Allison and Jamie were married on September 8th with a ceremony at St Teresa’s Church in Pawtucket and a reception at the Newport Marriot in Newport, RI.
Allison and Jamie’s international love story began when Allie took a job in London to further her career. Jamie ending up living right around the corner from her and the rest was history. Having been on a number of dates it was clear that they both started to fall for each-other and decided to make it ‘official’ in October, 2014.
I asked Jamie how he proposed to Allie and he shared the fantastic story with me below –
” I spent a number of months planning the engagement – something that I knew was the right thing to do, it was just a matter of finding a ring and a time to do it – and was offered my great-grandmother’s engagement ring by my family and decided that Christmas was the right time.
Now came the execution; I asked Allie’s father for his permission, something that was very tricky to do as it was difficult to find him alone. Having recruited Allie’s brother to keep everyone away from the TV room during a sports game, I asked in what was quite an emotional conversation. He said yes (of course!) and now was the time to propose.
It was two days before Christmas Eve, so I only had a few chances to propose. The first day went by with prior plans, so it was now Christmas Eve. I knew that we were going to a couple of parties, so I wanted to get to Slater Park (a significant place for Allie) between the two parties. However, Allie was the one driving, so I had no control. What’s more, it was very cold and icy, so Allie was cautious about how much driving we did. I asked if we could quickly go and see the lights and Christmas trees at Slater Park after leaving her uncle’s house but she refused and would not go there – said I was “crazy”.
So, it’s Christmas day and I knew I had to do it. I then forced Allie to go to the park – somehow managing to get Ryan (Allie’s brother) to agree to stop the family from asking to come with us.
Allie agreed to go (to my surprise without any strange looks or questions) and we arrived. We went for a walk around and then went onto the band stand so that I could take some pictures. I asked her to stand with her back to the pond and pose. I then said “oh just one more. Hang on, I’ve got something” and got down on one knee. I was very, very nervous and shaking a bit, stuttering a little too, but I managed to ask her. Her immediate reaction was of disbelief, to the extent where she started laughing a little. Once she realised, fairly quickly, that I wasn’t joking she went into shock and then started crying and asking “are you serious? What?”.
The rest is history…..
A Wedding by the Sea
On the day of the wedding, my second shooter, Amy Mellow, and I started out with the “getting ready” pictures. I met Allison at her moms house for portraits and got to hang out with her bridesmaids for a while as well, which is always super fun. Jamie was preparing for the day with his guys, including his best man, who clearly couldn’t have been more excited for Jamie.
After exchanging vows at St Teresa’s Church in Pawtucket, we hit the road for Newport. Our original location for photos didn’t work out so plan B was an epic pull off with big rocks overlooking the ocean. We photographed some of my favorite photos of my career with huge waves crashing over Allison and Jamie. That goes to show some things aren’t meant to go as planned 😉
Allie and Jamie, the way you two make each other smile is contagious. I am blessed to have met you and will always call you friends.
Enjoy London, lovebirds!
xx,
Amma
