June 21, 2013

Ohhhhh this wedding was fun to shoot! Danielle Zarrella (!) and her groom Matthew are a very laid back, totally fun couple. Danielle’s father used to work with Sara’s parents – back then, they used to always try to figure out if they were related. Danielle’s mom used to bake cookies during the holiday season when Danielle’s father worked with Sara’s parents. Sara’s mom says that she’s the only person that can make cookies like Sara’s great-grandmother. Danielle is proud to be a Zarrella (of course!) – she’s keeping her last name. 🙂

The big event took place at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, Rhode Island. Surrounded by family and friends, Danielle and Matthew celebrated in a very special, perfect-for-them way!

Sara met Danielle in her room while she got ready. They chit-chatted about how Danielle and Matthew met. Cute story – she had tickets to the prom, and she invited him! He said yes, and the rest is history. 🙂

The adorable couple saw each other prior to the ceremony. We found a private corner of the Crowne Plaza, where they had their “First Look”. After their “first look” and wedding photos where snapped, we headed right into the ceremony where they tied the knot. The reception was in a huge tent outside the hotel, where many of the guests were staying.

So much about this day was unconventional and very cool, like the fact that Danielle created her own centerpieces made of feathers! They also approached their bridal party in a non-traditional way – Danielle had guys on her side, and Matthew had women on his! Matthew’s side of the bridal party was made up of his sisters and friends, while Danielle’s side was made up of her cousins, brother,  close guy friends and one girl friend. Her brother was also her “man of honor”… and how sweet – Danielle and Matt wanted their bridal party to be comfortable so they told them to wear their own black dresses and suits!

Both Danielle and Matt are in bands and play the drums. What a fun surprise – they performed a drum duet for their guests!

Very funny story: Danielle’s brother tracked down the Zarrella family crest as a gift to the couple. It was sent to them with an extra surprise – a giant sword! He was hilariously too embarrassed to admit how much money he spent tracking this down, but it was worth it for the humor it added to the day! Even funnier – not knowing what to do with this giant sword, the couple did the only thing that came to mind – cut the cake with it, of course! 🙂

Wedding Song – Led Zeppelin, “Thank You”

Vendors

Steve Anthony and the Persuasion (Band)
Rob Ranney –videographer