Tirado Photography blog

We had the true honor of attending the very special wedding of Liz and Rahoul last weekend. Liz and Rahoul booked us only two short months ago and their wedding turned out to be one of the highlights of our season. Both Liz and Rahoul lead very busy lives - Rahoul is an attorney at a large law firm here in Boston and Liz works with Governor Patrick’s office - so you can imagine what it was like to plan a wedding around their busy schedules!

Everything that evening was a complete reflection of themselves and their relationship together and it made for the most unique and personal wedding we’ve seen! From Liz’ wedding dress which not a wedding dress at all, but instead an absolutely jaw dropping evening gown to their ceremony which was completely tailored to their own personalities and cultures, we just couldn’t help but be caught up in all of the love and excitement everywhere around us! We quickly realized that our goal was to truly capture these emotions so that they would never forget exactly how everyone felt that evening. And so here’s just a quick peek at how the day unfolded before our cameras:

Liz and Rahoul decided to have both the ceremony and the reception at the gorgeous State Room in Boston. If you’ve ever been there, you know that the State Room boasts some of the best views of the city and it provided a perfect backdrop. Speaking of a perfect backdrop, Liz wanted to be sure to schedule the ceremony at precisely 4pm. Exactly 4pm - not a minute later. We actually started at 4:10, but it all worked out because guess what time the sun set last Friday? At 4:17pm. Which means that everyone enjoyed a beautiful sunset as Liz and Rahoul’s ceremony began. Gorgeous!

So Liz got ready in the bridal suite at the State Room and before the ceremony began some of her friends were dropping by to see her and give her one final toast and a hug before her walk down the aisle. Then… just minutes before the ceremony began, everyone left to take their seats and Liz was left with a few quiet moments to herself. This resulted in one of my favorite images from their wedding. This was literally two minutes before Liz walked down the aisle with her dad. (Check the clock!) Can you imagine all of the excitement and nervous energy that Liz was feeling right at this very moment?
.

.

By the way, you can also see Liz’ amazing dress that I just can’t get enough of. This is definitely my all time favorite dress and Liz wore it so perfectly - it was truly breathtaking! Now here, just moments later, Liz and her dad are waiting for their cue to walk down the aisle together.
.

.

Their ceremony was an amazing experience and so unique to Liz and Rahoul as it included traditions that were important to both of them. Traditions such as jumping the broom as well as hindu traditions such as exchanging garlands and tying the knot. It must be so amazing for them to know that no one will ever have a ceremony like theirs - it was a true reflection of themselves! After the ceremony we had a little bit of time to sneak away with Liz and Rahoul and their families as well:

.

.

I absolutely love this emotional moment between Liz and Rahoul’s mother while Rahoul and Liz’ dad look on in the background…

.

Next I asked Rene to do something special for all the girls who frequent our blog. I needed him to pay homage to Liz’ impeccable taste in shoes and to her gorgeous Manolo Blahnik’s:

.

And then there’s the entire reception to talk about! It was held in the same room as the ceremony but there was such a complete transformation, no one would ever be able to recognize it! Between the mouth watering dinner stations, their signature apple martini drinks (complete with an apple wedge) and the fantastic music, it was a perfect evening. And in case there’s any question about just how much fun everyone had, we thought we’d share a few fun candids from the evening. What I love most about this next image is that Rahoul is just dancing it up like you wouldn’t believe and Liz just can’t contain herself. I just break out into giggles every time I see how hard she’s laughing and how much fun their having here!!

.

And there was some unexpected dipping, too!

.

The thing is, Liz and Rahoul wanted to create an evening for their closest family and friends that would be special and completely memorable. They accomplished that and so much more! We know that Liz and Rahoul are going to accomplish so many wonderful things in their lives together and we want to be the first ones to call it here! Thank you again, guys, for allowing us to capture such an amazing and unforgettable day!

When you meet Marcia and Eric, you immediately realize that this is not a couple who is going to do what everyone else does “just because.” Especially not for something as important as their wedding day! Yes, it definitely involved a lot more planning and lot more decision making but we can definitely say without question that it was completely worth it!! To begin, Marcia and Eric had their ceremony and their reception at an incredibly unique venue - beautiful Glen Magna Farms in Danvers, MA.

Their ceremony was held on the main staircase in the grand foyer area. Eric and Marcia exchanged vows right on the center landing while their family and friends gathered on both the first and second floors to watch it all unfold. It was so beautifully intimate and perfect! But remember, even though Glen Magna Farms is a wonderfully unique location, that wasn’t enough. They wanted to personalize their wedding so that everyone would feel as though they were an integral part of the wedding. And did they ever accomplish that!! Eric’s mom played the piano as all of the guests arrived and then Eric’s sister played the flute during the ceremony! Eric’s brother in law performed the ceremony. Their gorgeous vintage cake topper? It was Marcia’s grandmother’s cake topper! It was just amazing to see the contributions from all of the people that are closest to them. And dinner? So incredibly scrumptious! They featured stations throughout the estate, but these were not your every day wedding dinner stations. Their stations included a tapas and paella station; a sushi station; an espresso and cappuccino bar and so much more!

But I know, I know…everyone wants to see actual photos from the wedding! Well, we’re never one to disappoint so here is a quick sneak peek at some of our favorites! As usual, I was with the girls as they got ready and Rene found Eric and his groomsmen to capture some of those last minute preparations. Eric’s best man getting that tie just perfect:

.

And the shoes are a key accessory to any wedding outfit, of course:

.

Meanwhile in the room next door, Marcia and I were having our own fun. You know what’s funny about your wedding day? Everything seems to go by so quickly throughout the day. Except for those last 10 minutes just before you walk down the aisle. Those 10 minutes seems to go on forever! So to keep ourselves calm and occupied, I completely took advantage of the gorgeous Marcia so I could show off her gorgeous eyes:

.

.

And can’t you just FEEL the excitement here just minutes before the ceremony began…

.

One thing that we absolutely loved about these guys was that Marcia and Eric were completely determined to sneak away for plenty of time for portraits of just the two of them. They wanted to be sure that we were able to try anything and everything we could think of and that we had enough time to get it all done. Wow, did we ever have a phenomenal session!!! We actually broke it up into two smaller sessions. One right after the ceremony, and then Marcia and Eric rejoined their cocktail hour so they could mingle with their guests. They extended their cocktail hour for a total of 90 minutes so that they could be sure to see everyone (and enjoy some of those great appetizers!). Then they set aside some more time to sneak away with us again during dinner. I can’t even tell you how much Rene and I were on a “high” after we were all done. We all just had so much fun together and it was so wonderful for Marcia and Eric to have some alone time, too, to just soak it all in. And because we had two mini-sessions with them, we were able to get so many incredible portraits of them! It was completely impossible to pick out some favorites but here we go! This one was taken right on the main staircase in the grand foyer:
.

.

Now here’s an interesting little side fact about Glen Magna Farms. The outdoor property there is absolutely breathtaking. Everywhere you turn there is something different to play with. There are gorgeous manicured gardens; old stone columns with ivy growing up the side; gorgeous knotty trees everywhere. When we visited the property with Marcia and Eric, we couldn’t even begin to fathom how many different elements we’d have to work with. But… mother nature sometimes likes to make you think outside the box. On Marcia and Eric’s wedding day, we were treated to our first Nor’easter here in New England. We experienced a driving rain and stiff wind all afternoon and evening. So were we disappointed? Not even a little! I’m not kidding. The best part was that Marcia and Eric didn’t even blink - they completely trusted us. We had this gorgeous estate to work with and there were more cozy nooks and fun architectural elements than we knew what do with! For example… one of my absolutely favorite images from the evening is this one. Can you guess where it was taken?

.

I’m just melting looking at the photo again. I love this one so much. No ideas on where we were? (Our previous couples can’t answer this one since they already know how we operate!) We were actually in an upstairs restroom. We picked it because it was a small room that we could have to ourselves and because the walls and mirrors in that room let us get creative with some lighting. We shut the door, had Marcia and Eric get cozy and used our video lights to help create the mood. After that, the the rest of the evening was spent having as much fun as possible dancing and laughing and even finding some old friends to share some cigars with outside:

.

.

We are so incredibly excited for Marcia and Eric to see the rest of their wedding photos now that their website is ready! Thank you so much for letting us be there with you!!