Samantha & Rian | Wedding at Belle Mer, Newport, RI

On Friday September 5th, Sam and Rian were married at the beautiful Belle Mer. They had an evening ceremony and reception, but their day started much earlier with getting ready, a first look and a few stops around Newport! Although they had hoped for a cool fall day, they ended up with the hottest day that I have worked all summer!

My day started with the details – the girls were still at the salon, but I swung through the condo where they would be getting ready and photographed some of Sam’s details!

After my time at the condo, I headed to Rian’s family’s home to do a little getting ready with Rian…Rian’s mom gave him a hand into his jacket before we took a few more pictures and I headed out to meet the girls again!When we had gone over our timeline and pictures for the day, I knew that we were headed to a ball field but I didn’t know we were going to be fully equipped with gear! When I saw these on the front steps, I snapped a couple of pictures – a glimpse of what was to come!
Back at the condo, the girls arrived to get dressed and help Sam into her dress too…
When Sam’s brother, mother and grandmother arrived, they helped too!Rian’s sister, Kelly, had a special delivery for Sam from Rian…
Sam’s mom actually made her veil – so talented!When everyone was ready, we headed over in the trolley to Rian’s house for the first look, but before we could meet, Sam also had a special delivery for Rian…Rian’s family’s home was the perfect spot for the first-look because we could incorporate their dogs into the day!
After our time with the pups, Rian and his guys hopped onto the trolley and our day together officially began:)!We made a quick stop at the beach, but with the heat, we didn’t last very long:)! The breeze was actually a big help though and our big group handled it as best as they could:)!!After the beach we made a pit-stop! When Sam jumped out, I jumped out after her:)!

I just love this picture on the right of Sam – it cracks me up because it shows off her personality – happy, fun, silly, and so down to earth…She bit into a Slim Jim before even finishing checking out and when she got back on the trolley with it, one of the guys had to go buy a handful more because so many ladies were jealous! That was a first for me:)!!

With some cool refreshments in hand, we headed to the ball field for our next stop…These two girls are sisters and cousins of Sam:)! Can you tell which one reminded me of Katherine Heigl from the moment I met her?
While waiting to get in to the ball field, we snapped a couple quick ones of the girls:)!
After some pictures, we did a little mock game – a request from Sam! Looking back as I edited these, I became more in awe of Sam…there are many times when brides can barely walk in their big dress, never mind run, but Sam did it all effortlessly AND in DIRT:)!! I have to point out that she still looked FABULOUS hours later walking down the isle – I don’t think there was a spot on her dress:)!!Couldn’t leave out the cheerleaders – the field was full so they were our overflow:)!Look at her go:)! This was an idea of the groomsmen and I can’t even remember what they called it – eek!!  They had mentioned it earlier, but I had NO idea what they were talking about, and then as we were about to leave, they said we HAVE to do it – it is a baseball thing!! Once they set up, I totally knew what they meant and I am so happy that they mentioned it!!We wrapped up with a few pictures of Sam and Rian…we spent some time at their engagement session on a field, so it was great to be back and incorporate it into their day:)!This happened on the walk back out to the trolley:)
When we arrived at Belle Mer, the girls headed up to cool off a bit and touch-up:)!
We had to quickly scoot outside because we needed to do our family formals before the guests began to arrive:)!This is Rian’s sister, her husband and his adorably happy niece!We just HAD to do some pictures on the Belle Mer property – it is downright GORGEOUS!  I just wish we had more time there together!This adorable family is my connection to Sam! I went to high school with Courtney (hair stylist extraordinaire) and Sam was her nanny for a while…during that time Courtney’s sister Jessica got married (who I also went to HS with:), and I photographed her wedding…..Sam was there:)!We also HAD to get a group shot with the bridge:)!Once their guests began to arrive, the ladies headed back in and I spent some time moving around getting all of the details – inside and out!I slipped upstairs to deliver the ring pillow and found some cute little ones and interactions:)!
Then it was time for the ceremony to begin…During the ceremony, the sun was setting…gorgeous lighting:)!Perfectly timed sail boat:)!Before entering cocktail we had to get a few shots of the gorgeous after sunset light with the bridge:)!Cocktail began just after sun set and by the end of the cocktail hour it was already completely dark out!These three purses are custom made using Grandma’s dress! Each one has a different inscription inside – such an amazing idea and keepsake!When cocktail ended…these seats were waiting for them:)!Then the reception began:)
Sam danced with her uncle and Rian danced with his mom…Then the dancing began…The night was humid but gorgeous and many people continued to enjoy the night and view outdoors!Everyone was sent home with a make your own baggy of baseball treats:)!