She (Ruth) was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and him (Christian) in Exeter, NH. She flew from Canada to Boston for work, and within the first hour of landing, she met Christian who was working for a rental car company right outside of Logan Airport. Fast-forward six years, and I was shooting their wedding at Curtis Farm in Wilton, NH.
I’ve shot some AMAZING weddings, but this one tops the list for so many reasons.
1.) THE ENERGY. As the parents, groom, wedding party and bride walked down the aisle their guests cheered (loudly) and clapped for each person. The groom literally danced down the aisle, hitting reached-out hands as he made his way to the front. This positive, happy and high energy totally set the mood for the day. During their reception, Ruth + Christian mentioned all of happiness and positivity they felt around them. Before you knew it, every single person under that tent was holding hands up high and cheering for them.
2) THEIR STORY. Christian slyly got Ruth to ask him out based on a bet. His boss at Enterprise told him that if she took him to dinner he could take the next day off. Their first date lasted 6 hours and spanned several bars in downtown Boston. But because Ruth only took him out to a drink (or several) he still had to go into work the next day.
That same night, as Christian was walking Ruth back to her car they saw a huge line of people in the mall waiting for a video game release. He suggested it would be fun to pretend to propose to her in front of everyone. She agreed and they got fake engaged that night. Little did they know they would be marrying each other six years later.
3.) THEIR STYLE. Well the most obvious piece here—her hair and that dress! Because Ruth’s bridal party was scattered across North America, she told them to go on an Australian website (ShowPo.com) and pick out any dress to wear for the wedding. The only rule? It must be white. The girls also wore matching tan strappy wedges. As for the boys? Christian had eight guys in his entourage. His four friends wore suspenders and his four brothers did not, creating a little bit of distinction between the two groups.
4.) THE MCs. The two guys they had helping with transitions throughout the day were two of Christian’s good friends from home. One of them is a commercial airline pilot, so while on the microphone he would imitate his “pilot voice” and it was hilarious.
5.) THE EXECUTION. From the custom-made concert tickets (instead of escort cards) that coincided with legendary artist centerpieces to the vintage couches set up as little lounge areas across the property, the set-up and attention to detail was a photographer’s dream.
6.) PARENT DANCE. Christian’s mother had passed away when he was younger. Ruth lost her father, who had been ill for some time shortly after meeting Christian. Together these two lit candles in memory of their parents and danced to Elvis’ song, An American Trilogy. It started slow and sad (I don’t think there was a dry eye under that tent), but towards the end of the song Elvis starts belting out and repeating “Glory” and “Hallelujah.” The two started spinning each other around on the dance floor. Smiles came across their faces. They were jumping up and down and the whole room watched these two find so much comfort and spirituality in that moment together. That dance was such a rollercoaster ride full of so much emotion.
7.) ICE CREAM TRUCK. Instead of a traditional cake, they had an ice cream truck roll in after dinner. I’m loving this food truck trend.
