Boothbay Harbor has a special place in my heart. It was my home for a summer back in my hay day. I worked at a place called The Hot Tamale and lived in the apartment right above it. I remember feeling like I always smelled like mexican food, but for a 21 year old living on her own with direct access to margaritas, it was heaven. The restaurant space is now a pizza place with some delicious pie- but it will always be the Hot Tamale in my heart.
Anyways, onto this lovely wedding with this lovely couple. Courtney and Brian’s wedding was intimate and sweet. With a guest count under twenty people, everyone was able to enjoy their time together and have some real quality interaction with each other.
It was a perfect October day on the coast of Maine. The sun was shining and there was a crisp and clean ocean breeze coming off the water. As I was shooting the girls getting ready on the second floor of the lodge at the beautiful Linekin Bay Resort, I was able to peek out the window and watch Kerry (official second shooter of Jessie Dineen Photography) with Brian and his guys outside. It was fun to be a fly on a far off wall watching them take their photos and seeing the joy on their faces as the time ticked closer to the ceremony.
Courtney and Brian decided they would not do a first look. She was very excited to see Brian and have Brian see her in her stunning wedding gown as she walked down the isle. When I am photographing a wedding solo, I am at the front of the isle. It is where I can see the bride and the groom’s face and capture the most emotion. When Kerry is with me, he always gets this shot from the back of the isle of the groom’s reaction as his bride is approaching, with the back of the bride and whoever is walking her down the isle. I *love* this shot. He nails it every time. Some times I get jealous that I can’t be the one to capture that moment. Maybe next time I will send him to the front just so I can have that moment of awesomeness! Courtney was so looking forward to this moment and I think Kerry captured it perfectly- Brian could NOT have had a bigger smile on his face! Side note- take a look at the “isle” Courtney walked down- talk about epic!! Second side note- Kerry is hiding behind that large shrub in the image of Courtney and her dad at the top of the isle.
With the small bridal party and guest count we had ample time for portraits with Brian and Courtney. Honestly, some wedding day timelines go awry for one reason or another and sometimes we have maybe 15 minutes with the bride and groom- that can be stressful behind the scenes, especially if there is tough light or location. This wedding though, we had the time and the light was beautiful, and come on now, there aren’t many locations in Maine more beautiful than Boothbay Harbor. I couldn’t hide my excitement about how wonderful the portraits were going- and then this sweet woman named Mary came cruising in on a Linekin Bay boat and offered us a ride- what?? Is this real life?! Brian and Courtney were so happy and so smitten with each other- Courtney’s smile couldn’t have been any bigger on that boat!
The rest of the night was full of smiles, warm conversation and happy tears around a candle lit dinner table. The night ended perfectly when the sparklers were lit and those happy faces came waltzing down that glowing tunnel towards their new life together.
Congratulations Courtney and Brian!
