Harvard Memorial Church Archives - Krista Photography Blog

Posted on January 11, 2016June 10, 2016 by Krista Guenin

Rebecca + Kevin – A Harvard Art Museums Wedding

I met Rebecca over six years ago, when she was a bridesmaid in her sister, Elizabeth’s wedding. I liked her right away because she was the youngest (just like me) and she seemed to be the most sentimental and definitely the most likely to cry of the three sisters (just like me). I saw her a few times over the years as I continued to photograph their family out in Michigan, and here in Boston. So, when I got her email telling me she’d gotten engaged, I was so thrilled she wanted me to shoot the wedding, but I was also really excited to see the family again, and to witness Rebecca marry the man she loves!! There really is something special about working with the same family again and again over the years! Take a look at my favorites from their beautiful wedding day…

Posted on August 21, 2008August 25, 2009 by Krista Guenin · 2 Comments

Evan & Kelly’s Wedding!!

Wow! It’s been WAY too long since I posted anything on this blog of mine! I’m sure you were all checking back each day wondering what the heck had happened to me. I hope you weren’t too worried ;) I have so much to blog about, but I definitely wanted to get this wedding up before anything else!!

Evan & Kelly got married a few weeks ago, on a beautiful sunny day in Cambridge. I started the day with Kelly at the Harvard Faculty Club where she was getting ready. It’s such a cool old building, and I was definitely excited to shoot there for the first time! One of the first things I got to see was the room they were staying in at the Club. It had the coolest window, and I just had to shoot the dress in front of it!

Then it was back downstairs to spend some more time with Kelly and her family. Kelly was a little anxious and definitely wanted to get the show on the road! She just couldn’t wait to get down that aisle and marry Evan, which is the best reason to be anxious before your wedding!

The ceremony was held just a block away at Harvard Memorial Church. The ceremony was so nice, and Evan & Kelly just looked so happy!

After the ceremony, we walked back to the Faculty Club, and made a few stops along the way for some casual portraits.

Are they cute, or what?

Back at the reception, the guests were mingling and enjoying the day, while I was eying the cake… Don’t you just want to pluck off those little flowers and eat ’em?!

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way… My assistant, Melissa, totally busted this kid trying to snag a bite!

The first dance as husband & wife…

All day long, you couldn’t get the adorable kids off of the dance floor. Not even during the father-daughter dance!

After a bit of dancing, Evan & Kelly were toasted by their loved ones. The toasts were awesome…lots of tears are the proof!

I love this series! It totally makes me cry because you can just see how close Kelly & her sister are, and how much they love one another. Sisters are awesome!

The Best Man got a few more laughs than tears…

But Kelly’s Dad really takes the cake. I have looked at these images at least 5-6 times now throughout my editing, and I have cried EVERY TIME!! He’s a total crack-up, so I was expecting a really knee-slapping kind of a toast. But, then he starts talking about how when he was a kid he loved the movie Peter Pan (the live-action one w/ Mary Martin – which is a totally great version, btw). And then he goes into this long description of the part where TinkerBell almost dies – and he actually starts crying just talking about it. Which makes all of us cry, of course. I can’t exactly remember how he worked it all out, but in the end he had us all clapping for Evan & Kelly the way kids over the generations have clapped for Tink. I’m telling you, it was the best Dad toast, ever!

Did I mention the adorable kids?

The happy couple enjoying the last dance of the day!

Before the afternoon ended, there was one shot that I HAD to get. I’d been dreaming of it since we visited the Faculty Club during Evan & Kelly’s engagement shoot. The club just has the best staircase, you see…

Evan & Kelly, it was such a wonderful day! You are surrounded by love, and it was an amazing thing to witness. Thank you for trusting me to be a part of your wedding. And thanks for sticking it out to the very end to get my dream shot :) I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you both over the past year – and I look forward to working together to design the perfect album to tell the story of your day! I hope you LOVE the photos!!

Posted on July 31, 2008August 25, 2009 by Krista Guenin · 9 Comments

Jessica & Albert’s Wedding!

I love Jessica & Albert! Not only are they such a fun couple who love God with all their hearts, but Jessica is my all-time favorite blog-stalker! I mean, at least, she’s the one who leaves the most comments… If there are more of you stalkers out there – drop a comment and let me know you’re there!! ;) Seriously though, these two are awesome! We had a ton of fun at their engagement session, so I was really looking forward to their wedding day.

Jessica & Albert both got ready at Le Meridien Cambridge. Jessica was bright-eyed and ready for me as soon I got there :)

love the shoes

Can we talk about how cool the bed spreads are at Le Meridien??? It was originally The Hotel @ MIT – so everything’s all math-tastic :)

Making sure everything is in order

Albert & his parents, getting ready next door (shot by my assistant, Marie)

and killing time in the hallway with some of his groomsmen

Jessica’s sister and Maid of Honor, Joyce, helping with the jewelry

And looking on while Jessica reads a card from Albert

I loved this moment after Jessica put her dress on. She’d forgotten to put lotion on first, and so her Mom and Joyce did it for her. It was priceless.

And this is what’s great about having an assistant around. I usually bring assistants who are photo students, hoping to learn about wedding photography. I let them shoot when they have time, and then go over the images with them later. Well, Marie, captured this awesome shot of the same moment from across the room. I love it!

I love how these 3 shots go together! Jessica is looking down at her dress, while her Mom & Joyce are looking at her. Their expressions are so great!

Another thing I love about Jessica & Albert is that they did a First Look on their wedding day. A First Look is when the Bride & Groom see each other for the first time before the ceremony. I usually set it up so that they can have an intimate moment “alone” to see one another, and to talk and enjoy that moment together without everyone else around. It’s so great because you get reactions that you just can’t get during the ceremony because they can’t really talk to one another during the ceremony. Plus, it gives us a chance to get portraits out of the way beforehand instead of afterwards when you’d rather be enjoying your reception! Anyway, here are the images… Oh, the expressions on Albert’s face! excitement, joy, tears, laughter – priceless!

We didn’t do a ton of portraits of the two of them that day. They really wanted their wedding to focus on the people in their lives, and we’re planning a Trash The Dress session for later this summer anyway where we can just focus on them. Here are some of my favorites from our time together, though…

After the First Look, we were off to Harvard Memorial Church for the family portraits and the ceremony. Here’s Jessica praying before the wedding.

the big entrance

Albert’s parents during a moment of prayer

I have to admit, that this next shot was an accident. I was holding my flash next to me, forgetting that I still had it attached to the camera and when I took the picture it went off right next to the lens – and this is the result! Sometimes, accidents are fun!

At the end of the ceremony, Jessica’s Dad got up to give some announcements, but ended up giving a beautiful speech as well! He had everyone in tears (including me)

but coming down the aisle, they were all smiles!

After the ceremony, we got ALL of the guests together on the stairs outside the church for a big group shot!

I had everyone cheer for Jessica & Albert – and here’s the result. My favorite is Jessica’s Dad, in the front. Love it!

Then it was off to the reception at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge

I love it when couples use the engagement photos at the wedding!

Jessica getting caught in the wind outside

And playing with the kids. Any surprise she’s a Sunday School Teacher?? I don’t know, it looks like she’s kinda uncomfortable with the little ones. I don’t think they like her much either… ;)

Most hilarious cake-cutting EVER! Albert gave her a humungous bite of cake – poor Jessica looked like she was going to choke! But, she stuffed his face too :)

Now, the reception was really like none I’ve ever seen. The majority of the reception was given over to Jessica & Albert’s friends and family. There were skits, songs, videos, and hilarious performances honoring (and roasting) the couple. It was so cool to see what their friends think of them, and how they feel about them, and to laugh along with them! They are SO loved!

And can I just say, that I can’t think of them now without singing “Chi-Pang, Chi-Pang” to myself in my head (to the tune of She Bangs)… maybe you had to be there…

Mixed in with the skits were some toasts by the wedding party. Once again, Jessica’s Dad had us all crying…

And then there was their one kiss of the day – at least that we all got to see ;) They do NOT like PDA (public displays of affection) and it took a room full of their friends banging their glasses and cheering to get them to kiss in public, but it worked! I am a bit proud of myself for capturing this. If I’d been a split second later, I would have missed it!

It was a really great day, and such a wonderful celebration of this beautiful couple!

Jessica & Albert – thank you again for having me! It’s been so great getting to know you and spending time with you over the last few months! I can’t wait for our TTD!!!

Posted on May 27, 2008August 25, 2009 by Krista Guenin · 4 Comments

Jessica & Albert’s Engagement Session

I had a great engagement session the other day with Jessica & Albert. Jessica is one of those brides who loves photography. A bride who stalks wedding & photography blogs all day long, and who even has her own blog. You know, the dreamy type of bride who photographers just LOVE! So, I knew this would be a fun shoot :)

Jessica is a Harvard grad, and they’re getting married at Harvard Memorial Church – so we decided to start on campus. These two are serious characters, and have a tendency to make crazy faces – so a lot of the photos turned out really fun and very relaxed.

Albert throwing the peace sign

I’m not sure if she’s roaring at him, or just trying to bite his face – but he looks pretty intimidated

And it turns Albert has some serious ups – so we had to catch some action shots

We also caught a few (slightly) more serious shots

Oh, this one was a killer. They started cracking up about 2 seconds later, but I got it! ;)

After we played around campus for a while, we took a walk towards the Charles. And we found this awesome little deck…

On the bridge, watching the boats go by

We made Albert show off some more :)

Had to stop at Berry Line for some frozen yogurt!

And then, we hit the grand opening of the new Apple Store on Boylston! We were pretty excited to check it out, but were rather disappointed (though not surprised) to find a line around the corner and a 2-hour wait to get in! Boo hoo! At least we got to see it. We even brought our own apples to celebrate :)

On our way back to the T we walked by the Boston Marathon Finish Line. So we finished the shoot marathon-style.

Jessica & Albert, it was awesome hanging out with you guys – I had a blast! I can’t wait for your wedding in a couple weeks. Woah! A couple weeks – that’s coming up soon! ;)