Wedding at The New Haven Lawn Club | Michael+Ben

CT Wedding Photographer | New Haven and Fairfield County weddings

You know, it’s really not easy for me to keep my mouth shut, especially about something i’m REALLY excited about. Now while a lot of folks KNEW how thrilled I was to be involved in Michael and Ben’s New Haven wedding, I kind of had to keep my trap shut since we had planned on submitting this to several outlets and had to wait to see what happened. I’ll spare you all those dramatic details, but needless to say we are all beyond excited to finally see this gorgeous event in print in the Spring 2014 issue of Inside Weddings!!!

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So run out after March 25th and grab a copy!

OK, with that said, I can finally give you MY 2 cents about this spectacular day!

We all started out at The Study in New Haven (in my opinion really the ONLY hotel to stay at if you have to spend the night in New Haven) Aside from the great staff and terrific rooms, you also get a killer view of downtown. (and as an FYI, I also happen to love the restaurant Heirloom too!)

Michael and Ben had their rings custom designed at Tiffany’s in NYC (where we got permission to photograph in for their engagement session), so I had to incorporate that aqua blue color SOMEHOW into the images! The looking glass was just there on the shelf!

Michael had a custom Tom Ford Tuxedo, which I think might alone be worth just for the hanger. However seeing him in that tux proves one thing: I now understand the benefits of great fabric and impeccable tailoring. His tuxedo made rental ones from Mens Warehouse look like saggy, old pajamas. Just sayin’…..

Me again with the magnifying glass 🙂

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The Shoes.

And YES that deserves capitol letters.

I don’t have enough space to go into the story behind these but lets just say that these Ferragamo Swarovski crystal encrusted shoes do NOT grow on trees.

I kinda-sorta couldn’t stop photographing the beautiful calligraphy work of Nancy Howell!!

I just LOVE this photo–thanks to my associate JC for grabbing this (actually, she’s responsible for a LOT of these…) image!

a little emotional moment before they face everybody upstairs and we start our photos

Michael works on some last minute details.

Some greetings from old friends.

Michael and his brother

With Mom & Dad

Ben’s boutonniere is super-cool, but the flowers by Fleur de Lys Floral Co only get more amazing—trust me on this one….

Outside the church on the Yale campus. A Yale graduate, the church and campus itself held a place of great importance to Michael.

Ahhh-there is this neutral grey/blue wall on the top floor of The Study facing the windows that is just THE BEST for images like this!!!

Due to a tight time frame, we did all our ‘formal’ photographs before the ceremony all around the campus at Yale ( including some really cool ‘alumni access’ I would not have normally been privy to!)

Ben and his bridal party

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just one of my favorites from this part of the day, for sure!

Inside the library

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Listen: I can die happy having gotten this image. It’s one of my favorites from 2013~~~!

This shot is near the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, which you’ve heard me say many times before, is my FAVORITE building to photograph at Yale!! It’s the perfect embodiment of 1963 architecture.

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inside the chapel before the crowd gathers

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Since I cannot say tho sang better than the text in the article, I will plagiarize for a moment:

” The ceremony incorporated elements of Michael’s Ukrainian heritage. Officiated by their matchmaker, it included a hand-wrapping ritual and a tradition in which the grooms donned wreaths of myrtle and walked around the entire chapel together.”

They had a choral group ‘sneak in’ the back of the church to join in with the chorus already up front, as part of the music during the ceremony! It sounded amazing–and i’m still looking for a copy of the recording…

Again Miss JC: one of my favorite images!!!

some emotional vow readings

BAM–now THAT’S the rice/birdseed shot you’re always trying to get but never do! (very aggressive throwing, I might add!)

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So.

I told you the flowers were worth the wait—– I’ll be quiet now….

I DO want you to understand the size of those arrangements– i’d say they were a good 8-9 (maybe 10?) get from the floor when they were on the tables !

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And the piece de resistance? As quoted from Inside Weddings:

“Then, guests found their seating cards hanging from a showstopping “forest” of cymbidium orchids, green amaranth, and moss – an idea inspired by a similar floral element the couple had seen in an issue of Inside Weddings”

Once everyone was seated, Michael’s parents presented the couple with a Ukrainian wedding bread called korovai that symbolizes community and the circle of life.

While I was in on this, Ben was not–as Michael surprised him with a song!!!

To me , the desserts looked like something from a sci-fi bakery—so COOL! Small cakes with little ‘injection tubes’ of Baileys yumminess, and others in their own tiny, plastic orbs! Desserts from The Future.

ahhh–oh my gosh–so many people to thank:

Cake – JCakes

Catering – New Haven Lawn Club

Entertainment – Bock & Blu 

Floral Design – Fleur de Lys Floral Co.

Lighting Design – Correlation Productions

–and I cannot forget my good pals at The Light Mill for Videography

And finally,  I’d like to once again thank JC Carley and Ian Witschy for lending a hand, carrying my crap and getting so many amazing images with me this day!