Oh, spring, welcome back. After a bunch of winter weddings, battling cold temperatures and early darkness, what a treat to be photographing during these lovely, long, warmer late spring days. And I was super excited to be photographing Joanna & Rory’s Charlestown wedding to start this busy season!

These two live with their sweet black lab Frank in a gorgeous apartment in Charlestown, just up the street from St. Mary’s church. Neither wanted much in the way of pre-ceremony coverage, but they did want photos with their best friends and so we took some portraits on their street before the ceremony. I absolutely love honoring your closest friends with a set of fun group photos, whether or not you have an official “wedding party”. I think this offers the best of both worlds for your friends, too: they can spend some extra time with you on the wedding day, and make some memories and photos, but without having to wear matching clothing that is expensive and may only get worn once.

Joanna & Rory chose not to see each other prior to the ceremony, so I made sure to get several great photos of Rory’s reaction to Joanna as well as photos of Joanna walking down the aisle with her father. I was also thrilled to see that their dog Frank was part of the ceremony – what a cool church to allow dogs!

The ceremony was short and sweet, and my favorite part was right after as friends and family gathered to throw petals as the couplke exited the church. These are always some of my favorite photos from the wedding day; any kind of special exit always makes for the best expressions and a really festive atmosphere!

After a quick Champagne stop outside their apartment, we took family photos at Charlestown’s Training Field, a cute little park a stone’s throw from the church. We had some really big groups but everyone was so easy to work with, and I’m glad we took these photos while we had decent weather and everyone was on a high post-ceremony. 🙂

After the formals, we headed over to Pier 6 to jump aboard Carousel, a beautiful motor yacht chartered through the Charles River Boat Company. It was a cloudy day, but still so pretty out on the water, with Boston as our backdrop.

The reception was held at Courageous Sailing / Pier 4 in a huge tent surrounded by water. I was super sad that the rain started up right as guests arrived, but the atmosphere inside the tent was so warm and vibrant. Shout out here to the absolutely wonderful vendor team headed up by Erin Davies Consultancy: Gourmet Caterers, Juharo Wedding Films, Glamour Cosmetics, Bridal Bar, Distinct Floral Designs, band Hot Mess Boston, cake baker Silver Whisk, Design Light and of course Pier 4 / Courageous Sailing.

Thank you so much Joanna & Rory for trusting me to document your beautiful wedding; I hope you enjoy these highlights!