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classic wedding photography - CT

Kate and Brian {Meriden Wedding}

Kate and Brian had the most amazing Meriden wedding!  We traveled all over Meriden, Connecticut on their wedding day to celebrate their love for each other.  Brian and Kate’s wedding photography included gorgeous and super fun venues, beautiful and kind people, breathtaking architecture, stunning skies, amazing details and so much love, laughter and friendship.

Have you ever wondered what a wedding album would look like if the bride and groom and the photographers were pretty much the same people?  If so, here, you will find out!  Between the four of us, three of us work with children, two of us work in politics (and a third one teaches it!) and all of us love books, details and beautiful architecture.  Two of us are Brians and two of us are now married to a Brian!  This wedding was destined from the start to be an epic photography experience for us all!

We started their day by getting pictures of them getting ready in their family’s homes.  Kate and her ladies got ready at the home that she and Brian share.  One of my favorite parts of this afternoon was when Kate walked down the stairs and she and her father saw one another for the first time as a bride.

Look at the details in the gown.  Breathtaking, right?
bride wedding gownKate had two beautiful hangers to use for her gown and jewelry. Check out those really sweet charms on her shoes.  I love the library where Kate, her mother and her maid of honor, her sister, got ready.
bride wedding gown and jewelrybride wedding shoes charmsbride getting dressedAfter Kate was dressed, she walked down her staircase and her father got to see his baby as a bride and ready to get married.  I always love the emotion that comes with a father daughter first look.bride father seeing her for first timeOne of the things I love about getting ready in your home is the special details that I find!  These two signs were out in Kate and Brian’s home.  special dates and coutdownspecial piecesWhile I was with Kate, Mr. mbm was hanging out with Brian, his guys and his family.  Brian had a super cool hanger, too!groom detailsThere is something about personalized cuff links that will always have my heart.  And when they are personalized and given to a groom by his future wife… swoon.groom cufflinksgroom getting dressedBrian’s mother and father helped Brian with ties and flowers.groom flowersAnd then we all met up at the church.  This breathtakingly beautiful church.  St. Stanislaus Catholic Church is absolutely amazing.  The gold and the architecture are truly one of a kind.church detailsGorgeous, gorgeous programs.ceremony programAnd then…. the walk down the aisle.  The moment the groom sees his bride. wedding ceremony church walking down the aisleThis was a really beautiful ceremony.  Not only is the church amazing, the priest led such a nice wedding ceremony for Brian and Kate.wedding ceremony churchAnd I got a glance at Brian’s shoes! Yes!!  They matched Kate’s!shoes I do me tooWhen a church has a balcony, it immediately becomes one of my favorites.wedding ceremony churchAwwww, the vows.  wedding ceremony church vowswedding ceremony church vowsAnd they are pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Cofrancesco!  wedding ceremony church husband and wifewedding ceremony churchwedding ceremony church flowersWe did portraits next, but if you’re a regular reader, you know those come at the end of the blog post!

After portraits, we headed over to the Curtis Cultural Center.  This building is soooo cool!  It is a converted historic library, and likely one of the coolest places I’ve been to.  The inside was so full of charm and so unique.  The outside was gorgeous and when the sun set over the city, Kate and Brian got the coolest purple sunset pictures!

meriden curtis cultural centerKate and Brian entered, were introduced and went right into their first dance.  It was so romantic and then the dip… the dip!  I love a good surprise dip!bride and groom enterbride and groom first dancebride and groom first dancebride and groom first dance dipThis book theme is just perfect.  The theme was everywhere, starting with their hashtag, #ourfutureisBooKed!  The place cards were library cards and guests had to find their library card, by looking in the card catalog drawer.  library cards place cardslibrary themeThey had something special for the children.  Kate and Brian had a lot of children at their wedding.  I love that they gave each child a little activity kit to work on in between events.  So thoughtful!
children
As much as Brian and Kate loves books, they also love their hometown, Meriden.  Their guest gifts were little Meriden chocolate coins in the coolest boxes ever!  Look closely at the flowers; book pages!  And the centerpieces were books, as well.  They didn’t miss a chance to weave their theme in throughout their entire wedding.guest tablesThe parent dances followed the first dance.  You can see Kate’s father and Brian’s mother remembering their babies, as babies.  I usually shed a tear (or two or ten!) during parent dances and these were no different.  You could absolutely see the love Brian and Kate’s parents have for their children.father daughter dancemother son danceYou saw the guests tables before.  Check out the sweetheart table.  This book theme has my heart.  How awesome is this book cut out?b k bookBrian and Kate had these amazing pens made for their guests to sign their guest book, a dictionary!dictionaryI am sitting here in my office, laughing as I type this, remembering these toasts.  Oh.My.Gosh.  They were THE BEST!  Sweet memories, emotional tears, hilarious memories, laughter, lots of hysterically funny tears…  For real, the best!

Also, Alanna used this opportunity to come clean to her brother about some fantastic childhood pranks!!!toaststoasts
toasts
toastsHave you even seen a cake topper like this?  Soooo cool!  And not only are these toppers amazing, the cakes were delicious!  Kate’s sister, Kellie, made them!wedding cakewedding cakewedding cakeKellie also made this popcorn dessert table.  Soooo good!  Such talent!!!popcorn dessertAfter dinner, Kate, Brian and their guests headed upstairs to the super cool dance floor!  These lights, in this room, on this ceiling were so fun!reception lightsSwoon.  Again.  Kate and Brain had their rings engraved.  And once again, they didn’t miss a chance to extend their matching details.  This set is absolutely gorgeous.wedding ring setAnd their ring box, these details!  Love!wedding ring boxHow gorgeous are these flowers, too?  And of course, the pages woven in.
bridal qouquetbride and groom flowersbridesmaids bouquetsIf you’re a regular reader of the blog, you know I end with the portraits.

When you get married in a church that looks like this, we must do portraits on the alter.  We did family portraits, bridal party and of course, bride and groom portraits at church before heading to a local park.church family portraitschurch portraitschurch bridal party portraitsThe outside of the church is just as beautiful as the inside.  Remember what I said about architecture and details?  Stunning.  Everywhere.church portraitsbridebridegroombride groom portraitsHow about this idea for a thank you note?  Awesome, right?!bride groom portraits thank you cardbride groom portraits bookbride groom portraitsbride groom portraitsbride groom portraitsThere is a really great ice cream shop real close to Brian and Kate’s home where they love to go to.  So, of course, we needed to do a quick stop here!  How adorable is this couple, right?!bride groom portraits ice creambride groom portraits ice creamWe also stopped at Brian and Kate’s home for some portraits and to practice their first dance!  Check out the tree where Brian and Kate carved in their names when they bought their house.  So romantic.bride groom portraits homebride groom portraits homeBrian and Kate had amazingly warm weather for their wedding that ended with a perfect sunset sky.bride groom portraits reception

Kate and Brian, you two had an amazing wedding.  Your attention to detail and the love surrounding you all made your wedding the perfect one to end our wedding season.  Thank you for trusting us to photograph your wedding.  We wish you a lifetime of love, laughter and happiness.

Please help Kate and Brian win free wall art!  Give them a congratulatory comment on this post!

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Photography: Melanie and Brian, mbm weddings
Ceremony Venue: St. Stanislaus Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Curtis Cultural Center
Bridal Gown: Lastrina Girls Bridal Salon
Flowers: Wallingford Flower Shoppe
DJ: Entertainment Unlimited
Cake: Amazingly talented sister of the bride and maid of honor, Kellie

33 comments
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  • Kristin HoldenJanuary 13, 2020 - 7:41 am

    Absolutely beautiful!!!  Melanie and Brian you captured the day and Brian and Kate so perfectly!  ReplyCancel

  • Jacob OrcuttJanuary 13, 2020 - 8:20 pm

    Beautiful photos of a beautiful day for two of the best people I know.  Congrats again Brian and Kate!ReplyCancel

  • Christine SavelaJanuary 13, 2020 - 8:41 pm

    I love reliving that day/night with your amazing photos! ReplyCancel

  • Cheryl OConnorJanuary 13, 2020 - 8:59 pm

    You guys did so many wonderful things to celebrate your special day…every time I see the pics I see something I didn’t see before! So glad we could be there with you!! All beautiful pictures💗ReplyCancel

  • HeatherJanuary 13, 2020 - 9:15 pm

    Beautiful photos! This wedding had so many amazing and thoughtful details, and you captured them all. Congratulations again to the happy couple! ReplyCancel

  • George CofrancescoJanuary 13, 2020 - 9:48 pm

    Beautiful pictures from a beautiful day in our lives ReplyCancel

  • Mary MeahJanuary 14, 2020 - 12:53 am

    Congratulations, Brian & Kate. What a beautiful wedding, gorgeous photos!ReplyCancel

  • Addison SavelaJanuary 14, 2020 - 6:52 am

    Beautiful pictures of a great day!ReplyCancel

  • DanielleJanuary 14, 2020 - 7:14 am

    Gorgeous pictures for the most amazing couple! Such a special day!ReplyCancel

  • Kathy WawrzynowiczJanuary 14, 2020 - 3:50 pm

    This blog reflects the most beautiful wedding! The photography, details and wedding theme  are perfect!ReplyCancel

  • Dawn slavinskiJanuary 14, 2020 - 5:59 pm

    Kate and Brian you are a special couple,  you day was captured beautifully in this post.  May you always have these happy memories of that wonderful day.ReplyCancel

  • Robin KiernanJanuary 15, 2020 - 9:43 am

    What a beautiful day ! A goreous bride Kate is. Seeing all the beautiful pictures made me feel like I was there myself. Great job. Best of luck to the bride and groom. ReplyCancel

  • tasha sJanuary 15, 2020 - 10:08 am

    Beautiful pictures and the bride is stunning ReplyCancel

  • ElaineJanuary 15, 2020 - 1:07 pm

    Beautiful photos, beautiful bride, beautiful day !  Congrats to all ! ReplyCancel

  • TheresaJanuary 16, 2020 - 6:55 pm

    Love this!ReplyCancel

  • HannahMarch 8, 2020 - 3:30 pm

    Fantastic pictures capturing a fantastic day and couple!ReplyCancel

  • Rebecca TaberMarch 8, 2020 - 3:37 pm

    Lovely wedding!!ReplyCancel

  • George CofrancescoMarch 8, 2020 - 3:52 pm

    Beautiful pictures!! They really show the LOVE between the two of you!!! ReplyCancel

  • Liesel FraserMarch 8, 2020 - 4:06 pm

    Beautiful photos of you both PLUS of Meriden!! Wishing you two a life time of love and faith!ReplyCancel

  • Deborah CofrancescoMarch 8, 2020 - 4:33 pm

    These wedding photos came out absolutely beautiful! We will treasure these and the memories of Brian and Kate’s special day.ReplyCancel

  • Kevin JeffersonMarch 8, 2020 - 4:37 pm

    Reading through the post and looking at the pictures felt like I got to experience the day all over again. Thanks for sharing, and for documenting this day for Brian and Kate!ReplyCancel

  • Mary CoventryMarch 8, 2020 - 4:46 pm

    Congratulations, Kate and Brian! These are stunning photos that really capture so much joy and love. ReplyCancel

  • Lisa BeedeMarch 8, 2020 - 4:59 pm

    Beautiful pictures of a beautiful couple!ReplyCancel

  • JanMarch 8, 2020 - 6:47 pm

    Beautiful ❤️ReplyCancel

  • Dave SwedockMarch 8, 2020 - 7:18 pm

    Excellent venue for a perfect wedding for a perfect couple, Congratulations…….ReplyCancel

  • Cynthia DagostinoMarch 8, 2020 - 9:05 pm

    Congratulations the photos are beautiful ReplyCancel

  • Megan OlverMarch 8, 2020 - 9:13 pm

    Loved re-living such a wonderful day with these fabulous photos. Beautiful wedding and couple. ❤️ReplyCancel

  • MaryMarch 8, 2020 - 9:47 pm

    Every little detail was beautiful! Congrats ❤️ ReplyCancel

  • Sharon OliveiraMarch 8, 2020 - 10:18 pm

    Kate & Brian,
    Your attention to detail weaving your love of books and the written word guarantees a long history of your love story! Thanks so much for sharing these memories!
    Sharon Oliveira ReplyCancel

  • Jane SlotterMarch 8, 2020 - 10:39 pm

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs. Wishing you much happiness as Mr and Mrs!ReplyCancel

  • Marie PerryMarch 9, 2020 - 8:17 am

    The pictures are awesome.  Wishing you a wonderful life together. ReplyCancel

  • Joan KilbyMarch 9, 2020 - 12:29 pm

    Such a beautiful and creative wedding and fabulous photos!  ReplyCancel

  • Sherwin BorsukMarch 11, 2020 - 5:59 pm

    Beautiful photos of a beautiful couple! Congratulations!ReplyCancel

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