“Go big or go home.” Words never more true as when Maria and William held their wedding…on New Years Eve!
Held at the Georgios Banquets, Quality Inn & Conference Centre, the day was an electrically-charged atmosphere of love and laughs, family and friends, all gathered to celebrate the magic between Maria and William.
Pre-ceremony pictures included some fun moments including a quick touch-up of William’s beard, and one of the best ideas ever for “getting ready” shots: We had William, his dad, and a couple of the groomsmen lay on a bed, pretending to sleep through the getting ready process. 😁
Shenanigans aside (for the moment), we headed downstairs to the Starview Room to get portraits of William and his groomsmen. For each shot, we asked each groomsman to mess with William, trying to outdo the guy before him, but without leaving any physical marks. 😁The groomsmen came through brilliantly with silly faces, pretend punches, and a spot-on re-enactment of a prom shot with William and his best man, Steve.
Taking a quick break from bridal party portraits, William and Maria had a first look. William anxiously waited while Maria glided down the stairs into the Starview. A few steps later and a small tap on the shoulder, and William’s breath was almost literally taken away. The look on his face, and the tear in his eye showed just how much he adored his bride-to-be.
After a few minutes to collect themselves due to the overwhelmingly-beautiful moment, it was time to capture more bridal party pictures. Not to be outdone by the gentlemen, Maria and her bridesmaids took turns making even sillier faces, adding in a dash of ‘tude to each of the silly shots.
A gorgeous ceremony followed. Among about 100 of their circle of family and friends, Maria and William swapped rings. Well, they swapped rings. But we swear overheard one of them jokingly say “with this wing”, a jovial moment that brought laughs from everyone.
Once the ceremony was completed, we took Maria and William out for some couples’ shots while everyone else headed to the reception room next door (to the ceremony). We took advantage of the holiday décor still in the hotel, to capture beautiful portraits of the newlyweds.
The energy at the reception was spectacular. The speeches by Steve and Erin (the best man and maid of honor respectively) drew multiple laughs as they both shared heartwarming stories of the newlyweds. The first dance—done to Gabby Barrette’s “One of the Good Ones”—was a moment between two souls drowning out the world as they savored each others embrace. The DJ crushed the music all night, keeping the dance floor busy for both the belly rubbers, and the freestyle and line dancers.
As midnight approached it was time for the balloon drop. Maria and William’s nieces had the honor of releasing the balloons once the count reached zero, And once it did, down came the balloons. And 2022 kicked off with two of the good ones, Maria and William, embarking on the next chapter in their lives, as husband and wife.
