When I look back to the first time I met Alissa and Rob, the first thing I remember is how adoring their smiles were for each other. About a year ago, we met up at Lincoln Woods for their engagement shoot and the first thing they told me was, 'when it comes to photographs.. we're really awkward!' I let out a big belly laugh and assured them that everyone feels that way! But when I started photographing them, I did notice something immediately. It wasn't awkward and it wasn't rigid, it was two people who had the ability to look at each other and have the rest of the world disappear around them.
On the morning of their wedding day, I arrived to find Alissa with that familiar big smile, holding a Dunkin Donuts cup with the words 'Bride' and 'Congrats!' on the sides. Her and her bridesmaids talked about all the funny stories leading up to the wedding, and two of the bridesmaids children were cracking us all up with their hilarious antics and the adorable crush they had on each other! As they all continued to prepare for the big day, Alissa and her sister pulled me aside to show me a very important stitching on the inside of Alissa's dress.. her brother's Boston Bruins patch.
We arrived at St. Anthony's Church in West Warwick and the ceremony began. Up on the altar was a beautiful photo of her brother next to an angel with a burning candle. From someone who knows the feeling of losing someone so close, I couldn't help but feel entirely connected to the emotion inside those church walls. But within those feelings of loss, were also feelings of life! A life that Alissa and Robby were beginning with each other, and I think I can safely say, that everyone felt her brother's presence as they dedicated a life of happiness to each other.
After their ceremony, we decided to spontaneously letterbox the location of their formal photos! Did I mention Alissa and Robby are big in to letterboxing? So much so, that their friends climbed a mountain to place Robby's letterbox that contained the note 'will you marry me?' on the inside with a Grateful Dead stamp. The letterbox that we found lead us to a bright red caboose and under it, a stranger had placed a caboose stamp in which they pressed on a napkin from the limo.
Needless to say, Alissa and Robby, you showed me so many things on your wedding day. But most importantly, what it means to truly love someone.
