Sean and Elana Get Married

Not long after I shot Leila and Vidur’s wedding last fall, I got an email from Elana, a girl who works with Vidur and had been shown their slideshow by a fellow coworker. She said she knew immediately that I had to be her wedding photographer. And she and her fiance Sean wanted to fly me out to Connecticut to shoot their wedding. I was completely blown away, I have to admit. I mean, I had at this point only shot a handful of weddings, and here was a couple I had never met, wanting to bring me in all the way from Utah. Not only that, but they were, from the beginning, nothing but enthusiastic about having me be a part of their wedding. Over the past six months or so, we’ve been in pretty steady contact, getting to know each other and discussing details via phone calls and emails. So when Jamie and I pulled up in an airport shuttle in front of Sean’s parents’ house in Connecticut on the Friday night before the wedding, and I saw Elana and Sean literally running down the driveway to meet us, it honestly felt like we were old friends reuniting. They ushered us into the house, stuffed us with amazing authentic New York-style pizza, told us stories, showed us family pictures, introduced us to all their family members and some of their friends… and within five minutes, we felt like a part of the family.

One of the things I love most about weddings is that I think they are one of the best ways to learn about a culture and about a family. And I absolutely loved being immersed in the New England culture, with all of its diversity (particularly the Irish, Italian, and Catholic influences and traditions), history, and scenery. We drove through some of the old neighborhoods there, and I would have lived in ANY of those houses in an instant. Not a brick house to be found…. Just classic New England-style houses with old trees and white picket fences and colorful shutters. The American dream, pretty much. And I love how everyone there greets each other with kisses on the cheek and big hugs. And how they’re not afraid to speak their minds and let you know exactly what they think, but also how they will welcome anyone in and treat them like family. And their accents. Love ‘em. And the food? LOVE IT!

So I guess what I’m trying to say, in so many words, is all weekend long, I couldn’t help but feel like we were really a part of the Festa/Lenahan clan. They were truly some of the most hospitable people I have ever met, driving us around the whole time, feeding us, making sure that we were all taken care of. It felt nothing like a vendor/client relationship. In fact, at their reception at the swanky and fabulous Rockrimmon Country Club, the coordinator told Jamie and I that we would need to eat in the back room with the band, and when Sean heard this, he was like, no way. I’m taking care of this. You guys will eat just like everyone else, because it’s not like you’re just some vendors or something. You’re different.

And what he said has stuck with me ever since. THIS was what I’ve been working so hard for, how I’ve tried to shape my business. It’s less a matter of transactions and more a matter of relationships. This is how I want it to be with all my clients. Our relationship should be different from the way it might be with other wedding vendors. I mean, after all, we were with them through the entire day, witnessing and sharing some of their most intimate and special moments on one of the best and happiest days of their life. It’s kind of a big deal.

So enough of the sappiness. On with the photos!

While I was with the girls getting ready, I put Jamie in charge of shooting Sean and his groomsmen kicking back at the hotel. Geez, guys have it SO much easier when it comes to getting ready! :)

NICE shot, Jamie!

Meanwhile, back at the salon….

Here, Elana is listening to a voicemail from Sean explaining the significance of his wedding gift to her. Can’t you tell by the smile on her face?

This is one of my favorite shots. EVER.

Sean and Elana couldn’t have picked a more beautiful church to get married at. Gorgeous, with TONS of window light.

I love that Jamie caught the hint of some happy tears in Elana’s eyes before she got all the way down the aisle.

… and then he got THIS. Dang, he was on fire!

This image makes me smile so big.

How cute is Elana, seriously? She was one of the most animated and excited brides ever. I love how absolutely fun these two are.

“We’re married!!“

Because birdseed and rice aren’t really allowed to be tossed at most places anymore, Elana wanted to do something a little different. Her original vision was to have everyone blowing dandelions at them, but after much experimenting and assembling, she was only able to save 10-15 stems, so she had the family gather around to blow them. So cute.

Okay, so the instruction was for everyone to start running toward me at the same time, but before I had even finished the sentence, Elana and Sean just went for it and ran in circles around everyone. How awesome is this?!

I love the speeches. It’s another one of my favorite things about weddings, because they’re so personal, and full of laughter and tears, and SO entertaining.

… And I especially loved Elana’s reactions to everything.

Okay, this couple was the most precious ever. Even after so many years, I think they were more in love with each other than anyone else on that dance floor.

Sean has a reputation for photo-bombing (that is, jumping into other people’s photographs as they’re being taken). I love that his mom totally got him back for that. :)

The band was UNREAL. I’m usually not a fan of wedding bands at all, because they tend to ruin perfectly good songs, but these guys did covers amazingly well, and had everyone on the dance floor until they kicked us out.

How much do you wish you were friends with this guy?

Then everyone headed back to the Holiday Inn Select in Stamford, where most of us were staying. I gotta say, this place was a lot swankier than I ever expected a Holiday Inn to be! I loved how colorful and sleek and modern all the details were, and they had a great bar where we all hung out until really late. At this point, Jamie and I were more or less off the clock, so we got to share champagne with them (thanks to Sean’s sister Kayte!) and listen to some pretty crazy bachelor party stories. I just love these guys.

Just in case you thought the party was over…. Not so fast! We also did a pretty killer day after session, if I do say so myself, and that’ll be posted pretty soon, so stay tuned!

Until then, here’s the slideshow of the whole wedding day. Thanks to Sean and Elana, who gave CD’s of all their favorite love songs as favors, this one’s got a pretty great soundtrack. They really surprised me with some songs I had never heard before and absolutely loved! So enjoy! (And Sean and Elana, hope you guys found a decent Internet connection in Costa Rica to see all this!)