me down! i was anxious to see what she had up her sleeves. jen cleverly integrated the color blue as a tribute to grant’s favorite team duke as well as tying in a playstation theme (see cufflinks below), and left plenty of room for her obsession with skulls. the hampshire house wedding venue was transformed for jen and grant’s dream wedding. for the ceremony, grant’s best man served as the officiant by becoming a JP for a day, by getting his one-day marriage designation in the state of massachusetts. they had one of the coolest sets of bridesmaids and groomsmen i’ve worked with. after the ceremony, the newlyweds allocated a bit of extra time beyond traditional formal photographs to allow for some creative portraits walking around downtown boston in the boston public garden and an MBTA subway station. at the reception, DJ addam bomb provided music that had everyone on the dancefloor, including jen’s 86 year old grandfather rocking out to billy idol’s “white wedding.” if you are having a boston wedding and are looking for a DJ that can throw down great alternative music, yet still has a tasteful demeanor, this is your guy.
update august 18, 2009, the bride jen writes:
“I honestly thought the pictures of the wedding couldn’t outdo our engagement photos, but they did!!! To be honest, after our wedding was over I was having regrets about not hiring a videographer. The whole evening was so amazing and everyone was so animated that I thought I needed to capture it on film. I received heather’s pictures in the mail the yesterday and realized my regrets were COMPLETELY unwarranted!!!! I felt that Heather’s pictures captured the ENTIRE essence of the night PERFECTLY and in ways video could never accomplish. Thanks for showing me the power of photojournalism, Heather!!!”
dannette and charles recently tied the knot. they were a very entertaining couple and even had my second shooter and i on the dancefloor (there will be no photos posted of this!) the bride, like many, made it clear that she did not want cake in her face. at this wedding, the groom surprised us all with his own cake smash. what a good sport!
just a few weeks ago i photographed sandra and tim’s wedding at the brookfield zoo, where karen was a bridesmaid. today it was karen’s own wedding in chicago, and this time sandra was a bridesmaid. before sandra’s wedding, i spent time photographing today’s bride and groom during an engagement shoot on some abandoned railroad tracks. this wedding drew people from all corners of the country incluing matt’s childhood rabbi flying in from new jersey and karen’s sister / maid of honor flying in from boston. i arrived several hours before the wedding ceremony to document the ladies getting their hair done by stylists kristina and toni at the ruby room, in which CNN calls it “the nation’s first spiritual spa.” after getting ready, we headed over to the west loop’s black walnut gallery where the ceremony and reception were held. friends and family assisted in pulling together last-minute details including filling tall vases from CB2 with lemons, oranges, and limes which led the theme for their citrus-inspired colorful spring wedding. the bridesmaids wore yellow dresses of varying shades. the black walnut gallery accommodates up to 125 guests inside, although today’s fantastic weather allowed the couple hold their ceremony in the beautiful courtyard. i shot reportage style, documenting many jewish wedding traditions such has dancing carrying the bride and groom on chairs, stomping on a champagne glass ending the ceremony, and some unfamiliar orthodox traditions.
this is a shot from sandra & tim’s engagement photography session from last year. this spring, we had discussed some of the details of their zoo wedding. though i was familiar with other unique animal-inspired wedding locations such as the new england aquarium, the shedd aquarium and the new york aquarium, i had not previously photographed a wedding at a zoo. i knew this shoot would provide for an interesting journey. the day started by documenting the bride, her mother, and her bridesmaids getting ready at her house before i jumped in the limo with them. we headed to a city called oak park for the wedding ceremony. this is a popular chicago suburb with tourists who venture out to see the homes designed by world-famous architect frank lloyd wright. the wedding ceremony took place at st. catherine of siena, a catholic church. following the ceremony, we headed to the brookfield zoo, where we took some formal photographs, then took a golf cart with the bride and groom for a private tour and photography session amongst the animals, after hours. guests took the trams to the giraffe exhibit for “cocktails with the naimals,” and the dinner reception was at the zoo’s own bocaditos restaurant. a large bank of windows surrounds the venue where i was able to capture a reflection of the couple during their first dance.
i met with matt & karen for an engagement shoot last night. they chose to have an abandoned elevated track as the location for the shoot. we had a great time exploring the area the tracks ran above, and later went to shoot near some great public art. in addition to photographing matt and karen’s wedding later this month, i will be photographing karen’s good friend’s wedding this saturday. gotta love referrals! the remainder of matt and karen’s shoot can be viewed here.
jen & grant were such fun clients to work with. when i first heard that they wanted to have me photograph them at a mcdonalds, i probably raised an eyebrow. after we corresponded a few times, i knew this shoot was going to be an interesting one. they really brought creativity to the shoot, arriving in colors that complimented the scene. i had a red umbrella lying around the house and thought it would be a nice addition as well. this is a true example how something that might seem completely ridiculous can turn out amazing. i look forward to photographing their wedding at the hampshire house in downtown boston this summer. from the client:
Heather,
The pictures are BEAUTIFUL! I have already shared them everywhere possible. Everyone says they can’t wait to see the wedding photos! (Although, I’m not going to lie, they wont be as fun as these!)
A vibrant, multi-cultural wedding under a rainbow of autumn leaves at the historic Commander’s Mansion in Watertown, MA.
The mansion held the energy and excitement for the bride and groom. The California couple brought together two cultures, both Chinese and American at carefully restored New England brick mansion.
The Commander’s Mansion located in Watertown, MA, was built in 1865 and is lavishly decorated with marble fireplaces, ornately carved moldings, and a magnificent Victorian veranda. Guests are able to step back in time, weaving their way through the grand foyer, elegant, sweeping staircase, and charmingly-restored rooms.
With intricate details throughout, the mansion is a classic example of Italian Victorian architecture. Rich autumn leaves painted the trees and decorated the grounds, perfectly complimenting the bride’s traditional Chinese, red wedding dress. The mansion which boasts a rectangular grape arbor, sits adjacent to the Charles River on six richly landscaped acres, providing privacy and natural beauty not commonly found so close to Boston in recent times.
