The 2019 wedding photography season was a great one. In all honesty, I’ve never had a bad season. I consider myself extremely lucky to do what I do and I cannot thank my couples enough for trusting me to capture one of the most important days in their life. What follows are 11 of my favorite images from the past year in no particular order. To all couples out there planning a wedding or thinking about getting married, there is one common theme in all of these wedding pictures. Time. If you can set aside a few extra minutes for pictures, magical things happen. If I’m only given 10 minutes to photograph you and your new husband or wife, I will always take those 10 minutes to make the “safe” shots, the images I know will look good and I can execute quickly and efficiently with good results. For every minute alloted after that I can get more creative and we can have more fun!

1. Sam and James had a small ceremony surrounded by their closest friends and family at Portland’s City Hall followed by formal pictures. After the formal portraits, family members were released to head to the reception at a local restaurant for drinks and cocktails and Sam, James and I were free to walk around Portland’s Old Port for almost two hours! That freedom allowed them to head to Central Provisions where some folks at the bar bought them drinks. This image was made just outside the restaurant. I loved the greenery clinging to the brickwork of the building. We never planned to photograph here, we just walked by and liked the look of the spot.

2. The Stage Neck Inn in York, Maine was the venue for Stacy and Brian’s beautiful seaside Maine wedding. They had chosen to read their vows to each other in private, a few minutes before the actual ceremony. Stacy had warned me that this might be an emotional moment, so I selected a telephoto lens and backed away to respect their space but still be able to capture things as they unfolded. What followed was an absolutely beautiful and tender moment. This is why I love being a wedding photographer.

3. What can I say about Liz and Collin’s wedding? This was the definition of adventure wedding. I’ve known Liz and Collin, the co founders of The Wild Outsiders, for several years. When they asked me to photograph their ceremony on the summit of the 13,770ft Grand Teton, I was all in. I will write a full blog post about this day and what the logistics that went into it shortly, but it’s pretty easy to see why this is one of my favorites. Look at that view!

4. After photographing the wedding on the summit of the Grand Teton, I drove north to Glacier National Park, Montana to meet up with Jordyn and Sam. Originally from Maine, these two were married in the small town of Polebridge. They didn’t have a professional photographer at their ceremony so I agreed to photograph them the next day on the shore of remote Bowman Lake, far from the tourists and crowds of more popular sections of Glacier National Park. Before taking pictures, we sat on the beach, ate some lunch and drank champagne to celebrate. We watched the mists and clouds role off the mountains and over the lake. I love the informality of this shot, it speaks to who Sam and Jordyn are. The handpicked wild flowers, the wrinkles in the dress, and that loving look!

5. This image of Sophie and Mike on the shores of Flagstaff Lake, deep in the Maine Woods, is the epitome of making the best of your situation. This September day was not ideal for wedding photos. It was drizzly, cloudy and not very warm. These two took it in stride. With a sense of adventure Sophie kicked her shoes off and we spent a considerable amount of time walking the beach and making beautiful wedding photos. I could have picked 20 different photos from this session for this blog post.

6. This photo of Sophie and Mike is one of my favorites for a couple of reasons. It’s cute as hell and super unique! After spending several hours in cold and wet conditions, the sun decided to come out in the late afternoon. These two liberal minded souls decided to peel off their cold and clammy wedding attire, and celebrate the sun and warmth with a skinny dip! The fact that they wanted me to photograph the event was awesome! You could probably hear the laughter from the three of us from miles away.

7. I photographed Sarah and Jason’s small and intimate elopement on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Harpswell, Maine. After the ceremony, I asked if they were interested in driving their vintage car to a quiet spot I knew of close by. They agreed and we spent the next 45 minutes walking the beach and using the car as a prop as the sun set over the islands. Sarah and Jason’s flexibility and willingness to leave the ceremony spot made these shots possible!

8. I loved photographing Shana and Brooks’ wedding at Brick South in Portland, Maine. The urban setting was a change for me and I really thrived creatively in the new environment. Shana and Brooks set aside a substantial amount of time for me to photograph them and we were able to try out some great ideas including this more contemporary pose. I think it really speaks to Shana and Brook’s relationship… deeply in love but also independent, successful and confident. Many of my images have a warm vintage tone to them, but I chose to give this one a cool tone and I think it works nicely with the setting.

9. This image of Sheynn in the rain at the stunning Cunningham Farm, Maine is another example of making the best of a rainy day. Despite the weather, Sheynn and her husband, Carlos were all smiles. This shot was a quick unstaged snap when Sheynn was waiting for some formal photos to begin. I cropped the image in post production so only the arms holding the umbrellas were sticking out of the side of the frame, and the looks on the flower girls faces are priceless.

10. Sarah and Matt were married at a private location in Maine’s midcoast. After their small ceremony we walked the dunes, trails and beaches of their stunning location for almost two hours! As the sun set we found ourselves in the dune grass and I switched to a wide angle lens that I know creates a beautiful sun star at certain apertures. I was lying on my belly in the sand and the wind blew the dune grass in this beautiful arc over the couple and I was able to snap a few shots!

11. The day after Liz and Collin were married on the summit of the Grand Teton, they got dressed back up and we went out to take “normal” wedding photos (not hanging from the side of a cliff). We were out in the sage brush flats in the valley of Jackson Hole and Collin had to go back to the car for a second so I told Liz to twirl around and try to make the dress poof. Success!