Western Massachusetts Wedding Photogarpher

Wedding photography is not my main focus. I love doing portraits but I do shoot a few weddings a year. I primarily work as a second shooter but occasionally will book a wedding on my own. What I find is that I am not good at planning ahead so committing to a date 2 years in advance is a challenge for me. But if you need a wedding photographer last minute for your backyard wedding- I’m your girl! Weddings are great to photograph because it is happy people, all dressed up and ready to be photographed! And as a wedding photographer second shooter I just show up on the day, enjoy the party and then pass off the work to my primary shooter- win-win for me! This year I did three weddings with Brooke Ellen Photography and three weddings with Alison Marie Photography. I love shooting with them both. They are laid back and so easy to work with at a wedding. They both usually don’t do the “factory” weddings, the church/ country club type of thing. So I love seeing so many different venues. This was a crazy year for weddings with the pandemic raging and for wedding phtographers specifically. All weddings (pretty much) canceled in 2020, so double the amount of weddings this year. But I was happy to see so many couples finally get the wedding of their dreams.

As a second shooter, I spend a lot of my time with the groom and groomsmen. This is usually a more laid-back place than the bride’s space and we usually have a lot of fun! I’ll start with the three I did with Brooke first. For this wedding we did the getting ready and first look pictures in Amherst and then headed north for the ceremony and reception.

love when the wedding party is up for some fun!

The views at this location, The Mountain Rose Inn, are spectacular!!

As a second shooter, I often hang back and try to get different shots than the primary shooter. I love these just before they come down the aisle pictures!

For me the hardest part of the day as a wedding photographer is the reception. It can be a challenge to photograph. But sometimes you can get some really fun shots!

Next up we shot a couple that had been married in a very small ceremony last year with just their immediate family in attendance. So this wedding was more of a vow confirmation and blessing. And it was the big day they had wanted all along. We were up at The Farm Table at Kringle Candle for this wedding!

The final wedding I shot with Brooke was a very fun backyard Barn wedding. The couple was able to use a good friend’s property and it was awesome. The sprinkling rain was a bit of a bummer but it ended exactly before the ceremony was to start- perfect timing!

A pumpkin scarecrow bride and groom! how cute is that??

we may have left the bridesmaids unattended a little too long!

Ok, moving on to the weddings I shot with Alison. The first weekend was a double header! I was only supposed to do one wedding with Alison this weekend but due to a covid exposure of another second shooter, I stepped in to do two! And she didn’t even get sick of hanging out with me at all (that is what I tell myself). First up was another backyard barn wedding. And the donkey wore a bowtie!! I often have a lot of fun with the groomsmen’s pictures. We get the official formal shots and then we play around. I will sometimes get funny texts from the primary shooter when they are going through my pictures- like what was going on here??? It just makes me laugh.

One of the fun things is hearing the couple stories about their relationships. How they met etc. These two have been together since at least High School I believe!

The next day we met at The Barns at Wesleyan Hills. The guests were greeted by a wall of mimosas to enjoy before and during the ceremony- so cool! As the wedding photographer I did not partake- but I love this idea.