Lauren & Matt
La Pièce -- The Room, Tilton, New Hampshire (Ceremony & Reception)
October 19th, 2024
I've always felt like the first moment a bride and groom see each other on a wedding day says everything I need to know about their relationship and that's why I couldn't help but have a giant smile on my face during Lauren and Matt's first look back in October as Matt turned around, had the absolute most over-the-top reaction imaginable and Lauren laughed and told him "Oh, that's so f*****g fake."
It was a perfect moment for a couple whose love language is laughter and the kind of silly joke that I could see them making for a lifetime which, it turns out, is fitting for a day when they pledged to do just that.
Lauren and Matt said “I do” on a stunningly beautiful fall afternoon at La Pièce -- The Room in Tilton, New Hampshire and it was the exact kind of wedding day these two envisioned: One that never took itself too seriously, that was full of hilarious jokes at the most inappropriate times and one where the celebration of love never ended.
It was, in a word, perfect.
I knew I was in for a fun day when my time with Lauren and Matt started as I walked into bridal prep area FULL of bridesmaids, little kids and random family members all trying to get the last bit of prep ready and rolling despite the fact that we had a full two hours ahead of us before Lauren and Matt's first look.
More importantly, though, the bride herself was cool, calm and collected and I loved that for Lauren as it let me just focus on my task at hand which was documenting her hair and makeup process and the many, many, many ways she was having fun with those around her.
I've seen a lot of brides this year but I don't know if I've seen any who were having as much of a good time ahead of their ceremony as Lauren and she made sure ALL of her people were in as good a mood as she was. Talk about setting a tone.
Without question, one of the best features of La Pièce is just how much room the venue has for its couples and, for Matt and Lauren, this meant both could get ready at the same time, just a few feet apart and I could bounce from one prep to the other.
And as far as groom preps go, Matt's might have been the easiest I shot this year as he was ready for photos the moment I walked in and we breezed right through all the standard shots you'd expect to see from a guy getting ready to get married.
I did, however, really love the moment where Matt helped his mother with her corsage. It was a sweet moment between the two that said a lot in an afternoon where we all really went out of our way not to make things feel too “serious.”
Back over at the girls side, I was curious if Lauren would get more emotional as the moments before her first look ticked away but, luckily, she had a little trick for that as well: Repeating a super vulgar phrase to herself that made everyone in the room laugh.
I won't share it here but, suffice to say, it's been MONTHS since I heard her little mantra and it still makes me smile even as I type this.
That's not to say that the end of Lauren's bridal prep wasn't still sweet. No, she still had some beautiful moments as she got zipped up and I could tell this day meant a lot to her, even if we dipped a bit into PG-13 language to keep ourselves from getting too emotional.
As I said above, Matt and Lauren's first look was really the moment that told me all about how their wedding day would go and I mean that in the best way possible.
Even though Lauren did call her soon-to-be husband out for being cheesy when he turned around, their first look was still super sweet and led to several really nice candids between the two.
Perhaps most impressively, though, we knocked out a couple of cute formals between the two before it was time for us to head over to family and wedding party formals, which as you can imagine I appreciated a lot.
Following family formals, Matt and Lauren headed inside of La Pièce to get ready for their ceremony while their guests arrived and took their seats. I typically love the pomp and circumstance of the final half hour before a wedding but, I have to say, it makes me laugh a little harder knowing how Matt and Lauren's wedding played out as I don't think I've had many couples who made it a point to get married quicker and get their ceremony over faster.
Seriously. Were it not for their rather large wedding party, which in and of itself took a few minutes to walk down the lengthy La Pièce aisle, Matt and Lauren's entire ceremony from procession to recession may have set a record for shortest I've ever seen.
Even so, from the moment Lauren took her place front and center until both she and Matt were officially pronounced as newlyweds and walking back down the aisle, just two minutes and 32 seconds passed.
Talk about a quick ceremony.
Even with the seemingly fast-paced timing, Matt and Lauren's ceremony was one of the most beautiful I shot this year. Honestly, La Pièce's ceremony space might be one of my new favorites and even though this was the first time I ever shot here, I can't wait to come back because this ceremony space was perfection … even if there wasn't much room to move around.
With their ceremony in the books, Matt and Lauren headed back outside to finish our few remaining formal photos with their wedding party and I'm glad they did because the sun had come down quite a bit from our time outside in this small park next to La Pièce earlier in the day.
The result? An absolutely stunning scene with perfect lighting that I couldn't wait to photograph these two in.
Matt and Lauren may not have been the most comfortable couple I've ever photographed bride and groom portraits of — they're more a candid-friendly couple than comfortable in front of the camera type pairing — but it didn't matter.
With some of the best foliage I've seen all year, and arguably since LAST fall, we just couldn't miss wherever we went on this little piece of property.
I knew I was having fun because every single time I told Matt and Lauren “OK, just one more,” I found a new spot to explore and, in exchange, I got to give them some of my favorite photos not just of their day but of my entire 2024 wedding season.
Following their bride and groom formals, Matt and Lauren headed into the remainder of their cocktail hour and I finally had a chance to capture some of their details at La Pièce as the coordinators there were VERY insistent that I not do so prior to the ceremony.
Now, I'll be honest. This type of thing typically drives me crazy because I usually have limited time to capture details of a wedding day but when I walked into the La Pièce ballroom and saw everything ready and finalized, I understood why the venue didn't want to reveal anything ahead of time: This room, and the décor, looked stunning.
My one concern with La Pièce heading into Matt and Lauren's reception was where the bride and groom were going to have their first dance and parent dances as the venue's ballroom has a couple of areas you could do them in and none are exactly photographer-friendly.
Thankfully, I've worked in tougher spots so when I found out Lauren and Matt would dance right in the center of the room and that I'd be able to use the string lights and curtains for composition purposes, I knew I would be alright.
I'm glad because their dance, set to “Stand by Me” by Ben King, was truly beautiful and deserved to be captured in a way that felt true to the moment they had. And, true to form, these two newlyweds shared a beautiful moment without ever taking it too seriously, which I loved for them.
Matt and Lauren had a lot of lovely moments during their reception but I think their parent dances may have been the sweetest of the night as Lauren danced with her father, Matt with his mother and both did so in a way where you could see every bit of emotion on their face without either saying a word.
To me, that's exactly what a good parent dance at a wedding reception should be.
As for the other formalities in Matt and Lauren's wedding day, those were a bit more low key. The pair had two great, and funny, speeches before dinner, a low key cake cutting and, before we knew it, it was time to party.
I'm not going to lie here: I had no idea what to expect from the dance floor portion of Matt and Lauren's wedding. All I knew was I needed to act fast as I was only set to stay for about 15 minutes in all.
To make matters worse, the dance floor was set up and away from the main floor and it was DARK as all get up with a brick wall background to boot: Definitely not an equation that is the most photo-friendly.
I think that's why I was curious how the first few songs would go in terms of setting the tone for the night and, thanks to a great DJ, Lauren and Matt's guests wasted no time in letting their hair done and getting the party started.
I may have stayed a bit longer than planned but I really didn't mind as Lauren and Matt's dance floor was much more fun than I was anticipating. Part of it, I think, was that the bride and groom were right in the thick of it all and, as I've said countless times on this blog, that's all I'm ever looking from for a reception.
Whether it was the bride and her friends vibing to current hits from Chappel Roan or busting out the 90s throwbacks, this was one party that I was pleasantly surprised to see would not stop.
As my time with Matt and Lauren came to an end, I was actually a bit bummed I wouldn't be there even longer and, to me, there's no greater complement to a couples' wedding than a photographer who gets a little bit of the fear of missing out as he heads home.
Alas, looking back on it, I really can't complain about anything related to Lauren and Matt's wedding day as it was one of the most complete and fun ones I've shot this year and I know it was the exact day this couple wanted and deserved for such a key milestone moment in their lives.
So, thank you Lauren and Matt for asking me to document this special day for you and I wish you all the best as you begin this new chapter of your lives together.
And, remember, when life gets you down, all you need is a fun little vulgar mantra to make sure you're never to sad to smile and I think that's beautifully poetic. :)
-Paul J. Spetrini
Check out more of my most recent wedding blogs:
The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Ceremony & Reception Venue: La Pièce -- The Room, Tilton, New Hampshire; Catering: Mezzanine Catering, Dover, New Hampshire; DJ: Melvin King of Get Down Tonight Entertainment, Inc.