I first met Stacey and Michael late August of 2018 when I photographed their engagement session. These two were so much fun to work with and I was so excited that they chose me to photograph their wedding on October 19th, 2019.

Stacey and Michael both got ready for their wedding at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel. They met up nearby at Prescott Park for their first look in the garden. After that, the couple took a trolley over to their venue with their family and wedding party.

The Red Barn at Outlook Farm in South Berwick, Maine was the perfect place for an elegant rustic fall wedding. The property offers a lot of variety! We took most of the formal portraits before the ceremony using different locations onsite. Stacey and Michael exchanged vows in front of the large iconic tree that sits in front of the red barn at the venue. It was a beautiful fall wedding ceremony!

We walked the property again during cocktail hour and took more portraits in front of the venue, in the gazebo and near the golf course. Sunset was happening at this time so we had amazing lighting for the bride and groom portraits. After that, Stacey and Michael were announced into their wedding reception, where they shared their first dance, followed by toasts, dinner and lots of dancing! They cut their wedding cake and celebrated into the night with their family and friends.

Here’s my Q&A with Stacey and Michael:

How did you two meet?

Despite growing up in the same town and attending the same High School, we met after college through mutual friends and discovered we had a shared love of tennis. After several "tennis dates" our friendship and affection grew.

When and where did you get engaged? Tell us about the proposal.

On a winter evening, Stacey and I were out celebrating our "date-iversary" in Boston. We had dinner on Beacon Hill and were strolling through the Boston Public Gardens to our usual after-dinner drinks and dessert spot when we paused on the bridge. After a short time of watching people gingerly shuffle out onto the ice and take photos, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. Her reaction was positive, but I'm not sure I actually heard a "yes" until I asked a second time.

How did you envision your wedding day? Tell us about your color palette, style and/or vision.

We knew we wanted to get married in the fall, a time in New England that we find to be our favorite. We both enjoy time in nature and knew we wanted to have our ceremony take place outside. Sticking with the fall theme, we wanted to get some rich fall colors but also incorporate our own style with the bridesmaids' dresses' color and try to tie it all together with repeating these colors and variations of them throughout our decor.

What is your favorite moment of your wedding day?

That is a tricky question. One moment that stuck out to us was the wedding party introductions. It gave a brief point in time to catch our breath with each other before our first dance as a husband and wife, but was also an incredibly fun and exciting moment that kicked off the evening of music and dancing. Another moment that we particularly enjoyed was the sunset photos taken with just the two of us. It was a nice opportunity to have some alone time, digest the ceremony and prepare ourselves for the whirlwind of the reception.

Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc.

Our flowers were done by Lyndsey Loring Design. As long as I've known my mother she's had a love and appreciation for flowers, and for her it was the most important thing to get right for our wedding day. We were amazed by what Lyndsey was able to do for us. The bouquets were a beautiful mix of dark burgundy, pale orange, and ivory flowers, some cascading eucalyptus, and a mix of white and red berries for a fall touch. With Lyndsey's guidance we chose eucalyptus as our primary greenery in centerpieces and bouquets, as it blended nicely with the bridesmaid dress color. A garland of eucalyptus, brightly colored flowers and berries accented the mantles inside our reception space, and we had deep red mums on another mantle we used to commemorate loved ones who are no longer with us. The men wore less traditional ivory calla lily boutonnieres.

I really had fun trying on as many different wedding dress styles as I possibly could. After all, I won't have the opportunity again to shop for a wedding gown for myself (that's the goal anyways!). After countless stores, dresses, and late nights comparing photos, I finally narrowed down my choices and returned to a store to try on one particular gown. Upon trying on the dress I had gone back for, I was somewhat dismayed as I realized it was NOT the one.

However, the sales woman brought over another dress I had tried on weeks before and asked to be set aside, which I had since forgotten. After exploring so many options, the moment I tried on this gown, I knew it was perfect. It was classic, flattering and elegant. It also came with a detachable train which was a stunning addition, and I cannot wait to see all of the photos! I bought my dress from Modern Bride in Bedford, NH and highly recommend them! All of the staff were wonderful to work with and all of the tailoring was done there. Plus...no sales tax!

For Mike and I, picking (and tasting) dessert was the piece of wedding planning we were most looking forward to. There are so many delicious dessert options out there and we didn't want to settle on having only cake, so we opted to go with a dessert bar. There were pumpkin whoopie pies with cream cheese frosting, mini cheesecake bites, mini cupcakes in two flavors, pecan tassies and oatmeal/white chocolate/cranberry cookies, with autumn apple cider donut favors. We had a small, ceremonial carrot cake with cream cheese filling/frosting, decorated like a birch tree with some flower accents. Everything was beyond our expectations and we absolutely will be going back for more in the future! All desserts were provided by My Friends Bakery. Lara did such a great job with everything!