Marta + Gwaki | New Haven, CT | Wedding

[Quick side note for anyone reading this via RSS: A few days ago I accidentally hit “publish” instead of “save draft” before this entry was finished (Go, me!).  And even though I IMMEDIATELY took it down, my feed reader still caught it and published it — thanks, Google. I was only about halfway done with my comments, which are VERY IMPORTANT AND SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.  So, this is me pleading with you to read it again!  On with the show!]

Fair warning: You are about to hear me (over)use two phrases during this post.  1) “How freaking beautiful is ____?!” (Mostly, this will be in reference to Marta, but in all fairness, you’ll soon see why I can’t help that), and 2) “FAVORITE!!!!” (Or some variation thereof.)  Are you excited yet?

Marta + Gwaki.  I love saying their names.  It may be because I’ve spent so much time with the two of them as a couple, but I just think their names fit together well; they blend into one another.  MartaGwaki.  They roll off the tongue together.  Marrrrrta + Gwaki.  (She’s Portuguese; roll that R.)

Marta + Gwaki.  I loved photographing their wedding.  They were married on July 11th at Amarante’s Sea Cliff in New Haven on an absolutely stunning day.  The main element of their wedding that sticks in my mind?  Laughter.  From beginning to end, so much laughter.  (I’ll prove it to you in a minute.)

Oh, and love — I can’t forget love.  But hey, it was a wedding, right?  Of course there was love.  Except this wedding was different from any others I’ve photographed, and I can’t quite put my finger on any one thing to explain it to you.  The best example I’ll give is that, by the close of the night as I was packing away my stuff to make the drive home, Marta turned to me with a huge smile on her face and said, “It was like you were just another friend at our wedding.”  My heart melted.

I know it’s poor form to have favorites (moreover to publicly announce them!), and that having a favorite by definition means that something else is less — less liked, less cherished.  But when have I ever been anything but a woman of poor form?  Because I have no shame in admitting that these two?  These two are my favorites.

Here, let me show you why.

Good afternoon, Long Island Sound.


Amarante’s Sea Cliff is perched on a pretty small piece of land, but what they lack in square acreage, they make up for in views and flowering gardens.  And as you’ll see in a minute, the Bride’s prep room has some of the most gorgeous light you ever did see.

Sometimes the most plain environment best allows a dress to speak for itself.  [Funny story: Before I edited any of these photos, I went out to try on dresses for my own wedding.  We found several nice options, but there was one dress in particular that everyone loved.  Like, L-O-V-E kind of loved.  Imagine my surprise when I sat down to work on this wedding and realized that IT WAS MARTA’S DRESS.  I now know for certain that I could have given Marta a good punch to the midsection and she wouldn’t have felt a thing, because the boning in that dress was not messing around.  Not that I would engage in fisticuffs with any of my brides, mind you.  I’m just saying.  I really liked Marta’s dress. :)]

And the view behind the dress wasn’t too shabby, either.  (Check out the tip top of that cloud behind the window shade.  Love it.) :)

Marta was the first bride I’ve had to mix it up with her shoes and I have to praise her for it.  Ladies, there is no law that says your shoes have to be white.  In fact, I’d be willing to use all my years of Mock Trial experience to argue that there should be a law AGAINST it.  (Yes.  Mock Trial.  I was in Mock Trial, alright?)

This is their Flower Girl (whose name, I’m embarrassed to admit, is escaping me).  How freaking beautiful is this child!?  And she was an absolute sweetheart, to boot.  Later, during the ceremony, Gwaki was getting a little teary, so she walked up to him to offer up the handkerchief she was carrying.  SERIOUSLY?  Precious.

The gorgeous light I was talking about:

And how freaking beautiful is Marta?!  I loved how relaxed she was all day.

Alright, so I’m probably going to get in trouble for posting the one on the left, but COME ON!  That might be my FAVORITE “putting on the dress” photo to date!  Makes me grin every time I see it.

Marta wanted a small orchid for her hair.  Apparently that message was not properly conveyed to her florist, but golly, what she got sure was beautiful.  Happy accident.

Refrain: How freaking beautiful is Marta?!  Right?


Ceremony, here we come!

The ceremony was not too short, not too long.  And it alternated between unbearably touching (yeah, I cried behind my camera), and this:

What a perfect day.  The clouds, the clouds!

Gonna just go ahead and say it: FAVORITE photo of an officiant TO DATE.

Remember the laughing I mentioned before?  I wasn’t kidding.


First kiss. :)

If I had to sum the two of them up using one photo only, I might use this one:

Hello, beautiful bridal party!


I showed Marta this picture right after I took it, and her response was, “I KNEW this was the kind of sunshine you liked!”  Why yes, Marta.  Yes it is.  :)


Okay, probably nobody cares about this but me, but.. see that photo on the left?  Before everyone was introduced at the reception, they forced them all to stand in this teeny tiny hallway to wait for something (I think there was an issue setting up the sound system).  Both sets of parents and the bridal party were all crammed together behind this drape and when I looked at it from inside the hall, something about it just struck me.  In other news, how freaking adorable (and beautiful!) are Marta’s parents?

Okay, I take it back.  I might sum up Marta + Gwaki using these photos:


I think this is my favorite first dance photo of all time.  FAVORITE!


I heard tell their cake was delicious (I’ll spare Marta + Gwaki the photos of them shoveling it into their mouths).  I’m sorry I missed trying a piece!  But it was pretty to look at. :)

They did such a sweet favor for their guests.  The two of them love peanut butter and chocolate (big points here), so they concocted a custom granola recipe (including two big scoops of love!).  They included a sample of their delicacy with the recipe printed on an attached card.  They even made sure I got one!  Mmm.

Yet another photo I might get in trouble for, but this is a story I have to tell.  Marta’s father gave a very sweet speech about appreciating your new spouse’s differences.  But before he found his groove, he said something along the lines of, “Cherish the differences in your personalities, in your strengths, and even in your genders — in fact those differences are something you should really appreciate quite often!”  I haven’t done this ANY justice, but let’s just say Marta’s dad is a very unassuming sort of man, and the reactions on their faces in the following photo pretty clearly illustrate how much they were NOT expecting this sort of advice.

So much were they not expecting it that the laughter continued in waves for a good couple of minutes.  I had a pretty hard time keeping my camera steady through my own giggles.

That’s Gwaki’s dad on the right.  He was a great story teller.

After a lovely dinner, I stole the bridal party back outside for a few more portraits.  Sunset, I love you.  I especially love you because you help Marta’s beauty shine.

REFRAIN: How freaking beautiful is Marta?!

Marta + Gwaki’s engagement photos required me to create a new triptych collage for the blog.  So it’s not too surprising that their wedding necessitated yet another new collage.  Except, what the heck do I call this?  “Quadtych” isn’t a word, but should we go with it?  How about “4-up?”  WHATEVER!

This is Gwaki and his brothers.  This series is what happened when I asked Gwaki and his brothers to look smooth.  This is NOT how one goes about looking smooth.  But it IS how one goes about making me laugh.

Eventually, they figured it out.  And boy oh boy did they get it right:

REFRAIN, PEOPLE.  This is my favorite from the day.

That sunshine is killing me a little bit.  But, killing me in a good way.


Uhm, this might also be a favorite.  HOT.


Back inside for BABIES!  I wanted to follow this little one around all night.

And this guy partied himself out:


Last but not least, a departing shot of Amarante’s Sea Cliff from below.

I know I’m not supposed to have favorites.  I know it.  But this was my most favorite wedding to date.  Not a single minute of it felt like work and I’ve never had so much fun with a bridal party.  This wedding set my expectations HIGH!  Brides and grooms, take note!

Marta + Gwaki, thanks for treating me like a friend.  Thanks for letting me enjoy myself while I worked.  And thanks for reminding me why I love to do what I do.  You’re a formidable couple with an enviable attitude toward life, and gosh darn it, I LIKE YOU!  Enjoy your photos. :)

August 28, 2010 - 10:34 am

Carolina Molly, these photographs are spectacular! Not only did you do an amazing job of capturing light and color, their personalities, and how much they love each other – you also captured how much you love what you do and care for the people you work with. Absolutely spectacular! I can’t get over it…

All my best,
Carolina

August 28, 2010 - 11:58 am

girl who’s not jealous cause you weren’t my photographer… (unfortunately). Amazing. They’re beautiful!

September 4, 2010 - 6:08 pm

Molly Carolina, your comments are always so touching and kind. Thank you — really. And Debbie, you come up with the weirdest names to comment under. And lucky for you, you can have me take your picture whenever you want. :)

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