Keren and Scott had a surprise guest named Danny at their beautiful garden wedding on Saturday at the Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley MA.  Tropical Storm Danny to be exact.  Yet despite that, and numerous other setbacks that occurred throughout the day Keren walked through her wedding day with a grace and joy that I have rarely seen…and pulled off a beautiful event!

With the tropical storm looming, Keren, Scott, and I met at Elm Bank Reservation on sunny Friday morning to take some portraits together in the garden.   The next afternoon I met Keren at her parent’s house in Newton, where everyone was getting dressed and ready.  The house was bursting at the seams with Keren, her bridesmaids, and her family, including quite a few who were visiting from Israel.  Soon everyone was ready, and we all loaded up and headed over to Elm Bank Reservation.

With such a big family, there were a lot of family photos to take.  Since it was still raining outside, we took advantage of the large doorways in the Carriage House to give an outdoor background to our photos.  As soon the photos were done, it was time to sign the Ketubah, with the family and guests gathering around Keren and Scott.  Then we all filed into the tent where their beautiful Chuppah was set upand the guests were waiting.  It was a very personal ceremony with emotions running freely as the Rabbi read their words to one another, and Keren’s father, ordained for the day, performed the civil vows.  Scott broke the glass and they walked down the aisle as man and wife while their guests filled the tent with bubbles.

Since we’d taken all of the family photos before the ceremony, Keren and Scott enjoyed the cocktail hour with their guests.  Then they disappeared for a little while.  When they reappeared, announced in by the band, Keren was resplendent in her 2nd wedding gown of the night!  But that wasn’t the only surprise.  After beginning their first dance with a slow number, the music stopped and they broke into a crowd pleasing choreographed upbeat dance.  And that was just the beginning of the party!  The night fairly hummed with activity as they danced the Hora, were toasted by many of their family and friends, enjoyed a video put together by their family in Israel (and several powerpoint presentations by close friends), all while dancing to the band in between.  Towards the end of the night, the rain stopped, and we headed outside for a few night-time romantic photos.  The tropical storm couldn’t stop the fun at this wedding!

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