Backyard Wedding in Rhode Island

Earlier this month,?I was down in Rhode Island photographing this lovely backyard wedding. As they have a child of their own, it was important to the bride and groom that their son, and the other children in attendance, felt comfortable and had a setting in which to have fun.

As he was recessing down the aisle, their son looked at me and yelled as he passed by ? No more walking. It?s time to run!? ?It was a sentiment that he meant quite literally, but it works on another level as well. ?This milestone and public commitment is not ambling, it?s not longer sitting still.

Over the years, I’ve seen many great ideas for keeping kids happy at weddings, and this party had the best ones. ?It was in the daytime – so everyone was awake and lively. ?They had activity stations complete with coloring books, pipe cleaners, disposable cameras, bubbles, and games.?

Making a dance set ?that is family friendly – a time for music that kids want to dance to, which usually means a lot of Happy, ?Trolls soundtrack too and in this case their son’s favorite Big Band. ?Music that makes everyone get up on the dance floor and is a crowd pleaser creates a special time and place in the wedding for all generations to participate and enjoy themselves. ?

When they decided to get married, and have a low key back yard affair, the bride’s sister stepped in to organize an elegant gathering. ?The ceremony was held out on the lawn, the cocktail hour organically sprawled out in the garden and the clam bake and dancing was in the tent.?