Emily & Alan's Backyard Massachusetts Wedding

Emily and Alan's love story is one that spans continents, transcending the distance between Ireland and the USA. The couple navigated time zones and thousands of miles to be together as Alan was living in Ireland and Emily in Montana throughout much of their relationship.

To compromise on a wedding location, Emily and Alan chose to get married in Bellingham, Massachusetts; the town that Emily grew up in.

I started the wedding day documenting Emily and her closest friends and family members getting ready at Emily’s childhood home. There’s nothing wrong with getting ready at a hotel room, but it’s always extra special to be in a place that has so much history. Family photos showing Emily as a child decorated the walls and Emily’s mother helped her get dressed in her bedroom.

Alan and his closest friends and family members were at a nearby hotel where my second shooter Nicki captured them getting ready and piling into the rented stretch Hummer (a rental that was orchestrated as a funny surprise for the groomsmen).

The couple got married in a traditional Catholic wedding ceremony at a beautiful local church covered in stain glass. We took family portraits outside the church and then brought the celebration to Emily’s parents' backyard for the rest of the night.

When Emily and Alan first hired me, they told me about their vision for the day. “We love the flexibility that a backyard wedding will give us to make it our own and just have a big, fun party with our family and friends.” The reception was exactly as they envisioned; a unique and special celebration with Irish and American traditions blending beautifully. The evening was full of heartfelt speeches, laughter, and lots of dancing. As a documentary wedding photographer, this sort of celebration is a ton of fun for me. I get to flex my photojournalistic muscles with moments that aren’t overly scripted and special DIY touches that are truly unique to the couple.

The weather got stormy at times and we had to shelter under the tent in the backyard briefly as a heavy rain storm passed through, but the rain stopped just in time for us to adventure out into the yard for some portraits before the sun set.

Cheers to Emily and Alan!