Before the ceremony, I dropped by Hien’s parents’ house where Hien and her girls were getting ready:

Hien had a team of people helping her get ready.  While her maid of honor was zipping up her dress, another one of her bridesmaids was reapplying her lip gloss.

Then it was on to the ceremony.  I met up with Jim at the church and we went to work snagging some details.  I love his shot of Hien’s bouquet on the bottom right:

Another Jim shot:

Jim grabbed this shot of Hien entering with her father:

I grabbed a few shots of Hien with her Bridesmaids

While Jim snagged Matt and his groomsmen

Another Jim Altieri Shot:

The light here was awesome!

Then it was on to the reception, and the couple’s first dance:

As part of a Vietnamese tradition, the couple visited every table during dinner.  One person from each table gave the couple a blessing on behalf of the rest of the table.

This group knew how to dance!  Their reception was a blast.

This guy wowed everyone with his moves:

Congratulations, Matt and Hien!  May you have many years of happiness in your new life together!

Jen got ready at her parents house.  Before she put her dress on, we snagged some details.  Jen’s Dress was absolutely stunning!

While I worked the dress, Ashley grabbed some details of the shoes and the bouquet.

Jen’s bridesmaids did a fantastic job arranging the flowers.  Ashley grabbed this shot, too.

The ceremony was at the First Baptist Church in Wallingford.  Ashley snagged this shot of Jen while she waited to make her entrance.

You could tell Jon had been waiting his whole life for this.

After the ceremony, we all headed down to the reception at Jon’s Parents’ place on the beach in Old Lyme.  To accommodate their guests, they set up a huge tent next to their house.

Ashley and I arrived a little bit before the bridal party, so we got to work capturing the details.

When Jen and Jon arrived, it started to rain a little bit, but these two were troopers!  I guess that umbrella did come in handy after all!  This is definitely one of my favorites from the day:

The rain didn’t last long, though, so we got the whole bridal party out for some fun.  Ashley took the girls:

While I worked with the guys:

I was loving this rock jetty!

Jen and Jon had their first dance to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.  The folks from The Aquaturf Catering provided their signature fog:

The Maid of Honor and the Best Man both gave very heartfelt toasts.

And then, it happened… The King himself surprised the newlyweds with a posthumous performance.

After they cut the cake, it was time for folks to get their dance on!

Even this little guy was out there starting a fire on the dance floor.

Ashley stepped outside for a moment and came back with these incredible ring shots:

The Father-Daughter dance was precious.  You couldn’t hide the smile on either of their faces.

I’ll leave you with a couple more of my favorites.  The clouds in the sky provided a beautiful sunset photo-op, and you know we weren’t going to pass that up!

Congratulations Jen and Jon!  Thank you for sharing your special day with us.

Jen’s Bouquet was beautiful:

Jen was absolutely stunning:

After our quick stop at the hotel, we met up with the guys at A Villa Louisa.

Rich was nervous, but played it off calm and cool

Jen’s step-dad brought an old school red tractor to add to the decor.  Needless to say, Ashley and I were all over that!

Forget limo’s, Jen made her entrance in a polished blue El Camino!

The ceremony was at the perfect time of day, and the setting was gorgeous.

It was so awesome to watch these two get married.  It’s like that feeling you get when you put the last piece of a puzzle in place and step back to see the whole picture.  These two were simply meant to be together.

After the ceremony and the family portraits, we did what any mature group of adults would do… We went to play with the tractor!

The reception was a blast!

After their first dance, Jen and Rich had a dance with their girls.  It was so sweet!

I have to end with one of my favorites from the day:

Congratulations, Jen and Rich!

Be sure to check out Ashley’s blog for some of her favorites here.

Shane found a quiet place where he could work on the speech he would give that night.

The entrance to Oak Hill was marked by these fantastic little signs that Tammy Baldwin from Charmed Places had created.

The ceremony was on the beautiful bluff at Oak Hill, overlooking the Hudson River.

These two were just meant for each other.

The reception took place on top of the hill behind the bluff in this beautifully decorated tent.  The details were stunning!

After Samar and Shane had made their entrance, they invited their guests to join them for their first dance as a married couple.

Samar’s Father lead off the toasts with words of wisdom and love for Samar and Shane.

One of my favorite parts of the entire event was the performance during dinner.  Samar’s family is from Pakistan and Shane’s family is from Ireland, so a Pakistani percussionist and an Irish fiddler played together to symbolize the joining of their two cultures.  It was amazing.

I feel so lucky that I was able to share in Samar and Shane’s wedding.  It was an event I will not soon forget.

Be sure to check out Carla, Mike, and Katie’s shots on their blogs.

The barn was covered with beautiful fabrics and details:

The women lit candles as Shane made his entrance:

Shane, his groomsmen, and his family were led in by a drummer.

Samar made her entrance shortly after Shane

They made their way up to the upper level of the barn and sat in this swing.  Family and guests then had the opportunity to come and bless the couple.

While Samar and Shane were receiving blessings, guests had the opportunity to adorn themselves with henna.

There were traditional dance performances upstairs.  Everyone had a blast with these!

Samar performed a dance for her groom-to-be, and then the two of them shared a dance together.

This ceremony was an amazing experience, and I am so glad that I got to share in it.  Be sure to check out more images on the blogs of Carla, Mike, and Katie!

Next Up:  Samar and Shane’s Saturday wedding ceremony at Oak Hill.

Things have been quiet here lately because I’m working on my official website which should launch later this month. Check back soon for updates!