Shang Chen Photography, jetsetting wedding photographer of dynamic couples » DeCordova

Joanne and Chris, Married! | DeCordova Sculpture Museum Wedding, the Portraits

Shang — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:34:04 +0000

And now for the grand finale, the portraits from Joanne and Chris’s wedding. We photographed the majority of these prior to the ceremony which was going to occur at sunset. It was so wonderful meeting all their fun friends and having a blast throughout. Be sure not to miss part 1 and part 2 of this wedding as well.

We began with some portraits of Chris

After Joanne got into her dress at DeCordova, I took lots and lots of photos of her. I don’t think I need to mention just how gorgeous she is

This was a special moment – I asked her to think about what Chris is going to be like during the First Look

Some more of her wedding dress ruffles

Yummy backlight!

We then wandered around the grounds for photos of just the bride and groom

My. Favorite.

I don’t show a lot of family portraits, but I do them! Yes indeed! I’m pretty proud of this photo because Joanne told me that her parents don’t often smile in photos

After the ceremony, there was a spectacular sunset. I can’t take credit for this photo – Amy took this one – and after reviewing my angle and hers, I think she’s got me beat =)

I asked the security guard to turn this cool sculpture on at night

Thank you, thank you Joanne and Chris for being such expressive and warm people and for giving me the honor to be there for you!

The vendors:

Shang’s Assistant: Amy Bao
Venue: DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA
Catering and cupcakes: Different Tastes, Boston, MA
Joanne’s Dress: Jon’s Bridal by Suzanne
Bridesmaid Dresses: After Six Bridesmaid
Rings: Springers Jeweler’s, Maine
Chris’s Suit: Pronto Uomo
Florist: Hillside Florist, Woburn, MA
Hair: Di Re Hair, Ltd., Waltham, MA
DJ: Boston Music Works, Woburn, MA
Invitations and Paper: DIY

August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain
November 4 – 6 – Boston

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Joanne and Chris, Married! | DeCordova Sculpture Museum Wedding, the Details

Shang — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:01:55 +0000

Fresh, fun, modern, green, and sustainable! The DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum wedding of Joanne and Chris was not short on these super-creative and personal details. What details are important? Well, it varies from wedding to wedding, but I often ask the bride and groom what is important for me to focus on. Given how long people take to plan weddings, I want to make sure that all the hard work does not go to waste. It could be jewelry, it could be invitations you spent a lot of time slaving over, or something else, the important thing to me is that they mean something to the client. Detail shots take time! This is why I typically arrive with up to 2 hours to spare in the getting ready segment to capture these, and I also take a part of cocktail hour to head to the reception site first to photograph the setups before the guests arrive. Be sure to also check out part 1 of the wedding – the photjournalistic shots – if you haven’t had the chance!

There are two things I love in dresses (I know, personal taste, still) – lace and ruffles. Joanne’s dress had so many ruffles, loove!

She wore sky-high apple green shoes through the entire day. I really don’t know how she managed but it was pretty amazing

Amy helped set up the next shot with the bridesmaid shoes =)

The journal that Joanne gave to Chris

Joanne DIYed all the paper for this wedding, I’m super impressed. The graphics are super fun, modern, and the postage matches the mood

The jewelry Joanne wore. The purple ring on the left actually belongs I believe to Chris’s great-grandmother

If you notice, Joanne’s rings have 3 parts – the top is her engagement ring, followed by a golden band, then another platinum band. Chris’s band is also designed to reflect those colors

Chalk boards for the escort card table and bar

Lemonade cooled guests as they waited for the ceremony. The ceremony program

I have seen this once before at another wedding and I love this idea of a tree where guests leave their fingerprints. A great addition to your newlywed home! Be sure to leave a piece of paper for people to practice and wet towelettes to clean those inked hands

The wedding reception was held at the Dewey Gallery inside the DeCordova Sculpture Museum

One of the top highlights of the wedding details – cactus escort cards! Every guest had a small potted cactus with their name that they could take home

The fresh theme carried into the centerpieces with baby’s breath and potted rosemary. A sprig of rosemary also lay on every menu at the place setting. Table numbers were painted onto rustic tiles

“I love my caterer because I got to have pizza as one of my entrees!” exclaimed Joanne to me during the wedding. Guests had a delicious choice between filet, pizza, and fish

The cupcakes were awesome – I sampled a carrot cake cupcake. The top and bottom tiers also had these super-fancy sugar toppers that added to the modern setting of the day

Coming tomorrow – the gorgeous, gorgeous portraits from the day!

The vendors:

August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain

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Joanne and Chris, Married! | DeCordova Sculpture Museum Wedding, the Photojournalism

Shang — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:37:57 +0000

To say that Joanne and Chris’s wedding at the DeCordova Sculpture Museum in Lincoln, MA was amazing is an understatement. The day was beautiful, the venue had amazing light, and even with the little snafus in between that inevitably come with a wedding, as I reviewed my images I was just thrilled with what came out. This wedding reflected much of what I stand for – genuine and expressive emotion, lots of energy, laid-back bride and groom, fun guests, and of course, personalized and cool style with color that pops! Therefore, I have chosen to publish this wedding in three blog posts to showcase the different ways in which I photograph a day – photojournalism, details, and portraiture. I place emphasis on all of them because I see myself as a storyteller photographer, which means that my goal is to document the day such that when one looks at the images one is taken back to relive the memories, emotions, the beauty. I believe in portraiture because I want my couples to feel as beautiful and fabulous as they are in my eyes, and I believe in capturing all the details because together, it makes the wedding experience complete.

First up, is the photojournalism. With the exception of the champagne toast and the First Look, none of these are staged, posed, or directed in any way. To me, photojournalism is about being in the right place at the right time and not interrupting the flow of the day.

Joanne and Chris exchanged gifts while getting ready. This is a journal that Joanne had secretly kept during their engagement documenting many thoughts and happenings

Joanne’s maid of honor delivered it to Chris

Joanne’s reaction upon hearing how much Chris loved it

Not to be beat, Chris also had a great gift of his own for Joanne. Coincidentally, it also included a journal

Last-minute decoration

We then drove to the museum where Joanne got dressed in her beautiful gown

Since the ceremony was going to occur around sunset, we had all the portraits done beforehand to allow plenty of time to relax and have fun. So while the First Look is often directed by me, I love, LOVE it because the emotions are so genuine

This is my favorite photo, taken by my intern Amy!

A quick touch-up before the ceremony

Joanne’s colors were green with black and white accents

Joanne told me that her must-have moment is the moment they realize they’re married. I got two of them

During cocktail hour, guests were able to “sign” a tree guestbook with fingerprints

Joanne and Chris had an awesome Red Sox-like entrance planned. It ended with them high-fiving all their wedding party members

All the speeches were quite funny recounting Joanne and Chris’s courtship

Cupcakes. Delish

The dance floor hopped all night thanks to Boston Music Works

The bouquet toss was intense!

You know a dance floor is fun if at the end of the night I join in – which I did =)

Not the end of this wedding – more to come, stay tuned!

The vendors:

August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain

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Family afternoon at DeCordova | Boston Baby Photographer

Shang — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:28:44 +0000

It’s time for another time with Victoria, Vlad, and A! We took a beautiful sunset session at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA. I definitely want to come back, there’s so much to explore! Thank you Joyce for assisting!

I love the red hoodie A wore today. It has spikes on it!

Love the action here. What really amazes me about this session is just how much A has grown in just the 6 months I’ve known him. It’s true what they say, babies grow quickly!

A romantic photo of Victoria and Vlad. There are actually two heart sculptures

This photo cracks me up so much! A was trying to move every one of these concrete balls.. but I think we’ll have to wait until he grows some more muscles!

Oh hello! This is one of my FAVs EVER!

Or this one? Too cute!

See you guys next time!