2018 was awesome! This is my third year doing a year-end slideshow and each year I say the same thing. But the truth is that each year since I’ve started this business has been better than the last. Another year full of amazing couples who entrusted me to capture their big day and allow me to do what I love most for a living. Building this business has been harder than I ever imagined when I photographed my first wedding in 2015, but also more rewarding than I ever thought possible.
This year in my work just as every year my primary focus is capturing genuine moments, whether they be a reaction to a hilarious toast, a spur of the moment dance-off, an emotional father seeing his daughter for the first time, or a flower girl who couldn’t sit still at dinner. I’m always working on improving my ability to anticipate these moments before they even happen. This year as I continue to see and understand light I started embracing shadows and dark in my photos. In my first few years as a photographer I decided that the style that felt natural to me was very bright and light photos. It still is for the most part but I’ve started realizing the importance of capturing the mood of a scene, and if that room wasn’t bright and light I’m not going to try to make it look like that in my photo.
I have a note in my phone that lists yearly business goals since the start of 2016 and what I did and did not accomplish each year. Some of my goals for 2016 were “photograph a wedding in Florida” and “hire a second photographer” which seem silly in comparison to what I’m working on now! A few of the goals for 2018 that I accomplished this year- the knot best of weddings 2019, win a WPJA award, get a brand new website up and running.
I photographed 17 incredible weddings this year in 3 different states ranging in guests from 8-200. From a tented wedding on the coast of York Maine, to a destination wedding in Islamorada Florida, to an elopement at Cambridge city hall, to a city wedding at the Westin Copley Place, to an intimate ceremony on the beach on Cape Cod. The common denominator was awesome couples in love who just wanted to have a beautiful fun day with their family and friends and photographs that would take them back to how they felt on the best day of their lives.
Be sure to turn up your volume before starting the video , and then all of the individual photos are listed below that. If you enjoy the video I would love if you could share it with friends!
Cheers to an even better 2019
Morgan
The DJ had everyone gather round the dance floor in a huge circle for Tom and Briana’s last dance at their Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation wedding
Tom and Briana exit their industrial Charles River Museum wedding ceremony
The bride dancing with her sister at the Lake Pavilion in West Palm Beach. I turned off my main flash (on camera) for this shot and waited for Marie to turn towards my off camera flash (set up by the DJ speaker) for a more dramatic look.
Briana sharing a champagne toast with her bridesmaids in the bridal suite before her Waltham wedding.
The bride popping a bottle of champagne with her bridesmaids while getting ready.
Marie and Todd share their final dance of the evening at their Lake Pavilion wedding
There were looming thunderstorms all day but we were able to sneak out during a break in the storm for some bride and groom portraits in downtown West Palm Beach.
Some wedding guests attempting to lift the groom at a Lake Pavilion wedding
Some wedding guests attempting to lift the groom at a Lake Pavilion wedding
Young guests enjoying wedding cake at a Lake Pavilion wedding
This kid had some of the best dance moves I’ve seen in years!
A young wedding guest enjoying himself on the dance floor
Marie and Todd share their first dance at the Lake Pavilion in West Palm Beach
We took bride and groom portraits at the end of a pier in downtown West Palm Beach
Marie and Todd steal a glance at their St. Edward’s Church wedding ceremony in Palm Beach.
Marie’s brother gives her away at her St. Edward wedding ceremony in Palm Beach.
A “no-look first look” at the Worth Ave clock tower in Palm Beach
A bridal portrait of Marie right before she leaves the bridal suite to go to the church in Palm Beach
Having a great time on the dance floor at a TJ Smith’s Victorian House wedding.
In order to capture the moody feel of this industrial brick wedding ceremony at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, I set my camera to capture as much of the limited ambient bistro lighting as I could, and then relied on my off camera flash at the front of the ceremony and off to the right to light just the bride and groom while leaving the guests in shadow.
The sister of the groom reacts to an emotional toast at the TJ Smith Victorian House.
Marissa and Dave having fun during their first dance
Marissa and Dave sharing a beautiful first dance at the TJ Smith Victorian House
Right as we were finishing bride and groom portraits I asked Marissa and Dave walk away from me down the path to show off Marissa’s stunning train
Reactions to a particularly hilarious speech at the Charles River Museum. I lit this shot with my main on camera flash, and another off camera flash off to the side for a little extra dimension. I used my 70-200mm f2.8 lens at 200mm to be able to crouch where the wedding guests were and capture this close up shot without intruding in a large industrial space.
Carolyn and Rick walking back to the resort after their first look at the end of a dock at Amara Cay.
Despite a looming tropical storm, Carolyn and Rick had the most perfect first look at the end of a pier at Amara Cay Resort in Islamorada, Florida.
Carolyn had just shared a lovely first look with her father, when they both looked down and saw Louise the frenchie staring out the window and completely oblivious to the fact that she was sitting on Carolyn’s wedding gown.
A bride and her bridesmaids pose in their robes at Amara Cay before her Islamorada destination wedding.
Carolyn’s dress was so stunning against the backdrop of the ocean at her destination wedding at Amara Cay Resort in Islamorada, Florida.
A groom and his groomsmen share some whiskey and a toast before heading to his destination wedding ceremony in Islamorada, Florida.
Wences and Emily had not originally planned on doing a first dance at their Tuscan Kitchen wedding, but at their guests behest they decided to give it a go.
A mother of the groom shares a heartwarming moment and glance with her new daughter-in-law.
A portrait of two grooms on a rainy day in Beacon hill.
We were in the middle of taking portraits in Beacon Hill after Matthew and Lyndon’s Cambridge city hall elopement when a group of school children on a field trip came by and start cheering for the newly married couple!
We took portraits of Matthew and Lyndon in Beacon Hill following their Cambridge City Hall elopement. They braved the rain for some great shots on Acorn St.
I love this shot of Matthew and Lyndon after having just signed the paperwork at city hall and heading back toward where me and their family wait for their Cambridge city hall ceremony.
We took this portrait of Logan and Karem under a gorgeous and elaborate floral installation at their Curtiss Mansion wedding in Miami Springs, Florida
Wedding guests dancing under the veranda at a Palm Beach Zoo wedding.
One of my favorite portraits of Rebecca and Brad on the bridge at the Palm Beach zoo.
A young wedding guest meeting an armadillo during the animal encounter cocktail hour at the Palm Beach zoo.
The bride meeting an owl at her Palm Beach zoo wedding.
This wedding was so fun! The couple enjoyed an animal encounter with an owl during cocktail hour at their Palm Beach zoo wedding.
Carolyn and her french bulldog and flower girl, Louise, share a moment before her Islamorada beach ceremony.
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer in Boston or Palm Beach I’d love to chat about how I might be able to help! Contact me here.
