Ready for Take Off - Chrissy & Scott married at the Worcester Airport
Chrissy and Scott were married October 5, 2013 with a ceremony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Worcester, MA and a reception at The Worcester Airport.
I have been fortunate to work with a whole bunch of Western Massachusetts brides, in the Worcester area to be exact. It started with Kaitlyn and Jackson, and they told two friends and so on. Then I shot a wedding for Casey and Dan. Casey's bridesmaid, Chrissy emailed me almost two years later wanting to hire me. I was so excited because I totally remembered her from Casey's wedding. Not to mention she was linked in with all these other super cool, fun Worcester brides, a total plus. Chrissy and Scott (her amazing groom) came to my house, we meet, fell in love (corny but true) and then they brought me on board. But there was a catch, they didn't have a venue yet. The only thing they had booked was me! I helped them brainstorm a bit, reaching out to the photo community to try to find the perfect venue. Then, one day I got an email from Chrissy. "Hey, I think we nailed down a venue. It's pretty nuts, but it might just work. What do you think about having the reception at the Worcester Airport?" I instantly responded ..."CALL ME!" I tried to not let my head explode with excitement before hearing all the details but that was tough! When Chrissy called me she told me that her very first date with Scott (actual date. formal date....long story) was in an airplane. Scott had his pilots license and flew her up to Maine. She also told me that the best man was an actual commercial pilot as well. I said, "How far are you going with the airport theme because man, we could have a ball here!" She said, "ummmm....all the way?" So we set up a secret pinterest board and started brainstorming ideas along with my past bride Casey on board. Airport codes as table numbers? CHECK! Boarding passes as an invitation? WHY NOT? Introductions for the bridal party down the escalators? NO DOUBT! How about the ticket counters as the actual bar? DONE! And then she told me they were renting an antique prop plane as a literal PROP!!!! Yup, over the course of a year, I think I had a heart attack like 10 times.
The morning started out with my second shooter, Vanessa Walsh, heading to Scott's room at the hotel while I hung out with Chrissy and her lovely ladies. Getting to the church on time gave us very little time for getting ready shots but I was able to grab a bunch of formals with the ladies and her family right on the street and then ran off to the church for marrying time. While that was happening, Chrissy was able to surprise Scott and "ice him". She sent him a case of Smirnoff Ice and the boys chugged that quick according to Vanessa. While we were at the church, my other second shooter, Joe Gonzalez-Dufresne, was already at the airport getting all the detail shots and scoping out the location so when we arrived, we could crank out pictures of the bridal party.
Everything about this wedding was magical. Scott and Chrissy gave us plenty of time for formals. Just how much time is plenty of time? Over an hour! And we used all of that time to play. They rented a plane that originally belonged to Tom Cruise to use as a prop. All of the bridal party had aviators on because everyone looks great in those babies. After the formals it was time to party. I have NEVER seen so many people get up and dance so quickly in all the years I've been shooting weddings. The minute the music kicked in, the dance floor was PACKED! And it never quieted down for a second, the DJs at Unique Sounds Entertainment kept it moving. It was hot in there for sure, so everyone took advantage of the fans set up all over the venue.
Instead of traditional wedding cake, Chrissy and Scott opted for a cider donut table and in lieu of a cake cutting, we just stole away for a few minutes to grab a few shots of that. Jeannine Driscoll was the event coordinator and the day flowed beautifully. Pepper's Fine Catering did a great job feeding everyone in such an unusual space and Heidi Bouchard handled all the flowers. Chrissy's gown was Allure Bridal #8800 and her hair was styled by Jeffrey Michaels Salon. Fr. Jesus Martinez officiated the wedding ceremony. McElroy Films captured the day on video for the couple. The final details truly were amazing, they did have airport codes as table numbers, there was a large map with pins all over it of places they have traveled together, and their guest book was an antique wooden airplane propeller. GENIUS!
I always talk about how connected I am with my couples but you know this is true when you are texting your bride after the ceremony the next day as they are getting on the plane for their honeymoon! Yup, true story. I can't wait until my season winds down because I have big plans for dinner with Chrissy, Scott and the couple that fixed us up too! (You hear that Casey and Dan!) I can't believe that the wedding is over. I loved helping with every moment of this one. And Scott...You really did get the girl!
