I wish there was a way I could summarize how beautiful, relaxed and peaceful N&K’s wedding day was - but since there’s no way to describe it in one sentence, I will show some photographs and share some of what I learned about myself and my own photography approach from this celebration.

To start with, I absolutely loved the getting ready location - right next door to the vineyards, the East Island Reserve Hotel offered not just convenience, but also a beautifully lit space to document their wedding morning.

While the bride got hair and makeup done (Fine Line Artistry), I began setting up the detail photos. The florist, (Tapestrie Events), had given us some extras to work with, and when I saw this shell I had the idea to put all the details in it. I love using whatever is in the environment for detail shots instead of bringing a detail kit - at the end of the day, these are your memories and it feels better for me to photograph things that are already there.

After the details were finished, we took advantage of the lighting upstairs to do some photos of getting ready before first look with the bride’s father. A little champagne toast was completely necessary.

Meanwhile, my second shooter captured the groomsmen getting ready in the other suite!

After we set up the first look, I am completely hands-off. I believe in letting these moments breathe and not over-directing them. I can capture so many more emotions and micro-expressions this way.

The venue coordinator did an amazing job helping us set up N&K’s first look in the vineyard. This moment was so perfect. My second photographer and I quietly documented this until N & K let us know that they were ready for portraits. We did a few here, but nothing too involved. We knew we would do more of these later on when we could relax a little bit more and incorporate movement without worrying about messing up dress or makeup.

My second shooter captured this gem while I focused on wider angles!

When it comes to bridal party portraits, I do set these up and direct them a little, in an editorial style. I like for the image to look a little bit candid, but I do provide some prompts to get these going. I focus on documenting the moments that happen naturally in between the prompts, and I always leave some time for your own ideas too, in case you are wanting to do a toast, or any specific photos with all your closest people.

It was time for N&K’s ceremony - and even though there was rain on the forecast, Newport Vineyards was prepared with an amazing rain plan - a covered space on their outdoor patio. The cover is mechanically removeable in case the skies clear (a unique feature I absolutely loved!). In this case, with dark clouds overhead, we couldn’t be sure - so it was left on.

Pro tip: don’t forget to have a rehearsal for your ceremony, hold hands during your ceremony, stand in the center for symmetry in photos, and tell your officiant to step out of the frame for the kiss!

During ceremony I have my second shooter move around the sides of the space and focus on family and guest reactions, while I stay down in the aisle and focus on the two of your reading your vows, getting close ups of the ring exchange, and any laughter and cute moments that happen - along with your first kiss, obviously!

While my second shooter photographed cocktail hour, I stole N&K for a few more portraits and photographed their reception details.

I like to break up your couples portraits throughout the day so we aren’t just having one big photoshoot of the two of you right before your ceremony. So I stole N&K for maybe 15 minutes tops to get these cute photos in the wine barrel room. We were working with low light here, so a combination of using ambient light/black and white photography and flash were used to get some good variety here. If you have no rain on your wedding day, we could do these outside as well, incorporate some more movement, or save them for the golden hour too.

A little toast right after the ceremony is so cute for your wedding photos.

Receptions are my favorite because this is where we’re really able to capture so many candids and emotion from your day! I like to use a mixture of flash and ambient light again here, for variety, but also so you can remember how the room really looked and felt without artificial lighting. In rare cases it’s not possible to have both, but I always do my best to prioritize capturing emotions and moments in a timely manner over perfect lighting.

N&K opted for a private cake cutting - the low pressure way to keep this tradition part of your day for the photos.

And dance floor is one of my favorite parts - I love watching your guests tear up the dance floor so much that I even join sometimes. I love weaving in and out of the crowd so that I can capture candids and still maintain that “fly-on-the-wall” approach.

Working with N&K reminded me why I fell in love with wedding photography in the first place – there's nothing quite like witnessing two souls celebrate their forever love while being trusted to preserve these once-in-a-lifetime moments for generations to come.