Results tagged “weddings” from British Rob's Blog

Kim and Kevin's wedding in Manchester NH was a sight to behold. Not only was their ceremony in one of my favourite chapels (at St Anselm College), but with 11 groomsmen and 12 bridesmaids there was enough of a wedding party for a full scale footie (soccer) match on the grounds. I'm pretty sure they would have been up for it too; they weren't exactly the shy and retiring bunch. 

Mary and Eric were married on a gorgeous July day in Mary's home town of Newport RI. I met with Mary's family and covered the preparations, while Mark covered Eric getting ready with his family just down the road. 

On a typically humid June afternoon, I travelled down to Needham for the wedding of Courtney and Bryan. A rather excited little dog greeted me at Courtney's mum's (mom) as I set to work and continued following me to ensure I didn't come anywhere near Courtney. The dress buttoning commenced.... and continued for quite some time! A little champagne was enjoyed for the bridesmaids (or at least it was a little by the time I left) as I headed over to the spacious St Joseph's church just around the corner. To view the slideshow below, click play, then the full screen button in the bottom right (contains music)

A week before their wedding, I received a call from Honolulu asking about my availability. Now, such a last minute call honestly set my alarm bells ringing - arranging a photographer a week out from their wedding? After some back and forth with the lovely Lori (thank you Lori!) and eventually getting in touch with Hannah my concerns were immediately quashed. 

Got to love Beantown Bride - finally some savvy wedding professionals in Boston created a wonderful, independant resource specifically for Boston brides, featuring real wedding stories, tips and trends. There's really something for everyone here - check them out!

Leah and Angus' wedding at the Harvard Club back in the fall was just featured this morning on Beantown Bride - check out their story here.

Take a look at their wedding slideshow below, and also their engagement photos here.



Kudos to Doug for the opening shot, groom prep and numerous others in the above slideshow. Doug came up with the British Rob moniker :)

It seems like forever since the launch of the self portrait contest on Valentines day. The contest ran for two months, with entries coming in (very) slowly to start, but with a bit of a late finish, by mid March there were 10 entrants. Big prizes were up for grabs!

Voting then surged as three leaders raced off into April. Honestly I don't know how these people managed to do it, but the top 3 contenders managed to rake in 924 votes combined! Just two weeks ago the maximum number of votes (Jenn and Scott) was 151, so the following winners' total vote numbers may surprise you (remember that each voter on Facebook was limited by the application to 1 vote per contestant, so these are impressive numbers!)

So, in order of the number of votes, here are the winners:

1. In first place, the winners of the grand prize (a wedding package worth $4150!) are Jessica and Rich with 563 votes! Congratulations!

Jess and Rich came in a little later in the contest, but pulled through in the last two weeks like a steam train! Just two weeks ago they were trailing behind the second place winners with just 139 votes, so how they gained over 400 in such a short time is astonishing!

I love their photo - it was refreshing to see an image that contained one of their interests: tennis. This is a shot from one of their bi-annual trips to the US Open; I love the framing of this.



Last week when they starting creating such a massive lead, I emailed Jess to find out a little about them:

Richard Tang and Jessica Cheung met during their last semesters in college at UMass Amherst.  They were recently engaged on March 16th when Rich proposed to Jess on her front steps - their favorite place to chat.  Rich, a software engineer, is originally from Wayland, MA and Jess is a physical therapist from Malden, MA.  They both love to try new cuisines, play tennis and participate in other outdoor activities, and use complicated analogies in their everyday conversations.  Rich and Jess send high-fives and hugs (respectively) and a huge THANK YOU to all their friends who voted.

Absolutely! Well done for getting so many people to vote for you! Including our good friends Kathy and Ray, who win $300 of print credit to spend in the online store!

They are planning to hold their wedding this coming year and are just finalising dates. Very much looking forward to shooting your wedding!


2. In second place are Jenn and Scott with 254 votes

Reception and Ceremony: Nashawtuc Country Club, Concord MA
Event Coordinator: Tricia Keating
Dress: Yolanda's
Florist: Twigs and Sprigs, Concord MA
Hair: Jessica @ DiRe hair ltd
Makeup: Jai'me Perez
Music: Saigel Productions

When you book a wedding in early March in New England you pretty much expect snow, sleet, rain and a biting chill, or just all of the above. March 6 2010 was a little different! We were greeted with absolutely gorgeous weather, with 60 degree temps, gorgeous sun and a little flutter of wind.

Someone was definitely looking down on them!

I met with Holly at their beautiful home in Arlington for her preparations with close friends, family and of course loyal dog. Her late father's handkerchief was carefully tucked into her bouquet and Tyson walked over to lie beneath Holly's feet for a shot as the late winter light came through their dining room window.


I then sped around the corner to meet with (a little nervous) Jeff for a few photos as friends and family gathered in St Paul Lutheran Church for their ceremony. Both Holly's parents and Jeff's father had passed and emotions were high both sides of the aisle. A strong Holly walked done the aisle with a huge, excited smile, followed by a tearful embrace with Jeff. As the ceremony proceeded, directed by Jeff's and his brother John's uncle, there wasn't a dry eye in the church as the two exchanged vows, swapped rings (there was an oops - see if you can see what it is in the slideshow!) and then bounded up the aisle through their celebrating friends.



We then head over to Concord to the Nashawtuc Country Club, and drove through the truly gorgeous grounds to their reception. I met with Rich who helped to provide some skillful off camera lighting and we started with photos of them on the edge of the grounds, just for a few minutes so they could head off to be with their guests for cocktail hour. The light outside was simply gorgeous and the warm weather made a March outdoor shoot extremely pleasant.



With the guests well primed, the evening reception started just as the sun set over the golf course. Speeches, a wonderful dinner and dancing ensued as we covered the thick of the action on the dance floor.



Congrats again to the very happy couple! They are in good hands with great friends and family and I wish them the best for their adventures in life.

All of the images are available to view and purchase as prints here: http://photo.brownphotographic.com/hollyjeffoliverwedding/

Slideshow:
Put your headphones on and click the full screen button, bottom right for the best experience...

I just got in from shooting a wedding on an incredibly warm, sunny day for early March. Here are just a few sneak peaks of Holly and Jeff's wedding...





Thanks to Rich Pizzuti for being a model human lightstand!

Hair & Makeup: Salon Saveria - Walpole, MA
Dress: Allure Boutique - Westwood, MA
Reception and Ceremony: Granite Links Golf Club, Quincy, MA
Event Coordinator: Linda Blackmore
Music: Boston Music Works
Florist: Judy's Village Florist - Foxboro, MA

I learned about Lindsey and Adam through Suzanne and Todd who's wedding I shot back in '08. Back in late Autumn, Lindsey, Adam and I headed out to the Minuteman National Park and then into Beacon Hill for their engagement session. There wasn't one serious moment and that definitely set the tone for their wedding!

It was a cold, grey January day as I drove up the hills south of Boston to the Granite Links, with the clubhouse perched atop a northward facing slope towards Boston. I met with my assistant Doug (second photographer and man-with-the-light for the day) and we scoped the place out before meeting with Lindsey, who was relaxed as ever!

As the getting ready, ceremony and reception were all being held at the club, the preparations proceeded at a calm pace with no stresses about time or worries about traffic. Adam arrived downstairs at the bar, so Doug headed down there while I took some photos of Lindsey with her very attentive bridesmaids, before Adam popped out of the lift. Breaking with tradition, they decided to make use of the day and get some of their formals and couple photos out of the way before the ceremony, so after a non-teary, and funny first-meet, we dragged everyone outside into the cold for some shots on the hillside. 

Alas (and for some reason often the case with winter weddings) the pathways to the best views weren't clear, but we found a good clear view of Boston with the bridal party on the grass and us shooting and lighting from a deep snow bank. I'm not really sure if snow in my shoes is the best way to start a wedding, but sometimes to get that angle you've just got to make sacrifices! With bad weather on the way and a rather damp chill to the air, we knew we wouldn't be outside for long and the party braved it for just enough time before we all headed back in as guests arrived.

A lighting-fast paced ceremony ensued with tears and a lot of laughing (do they ever stop?) from Lindsey and Adam as the sun went down. With plenty of time to spare after group photos, everyone headed off to enjoy their cocktail hour before making a very different entrance to a packed reception room that surprised their guests and ourselves.

After some cracking speeches the party and food ensued. I experimented a little with the 5DMKII's HD video capabilities and put a little surprise in the slideshow for Lindsey! During the course of the night, we headed out with the newlyweds onto a windswept balcony as the wintry elements rained down around us, before rounding out the evening.

Congrats to Lindsey and Adam and we wish you all the best on your journey together! To see all of their photos and purchase prints, click here.



To view the slideshow below, enter Lindsey's maiden name for the password. You can also see all of the photos in their online gallery by clicking here.

Happy Valentines everyone!

As the wedding bookings flow steadily in I thought it would be great to offer a HUGE giveaway for future and past clients...

Well I said giveaway, but you do have to do a bit of work... just join the contest on Facebook (details below) and upload a photo of yourself with your better half. The little twist is that it has to be taken by yourselves... yes that means arms outreached, camera on a tripod or rock or whatever else you can find to rest it on (just not someone else's hands!). Of course it is tough to tell sometimes, but I trust you'll be good honest peeps and humour me with the best shot you've taken of yourselves. Your Facebook friends vote, then the winners are announced on April 15.

You could win one of these:
- Grand Prize: Custom Wedding Photography Package worth $4150!
- Second Place: Engagement Shoot plus a 9x12 art book.... worth $1000!
- Third Place: Online print credit worth $300!

The really cool thing is that if you win, the person that referred you on Facebook also gets $300 of online print credit! So even if you don't win, but you referred someone who did win, you could still get the $300 print credit as a referral prize!

These are the steps:
1. Become a Fan!
2. Enter the Competition and upload a photo of you both and read the Rules. Don't forget to mention who mentioned the competition to you, so they can win something too!
3. Get your friends to vote on your photo... they can vote only once per submission; a maximum of 10 votes.
4. Sit back and wait for the results on April 15!

So why a self portrait I hear you ask? Well I was scratching my head about how I could engage competitors' artistic side and try to get a feel for who they really are and allow people voting to immediately see who they were voting for. Words just seemed boring and a standard photo competition had been done, done and done some more... and I wanted something challenging.

So something I always have trouble with photographically is one of those 'reach out with your hand and shoot yourself' photos, especically with your other half in the frame. My wife actually has an uncanny knack for it... see this shot she took of us in 2006 when we were dating:

Yep, likely better than I could do, though I did shoot this with my hunker-lunker Canon 1Ds in one hand out of the window of a friend's Austin 7 driving around the Cotswolds...

So it doesn't matter what camera you take it with, you just have to take it yourself and get a ton of your facebook friends to vote for you in order to win one of these amazing prizes! The more you spread the news about the competition, the greater liklihood you have of winning the referral prize!

The sooner you enter, the more votes you can get, so get snapping!

Submissions for photos will be between today and March 14 2010
Voting starts today until April 14 2010
Winners announced April 15 2010

Just click here to enter the contest!
 

For rules: click here

I've posted this over in my portfolio, but here it is on the blog for all ye people who live in a feed reader.

A selection of my faves from 2009:

Back in June I had shot Leah and Angus in the North End and I was very much looking forward to shooting their wedding at the Harvard Club. This was a couple very much at ease with each other and with Angus' deep Scottish roots I was looking forward to some different culture and of course the grilling speeches!

It was one of those days where the forecasters were predicting the very worst as a rather wintery nor'easter was headed our way (not so typical for October). However, as luck would have it we got through the day without a drop, but it wasn't exactly warm! The Harvard Club certainly made it all feel cosy with its roaring fireplaces.

I covered Leah's preparations with her friends and close family upstairs, while Doug headed over to Angus. Leah was drinking mimosas and Angus looked like he was tucking into the Scotch and ensuring there was a good supply in the hip flasks! We all proceeded through the maze of the old corridors to their brief ceremony before the guests peeled away and we sneaked them out for some photos on Commonwealth Avenue among the beautiful statues.  Back at the club, their extended reception went down a storm. Some perfect speeches were aimed at the newlyweds - suitable amounts of embarrassment were unleashed, along with some very touching tributes to Angus' parents. They then surprised Angus with traditional Highland dancing that really set the tone for the evening and then his friends took to the stage to rock them through the night.

Congrats to both of them and I wish them both the very best on their own journey! I remarked to one of their friends (who's boat we had borrowed for their engagement shoot) during the evening about how incredibly genuine and approachable their entire family and friends were. We both agreed they were in very safe company that night and definitely had a good foundation for their future together.

Don't forget to leave your comments on the bottom of this blog post and watch the slideshow!



Here's their slideshow (with music so turn up the volume!). Make sure that you hit the full screen button in the bottom right to view it in HD! Password = Leah's maiden name. AFTER YOU'VE VIEWED THE SLIDESHOW BELOW, YOU CAN VIEW ALL OF THE PHOTOS OF THEIR WEDDING BY CLICKING HERE

Don't forget to leave your comments below!

I first met Angela and Ken back in at the start of the year at the Deluxe Town Diner for lunch. We quickly hit it off as we went through my work and their wedding day quickly swung around in mid September.

After getting stuck behind a semi taking out a truck 20 yards from the Harvard club, I raced up to meet Angela in her room upstairs. I was fearing the worst in the old building for a dark cavern for her prep, but she was actually blessed with some great natural light as her room(s) straddled both sides of the building.

Now let me preface the rest of this post with saying that I was genuinely surprised how many details and goings on one could have at a wedding and still get to savour every last drop and not totally freak out! Mission successful Angela! I say this because as I walked in the door I was a little taken aback that plans and details were still in flux and Angela was a little stressed. However, her bridesmaids rallied and helped Angela splendidly as the whirlwind ensued.

... Meanwhile on Tremont St, Doug was covering Ken and his friends getting ready just opposite the Mission Church where they were to be married. A couple of texts confirmed that a) they were having a good time b) there were some interesting paintings c) some rules were being broken :) ...

Back at the Harvard Club, Angela had been hooked into her gorgeous dress and we headed out for some photos in front of the club before heading over to the church the other side of town. Let's just say that the Mission church is on the big side. Cathedral would be a better way of describing its size. Plus pretty dark. VERY dark; except at the front where it was VERY bright. So quite challenging with light, but made for some cool silhouettes.

After the ceremony we headed onto the trolley, made an impromptu stop at an awesome pub where all their friends were waiting for a quick shot of the alcoholic kind (I have been sworn to secrecy about its name), before speeding off to the public gardens for their group photos and then back to the Harvard Club. Yes it really did happen as quickly as your read it!

Back at the club the festivities began and some classic speeches were unleashed upon the newlyweds. We quickly sneaked them both out for some photos around the streets of Back Bay and managed to find a street that looked down towards the Citgo sign (that's a classic Boston landmark to all my international readers; not an eyesore!) as the sun was setting. Back at the club Angela and Ken incredibly managed to speak with everyone of their guests, had a few drinks, danced, danced, danced and lapped up every last drop of their evening. They were ecstatic by the end of the night and wanted to take us out drinking with them, but alas for Doug he had yet another wedding (3 in a row!) the following day and after shooting two in a row myself I was actually a little glad to be driving him back, but sadly we missed out.

Someone needs to give me the photos for the rest of the night!

In 2007 I had the great pleasure of meeting Mandee and Justin at Sue and Colin's wedding on the Cape (pic of them outside the church below).



Justin is Colin's brother and Mandee was getting ready with Sue in Chatham; while she was getting her makeup put on we were winding each other up big time and in the back of my head I was thinking that I wish I could shoot this girl's wedding some day! Over the last couple of years Sue and I have kept in close touch and I was extremely excited to hear about their engagement and the following phone call from the very excitable couple. I was actually a little  surprised given that I had thrust and extra beer bottle in Mandee's hand (after she told me earlier that she was always the girl with the beer bottle in her hand at the end of a wedding), but I guess she fell right into that one! 



Of course I was also relishing the thought of setting up the same shot for their wedding (little did she know)...



Enough goofing around - on with the good stuff :)

So it was yet another gorgeous day as Doug and I again made the trip down to Chatham to meet with the Blairs and the future Mrs B. I was really, genuinely excited to see Sue and Colin again and meeting their cute new addition to their family, Hannah. Plus I was also looking forward to hanging with Mandee and Justin, because if you are one of the very fortunate people to know these two jesters you know you are always in for a good time!

We knocked on the door of their gorgeous beach front room at the Chatham Bars Inn and it was like a family reunion - Mandee, Sue and Sheila (Justin's mum) were there along with Mandee's mum Diane and all her bridesmaids. I briefly caught up with Sue and Colin, chatted with Justin over the fence, then set to work to cover Mandee's prep. Doug headed next door to hang out with the boys as I chuckled my way through Mandee getting ready. Then it was all aboard the trolley for the Holy Redeemer in Chatham (same chapel that Sue and Colin were married in in 2007) for a fun service, before heading back to the Chatham Bars Inn for photos on the beach. I dragged the new Mr and Mrs Blair away for their couple photos on the beach and surprised them a little with my commando rolls into the sand as we briskly moved up the beach. We caught the setting sun for some front and back lit portraits of them before heading inside for dancing, speeches and big time partying. There was a brief interlude when I took them both outside for a couple of shots in the dunes with the inn behind them, before they headed back inside to do their reception some serious justice!



Definitely the most fun all year! I wish them both the very best for their future together and hope I get to spend another wedding someday with the Blairs.

Here's a slideshow (with music to turn up the volume!). Make sure that you hit the full screen button in the bottom right to view it in HD! Password = Mandee's maiden name. AFTER YOU'VE VIEWED THE SLIDESHOW BELOW, YOU CAN VIEW ALL OF THE PHOTOS OF THEIR WEDDING BY CLICKING HERE

Last month I flew back to the UK for a week of festivities before the marriage of my best friends Tom and Michelle. I honoured to be the man documenting their special day...

I've known Tom since 1997 when we were a couple of doors away from each other in our student accommodation at the University of Wales in Swansea. We were and still are part of an extremely tight group of friends that forged our friendship on that legendary floor in Clyne Halls. Following a few years of tremendous fun at uni, we parted ways for a year before reuniting, porting the members of our Swansea household to the streets of North London. Not really knowing where I lives were heading, our very different careers mattered little as we enjoyed the delights of Shoreditch, Brick Lane and later Balham, south of the river.

Now Tom's a pretty special guy. Not only is he downright humourous, with masses of energy (think Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh), but he was always the go-to guy for a chat about anything. We helped each other through ups and downs and were wingmen when we were single (as it turned out a pretty pitiful combo on that front!).

One afternoon later on in our London years I was chatting over text with a friend from work, Holly, (who lived a few doors from us in Swansea) about a party that we were headed to in Shoreditch of a friend of ours. A few of us were going; Holly and her roommate were (I guess) at a loose end for something to do and they 'might' come along. I guess they were searching for better offers, but luckily that was not forthcoming. We headed along to the bar and then Holly turned up later with Michelle, an attractive girl and fellow Midlander. I don't really remember too much else about the details of the evening, but we all ended up roaming the streets of Brick Lane where Tom and Michelle were glued into conversation.

Well I don't really need to describe much else about how they led up to their marriage; that's their story. I was fortunate enough to capture the story behind their wedding and when I learned of their engagement at Christmas I was itching for them to ask me.

After a week of celebrating Tom's last week as a bachelor in Wales, we all headed up to Melton Mowbray (home of legendary Stilton cheese and pork pies) and I stayed with Tom and his family in the pub where the two were to be married the next day. After a full English the following morning everyone swung into action (or back to bed) and I headed over to document Michelle getting ready at her parents' in the early afternoon. A surprise antique car was arranged (it worked - 'you gits' was the phrase uttered when she found out she'd been had) and I headed back to the pub to get some shots of the groom and best man and fellow best friend Toni Deluca. After a quick, intimate ceremony on the lawn with their closest friends and family looking on, the pub put on a fabulous reception. I dragged them outside into the fields as the sun was skimming through the trees for some great couple photos, then Toni D took to the stage for an epic speech/grilling. One of the finest speeches I've witnessed - he lived up to his title - nice work Toni! Following cutting of their Stilton cake, dancing, presentation of a photo book of their lives and more drinking and dancing the night was over. I packed my bags for my flight the following day, knowing it would be a long time before we were all together again but happy for the newlyweds that their day had gone perfectly.

The happy couple are now back in Sydney settling back into life. While they are so very far away, it is comforting to know that my best friend is being looked after by such a wonderful lady - someone who I've felt like I've known far longer than four years and someone who can put the Law into line when he's bouncing around too much :)

All the best Mr and Mrs Law! 


 




To view the slideshow below enter Michelle's maiden name as the password. Hit the full screen button in the bottom right and turn up the volume!



All of the photos are available to purchase as prints here: http://photo.brownphotographic.com/p856913176

English sky, long evening sunset, an English rose and a gent, a country pub and a quality breakfast to start the day... a full English

I just got back from the UK after a great week visiting my family, then spending a stag week (that's bachelor party to all ye Amerian peeps) in Wales, followed by the wedding of my best friends Tom and Michelle in the countryside of the English Midlands at Melton Mowbray. More photos to come, but here's the shot of the day...

Diane and Jake Welton were married at the end of July on an extremely hot and bright Saturday. We met Diane at her parents' new home in Marlborough, before heading to the Immaculate Conception church just down the road and then up to Castleton in Windham NH. It was a relaxed day with a lot of guests, but just a few bridesmaids and groomsmen, who all were great sports with the heat and were incredibly attentive with Diane and Jake throughout the day. I could sense a few nerves from them both before the ceremony, but once they were out of the doors and into the arms of their friends and family their characters came out. Congrats to Mr and Mrs Welton!



Click here to view all the photos and purchase custom framed prints online.

To watch their slideshow enter Diane's maiden name as the password. Turn up the volume and hit that full screen button in the bottom right!




Click here to view all the photos and purchase custom framed prints online.

Epic. One word to describe June 20, 2009! I met with Molly and her mother, Alice a year ago when she was visiting from her home in California. As natives of Massachusetts along with her fiancé Ken, they were married in true New England form in Molly's home town of Wellesley. The day was a little different; I had already had Elena Gormley on the books to help assist me, then after a run-in with a baseball bat, Doug Levy (professional baseball umpire / photographer) also joined us. Seizing the opportunity to work a different angle, I sent Doug straight into Boston to meet with Ken who was getting ready at the Liberty Hotel. He picked up the bus with them as they rode over to Wellesley, which made for some cool sequencing of images for the slideshow (I had synced all our cameras up to the second in Apple Aperture), to allow Molly and Ken to see what each other was doing before the ceremony.

A packed church witnessed the two tie the knot, with ever darkening skies outside. A few tears and cheers later and we were all on our way to Post Office square for the group photos. My light meter was going all over the place as dark clouds flew over the skyscrapers. Quite how it didn't rain, I don't know, but our luck held out as I ordered the bridal party to go forth and drink as Molly, Ken, Doug, Elena and I bundled into the Limo for a quick jaunt around the cobbled streets of Beacon hill. The residents looked on as we took over a private street and shot away at the new Mr and Mrs Martin.

Back at the Boston College Club (wow, what view!) we still had plenty of time for them to enjoy some cocktails with their friends.

After a hilarious speech session, dinner, dancing and drinking proceeding full swing.

Thanks to Doug and Elena for their help and to Molly and Ken for being great sports and allowing me to do my part for them. Best of luck to them as they move from CA to DC! I'm sure your mothers will be much happier with that location!

Here's the slideshow. Please plug in some headphones (cool music), book off 10 minutes in your diary, hit the full screen button in the lower right and enjoy! The password is molly's maiden name. If you'd like a 1080 Blu-Ray or DVD of this made, please get in touch for pricing.


To view all photos click here or on one of the images below. Again the password is Molly's maiden name:

Carly and Sam were married in Lynnfield at the Our Lady of the Assumption church a few weeks back. Kate and I were at the very relaxed Carly's parents' home just up the road, before heading off to see Sam a few minutes before the ceremony. Sam did us grooms proud and was suitably nervous before he saw Carly walking down the aisle! Following the service, we headed over to Topsfield Commons and the newlyweds partied HARD (the second couple I've witnessed doing that at the Commons) into the night.

To view the slideshow below, enter Carly's maiden name as the password. Click on the HD button on the right to watch it in high definition, full screen and turn that volume UP!

The photos will be available for purchase until September 22. You can view the photos by clicking here or on one of the photos below. The password is again Carly's maiden name.

All the best to Carly and Sam!