sarah tew photography

Lindsay and Ben designed an unbeleivable wedding–This had to be the best-planned event– every detail was very personal and designed painstakingly by the couple… they had by far the most impressive and imaginative invitation i’ve ever seen! Ben actually physically built two rowboats for the wedding so he could row Lindsay around the Pond after the ceremony. Another example?  A set of long wooden table centerpiece were built by the groom as well, and with a series of candles and flowers arranged to read as dots and dashes on each table, he spelled out a message to his bride in Morse code and encouraged guests to decipher it. Does it get any sweeter than this? The location was gorgeous, did i mention the waterfall? Swans? View of the Hudson? Weeping Willows? Ok. So it rained. Pretty much all throughout the wedding. I worked my ass off to make sure that no matter what else may have been disappointing this great couple on their special day, the photography wouldn’t be a cause for sorrow! It was my first wedding with my new Canon 5D Mark II and boy was I glad to have it with me– it’s sensational high ISO performance came in handy all day, it was so dim outdoors and in the tent. Flash is very useful when I need to get more depth of field, but I find the natural light shots so much more beautiful– I shot much of the night with my new 5D and my 50mm 1.2L wide open– what a magnificent match, check out the bokeh!  Here are some favorites- I particularly love the portraits by the boat, which I was able to snag quickly during a breif respite from the drizzle and rain.  I also made some time-lapse videos for the couple to enjoy, but I’m not sure if i can post them here – if I figure out a way I will.

Isn’t this wedding dress gorgeous?!  After she gets it cleaned we’re going to schedule a post-wedding portrait shoot in the city to supplement the very breif opportunity for portraits we had when the rain stopped last Saturday.  I can’t wait to take her out for a spin on the town in this dress!

I failed to mention above that there were a whole series of Banners designed, built and sewn by Ben to graphically represent the values they wished to hold dear in their marriage (explained in the program/invite artist-book!) Yes, that’s the rowboat Ben Built. BY HAND.  For the wedding!  It is named Lindsay, after his bride.  (Are you crying yet?)

Despite setbacks like not being able to take out his rowboat, this couple was just so happy to be getting married, it was truly moving how well they coped with the weather.

They gave a great welcome speech at the start of the reception… and had a very sweet first dance.