When someone mentions the town of Newport it immediately brings images of summer to mind.  I imagine doing things like walking on the Cliffwalk, laying on the beach, or eating ice cream on Thames St.  Now imagine doing these fun Newport activities in the winter…  No.  Just no.  When Melissa and Justin told us they were planning on a winter wedding at Oceancliff it left us with the usual mixed feelings we have about winter weddings.  We normally shoot in the summer so winter weddings feel new and inspiring.  The quality of light is different as well as the colors of the environment.  Plus there is always the possibility of magical snow photos!  The downside?  Winter means cold and if there is one thing we hate at M.Studios it’s being cold.  We are strong ladies who can push through any difficulties but the cold is our most dreaded adversary.  Sometimes beautiful images come at a price so we suffer through silently for our clients and heave a huge sigh of relief when our bride says “I need to warm up for a couple of minutes”  Amen!  Melissa and Justin were worth the frostbite.  These two are the absolute sweetest people you could meet.  Oceancliff was the first venue they toured and nothing compared after that.  It was the perfect setting for their December wedding.  Melissa had high hopes that it might snow on the wedding day.  Her mom told her that if it did snow it was her grandparents way of telling Melissa that they were there with her in spirit.  They passed away in 1997. Melissa’s Nana left her a ring, the ring that Justin would later propose with. There was no snow in the forecast on the wedding day, but as they did the first look, all of a sudden, it started to flurry!  Her parents were watching from the window in their room.  The snow lasted for a minute, but we were able to get photos where you can see the flurries coming down.  Capturing moments like this is one of the most rewarding parts of our job.

Venue: Oceancliff

Florist: Sayles Livingston

Makeup: Aline Sarkis Beauty

Band: Beantown 

Cake: Newport Sweet Shoppe