And finally just a couple of weeks ago, we were honored to be there to see Kristen and Chris finally exchange their wedding vows….and they are officially married! We had a fabulous day with them and although the weather forecast promised rain – no….not rain, more like a torrential downpour – we never saw a drop of it while we were outside! And as soon as the reception began and Kristen and Chris were dancing their first dance, the rain, thunder and lightning made their appearance. Talk about perfect timing!

We started the day separately while Kristen and Chris were getting ready. Rene arrived to find Chris taking a nap by himself on a hammock in the backyard, while I arrived to find Kristen in the middle of a houseful of friends and family all excitedly getting ready. I love that and it really describes Kristen and Chris’ personalities perfectly and why they complement each other so well.

Kristen had so many personal details everywhere – she just thought of everything. I loved the sachet for their rings….so much more personal than the jewelers box!

And she also wrapped her grandmother’s pearls, her grandfather’s watch and their wedding rings around her bouquet so they would be close to her all day:

After a beautiful ceremony held at Pilgrims Church in beautiful Harwichport, we made our way to the Wychmere Harbor Club where their reception was going to be held. As soon as we arrived, though, we made our way over to the beach behind the harbor club for a private session with Kristen and Chris. We had the beach completely to ourselves which was such a great added bonus!

It was such a beautiful day in every sense of the word. Even when the thunder and lightning arrived -we were all safely inside and enjoyed the spectacular backdrop it created during dinner. It was as if Kristen and Chris has planned it all along. You know…I wouldn’t be too surprised to find out that they did….Kristen’s that good at this stuff.

With family and friends traveling from near and far, they decided to celebrate everything at one location and picked one of the most beautiful locations that we know of…the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod.

I started the day in Maggie’s suite while she was getting ready, while Rene met Mike at the church. But in Maggie’s suite, we were soon joined by their beautiful little boy, Patrick. Patrick got ready in the suite with mom and it definitely added a whole new layer of fun and cuteness. Here’s Patrick helping mom putting on her contacts:

And with grandma getting dressed in his adorable pint-sized tuxedo:

And at last arriving with her dad for the ceremony:

Maggie’s mom had to leave early for the church and so that meant that she saw Maggie completely dressed and ready for the very first time when she stepped out of the limo with her dad. One of my favorite moments was right at that very second:

After the ceremony, we had a ton of fun with Maggie and Mike’s portrait session…another one of my favorite parts of the day.

Maggie spent so much time on all of the details for the wedding. From the amazing programs at the church, to the place cards that were each hand calligraphied to the matching menus at every place setting…. every last detail was so perfect.

Their reception was just as emotional and warm and fun as every moment leading up to it. One of the most touching moments was during the toasts. Mike’s dad, Maggie’s dad and both of Maggie’s brothers got up to say a few words. Maggie’s family is so warm and close and they aren’t afraid to show it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two brothers that were prouder of their little sister. All of their toasts left everyone in tears both from laughing and from the sweet memories that they all shared. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I actually cried a little, too – for the first time ever at a wedding!

And you’d expect a wedding like Maggie and Mike’s to end with a bang – and that it did… with an amazing sparkler exit.

Some of the details for Maggie and Mike’s wedding:
Maggie’s dress: Vera Wang “Calla Lily”
Flowers: Winston Flowers
Ceremony location: First Congregational Church of Chatham
Reception location: The Chatham Bars Inn – Chatham, Massachusetts

They’ve been waiting so long for their wedding to arrive and in the meantime, worked incredibly hard planning so many fabulous little details and personal touches. From a table filled with their parents wedding photographs and a personalized guest book, every detail meant something to them – and also matched their wedding colors perfectly!

Their reception was held at the beautiful Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee, MA and that’s exactly where we started. Both Mikki and Scott were getting ready in separate villas on the property when we arrived and Rene and I spent a ton of time with them getting all of those great moments getting ready for their big day!

First, Scott looking incredibly sharp:

And Scott gave his groomsmen some of the best cuff links we have ever seen. I absolutely love this idea – they’re T tokens!

Another cool detail of Scott’s fabulous attire. These guys looked amazing!

Meanwhile, just upstairs in another villa, Mikki had her own team of professionals helping her to look just as perfect:

I absolutely love this next image of Mikki. It’s a candid that was taken when she was putting on her shoes just before stepping into her gorgeous gown:

Isn’t that gown just AMAZING? It’s from Priscilla’s Platinum Collection and I’m completely serious when I say that she took my – and everyone else’s – breath away when she put it on. That dress was made for her (literally) and it definitely showed. It looked as if it was an extension of her body and she just flowed in it. Even more incredibly – this was one of TWO gowns that Mikki would wear! She also changed into a stunning sheath gown later during the reception – perfect for dancing and enjoying the rest of the evening. Once she was dressed, it was time for all of those fun little details:

Mikki and Scott had an absolutely gorgeous day for their wedding and we were able to use the grounds at Willowbend as a great backdrop for some of their photos before the ceremony. When it was time for the girls and I to head outside, Mikki pulled out these adorable pink parasols (pink being one of their wedding colors) and we had SUCH a great time playing with them:

We then headed off to the church in a trolley and waited for the ceremony to begin. The church (St. Elizabeth Seton) was incredibly cozy and quaint. It was also pretty tiny so Mikki and her girls waited just outside the front doors before they walked down the aisle. The day was beautiful, the sky blue and sun bright so it also made for some gorgeous images. This was taken just minutes before Mikki and her dad walked down the aisle:

Mikki and Scott are just such a happy couple and so completely in love. It was so awesome to be there and watch them together. There’s just no denying the excitement here:

After the ceremony, we all boarded the trolley and made a detour to a local beach. Do you think having high heels and 50lb dress was going to stop Mikki from hiking (far!!) across a beach. Not a chance! I had a hard time keeping up with her. That’s my kind of girl!! We are so happy that they were willing to make that trek across the sand, though, because we were able to have so much fun with them!

It’s funny, it just sometimes seems like when things are perfect, they’re REALLY perfect. Everything falls into place, everyone is happy and even the sun sets exactly when you need it to. Like when we stole some time away from everyone for Mikki and Scott’s personal session:

After spending some time on the beach, we hurried back to the Willowbend Country Club, just as last bits of the sun were dipping below the horizon. Not enough light from the sun? Well, that’s nothing a little video light can’t take care of and we definitely had fun playing with one of our favorite lighting methods:

I just can’t ever get enough of Mikki’s stunning smile:

Mikki and Scott were then introduced and kicked off their reception in high style! Their first dance was perfectly choreographed and even though their steps were all perfectly times and in sync, the never once let their gorgeous smiles take a break. One of my favorite images from their dance? It was when they were passing Rene and Scott glanced over and gave him an ever-so-cool wink:

Mikki and Scott truly had a day that no one will forget! They spent an amazing two weeks honeymooning in Greece and we are now so ready to get started on their album together! Thank you again, guys, for letting us be there with you and capture your beautiful personalities! We can’t wait to see you again very soon…