Kaitlyn & Chris ~ A Fall Wedding at Atkinson Country Club
As far as country clubs go for weddings there aren't too many better than the Atkinson Country Club. Typically you get a small strip of grass for formal photos while you look out over the vast beautiful grounds that you can't explore thanks to, you know... golfers. Atkinson Country Club offers a lot more! There are two beautiful ceremony sites that are well taken care of with plenty of space to explore for photos. Even with two or more weddings there on a day there's a slim chance of running into other parties. On the personal side my wife and I stayed there on our wedding night so it's kind of a special place to be at for me!
Kaitlyn and Chris had come to the office for a consultation prior to booking. We didn't have an engagement session but it was great to at least have a face to face before working with them. They are also good friends with two former clients of mine, one of which was a bridesmaid, so it was nice to see some familiar faces too!
I started in the bridal suite with Kaitlyn and the girls then bounced over to the guys for a few to get the final touches while the girls got into their dresses. Kaitlyn chose a stunning dress! She was all smiles. There was no first look so we made sure to schedule time for some photos with her and the girls before we left for the ceremony. Most of the time I'm at the Atkinson Country Club the ceremonies are there but Kaitlyn and Chris were having a church ceremony down the road in Plaistow at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish.
Church ceremonies can be a bit tricky from a technical standpoint. Light levels are usually low and most of the time flash is either not permitted or would be a distraction to the service. I often switch to prime lenses with wider apertures to get as much light into the camera as possible. On the other side of things, church ceremonies typically last longer which gives me more time to get the photos I need to it's a give and take.
We knew daylight was on it's way quickly after the ceremony so I was a little nervous about our family photos and other formals once we got back to the Atkinson Country Club. I had to work quickly but we managed to get everything done and snagged some nice photos at sunset and once the sun went down. If a bride has a killer veil I will make use of it!
Everyone was itching to party following formal photos so after introductions and a lovely choreographed first dance we moved on with the evening. Along with the grounds, the inside reception spaces are pretty epic. Big rooms with high ceilings and good layouts make photographing there easier than a lot of places. Tall table centerpieces look good in these rooms!
Another super wedding day with these two and I hope you enjoy some photos from their wedding day!
