Blog— Weddings — Rhode Island — 2023 —
The Towers Wedding Photos
Lauren & Chris*
The Towers, Narragansett, Rhode Island (Ceremony & Reception)
October 20th, 2023
There are a lot of reasons I love wedding photography but one of the biggest is the ability to be completely creative and capture a moment that means the world to a bride and groom that otherwise would have been lost to time.
The problem is, a lot of times as a wedding photographer, you're so focused on capturing EVERYTHING that you don't get to be as creative as you would like. This is why every now and again, I take on weddings as a second shooter as you get all the fun of a wedding day with literally none of the pressure.
And that's why I had so much fun with Lauren and Chris' wedding day for George Street Photography, a great company that I have grown up with as a photographer for nine years now. I don't shoot for George Street nearly as much as I used to but I still try to take on a couple or two a year and Lauren and Chris' wedding day shows why.
This bride and groom, who I had never met before they walked down the aisle, had the kind of wedding day that didn't require me to know their backstory. I could see the love they had for one another in their eyes and all I had to do was sit back and wait for the magic to happen right in front of me. And, boy did it ever.
* These photos were taken as part of my work as a second photographer for George Street Photo and Video.
and are presented here strictly for portfolio/display purposes.
My time with Lauren and Chris started as most of my second shooting assignments do: With some coverage of the final moments of groom prep. As I arrived to the location Lauren and Chris rented for prep in Narragansett, I found a house of chaos as both the bridesmaids and groomsmen rushed around to get ready in time for formal photos an hour after my start time.
This is pretty typical for me in a second shooting type situation and, honestly, it's stranger when people AREN'T running around like mad men during prep so I didn't blink an eye watching Chris and his guys get ready by hastily trying to figure out how to straighten their ties or tossing back a quick shot before Chris walked outside for his first look with his soon-to-be bride.
I'm glad the groom got to have a little liquid encouragement because I could see he was a bit nervous that the day went off perfectly. Not that I can blame him. Lauren looked stunning in her beautiful dress and deserved the day of her dreams.
And that's exactly what it was from the moment these two saw each other for the first time.
Lauren and Chris chose to share private vows prior to their ceremony and I'm so glad they did as it allowed them the chance to have a special and sweet moment with just the two of them, their closest family and wedding party prior to their formal photos and really set a beautiful tone for the afternoon moving forward.
Following their vows, Lauren and Chris headed straight into formal photos at the rental property, at Scarborough Beach and across the street from their ceremony and reception venue the Towers in Narragansett.
Why so many stops? Well, considering how beautiful a day this was, despite the overcast skies, I can't say I blame them.
And, yeah, it was a bit windy but I give Lauren a ton of credit for never getting discouraged even as we were worried the breeze might take her veil, and her, into the air at times.
I'm also glad Lauren and Chris chose to do the last of their formals across the street from the Towers as it meant we were on site with plenty of time to tuck them away before their ceremony and I could go inside and grab details of the room before the guests came in.
I love the inside of the Towers, especially when the string lights are all on. The room is stunning and one of the coolest places to have your reception, especially on a gorgeous night like this.
Surprisingly, despite the fact that I've been to the Towers more times than I could even dare guess, I'd never shot a wedding ceremony in the outside courtyard prior to Lauren and Chris saying “I do” there.
I'll be honest, even though the busy street behind them and to the sides of them makes for a challenging background to work with, it's definitely worth it as a photographer (especially a second shooter for a wedding) to be able to use the beautiful and historic Towers themselves for shots.
This was especially true for the start of Lauren and Chris' ceremony as the pair walked down the aisle and were clearly locked in on the moment the entire time they stood outside experiencing a ceremony they'll never forget.
Lauren and Chris' wedding ceremony was probably my favorite part of their day as you could just see on their face how much this moment meant to them and the beautiful sky only made everything seem that much more amazing on this lovely fall afternoon.
This is also the part of the day where I was most grateful to be a second shooter as I didn't have to worry about a single thing other than being creative and I could walk around getting all kinds of angles I normally wouldn't have time to otherwise.
And this wedding deserved all of that effort and then some.
Following Lauren and Chris' wedding ceremony, we made our way inside for their reception and this was, without question, where the Towers shined brightest … literally and figuratively.
As the sun set on this beautiful afternoon, the Towers took on a new life of their own and made for an absolutely amazing backdrop to Lauren and Chris' first dance.
And, thankfully, as the lead photographer I was working with didn't care if I used off-camera lights or not, I was able to shoot this first dance closer to the style I would shoot my own weddings in, which was a true delight for such a beautiful first moment between Lauren and Chris as husband and wife.
The one real drawback to being a second shooter for a wedding like Lauren and Chris' is knowing your time is often short and you are going to leave before you get to capture every big moment of the reception.
Lucky for me, this bride and groom decided to have their parent dances prior to dinner being served which meant I was able to stay on hand and capture those moments as well before heading out for the night.
And I'm glad I was there for them because these were beautiful to see as well.
I was even able to capture two beautiful toasts for the bride and groom before my time ended, which at that point was just a bonus but a truly wonderful way to cap my coverage of the day.
As I made my way back to my car following Lauren and Chris' wedding day, I really felt a sense of appreciation for wedding photography, especially second shooting as a genre of wedding photography.
It's hard some times to remember the art that wedding photography is meant to be, especially when you're in the midst of busy season as I was the day of Lauren and Chris' wedding but, even at it's most stressful and difficult, there's a reason why I love this kind of photography and why I am always creatively inspired by it and weddings like Lauren and Chris' are a nice reminder of that love I have for the industry.
So thank you Lauren and Chris for a wonderful wedding day that I was able to just sit back and document for the love of the game as they say. It was a pleasure watching you become husband and wife and I wish you the best on this new and exciting chapter of your life together.
-Paul J. Spetrini
Check out more of my most recent wedding blogs:
The Villa at Ridder Country Club,
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
October 15th, 2023
Meadow Brook Inn,
Charlestown, Rhode Island
October 14th, 2023
Valley Country Club,
Warwick, Rhode Island
October 13th, 2023