The Wedding of Chrissie and Tony

You may recall that I was the photographer when our JessaLu got married back on 10/10/10. I had fun but being a wedding photographer is stressful. You want the photos to be perfect for your friend but you are dealing with diverse personalities and timing issues and lighting difficulties. You have to work fast under pressure and you don’t want to miss a single shot. I was happy to do it for Jess but I told myself I’d never do it again. You know what they say about famous last words, right?

A few months back I got a phone call from my dear college friend, Chrissie. She excitedly told me that she was engaged. She said that she and Tony were so happy and he was the one and she was finally taking the plunge and getting married – for the first time, I need to point out. And then she went on to tell me that they were having a very small wedding and the guest list was limited to immediate family only but she had figured out a way to have me there.

She wanted me to be her photographer. There was no way I could say no.  I could not imagine her getting married without me being there and I knew this was something I could do for her that would be another milestone in our lifelong friendship. And so, a few weeks ago Dale and I traveled to Connecticut and I photographed the wedding of Chrissie and her Tony.

She got married at night, despite my best efforts to talk her into a wedding that would allow me to take photos in natural light, so all of my photos are taken with flash. I was so nervous about that since my flash experience is pretty limited, but I think they look just fine. Sit back and relax because I have a lot of photos to show you.

We’ll start with an obligatory shot of the dress. I’ve seen those custom made hangers on so many wedding photography blogs that I just had to get one for Chrissie. I really just wanted her to feel like a bride.

I love this shot of Chrissie’s  mom and sister zipping up her dress. It shows nice details of the beading on the bodice but I also think there’s something so intimate and special about a bride being helped into her gown.

Chrissie was, of course, a beautiful bride. Her dress was simple and flattering and her bouquet was elegant.

They opted for a first look, thank goodness. I know it calmed Chrissie down and it meant I could relax a little about portraits after the wedding. Tony, on the other hand, was completely relaxed the entire time. Men.

The centerpieces were beautiful and seasonally arranged in large green pumpkins. Understated elegance was the theme of the day and it really shows in these arrangements.

The ceremony was short and sweet and made me cry. It’s really moving to see you dear friend profess her love not only for her new husband but for his children as well. I might have blubbered a bit but I still managed to get a shot of their first kiss as husband and wife.

Formal portraits are not really my thing but I managed to rise to the occasion and we got some great shots of their families and friends. It’s funny to think of Chrissie as a stepmom now and I know firsthand that it’s not always an easy role. These kids are great, though, and I can already see the love and affection they have for Chrissie so I think they will do just fine.

Speaking of love, there’s an amazing amount of love between Chrissie and Tony. They are always laughing and touching, kissing and hugging and it makes my heart glad to see my friend so happy.

Chrissie’s parents, Lucille and Jack, are wonderful people. They welcomed me into their home so many times when we were in college. They are kind and generous and I love spending time with them. When Chrissie first asked me to be her photographer and I told her how nervous I was that I would let her down, her mom made a special point of telling me what a great job I would do. It meant the world to me to have her confidence – it was like having my own mom there to support me.

Chrissie’s grandmother was there as well as her brother, her sister – who was her matron of honor – and family. I love this shot of the wedding rings of Chrissie, her mom and her grandmother.

Once the portraits were finished we enjoyed a fabulous dinner. And this is the part where I tell you about the very generous thing I did. Back in October, Chrissie asked me if I had a shawl she could borrow to wear during the reception as she was afraid she would be chilly. I told her I had my featherduster shawl and that it was off-white and warm and that she was welcome to borrow it. I considered knitting something special for her but I knew that my time was short and Chrissie insisted that borrowing something was absolutely fine. It really did look fabulous with her dress and she kept telling me how much she loved it and so, at the end of the day, I gave it to her. I can always make another one but she will only have one wedding shawl and she deserved to keep this for herself.

All in all it was such a special night. There were toasts in Polish and Italian. There was laughter and kissing. There was cake and chocolate sauce and an abundance of love and happiness for Chrissie and Tony and their newly combined family. My wish for them is that they always cherish these moments and that the pictures I took help them to remember the happiness of their wedding day.

 

 

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This Post Has 33 Comments

  3. Nice work Carole! What a beautiful bride and setting. I love the photo of the generational wedding rings.

  5. Thank you so much! We are so very happy and thrilled that you shared our special day with us. The pictures did a wonderful job of documenting many memories that would otherwise fade away.

    I love, love, love the shawl, and I love you!

    – Chrissie

    PS: Funny how similar we still are, as we both choose many of the same photos. Here’s my version:
    http://animoto.com/play/9GayqjzleaYA2ZNYsRtcsA

  6. So many beautiful photos! Chrissie and Tony are a lovely couple … I’m so glad that you were able to document their day for them.

  7. What a joy-filled occasion! You can feel the love and support right through your photos there on the computer! Fabulous! (Those hand shots bring tears. They are beautiful, Carole.)

  10. What lovely, personal photos. Nothing cookie cutter about them at all.
    I especially like the “shadow” portrait and the 3 sets of wedding rings.

  12. What great photos! I especially love the one of the generational hands, both the rings and doing up the gown zipper. Made me want to cry (I miss my mom and Nannie). Great job.

  14. So nice, Carole! I love that Chrissie “found a way” for you to be a part of a day so important to her — says a lot about you, too! You took those photos with love and I think it shows. Hands get me every time… lovely!

  16. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome, the dress elegant and the photos spectacular. I loved the three generations of wedding rings. Your gift of the shawl was amazing…now you have a challenge to do another for yourself because you deserve it. Jo

  17. Carole – I think your flash photos are fabulous! Don’t be selling yourself short!!! I loved your generous gift of your shawl to her. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. That’s what true friendship is all about.

  18. Your photos of the wedding are so perfect! I love her very elegant dress and clever Fall floral arrangments. But, your shawl looked absolutely stunning with her dress. I love how the dress is embellished, but the scarf is not — the perfect textural and tonal contrast. What a lucky gal. She’ll likely not wear the dress again, but she can wear her beautiful shawl whenever she wants to bring forward the memories of her special day.

  19. You did such a great job Carole! Your friend Chrissie is a lucky girl and I’m sure that she’ll enjoy the pictures for many years.

    Oh, and this is the first time this week that I’m reading blogs and your snow is back! Yay! It makes me smile when I see it.

  20. First, thanks for letting us see the wedding – your pictures were really lovely, and classy. No dopey pictures of the groomsmen picking up the groom, etc.

  24. How wonderful! I’m so glad you were able to be there on your friend’s special day and that you were able to help mark the occasion with your photos. Well done!

  26. Beautiful wedding—beautiful photos! I loved that shawl ever since your post about it—what a wonderful gift! It will always be so special to her, for many reasons! What yarn did you use? I really love that shawl—looks really hard to make, tho??? Not for you, but a more intermediate knitter…..??

  27. I love the photos – she was a beautiful bride. I love to look at wedding pictures, you did a great job!

  28. you did a wonderful job! (I’m sure it helps that the couple and the wedding were lovely, but you get to take a good bit of credit, too!) my favorite shot is the one of the 3 generations of rings. our hands tell so many stories!

  29. Nice pics, and I love that shot of the three generations and their wedding rings. I haven’t seen that before, but I think it bodes well for a new marriage to see that sort of longevity in the people and their relationships.

  30. Oh Carole, your images are fantastic!

    My husband and I really want to improve our photo skills. We have three books about photography which we are studying so that we can make a good decision about our next camera. We actually plan to use the points that we have been saving for a very, very long time on a credit card to purchase the camera. We are also looking at taking classes.

    Carole, you and the group that participates in the ten things on Tuesday group have a huge amount of talent and knowledge about photography. Would you consider doing a “things I do to make my photos sing” on Ten on Tuesday?

  31. Great photos! I really love the first look picture because of their shadows that you can see off to the right. It just struck me as so beautiful. I think those shadows cropped and put into a little picture of their own would make a nice touch on an elegant scrapbook page or something of some of those pictures.

    The picture of the three generation hands and wedding rings brought a little sentimental tear to me eye. So beautiful 🙂

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