Everyone should know a Karen and Matt and go to their wedding. The very lucky wedding photographers will get to photograph them. Because Karen and Matt are two of the warmest, most easy-going and gracious-spirited bride and grooms I have ever come across. Their whole day, rain be damned, radiated with their easy, sweet and joyful love for one another. When two such artistic, kind people find one another and build a new family and weave existing ones together, it truly restores my faith in the world.
I arrived early on a drizzly September day at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Providence, Rhode Island — a gorgeous venue, with such a dedicated and helpful staff — to capture Karen and all her best gals getting ready together. One bridesmaid flew in all the way from Thailand, which tells you an awful lot about how these people, their friends and their love. We did a “first look” before the ceremony (highly recommended!) on the stairwell to the subterranean bar, then powered through portraits with the families and wedding party as it began to rain. Everyone had fun, no one stressed, we were running behind on time, but who cared? Not a one. It was their wedding day and nothing was getting Matt and Karen down. If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am — these guys were focused 100% as far as I could tell on just being together, soaking in their day with family and friends and throwing one hell of a good party.
And a party it was, and then some. Great food, plentiful drinks, big families on both sides all reunited, many, many close friends — everyone gelled together beautifully and got down with their bad selves. The music sticks out in my mind as a major coup of the day. The wedding party processed down the aisle to “Rainbow Connection”, then they played “I and Love and You” by the Avett Brothers early on during dinner, did a full-on gang-busters-dance-moves all-out rendition of “Gangnam Style” (this was back in the craze) to keep the dance floor hot (to put it mildly: it worked), only to cap off the night with the last song being Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend”. And then it was officially official: they’re my wedding music soul-mates.
And here is the wedding day, as it was — whimsical, joyous and fun:
Karen & Matt — Thank you, truly from the very bottom of my heart, for trusting me with your wedding day and for being so incredible to work with. It never felt like work, I always felt like it was my utter, complete privilege to be there, on your gorgeous day, capturing images that I hope you will cherish forever. I know this blog post is incredibly delayed (understand of the year?) but I think of this day often and love to scroll the images to re-live it — and I hope you do too :)
