gwyneth colleen photography » portland, or wedding photographer

claire & ben

you’ve already seen a couple sneak peeks from claire and ben’s fantastic new england wedding…but settle in for a more comprehensive overview of their celebration. (doesn’t comprehensive overview make it sound like it’s going to be the most boring thing ever? that’s basically the most inaccurate description ever.)

bek-the-sister and i got there early so we could scout out the locations…which is always a good plan. the forecast had been calling for rain and general grey and gloominess, so i was ecstatic that we had bright, blue skies.


to go with the postcard perfect new england church.


claire is a minister and she went to harvard…when ben saw me setting up this shot (oh yes, he saw the dress. shocking!) he said, “her dress and books…2 of her favourite things!”

i think this is my favourite bridal shoe shot EVER.

the best woman and the bride’s sister helping her get ready.


ben needed to get prettied up, too.


we had plenty of time before the ceremony to get the close friends and bride and groom photos taken before festivities really began. it made the day flow SOOO smoothly. claire and ben were only away from their guests for about 15-20 minutes…the amt of time it took for us to get the big group/family photos taken. if you’re not super traditional, it’s DEFINITELY worth getting as many of these things done before the ceremony as you can.


they even took the huppa for a test run…so the pole-holders (?) could practice their duties. the words on the banner say, “i am my beloved’s and he is mine.” which i used to know how to write in hebrew. but not anymore. sorry.


then ben had a minute, so he practiced for his american idol audition.


aren’t they the cutest EVER?


if any of you have super duper memories, you’ll remember from their engagement session post…claire pronounced after telling me that she likes to smell ben’s head, “pheremones: they’re real!”


aren’t her flowers cheery?


the light inside this church was DELICIOUS. oh yes…light can be delicious. just trust me on that one.


the best part of the ceremony was when they were reciting the vows. it was ben’s turn, and claire was–understandably–a bit misty eyed. ben leaned forward and said, “you’re DISTRACTING me!” i just about melted into a puddle right there in the front pew of the church.


bek-the-sister took this one from the balcony…i love the joy and movement! also, see in the top left corner the super cute lady in the polka dotted dress? that’s ben’s adorable mom, carol (hi carol!), and she should watch herself, because i’m gonna find her and steal her dress!

there were lots of great moments from the reception, but i’ve gotten carried away again, so i will leave you with one last photo…a tribute to claire’s amazing sister lauren (who looks a lot like debra messing and who has the best facial expressions!) and who made about a bajillion cupcakes for claire and ben. (they were delicious.)


the newlyweds agree!

i’ll let you experience the “comprehensive overview” of this delightful celebration via the slideshow. if you’re interested in ordering prints or just seeing the rest of the photos, click on the shopping cart icon. enjoy!

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Lauren11 March 2008 - 10:02

These photos are amaaaaazing. By the way, that was the first time I’ve been compared to Debra Messing… if only my hair were still a foot longer!
I’m ordering a bunch of prints, but this is my favorite: http://gwynethcolleen.com/clients/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=7411

Carol11 March 2008 - 10:06

“Hi” back at you, Gwyn, and thank you for all the fabulous pix of Claire and Benjamin.

Claire11 March 2008 - 12:16

Aww this post made me tear up a bit…and I confess I am a little obsessed with looking at our photos because they are all so beautiful. Thank you Gwyn!

[…] at ben and claire’s wedding brian and natalie introduced themselves. they’ve got a letterpress business down in […]

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