Jason and Ilea’s love story started when they were friends in Middle School!  They reconnected in 2005 and dated, but another 10 years went by before they finally realized they were meant to be together.

I first met Ilea when I was photographing her best friend’s wedding back in 2011. It was one of the first weddings that I had ever photographed on my own! Over the last 5 years, I’ve photographed her family at Christmas time and her daughter’s 1st birthday party, so I was beyond thrilled when she told me that she was engaged and wanted me to photograph her wedding!  When I met her fiancé, Jason, I could see that they were perfect for each other.  They both have the most easy going personalities and the best sense of humor.

Ilea and her bridesmaids got ready at the old Maine State Building, which is on the grounds of the Poland Springs Resort in Poland, Maine.  I loved the historical feel of the building!  Ilea’s Mom made all of the bouquets and boutonnieres, with Ilea’s bouquet holding a small angel charm that carried some of her mothers ashes with her all day. I love that Ilea chose to wear some adorable (and comfortable!) Crocs as her wedding shoes!  Right across the street, Ilea’s son, Reid, walked her down the aisle to Jason at the All Souls Chapel. They had a “Blending of the Sands” part of the ceremony, where Ilea and Jason, as well as each of Ilea’s three children, poured different colored sands into one tall jar.  Afterwards, we all headed over to Spring Meadows Golf Course in Gray, Maine, where we found some perfect light for pictures of the two of them!  The rest of the evening was spent doing a lot of laughing and a lot of dancing, thanks to the DJ, Mike Violette!  Thank you, Ilea and Jason, for trusting me to capture this special day for the two of you!

I love the look that Ilea is giving Jason in the picture on the bottom right (below).  That’s the face she made after she realized that Jason decided NOT to slam cake into her face, and just fed it to her nicely!  She was a bit surprised 🙂 Smart man!