gwyneth colleen photography » portland, or wedding photographer

retroblogging: mark and debra

did you know there are about 72 bazillion starbucks in boston? i did. wanna know how? i walked almost a mile out of my way to go to the one that i *thought* was closest to south station…turns out it was closed. oh well.

when i finally found mark and debra, we had a great time talking about how they met and their wedding plans. (oh, just you wait…) then we went to the fort point area of south boston…where they met and worked and let their love blossom.

(this one is my favourite: did you see “the departed”? mark worked in the building that martin sheen fell off of in the end. i thought that was super cool, so…even though it was a construction area, i had them stand so i could see the top of the building, and i laid in all the construction detritus so i could capture that angle. which…now that i am typing it…sounds kind of obsessive and morbid, doesn’t it? it wasn’t really, i promise! anyway…i was wearing a white and black polka dotted shirt, and now…at least 6 months and many washings later, i think it is STILL dirt-stained. i am committed, my friends. or…maybe i should be committed?)

their wedding was a few short weeks later, so i saw them again on a beautiful summer morning in cape cod. they were getting married in debra’s parents’ back yard. this place had a lot of significance to her, because their family pretty much built the place. her mother is an avid gardener, and her flowers adorned the tables, debra’s hair, and comprised the bridal bouquet.

the entire affair was full of colour and love and family. this huppa was made for them by mark’s sister, i believe. a very close friend officiated. the only attendees were family and the very closest of friends.

they were both walked to the huppa by both sets of parents. this is something i am seeing more and more often…i think it’s beautiful to acknowledge both parents. “you both raised me and brought me to this point, and now you take me to the one with whom i will walk the rest of my days.” well, that’s how i see it anyway. and i love it.

gotta love that look of anticipation.

and this…hoo boy. i LOVE this. instead of having a first dance, they had a first “hula hoop”. they go to a lot of music festivals, and it’s just something they do. everyone hula hoops. so, mark and debra brought along their entire stash of hula hoops, put a song on the ipod/bose dock, and everyone hooped it up. it was tremendous.

under mom’s grape arbor. delicious light, no?

under the huppa…that blue sky is deeeelish.

and, um, yeah…i had them jumping through hoops. literally. WHAT?! c’mon! what would YOU do with a yard full of beautiful children whom they love and several giant hula hoops? that’s what i THOUGHT.

one of my favourite images from the day. beautiful mom’s garden flowers, and spunky green bridal shoes. love it.

one of debra’s dearest friends and her man share a moment while everyone looks at the photo album mark’s parents gave them.

this moment between debra and her sister is one of my very favourite photographs ever.

debra’s parents, and the newlyweds.

i really loved being part of their celebration. it was just a family gathering…complete with cut up fruit and pb&j for all the kids!

it was beautiful, lovely, relaxed and full of joy, just like these two. mark and debra…thank you for letting me be part of your special day!

back to Topget in touchshare on facebookemail to friend
jess16 February 2008 - 10:57

really nice, G! esp the wedding shots!

laura kay photography29 February 2008 - 23:58

that was so sweet! i love the shoes and the colors are so fun! wow! i love it!

-laura

[…] at one point they were pointing out a location that was used in the departed. so i told them about debra and mark’s session summer of 07 where i laid in the spot martin sheen landed when he fell off the building in […]

updates

so…yeah.  new blog.  i’m kind of infatuated with it.  i hope you like it, too.

also…i thought that the winter season would leave me tons of time to…y’know, relax.  do nothing.

i was wrong.

somehow, i still have a rather lengthy to-do list.  but…i have plenty of material that never saw the light of blogdom, so i’m going to be engaging in “retroblogging”…stay tuned, cats and kittens.

back to Topget in touchshare on facebookemail to friend
Christine12 February 2008 - 13:20

I’ve been big-time retro-blogging too! You’re not alone!

Looking good here, looking good! And you ARE a rockstar!

Monica13 February 2008 - 10:44

I love the new blog (and its header). just gorgeous.

jess13 February 2008 - 11:38

well you know i like it 😛 haha

jessica & brian: married|bedford, nh wedding photographer

remember jess and brian…? you should…they’re just one post below this one. the two lovely people with the GORGEOUS blue peepers? (fyi: it’s late, and i just typed “GORGEOUS blue peppers”…i’m not sure what gorgeous blue peppers look like, but if you know, please enlighten me.)

anyway, they just got married on 1/19 at the bedford village inn in bedford, nh. and it was a FANTASTIC party! their family made me feel SOOOO welcome and included in the festivities; they were absolutely lovely. i mean…jess’s (jess’…? how do apostrophes work for words ending in s? i feel like there shouldn’t be one there, but it doesn’t look right w/o the extra s. ANYWAY.) brother-in-law stopped me on the stairs before i’d even gotten to her room, introduced himself, and told me how much he enjoyed their engagement photos. knowing my work is appreciated makes me feel GREAT and totally free to “do my THANG” at the wedding. (not to mention that jill at the inn was professional and so accommodating to my strange questions.)

when i meet with new brides, i get a range of responses to, “would you like me to capture the getting ready process?” some people don’t care about it at all…but i really enjoy getting to catalog the transformation into “bride”. something happens when a woman has been pampered all day, is wearing the prettiest dress she has probably owned to date, and most importantly…knows that the man waiting at the end of that aisle is waiting to tell her he’s going to love her wholeheartedly until his last breath. there’s a reason women are always told, “you’re glowing!” on their wedding day.

(and may i just say…guys have it much easier! i mean…seriously:)


aaaaandddd…he’s ready!


her two gorgeous sisters watching brian wait for his bride at the end of the aisle.


(side note: did you see “27 dresses”? i don’t consider myself a terribly discriminating movie goer…and, admittedly, i quite like cheesy romantic comedies…this one was rather painful, though…anyway, as a member of the “wedding industry”…i can confirm that one of the best parts of a wedding is watching the groom watch his bride come to meet him. the look on brian’s face here says it all. i can’t wait till it’s my turn to see that look on someone’s face as i walk toward him. but this isn’t about me, is it…)

it was very much a family affair. jess’s aunt performed the ceremony. brian’s sister and her husband held the huppa (which was lovingly crafted by jess’s younger sister), many family members lit candles during the ceremony, and all four parents walked out elbows entwined.

i can’t tell you what my secrets are–but i do have them!–for getting such FUN family photos…but if you hire me, i’ll make sure your family looks like it was having this much fun at your wedding, too. the group shots don’t have to be painful and stiff! i promise!

**i should just tell you right now, that instead of putting way too many photos in this post, i’ll add a few extra words, and then give you a slideshow link. so that you don’t have to scroll for 100 years to see everything.**

i was GOING to post photos of guest candids, because i got some of my all time favourites at this wedding…instead…i’ll suggest you watch the slideshow.

also…i was GOING to tell you about how i had 15 minutes with the bride and groom…outside…in the snow…after it was dark…and how we managed to get some awesome and moody images anyway (which involved me laying on the salt-covered ground and stone-cold (yeah, there’s a REASON for that phrase) stone benches…but instead…i’m just going to point you to the slideshow.

i could also tell you how they had their entire (HUGE) extended family come into one little fireside room for a group photo and that i got one (yes, ONE!) shot where i managed to fit everyone in the frame…and that was lucky because i was holding my camera over my head), but instead…yes, you guessed it…watch the slideshow!

and lastly, i might have mentioned how much i enjoy jewish weddings because they have the hora…and come on now…a big group of people doing the grapevine around other people who are being lifted on chairs and held together by a napkin and there’s always that suspenseful collective held-breath—are they going to make it back to solid ground before they tip over? but, i hope you’ll see that enjoyment in…the slideshow.

without further ado:

back to Topget in touchshare on facebookemail to friend

[…] how much do i love her? SO MUCH. she found me through jess & brian. she and jess are coworkers, so she’s known about me for a while! at one point they were […]