Colin and Brian both work in theater on Broadway musicals; Brian is a Stage Manager and Colin is a performer.  They met doing a production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in Boston in 2007 and [their] little “show-mance” turned into a beautiful marriage. I encourage you to take a look at their story: they managed to make everything personal, from the person who’d marry them to their choice of photographer, which I believe is something that makes a difference on the day of your wedding! Actually, one quick look at their pictures may be enough to realize what a great time they had.

Starting today, we’ll also try to include a little something about the wedding from the photographer’s point of view! After all, he/ she’s the one standing by your side the whole day, and I am sure reading some advice from someone going to weddings every week end—who also happens to have a certain knowledge of what makes the memory of such a day look better—is anything but a waste of time! Today, the testimony of the great and super cool photographer of this sweet wedding, Phil Chester, out of the USA!

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We vacationed to the island in 2012 and loved it and always wanted to go back.  We had to legally marry in New York State, and that legal ceremony took place in our apartment in Manhattan on March 11th.  Our best friend Emily became legally ordained in order to officially marry us both in NY and Curacao.  It was so personal and made the experience extra special.  We also had a reception in NYC in April to include our friends/family that couldn’t make it to Curacao.  So technically we had 3 weddings!  Haha.

Regarding the wedding, name one thing you regret…

We have racked our brains to come up something that we regret, but at the risk of sounding cliche, it really was the perfect day.  The weather was perfect, the photographer was perfect, the location was perfect, virtually every decision we made was exactly what we wanted.  We chose to have one long table to seat the group of 22 people, and the only thing that we should have done that we didn’t was to assign the seats.  With such a small group we didn’t think that was going to be necessary.  And from a personality perspective, it wasn’t necessary.  But people definiltey walked up to the table and sort of “expected” to know where to sit.  But really, that was all I think we misjudged.  No regrets at all.  And what a spectacular day!

… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

 The best decision we made in this whole process was hiring Phil Chester as our photographer.  He went to high school in Ohio with a friend of Colin’s that he grew up dancing with in New Hampshire and she recommended him.  Small world!!!  He captured the exact spirit of the event that we wanted.  The whole wedding was completely non-traditional (hello…gay wedding on an island) and it was exactly what we wanted.

The word of the photographer.

Colin and Brian’s wedding week was such a damn blast to document. We planned two days before the wedding to explore the island together, shooting portraits each of those evenings into the sunset. It’s nice to make time for those portraits if you have the time a day before or after the wedding. It really allows you to relax and play, capturing images that showcase setting/environment, while not being occupied with the wedding day. They planned their wedding day around the light. A photographers dream. Planning their ceremony a couple hours before sunset allowed for amazing lighting, and they also allotted a nice chunk of time for portraits after their ceremony too. Photography was a priority for Colin and Brian, and their laid back personalities, amazing loving energy, and their overall desire to simply HAVE A GOOD DAMN TIME, made for wonderful images.