Together with their families, Amy and Trent said ‘I do’ in a quaint little chapel, then celebrated the occasion with a lavish cocktail party at the Wentworth by the Sea.  It was warm, wonderful and a Wicked Good time!!

Cheers to all that made this day possible:
The Wentworth by the Sea, New Castle NH
Dianna Adams, Stratham NH
Jardinierre Florist, Portsmouth NH
The Music Man DJ’s, Kennebunk ME
And don’t forget us, Will and Lucia, Focus Photography, Portland ME

I’m dying to tell you how awesome this wedding was, but first, I’ve got to tell you why it’s taken me so long to put this post up.  I usually put ten to twenty images up on the blog, just images in a column, but there were so many great moments at Jackie and Chris’ wedding, I knew I was going to want to put a lot up.  There’s a panorama of the ballroom that I created in this collection, and when I finished assembling it, I really wanted you to see these images in a bigger size than our usual blog posts.  Thus began my quest for the slideshow above, which resulted in too many nights writing ActionScript code in my pajamas.  I hope you enjoy the result By the way, if the full screen mode doesn’t work for your browser, this can be fixed by visiting adobe.com and downloading the newest version of flash.

If you’ve read any of my other wedding posts, you know that I get to work with the coolest brides and grooms on the planet.  I’m a geek who admits to writing computer code late at night, so I don’t really know how they pick me, but I’d guess it has something to do with my wife Lucia.  Anyways, Jackie and Chris, total rockstars.  We had so much fun on our first romantic session together that we offered them a second one up in Maine (look for those images – stunning!)  Lucia and I knew their wedding was going to be amazing, and if you look at the images above you’ll agree – it really was.

The ceremony was at a Greek Orthodox Catherdral in Manchester (Saint George), and the architecture of the cathedral was unlike any place I’ve ever been to.  It rained (which Lucia will tell you is good luck on a wedding), so we didn’t go to the beach before the reception, but when your reception is being held at the Wentworth by the Sea, who cares.  If the slideshow is running when you get to the ballroom panorama, pause it, and look at the beautiful  ballroom that Leslie Barbini and her team from the Wedding Belle created (yes, the Wentworth is always beautiful, but the uplights and decor really transform it!)

So how was the reception, you ask?  An off the hook combination of traditional Greek celebration (though no plates were broken) and a rocking fun wedding.  Surf and turf, both a band and a DJ, and dancing both in the ballroom, and out in the hallway.  Gina Damiano and her staff at the Wentworth made it all go off flawlessly, and the Christos Natsis band played until everyone had thrown all their money in the air.

I hope you have fun looking at the images – we had a blast producing them.   Now if you haven’t already done so, click the full screen button in the lower left corner of the slideshow.  Thanks for looking - Will

Vendors:

• Gown – Madeleine’s Daughter
• Jewelry – Barmakian Jewelers
• Flowers – Ambrosia Gardens
• Planning – Leslie Barbini, The Wedding Belle
• Invites and Stationary – Signed, Sealed, & Delivered (Lauren and Ellen)
• Makeup – Kathy from the Beleza salon in Chelmsford, MA
• Venue – The Wentworth By The Sea, New Castle, NH
• DJ – The Music Man
• Band – Christos Nastis
• Transportation – Grace Limousine
• Cake – Jaques Pastry
• The Focus Photography team – Will, Lucia, Ali, and Rob.

Jenny and Lucas couldn’t have had a more beautiful day for their wedding. The weather, the dresses, the bride, the bridesmaids – everything was beautiful. And with guests including an ex-governor and a sitting senator, it’s clear that this was a wedding to be at. The staff at the Wentworth was amazing as always, though sadly, this was Jenni Franco’s last wedding (coordinator extraordinaire) at the Wentworth. I hope you enjoy the images as much as we enjoyed this wedding!

This is an image of the Wentworth’s gorgeous ballroom ten minutes before the bride and groom (Carey and Ben) saw it.  Yes, we have images without the Wentworth staff in them, but I love having an action shot that shows what’s going on in addition to the perfect and still shots.  In this case, Jenny and her staff are filling all the champagne flutes while the guests are mingling and drinking cocktails in the hallway.

Thanks for looking – Will.

This is Jenni Franco, who brilliantly coordinated Carey’s wedding for the Wentworth, and who will probably never forgive me for putting her here on the blog.  But, Jenni Franco = Rockstar.

Okay, back at the Wentworth, which looks as regal and elegant as it really is.

The band was Legit, and they rocked Carey and Ben’s wedding!  This is the first dance, and the reaction shot following is Carey’s parents looking on.

Above – the guitarist from Legit ventures out onto the dance floor.  Below – a cousin performs a capella for Carey and Ben.

Thanks for looking.  Here’s the vendor info I have:

Wentworth – contact Jenni Franco or Gina Dimiano

Legit – Ron Vanaria (
781-894-0863)

Flowers – Jardinierre

Cake – Jaques

Photography – Focus Photography (Will, Lucia, and Bernie attending)

This is a wedding I’ll never forget.  To say that the Wentworth throws a fabulous wedding is an understatement.  Nancy and Michael went all out for their family and friends, and I can’t even list all the appetizers the guests were served.  Carving stations, pasta stations, dozens of passed apps,and a sushi bar – before steak, lobster and shrimp.  Of course there was wedding cake for dessert, but there was also a pastry cart and a coffee bar, with two baristas preparing cappucinos to go with cannoli.

There was a band, and then there was a flamenco trio to fill in when the band wasn’t playing. From Miami.  And they were really good (Alex Fox, I think).  Fingers flying over strings, moving so fast you can scarcely see Alex’s right hand.

We had my favorite combination of photographers.  Chet, Amanda, and I handled the photography, while Lucia did the direction.  I’m so proud of the photographers I work with – they really complete our group.

The flowers were from Jardiniere, but the rest of the decor is the Wentworth.  I’ll list more details below when I add the gallery link.

Here are some of the many people from the Wentworth by the Sea that made this wedding so successful:

Gina Damiano, Coordinator Extraordinaire

Liz Samays, Banquet Manager

Dan Dumont, Executive Chef

Kate Saunders, Asst. Manager

Other Vendors:

The Band – Kahootz (bostonbestband.com)

Flamenco – Alex Fox (alexfox.com)

Flowers – Jardiniere

Ceremony performed by Rabbi Lev

Photography – the Focus Entourage

Here are a few dozen more that I thought were our best shots from the day. Monday I’ll post the link to all of the images from the wedding, in case you want to see more!

The Wentworth had it under control.  They had both an outdoor and an indoor ceremony set up, and there was never a moment of worry there.  Gina Damiano – the coolest coordinator in town.  Cocktails?  Martini Luge!!!  Entertainment?  The incomparable Jeff from the Music Man – who kept the party rocking overtime.

Finally, Gretchen and David, who we met last year, and couldn’t like more.  They saw each other before the ceremony, and you’ll see the first glance images in the gallery.  And then, they were able to attend their cocktail party, instead of just hearing about it from other people.  Great friends, and a rowdy family;  that’s my idea of a perfect wedding.  Congratulations!

Thanks for looking!

The Wentworth really gets dolled up for the holidays.  You couldn’t get a better winter venue, and Mickey and Ashley had an amazing party.  Here are a couple of my favorites – the rest will be in the gallery post.