I wanted to start with the portraits today because I felt like there were a few more fun ones I had to share from this part of the day. I love the old stone walls you find in New England. And The Harding Allen Estate definitely has some pretty ones.

The Estate has amazing gardens, complete with little hideways, pretty paths, a pergola, statues and this reflecting glass orb.

Catching the highlights from the setting sun and the resulting shadow.

The bustle on Andrea’s dress took a bit of time, but I love this image of her surrounded by the lace of her dress. And don’t her arms look amazing?

Off to the reception….

The speeches were great all around, but my personal favorite was the musical toast to Andrea, sung by her bridesmaids. They took the song "Agony" (which is actually a love song) from Into the Woods, the play Andrea and Eric were working on when they first met, and turned it into a tribute to Andrea. It was beautiful, witty, touching, perfect.

They were rewarded by a huge hug from Andrea and Eric.

Last night, we also learned a bit more about some of the preparation and thoughts that had gone into their planning. One of the things that stuck with me was that Andrea hadn’t planned on wearing a veil. But then when she tried it on, she just felt like a bride. I know exactly what she means. It didn’t feel real to me, when I was trying on dresses, unless I had a veil on. So then on Andrea’s wedding day, it became an important part of her look. I love the way Dave captured this image that shows off the veil in such a beautiful way.

And something a bit more amusing…

The young boys were outside playing with Eric’s brother’s dog. He was quite an athelete and the kids were highly entertained.

Back inside the dancing got kicked off by Andrea and Eric. If you haven’t checked out the PicFlick of them dancing, you should definitely do that. Here’s one of my absolute favorite still images from their first dance.

I love that Andrea took this moment to dance with her mom. They are clearly so close; it seemed only right that her mom should get a chance to dance with the bride.

And then the real party got underway. Some seriously crazy fun dancing, complete with handstands, kids on shoulders, two Conga lines, and even a dance routine led by one of Andrea’s bridesmaids. Good times were had!

The last dance slowed things down a bit, a chance for Andrea and Eric to embrace and take in the moment.

If you would like to see a larger set from their wedding, please enjoy this PicFlick…

Special thanks to all of the professionals who helped to make Andrea and Eric’s day so special:

To Grace and Leslie at The Harding Allen Estate, the grounds and service were amazing.
To Lisa at the Blessed Sacrament Parish, what a stunning New England Church!

Judy from Fulgere Salon and Spa, for Andrea’s hair and make-up
Andrea’s stunning wedding gown from Casablanca Bridal
The coordinated bridesmaid dresses from Jasmine Bridal
Eric and his groomsmen’s tux’s from Men’s Wearhouse, with special ties to match the ladies; gowns from The Tie Bar

Floral Design by Danielson Flowers
Revel Video captured the moments of their ceremony

Music was so important to Andrea and Eric and their musicians and DJ did an outstanding job fulfilling their dreams:
Arioso Chamber Players, lead by Brenda van der Merwe, and Elizabeth Noone, their organist provided the ceremony music
Roberta from Music Sensations kept the dancing going during their reception

For their invitations and paper products, friends Molly and Jon created the design. They also utilized a Rita Renning collection through Papyrus and created super cool save the date magnets through Magnet Street.

If you would like to see a few more of Andrea and Eric, definitely check out their engagement session, their sneak peek, and their slideshow.

Then we met with them for their consultation and their story continued to speak to me. They met while working on a production of Into the Woods. I love Into the Woods and find it absolutely fitting that their story began with fairy tales as the backdrop.

And after their engagement session in Marblehead, we couldn’t wait for their wedding. It was so much fun getting to know them. We were really looking forward to celebrating on their wedding day and couldn’t wait to meet their friends and family. We knew that they, too, would be fabulous.

When the big day arrived this fall, we had a lot to look forward to. We knew there would be lots of love and great stories. We knew there would be music and dancing. We knew we would be surrounded by beauty.

So allow me to share from the beginning…

Dave and I split up for the getting ready. I started the day with Andrea.

And Dave headed over to the church.

Nephews, brothers and co-ring bearers.

It was truly an emotional day. Andrea’s dad felt the significance, walking her down the aisle, and Andrea had a huge smile on her face when she saw Eric.

They had a traditional Catholic ceremony, sans mass, in this beautiful church in Worcester.

After the ceremony they were all smiles.

They hopped into their limo and dashed off to the Harding Allen Estate, where they were hosting their reception, and where we would take the portraits.

We captured a few candid moments in between the cocktail hour and the reception. I love this one of Eric getting used to the feel of the ring on his finger. The brides have the whole time of the engagement to get used to a ring on that finger, but this is always an adjustment for the grooms.

And one closing photo of Andrea; this was captured as her sister was working on her bustle and she is smiling at Eric who is watching. She looks absolutely beautiful.

If you would like a taste of what’s to come, check out the movie Dave created of their special dances.

When Andrea and Eric envisioned their engagement session, they knew they wanted to capture a very "New England-y" feel; they wanted their images to show off their home at its best. They wanted fall foliage, colonial architecture, boats in a harbor. They wanted a picturesque seaside town. The north shore certainly offers plenty of options; Dave and I had recently been to Marblehead and immediately saw the potential there.

Andrea and Eric were up for anything. Andrea was wearing these awesome heals. I thought for sure she would have a tough time walking all over Marblehead in them. But she was amazing. She even scaled the rocks overlooking the water with complete grace. We found a spot for them on a rock with beautiful light. They were immediately at ease. And clearly so into each other.

They also had an opportunity to take in the views, which were gorgeous. We had perfect weather, clear skies for miles.

I so love this picture. Their heads, arms and hands form a heart shape and they fit so perfectly together.

We were up at the Fort Sewall park with its cool walls and buildings. The stone covered in foliage reminds me of a college campus admissions brochure. But my favorite part about this image is the way it is divided into 3 sections, with Andrea and Eric right in the middle gazing at each other.

The water was super still that evening…

which made for some beautiful reflections.

While Andrea went to change clothes, we did a little scouting away from the water and found this really interesting spot. There were lobster traps all around and an old fishing boat.

We ventured from there a little further into town. We were looking for more beautiful trees (we were on the early side of fall at the time). Still we found some lovely color.

Have leaves, will play! And with gusto, too.

The night grew cooler as the sun set and the moon rose. Andrea and Eric cuddled together under the purple October sky.

This enagement session with Andrea and Eric was so much fun; we can’t wait to celebrate with them at the Harding Allen Estate in Barre, MA.

Many thank you’s to you both for your trust in us and for being willing to try anything.

Want to see more? Check out their slideshow.