Day two without George.This time, my friend and photographer Ken-Shing Law joined me for Chenxi and Sean’s wedding in Plymouth, MA. We were both excited about the fact that this would be a multi-cultural wedding. What we didn’t know beforehand is how warm and gracious each friend and family member would be.
We arrived at the Pilgrim Sands Motel a few minutes before 2:30. It was still cloudy, but seemed as though it would break soon. We found Chenxi in her room putting the finishing touches on her outfit. Sean was across the hall. Ken went to work with the guys, while I stayed with the ladies. I commented to Chenxi that I hadn’t seen a dress similar to hers before. She said she bought it in China. She also had a traditional red dress into which she would change during the reception. Red or white dress, Chenxi was a stunning bride!
Chenxi and Sean had made the decision ahead of time that they would do some of the formals ahead of time so they could share a portion of their cocktail hour with their guests. We decided to set up a "reveal" so that she and Sean could still share that special moment of seeing each other for the first time. The motel has a great patio right against the beach, so we had the wedding party stand at one end and had Chenxi walk out to Sean. We stayed on the patio to take the formals with the waterfront as our background. Oh yeah, the sun came out too! The outdoor ceremony wouldn’t be spoiled.
We arrived at the Hornblower Garden at Plimoth Plantation. (Yes, that is the correct spelling for this Plimoth.) I never even knew this garden existed. It was magnificent! I found later from Chenxi that it isn’t a place the Plantation advertises much, so not many people know about it. The main part of the garden had multiple tiers, with a small pond and trellis in the forefront. Amazing!
The ceremony took into account the multi-cultural couple by including a Chinese tea ceremony and an Irish blessing. A very large bullfrog also kept an eye on the proceedings from the edge of the pond. Fortunately he didn’t "ribbit" at any inappropriate times.
Following the ceremony, we finished up the formals in the garden and then headed to the pavilion for the remainder of the cocktail hour. The reception itself was in a tent adjacent to the pavilion, overlooking a small bay. The wedding cake featured a red dragon and red lanterns adorned the tent’s interior.
Several toasts were offered during the reception including a "few words" from each of the couple’s dads in attendance. Each was incredibly genuine and those in attendance could easily recognize the love and adoration for Chenxi and Sean.
Once Chenxi and Sean ate dinner, we stole them away for a few minutes to take some formal pictures of them with Chenxi wearing her red dress. There were lots of requests for portraits and group shots throughout the evening. The bay provided a wonderful backdrop for many of these pictures.
Everyone who was at the wedding had a wonderful time. DJ Vic offered his selection of "over 7 million" songs to the guests and had many requests throughout the evening.
Chenxi & Sean – Ken and I genuinely enjoyed our time with you and your guests. What a wonderful beginning to the rest of your lives!
Vendors
Lodging: Pilgrim Sands Motel – Plymouth, MA
Venue: Plimoth Plantation – Plymouth, MA
DJ: Vic Paul – Serving Eastern MA
To see more of their photos, click here.
Chenxi sneaking a peek at Sean.
Chenxi must be looking at Sean!
Chenxi having fun in front of the camera (nice candid Ken!)
Sean – hopefully she’ll be looking at you that way for many years!
Great captures Ken – I can’t help but laugh every time I look at these.
Chenxi & her dad.
That’s not a "Chandler" smile!
Ken getting brave with the camera:
Chenxi posing for Ken:
Another one of Ken’s:
One of my all-time favorite photos:
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