Blog— Weddings — Massachusetts— 2024 —
First Christian Congregational Wedding Photos
Elizabeth & Steve
First Christian Congregational, Swansea, Massachusetts (Ceremony) &
The Liberal Club, Fall River, Massachusetts (Reception)
May 18th, 2024
I think we can all agree the last thing anyone wants to think about ever again is the coronavirus pandemic. While the start of the pandemic was well over four years ago, it still lingers over a lot of what many of us do today, particularly for those of us in the wedding industry.
I lost 75 percent of my weddings in 2020 and while I've made my peace with how awkward that year was, I don't think I ever properly moved past it because, in truth, I still had an unresolved chapter from the pandemic hanging over my head: Elizabeth and Steve's wedding.
Elizabeth and Steve were the very first COVID-impacted wedding turned elopement I shot. In many ways, their backyard ceremony made the pandemic real for me and I also felt bad that they never got to have the wedding of their dreams after their full day was cancelled just a few weeks before it was set to take place.
That's why when Elizabeth and Steve reached out to me last year to say they were finally ready to have the big wedding they always envisioned, years after they first said “I do,” I jumped at the chance to be there.
And it was worth the wait. Both for me and for the bride and groom at the center of a day I won't soon forget.
From the very first moment I walked into First Christian Congregational Church in Swansea, Massachusetts for Elizabeth and Steve's wedding, I felt a rush of memories come roaring back from their 2020 wedding.
In many ways, Elizabeth and Steve were the same couple in 2024 that they were that fateful day four years earlier as they are super go with the flow and told me during our initial consultations that they still didn't feel the need to get any prep photos.
My job, instead was to show up right before their ceremony began and shoot candid photos. So that's what I did and it was delightful to see that even with Elizabeth and Steve being married for four years at this point, the pair were still a bit nervous before their ceremony began.
Elizabeth and Steve chose to have their official religious ceremony at First Congregational Church in Swansea and while the church was beautiful, it did present one pretty worrisome dilemma for me: I wasn't allowed to use flash.
Thankfully, a few weeks before joining Elizabeth and Steve on their journey back down the aisle, I purchased a brand new Nikon Z9 camera and, I'll be honest, this thing handles low light like a champ.
I'm thankful it does because even with just natural light, I was able to get some really beautiful photos of Steve seeing Elizabeth walk down the aisle the way she always envisioned and, for a couple that's been husband and wife for a full election cycle now, you could tell how much this moment meant to them and how it was just a little more special now that it was officially happening with all their closest friends and family present.
Elizabeth and Steve's wedding ceremony was as traditional as it gets but I love how they left plenty of room for little personal touches as well. From the close friends and family they had do the readings to the little laughs they shared during their vows, this beautiful ceremony was perfectly them and just felt like a moment they waited a lifetime for.
I'm just glad I was there to capture it, particularly the unity candle the pair lit toward the end of their ceremony which I think said so much about why we were all gathered in that church that day.
One of the reasons I was most looking forward to Elizabeth and Steve's wedding was the chance to shoot some more bride and groom photos with them as our first go-around was during the peak of COVID fear and the pair only had a handful of people in a small backyard to witness their ceremony, leaving me few options with poses we could do as we all agreed to fly through the day as fast as possible.
This time, Elizabeth and Steve were nice enough to grant me plenty of time to work with them and, following a few photos at the church, we made our way to their recently-purchased home that used to belong to Elizabeth's grandmother. I always love little touches like this so when the bride and groom asked me to take their formal family photos in front of a sentimental fireplace in the building, of course I agreed.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the minutes to getting Elizabeth and Steve outside the house, though. Thankfully, on a somewhat dark cloudy day, we had enough light and enough of a break in any potential rain to run through a ton of bride and groom portraits with a beautiful background.
I love working with Elizabeth and Steve because they're so easy to pose and so relaxed with each other and their bride and groom portraits just feel authentic. You don't need to know them to see how they feel about each other and, to me, those are the best kind of photos.
With their formal photos in the books, Elizabeth, Steve and I made our way to their reception at the Liberal Club in Fall River. I'll be honest: I didn't know what to expect from this venue as I'd never been there and couldn't really find any great photos from weddings online.
I knew the venue would likely be a VFW type hall and, while it was, it may be the nicest one I've ever worked in as it was PERFECT for my preferred style of shooting.
But, before we could get to dance floor candids … I of course have to show off the details Elizabeth and Steve put together because I love how everything came together for this beautiful evening.
I think one of the most exciting features of finally getting to shoot a full wedding day for Elizabeth and Steve was I got to document the two of them experiencing all of the traditional wedding moments they missed in 2020.
This started with their first dance, set to “The One” by Beth. I didn't realize just how big the dance floor at the Liberal Club would be but it could have been a mile long and it wouldn't have mattered. Neither Steve nor Elizabeth looked anywhere but the foot and a half around one another as they held each other close and danced a dance years in the making.
One of the nice things about the delay in Elizabeth and Steve having their full wedding was they were able in 2024 to have a moment they wouldn't have been able to years earlier as the pair followed up their first dance with a four-song medley of songs and dances with their nieces and nephews.
I'm not the biggest fan of children at weddings but Elizabeth and Steve's nieces and nephews were so sweet and fun and these dances were a real highlight on the night.
With the first round of dancing finished, Elizabeth and Steve took to their seats and prepared for what I knew would be a casual night of fun. It started with a pair of sweet toasts and continued after dinner with a beautiful cake cutting and a sweet dance between Steve and his mom.
The only real question I had about Elizabeth and Steve's wedding reception was whether or not I should expect any dancing and, thankfully, we had some and it was bolstered by the newlywed's nieces and nephews who made sure to get plenty of swings in before the night came to an end.
Add in a few beautiful moments between other couples on the dance floor and I'd say this reception was a success ... even if it wasn't the chaotic drunken mess I'm somewhat used to shooting on a wedding day.
I think my favorite part of Elizabeth and Steve's reception, though, was the way it ended. Even after many of the guests cleared out and the night started to wind down, Elizabeth and Steve stood hand-in-hand on the dance floor swaying to a number of songs.
To me, this was why these two went through all the trouble to have the wedding they were so wrongly denied in 2020 and, to me, this was a moment for just the two of them to really take a second and appreciate one another and the special love that they found in each other's arms.
As my time with Elizabeth and Steve came to an end, again, I was so thankful I got to watch a pair of lovely people have the wedding of their dreams … one that for a while seemed like it might never come.
To me, Elizabeth and Steve's wedding day meant so much. For one, it was my chance to close the book on a crazy and wild pandemic that I didn't realize was still very much in the back of my mind. For two, it was a chance for Elizabeth and Steve to snatch back the memories they should have never lost from what I can only imagine was a disappointing decision they made in 2020 to postpone a day they'd waited a lifetime for.
Regardless, Elizabeth and Steve's wedding was nothing but good vibes and I think that says so much about this bride and groom and their character. This was a couple that deserved every bit of happiness a full wedding day brings and I'm just so glad I was along for the ride to document the first chapter … and the best chapter.
So thank you Elizabeth and Steve for bringing me back for the culmination of a years-long journey down the aisle. I hope it was everything you dreamed of and so, so much more. Congratulations and best of luck!
-Paul J. Spetrini
