Part two of my best of Boston wedding photography, also featuring wedding photos from venues on Cape Cod, in Providence, Vermont, and Maine. You can see part one here. These are my remaining favorite photos – and a fun best of 2017 slideshow to start off:

Each year, I post a selection of my favorite photos from each wedding I photographed, in either slideshow or scroll-through form. This year, I’m sharing both! For those slideshow lovers, look no further – click the play button on the image above to start a whirlwind, fast-moving gallery set to music. If you prefer to take your time and savor the images, I’ve posted a couple of photos from each wedding below, with a little about what I loved about them. This is the second half of the year, mid September through December.

Mid fall brought beautiful sunny days and some incredibly fun weddings for me. Alan and Ari got married at the spectacular site of the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, MA. I love this wide overview of their ceremony under the huge tree.

Alan’s expression says it all. These two have such an amazing connection, and I loved documenting their beautiful relationship.

I love to capture the atmosphere at weddings, and sometimes that means taking a little wander during dinner, or cocktail hour, and seeing what I can find. The tent glowed in the beautiful twilight, and I wanted to include a sliver of Provincetown where Ari and Alan have a home, as well as the ocean beyond, a focal point of this lovely area. The flock of birds in V formation was the icing on the cake.

Why is it that my gay couples always seem to have more fun with the cake cutting than my straight couples? It’s a trend I’ve noticed at my many LGBTQ weddings over the years. I love that Alan and Ari chose to include this as a featured image in their album – and of course they did, because it perfectly shows off their playful personalities.

Erin and Andrew had an absolutely spectacular celebration at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was my first wedding at this incredible venue, and it didn’t disappoint! One of my very favorite photos of the day was back at Erin’s parents’ home where Erin and her girlfriends got ready. Her mom suggested that she put the final touches to her outfit on the landing, where there is a beautiful display of old family wedding photos.

The MFA has a thousand and one incredible spots for portraits, so a few weeks before the wedding, I met with Andy and Erin for a tour of the space with their venue coordinator, Rebecca. Rebecca was a wonderful help, and showed us where we were allowed to take photos (almost everywhere, in fact!) and how to make best use of our limited time given the huge space. This spot was a favorite of Andy’s, and I really love that this couples portrait really showcases him (the groom is often a little overlooked when it comes to portraits) as well as featuring Erin’s gorgeous veil and unique, super elegant dress.

How incredible is this reception decor at the MFA?! I was thrilled to work with an all-star vendor team at this wedding, including Marc Hall Design who created these absolutely stunning florals. I love all the green and the simple yet striking arrangements. I don’t usually share “detail” photos here, but this setup was too spectacular not to include!

A moment between portraits as Erin and Andy walked hand in hand through the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston before their wedding reception. I hope to return to this wonderful venue in the next year or two, and with a couple who are just as much fun to work with. I really loved exploring with them, and working together to create some meaningful portraits in amongst all of the incredible art on show.

Julie & Austin got married at the Poppy Inn on Cape Cod, and this wonderful moment was right after the ceremony as they ran onto the beach, followed by their wedding party. We were about to take some portraits, but my favorite photos are almost always the moments right before and right after. Both Austin and Julie are so exuberant and this photo captures that exuberance so perfectly.

And sometimes the portraits are pretty great too – just a simple composition here to highlight the soft blue of the sky and the ocean (thank you, clouds!) and the playfulness of this awesome couple.

The reception entrances are often not my favorite thing to photograph; they’re tricky to capture well, and often they can be a little awkward. Not so for these two! Their entrance was perfect, funny, and this photo makes me smile every time I look at it. 🙂

Another groom getting ready photo that made my absolute favorites last year – I loved this moment as Ben struggled with his tie, while his good friend gave him a lesson in bow tie tying. I chose to shoot from a very low angle to clean up the composition (it was a small and very messy room!) and keep the focus where it mattered. I also liked the light fitting which showed the style of the great rental property that Ben and Kait chose for their friends and family to stay in over the wedding weekend.

Kait & Ben had a sweet first look at their rental house, then clambered over the huge rocks that formed the boundary between the house and the ocean. I really love the contrast of Ben in shiny shoes and tux, with Kait with bare feet and hair flowing in the breeze.

This is one of my absolute favorites of Ben and Kait – right after the ceremony they were beaming, glowing, giddy with happiness. I also love how Ben is carrying Kait’s shoes for her. 🙂 And I love that they are both completely oblivious to my presence, even though I’m close, shooting wide. I think my magical silent camera helps a little with that …

I returned to one of my favorite Newport wedding venues, The Chanler at Cliff Walk, for Sean & Andrew’s lovely fall wedding. Right before family photos started, Andrew and Sean greeted their families (always a great time for candid photos of happy hugs) and Sean crouched down and helped his little nephew with his miniature tux. So sweet!

This magnificent mansion venue has gorgeous views over the water, but you have to capture the beauty of the mansion in some of the photos too. This wide view of the ceremony seemed like the perfect opportunity. I always try to capture one photo which includes everyone present at the wedding, if I can.

I love when we are still outside during the magical twilight hour – especially when there’s a fire pit to add warmth and a natural spot to gather. This is right at the end of cocktail hour at Sean and Andrew’s wedding at The Chanler, and it really showcases the magical atmosphere of this venue.

Photographing friends makes me especially anxious, but also extra excited. Tori & Will got married at a new-to-me venue in Somerville, Warehouse XI, and what a perfect day it was. Their ceremony was intimate and emotional, and one of my favorite moments was this reading by Tori’s brother. I love the intense glances, and the light was just perfect at that time, soft and backlit and yummy.

One of my subconscious missions this year was capturing how the day felt in a more subtle way, and I played around with this a lot during cocktail hour and over dinner. This photo also shows many of the kids in Will’s family who are super important to him.

I adore this intimate and oh so sweet moment during the toasts at this wonderful Warehouse XI wedding in Somerville. Will and Tori are lost in their own private moment while everyone around them is tuned into the toasts still.

When the light is this gorgeous, you hope and pray that the photo gods will smile down on you and give you a lovely moment to photograph – I got lucky this time! The end of Caroline’s getting ready time had been a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone, and finally her mom got choked up. This was right before caroline walked out of the door with her friends, to head over to the Boston Public Library.

A few years ago, I started working on transitional photos – photos that show how the story moves from one location (or one mood) to the next. It takes a little planning (I had my second shooter grab my reception gear in advance so I could shoot while walking) and a little luck, but I love being rewarded by great photos that show off the location and the atmosphere all in one. A city shot with the wedding party can be cliche, or it can be atmospheric – I hope the genuine moment makes this the latter!

The Abbey Room is a beautiful space at the Boston Public Library, but it was also the backup location for what should have been an airy courtyard wedding (it was sadly too cold). My work was cut out for me here, making this dark, indoor space feel as beautiful as the spot we weren’t in, but I found new compositions in this room that really show off its charm. Next time we have to move inside because of bad weather I’ll know not to be disappointed, but rather excited for a greater challenge.

I had to throw in a fun dance floor photo in my best of 2017 post! Here’s one of my favorites from Morgan and Caroline’s fantastic wedding at the Boston Public Library in November. Her brothers were a lot of fun ..!