Emily & Alex's Oceanside Wedding at the Spring House on Block Island, RI

Emily and Alex reached out to us last March all the way from Munich, Germany where they both dance professionally to tell us about their plans for a casually beautiful wedding on Block Island. Emily’s been visiting a home belonging to her grandparents there since she was a kid, and although it’s far from their adopted home abroad, they both agreed it felt right to invite all of their people to this tiny island that means so much to them. This location required a degree of adventure for everyone not currently living on the island (read: everyone but Emily’s grandparents), and just the experience of taking a ferry across open waters in order to celebrate them was quite the dramatic opening for their guests. These two have a quiet, kind, and welcoming hilarity about them that made photographing their wedding day feel so natural, and we got the sense that their guests would have traveled literally anywhere for them.

Their plan was to have a mid-day ceremony and reception at the Spring House, a classically Block Island venue, that felt comfortable and low-key amidst the more formal setting. As we arrived to find them both prepping for the goings on Alex was busy helping a friend setup the sound system for music and Emily was getting into her outfit aided by family. The noon sun made the relatively cool 76 degrees feel like a proper summer day and the place was buzzing as final preparations were made before guests started arriving. It’s been a while since we’ve photographed a lunchtime wedding and there’s definitely a distinct energy that feels so different from the usual evening affair. As we photographed them seeing each other for the first time we noticed how calm they seemed to become together.

After a beautiful ceremony and cocktail hour on the lawn, lunch and toasts inside gave folks the opportunity to recharge before heading back outside for some mid-afternoon dancing. Emily and Alex performed a series of choreographed dances together as guests circled around them to watch, and seeing two people so effortlessly flow together elicited more than a few tears from the crowd. As dancing concluded just before the dinner hour, guests departed the Spring House and Emily and Alex made a quick stop to freshen up before picking us up again. In her grandparent’s island car they drove us around to a few spots as the sun lowered in the sky, giving us the opportunity to slow down and make some portraits of them with their puppy: starting at her grandparent’s house and concluding at the north end of the island. We left feeling like we couldn’t have drawn it up any better ourselves; Emily and Alex were trusting, up for exploring, and most importantly so connected to one another.

Venue/Coordination/Catering: Spring House
Florals: Shade Studio
Dress Designer: Prea James
Bridal Boutique: Zo & Willow
Suit: Maison Rose
Rings: Jeanna Atelier
Film/Processing: Kodak Portra 400 / Kerry’s Warwick Photo