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| Jessica looking out the window at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel before leaving for the church |
Jessica and Lee were married at the United Methodist Church in Poughkeepsie and had their reception at The Grandview. We first met Jessica when we filmed Kristin and Hunter's wedding in 2008 when she was one of Kristin's bridesmaids. This time their roles were reversed. We were looking forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces and we weren't disappointed! What a great group of family and friends! We felt so privileged to be a part of their wedding!
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| Jessica and Lee's rings and invitation |
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| Just Married! |
I had been anxiously awaiting this wedding since our first conversations with Jessica and Lee. From the color scheme she described to all of her ideas for the details, big and small, she made me excited to see it all come together.
Our day started with Jessica and Lee as they were getting ready. I can't wait to get to edit all the footage from Jessica's Bride's prep together for their final film. Jessica and the girls all had so much fun together that morning (as seen in the preview clip below).
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| Jessica's beautiful Sottero and Midgley gown! |
Jessica's Sottero and Midgley dress was beautiful! The bodice was covered in lots of intricate, sparkly, beaded detail. The back was a lace up closure. The fabric had a sheen that intensified the sparkle in the bead work as well as all the sparkle of the jewelry that she wore. It was a gorgeous dress and she look radiant in it!
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| Bracelet and Engagement Ring |
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| Wedding Day gift from Lee to Jessica. |
Jessica's jewelry was a mix of old, new and very new. The bracelet pictured was given to her by Lee the night before the wedding and was followed by the set above the morning of the wedding. But that wasn't all folks! At the alter as they exchanged rings, Lee gave Jessica one last new piece of jewelry. A wedding band different from the one she was expecting to see. All the guests saw was Jessica's look of surprise followed by a slap on Lee's arm. The guests burst out in laughter. It wasn't until later that we all found out what he had done. Jessica's engagement ring is pictured above next to her bracelet, but if you want to see the wedding band with it, you can see the picture above with both of her rings as well as Lee's wedding band. When you get a look at Lee's wedding band, you'll see the bride wasn't the only one with some bling.
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| Great Grandma's ring with Jessica's Engagement Ring and the Headpiece she wore. |
Jessica's Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue was a mix of her things with family heirlooms. Her Something New was her dress, of course. Her Something Old was her great grandmother's ring seen in the photo above with her engagement ring in the background. Her something borrowed was a family heirloom handkerchief passed down through many generations on her mother's side of the family. It's pictured below with her great grandmother's ring, seen peeking out of her something blue, the fabulous shoes she wore under her dress. I love that brides are going less traditional with their shoes and allowing for a touch of personality and vibrant color! The last piece pictured above is her headpiece. All beautiful details for a beautiful bride!
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| Jessica's Awesome shoes, Great Grandma's Ring again with a family heirloom handkerchief, Engagement Ring and Shoes |
Jessica did all her prep at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, hair, make-up and getting dressed. It was a good thing they had use of two adjoining rooms and one across the hall. All the bridesmaids and her parents were there with her as well as myself, her photographer (Kristine Palmer), her hair stylist (Maria) and her Make-up artist (Amy from MAC). Every time a bride gets into her gown and the girls are helping her, someone inevitably asks, "How many people does it take to get a bride dressed". The answer, for any of you wondering, is everyone in the room and nearby. Most gowns are more tricky than you would think. As Jessica got into her gown, she had one girl holding the dress in place while her mom and two other bridesmaids worked on the lacing in the back. For good measure, there were two other bridesmaids standing close by in case they needed an extra set of hands for anything and more on the bed at the side ready to grab anything they asked for. It was a group effort very well done!
On the day of their wedding, they get into their gown and there is a unique glow that washes over every single one of our brides and we're so glad we get to see this. Of course, they look fabulous; that goes without saying. What you don't expect is for this already happy girl to get even happier. Her smiles are brighter and the excitement is infectious. Even though there are nerves sometimes present, it can't overcome this glow!
When you have this phenomenon paired with awesome lighting and a room full of people close to the bride, it's really hard for me to stop shooting. These are the moments that the bride, her husband and the family will look back on years down the road. As you can see in the stills below, Jessica was an absolutely stunning bride!!
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| Photo op before leaving for the church |
This was our first time working with Kristine Palmer Photography and we had a great time working alongside her! She was as enthusiastic as we were about capturing all of the details and the fun that day. She was easy to work with and fun to be around! Please check out Kristine Palmer's Pictures of Jessica and Lee's wedding on her Facebook Page. Though all her shots are beautiful, a must see is the shot she took of Jessica and Lee on the dock outside The Grandview. Absolutely perfect shot!!
The day was very emotional for a lot of people, but the most outward show of emotion came from Jessica's sister. Her toast as maid of honor at the wedding was one of both sincere sentiment and comedic wit (I wish I could have fit it into the preview clip, but there will be more posts to come on this wedding, I'm sure).
She spoke about their time growing up together and called Jessica her role model. Later she told the tale of how Lee approached the subject of marrying Jessica with their father while on a hunting trip. She called Lee brave.
They also shared a touching moment together in the elevator on their way out of the hotel that only Kristine and I were witness to. They had a few glances at each other that was like a conversation in and of itself, like they knew what the other was thinking. Then before anyone could cry, there was a smile and a kiss for good luck! It's moments like these that I'm happy to be there with the camera rolling! There moments are priceless!
Here is the preview clip from Jessica and Lee's wedding. If you are a wedding peep checking my post out, you may see a familiar face dancing in the crowd at the reception near the end of the clip. This must be the year for professional photographer cameos!
If you enjoyed this clip, please leave a comment here on our blog and/or on the wall of our Facebook Page and please remember to "like us" while you're there!
Here are just a few of the details from Jessica and Lee's Grandview reception. What a beautiful set up! One of my favorites was the grass and petals with the escort cards. Vibrant pink next to a fresh grassy green. How could you go wrong? The centerpieces from The Greenhouse at Rhinbeck were gorgeous; tall, full, earthy and very dramatic. Not like your standard, everyday centerpiece.
Uplighting is really becoming popular at weddings and I'm glad to see it! When you add uplighting to your decor, you can transform any room into your unique space. The lighting and monogram gobo, supplied by their DJ Enriquez Entertainment, added to the drama and washed the walls in a purple glow. There is nothing that adds mood to a room more than lighting. The first thing most people think of for a romantic mood is candles, right? Well it's for good reason. The soft, warm glow sets a mood. Lighting is so important!
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| Candles on the tables with clear "bubbles" and a close up of the rock and moss detail in the centerpieces |
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| The four-tier cake was topped with a heart engraved with their names and wedding date |
It has become a tradition for this group of friends to begin their reception with high-energy entrances. The music was pumping and with each introduction the stunts got more elaborate (I didn't pull stills for all these, but just to give you a few examples; one pose a la Charlie's Angels, two awesome piggy back rides and one groomsmen that attempted to pull a switch-a-roo on a bridesmaid last minute by twirling into her, but she won in the end). You'd think that after all that, Jessica and Lee would be upstaged, but no! They tore into the room together to The Time by The Black Eyed Peas like an explosion of unrestrained excitement and began dancing as soon as they reached the floor. When things calmed down, they began their emotional first dance.
Above I mentioned Jessica's sister's toast, but Lee's brother also gave a toast to remember. One of the most memorable comments was about Lee dating Jessica and how he introduced her to the family and friends. His brother started to notice that an increasing number of his friends were coming back to him talking about this girl his brother was dating. He said, "He's dating this girl. That's great. I haven't met her. That's screwed up". After thinking about the order in which the friends were introduced to her, he said he "realized what Lee was doing. He was breaking her in!". The crowd broke into hysterical laughter!
One last memorable moment from this very memorable reception; Jessica and her Dad shared a surprise parent dance. They started off dancing to Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, but after a short time, they were performing their best air guitar to Back in Black by AC/DC and showing off their favorite dance moves to Hey Ya by OutKast. It was a real crowd pleaser!
Jessica and Lee, congratulations on a beautiful wedding day! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of it!
The Details
Ceremony Location: United Methodist Church, Poughkeepsie, NY
Reception Location: The Grandview, Poughkeepsie, NY
Photographer: Kristine Palmer Photography
DJ and MC: Andrew Enriquez, Enriquez Entertainment
Florist/Centerpieces: Craig from the Greenhouse at Rhinbeck
Jessica's Dress: Sottero and Midgley
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