Tom + Seth | North Tonawanda, NY
Tom and Seth got married on a beautiful Monday afternoon, on the anniversary of the day they met, in their hometown courthouse surrounded by their immediate family.
When we originally met, Seth and Tom told me that they wanted their dogs involved on their wedding day somehow, and to this, of course, I was ecstatic. After further discussion (and careful consideration to timeline and outfits) we decided it would be best to do a “wedding cake smash” in studio a week before their wedding day, with their two very cute pups, Fred and Murphy. Tom, Seth, Fred and Murphy all made the trip down to Olean for their session, and while it was a little longer than their normal rides, I don’t think the doggos minded too much, especially once we took the cake decorations off and replaced them with Fred’s favorite—a hamburger! But let’s be honest, I’d like a hamburger on my cake instead of flowers too.
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you may remember seeing their cake smash pictures and reading about Fred. Just a few days before our session, Tom and Seth found out that Fred was getting sicker; after a rough weekend, Fred came to the studio, absolutely rocked his pictures, and I was able to capture some amazing memories of him for his humans. Fred crossed the rainbow bridge the following day. I truly have never met a sweeter boy (don’t tell my dog I said that!) and I am very thankful to have been able to meet him and capture his precious “wedding day” memories.
On the day of their wedding, Tom, Seth and I started at Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum for details, first look, letter readings, and of course, a couple rides on the Carrousel. It was absolutely beautiful and I think you can tell just by looking at their reactions, just how fun it was! They even rode in the “lovers bucket!” What is the lovers bucket? The director explained it to us like this: “Back in the day, when you were courting someone, you were not able to be left alone unchaperoned, and you definitely were not allowed to make physical contact. So people would go on dates and ride in the lovers bucket, as the carrousel spun, so did the bucket, this meant that eventually the two of you would get pushed close together.” (To be honest, the story gave me big “Bridgerton” vibes….but that also could be because I just binged watched it too. haha!)
Honestly, I probably could have made Seth and Tom stay there another couple hours and still would have had a ton of fun. During our visit there, I learned that this is the only carrousel museum in the World to have been a carrousel factory prior!
After pictures, it was finally time to get married! They were married in front of their immediate family at the beautiful North Tonawanda City Hall Building. After their ceremony, we went down to the canal, where they like to walk their dogs, and took formal family photos, and then spent a little bit longer getting some fun pictures of the two of them (because really….can you ever have too many pictures with your soulmate? I think not).
Thank you Tom and Seth for not only letting me capture your wedding day, but also for letting me take Fred and Murphy’s pictures as well. I know these two memories are two of the most important ones of your life, and the decision to pick a photographer is not easy. I am thankful you trusted me. :)
