Boy did we kick off our 2017 season with a boom!  We’re finally back from a month of on and off traveling, and I’m thrilled to be able to be back in full force.  It was a chilly day in January, and everyone involved in this wedding was such a great sport about having fun with the process, and laughing at how ridiculous we can be. We are honestly so lucky to have couples (and families) that wholeheartedly trust us to capture their day honestly, and with such great taste to boot.  The Red Barn at Hampshire College is quite possibly one of the most quaint and beautiful venues in Massachusetts, and Katie and Jim certainly let it shine with their winter decor.

When the timeline of the day day starts to get away from you, your hair and makeup teams go double time, and you have an entire team working together at once!

Meanwhile, down the road, the boys hung out together before the ceremony.

Once everyone was ready, and nerves time-crunches settled in, I reminded Katie to ground herself and read the card that Jim gave her, to remind her of exactly why we were heading to the church.  This is my favorite thing for brides to do in their last few minutes before they leave for the ceremony.  It gives you a chance to reset from the chaos of getting ready, and grounds you to be present in the moment again before you say your vows.




Katie’s dad was so excited to see her as she hopped off the limo!




Married!

The Red Barn is simply beautiful – I don’t think you could fit another ounce of charm in this room if you tried!

With the sun quickly dipping down, we moved at warp speed for some beautiful winter portraits.

Katie, you

Katie & Jim’s only request was for us to photograph Katie’s 90 year old grandfather dancing to the YMCA.  I happily obliged, and cried happy tears seeing the entire world disappear to these two, and seeing that in that moment, Katie was that man’s entire world.

Katie & Jim, thank you so much for allowing us to share the start of your story together!  I know for sure that the future is nothing but bright!

Boy, was 2016 a wonderful year.  It may be over two weeks into the new year, but let me tell you, it’s a daunting (but so rewarding) task of going through tens of thousands of images from the year to pick out our highlights.  From estates and castles, Connecticut to Cape Cod (and lots of different areas not necessarily in between), we could not have asked for a better group of people to call our 2016 crew.

We are beyond honored to be there with our couples to tell their stories.  I cannot express how thankful we are to have couples who don’t hold back; who love each other, their family, and their friends.  They love them hard –  openly and honestly, without any thought about having it any other way.  They laugh with them, ugly cry with them, hug them, dance with them, and trust us to find, document, and preserve the beauty in all of it.  Damn, we love what we do.

I could go on and on, but instead, without further ado, the 2016 Caroline Talbot Photography crew:

Before we head off to our first wedding of 2017, it’s only appropriate that we share how awesome our 2016 season wrapped up!  We had such a wonderful time photographing Jess & Matt’s wedding down at the New England Carousel Museum in Connecticut.  Not only did we have three of our couples there (of course, Jess & Matt, plus both Leah & Nick and Lisa & Will), but this venue is so different from any other venue, and was a perfect fit for Jess & Matt’s vintage circus wedding.  These guys have such a quirky style that is so unique to them, and they could not have lived out their wedding in more perfect form.  All of their energy comes from being around their friends and family, and they hosted a beautifully energy packed party (you’ll see what I mean).

I adore the shoes and vintage jewelry that Jess decided wear.

These two – best reaction to seeing each other on their wedding day.

I love when our couples trust us when we say – see all that dead stuff over there? Go stand in it.

After some relaxed formal portraits, everyone tucked inside to get warm for a packed Ketubah ceremony, complete with a Ketubah hand made by a friend of the couple, combining New York and Boston, both of their hometowns.

I think they were just a little excited to be married :)

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire museum is that they have a working carousel for all of the guests!  It was great seeing everyone tap into their inner child during cocktail hour.

Before their official first dance, Jess & Matt had everyone join in to kick off a rocking party.  It was so great to see everyone exploding with excitement for the couple.

Matt’s mom was fighting back tears during her toast.

It’s no surprise that Nick’s toast was animated to say the least.

At the end of the night, we took advantage of having the museum to ourselves, and took a few portraits before saying goodnight.

Here is to many more years of rocking the casbah, you two!

 

Boy did we wrap up 2016 with a bang!  We first met Allison’s family at Heather & Maclean’s wedding, so we knew off the bat that these guys were going to be awesome (there’s nothing that makes us happier than when we see families again and again at weddings!).  You really will not meet two people more thrilled to be married to each other than Allison & Keith (we learned how true this was at their engagement session).  They are two of the most motivated and hard working people we have come to know, and I was so honored that they gave us their complete trust to honestly document their wedding day.  They said their vows at the always stunning Alden Castle in Brookline, which is one of the most regal and elegant venues in the Boston area.  I cannot say enough how much we love working there! Not to mention their awesome team of vendors, including Poppy Floral, DJ Marc Anthony of Murray Hill Talent, and Hair and Makeup by Charlotte Phinney!

Can we start by talking about how cool this suite at the Hotel Commonwealth is?  It was the perfect modern backdrop for this quintessential city couple.

I love this clutch that Allison carried as a nod to their new hometown :)

I loved Allison’s reaction when she had realized that Keith had stolen her shoes and written a note to her for their wedding day :)

Their adorable flower girl had a checklist of everything that had to get done for the day to keep us in line!

She of course took a break to enjoy twirling in her dress :)

Across town, Keith spent some time getting ready with his groomsmen.

Allison looked like she walked off of a movie set.

Allison & Keith took some time alone for each other just across the street from Alden Castle before their ceremony.

Even with the park bustling with people, these guys stayed in their own little world, completely unaware of everyone around them.

The roof of Alden castle is a beautiful quiet rose garden, nestled between the Longwood Towers.

When the sun doesn’t give you a sunset, you make one!  Thanks to Cori for being our portable sun!

Allison & Keith had a beautiful Ketubah signing, and then a super romantic ceremony with all of their family and friends.

The grand ballroom was elegantly adorned with sophisticated and beautiful gold, blush, and maroon accents.

Can we stop and drool over this cake, just for a minute?

As soon as DJ Marc Anthony opened the dance floor, it was packed.

Allison & Keith, we could not be more excited for the two of you.  Can we do everything all over again?

Today’s weather, outside of a much chilly temperature is not that far off from the rainy day that we had in store for us at Lorena & Thiago’s wedding!  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially a little bit nervous about the weather, which had stolen our grand plans of heading to a park around golden hour, but we could not have asked for a more incredible day for this sweet duo.  You may remember them from their Rockport engagement session, which was pretty killer if I do say so myself.  I have yet to meet a calmer bride before her wedding than Lorena.  No matter what twist or turn was thrown her way, she never stopped smiling her incredible smile, and Thiago was her rock throughout the day, to nobody’s surprise.  Before I swoon too much, let’s get to some images of their day, shall we?

Oh hey, I bet you didn’t know we had Vogue models as our grooms, did you?

This is one of my favorite images of the day, of Lorena’s sister quietly helping her with the final buttons of her dress.

Lorena burst into complete laughter when she put her veil on for the first time.

Despite Mother Nature having different plans for us (Josh and I heard some thunder rolling in, so we ended up having to stay closeby to the hotel rather than heading to a nearby park and risking drowning everyone in mud!), we could not have planned for the sheer joy that was Lorena & Thiago’s first look with each other!

Who needs a park when you have a teeny patch of grass and an incredible couple?

The team at the Villa never disappoints.  They make sure that everyone (including your vendors!) are well taken care of.  Not to mention their new tent is nothing short of stella when you decorate it as well as Lorena did!

If the joy of their wedding could be summed up in one photo, this would be it!

This was my first time being able to photograph the Brazilian tradition of the groom’s tie cutting!  Every male guest is invited strongly encouraged to buy a piece of the groom’s tie for good luck!  

This crew definitely knew how to party, and party into the night they did.

We are so lucky to have couples who trust us 100%.  For this shot at the end of the night, Josh and I walked up to the happy couple looking most likely like drowned rats after setting up our shot and had the following conversation:

Caroline: Do you want to go outside in the rain?
Lorena: Is it still raining THAT hard?
Caroline: Yup.
Lorena & Thiago: Let’s do it.

Thank you guys for trusting us and our crazy ideas – we love you both, and are so excited to see what life has in store for you!