There were a thousand moments when I knew I was going to get along with Carol and Johann — this is a couple that spent their rehearsal dinner performing trapeze tricks, after all — but I will always remember when he looked over my shoulder at a nearby wedding photographer and said “Hey look! That guy’s using his flash wrong!” (Yes, yes he was. Sorry about your underexposed formals, Mystery Couple). I love that my Internet presence gives me so many couples with a strong passion for photography themselves, because we can work together on a number of levels, and because this might be their one chance to actually put down a camera and enjoy themselves.

Carol and Johann had a gorgeous day at the Hyatt Harborside in Boston, the sun blazing over the skyline. They also had a hilarious priest who, during the ceremony, told us fascinating bits of Boston history and started calling out to me to make sure everything looked OK. (I gave a thumbs up). The night was devoted to fun, dancing, two fabulous cakes, great family, and a finishing treat of Jones Soda.

Congratulations, Carol and Johann!

You may recognize one of the guests there — she was the bride in my previous post, and sister to one of the grooms! As you’ve probably picked up from that and the title, this was my first gay wedding, and it was a beautiful experience. I know that this is a hugely contentious issue now with intractable beliefs on both sides, so I’d love it if someone’s wedding photos weren’t weighed down by a bunch of political comments on either side of the issue. That said, this was probably the most emotional wedding ceremony I’ve ever shot. It took me by surprise, actually — if stereotypes were true, a wedding without a bride should be relatively casual, right? But weddings are pretty important things to me, and it struck me that while many people grow up dreaming about their perfect wedding, Jon and Jerry had to grow up thinking “Well, that’s not for me.” They and their parents had spent years thinking that this would never come, and it came out with intensity and joy and relief.

It was a great Boston November day, and apparently the perfect day to get married, since the park was filled with roaming wedding parties, photographers in tow, like herds of migratory animals — Jerry even ran into a bride that he knew! The ceremony and reception hall were beautiful — refined, but still open enough to let people dance like mad.