When Brittany and Jake told me that they rented a house in Plymouth, NH and that this would be the site of the wedding I was a bit apprehensive, especially considering I didn't have an opportunity to look at it beforehand (for all my previous weddings I had a chance to check the place out prior to the wedding day). Then when I searched the address using google maps and found dashes leading into the woods instead of a road, I was even more nervous. To add to my pile of nerves, there was to be a family friend taking pictures as well that day. I had never worked with another photographer before, but in the end she respected my space and was rarely in the way.
On the day of the wedding I made sure to leave with plenty of getting lost/traffic time. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic (it was Saturday, there shouldn't have been any traffic!) that I wasn't left with much getting lost time. So when google told me that my destination was on my left and on my left were a bunch of trees, I was a bit stressed. I had about ten minutes before I was supposed to show up, so I drove back to where I saw some locals and asked if they knew where this place was. It turns that it was off of a dirt road in a different area -- thanks google. Not only that but there was no street sign. I first passed the road because there was a sign with a name on it that I didn't recognize. After that I was desperate, so I pulled over and called Brittany and found out that the name I didn't recognize was Jake's last name (I only knew Brittany's last name) and that this was the road I needed to get to. Luckily I got there just in time.
I first took to taking pictures of Brittany and her wedding party getting made up. There was very little space to move around, but there were mirrors, which I used to my advantage. I never pass up the chance to capture a nice reflection. There was even a nice view of the ceremony site from one of the windows, which was framed up nicely for me to capture. Once I felt I had taken enough preparation photos of the ladies, I moved on to the men downstairs and after fifteen or so minutes with them, I wandered around the site. During our meeting, Brittany and Jake mentioned wanting pictures of their two dogs. There ended up being three dogs present and since I didn't know which ones were theirs, I made sure to get some good portraits of all three.
The ceremony and reception were to be held in the backyard. The wedding arbor, which was handmade, looked stunning against the backdrop of late-October fall foliage. The ceremony was performed by a friend of theirs who referred to himself as "The Reverend". Brittany and Jake recited their own vows to each other, which gave the ceremony a more personal touch. Following the ceremony we managed to get in some group shots before the sun completely set. The reception was held under a white tent that included a DJ and dancefloor. Cornhole and foosball were being played, and all the while a pig was roasting in the front yard.
It all added up to a great wedding experience. The site was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the company was friendly and fun. It was a pleasure to document. Here are some of the images that depicted their day:
