Wedding at Hotel Dupont in Wilmington, Delaware – Melissa & Joe - Reiner Photography

When we arrived at Melissa’s childhood home this past Saturday to photograph her getting ready, I was happy to see that she had already arranged all of her bridal details on a happy yellow desk that she had grown up using, and I was immediately in love with Melissa’s elegant deco themed wedding details.

While Wil travelled over to Joe’s house to document his getting ready, I had a great time photographing Melissa, her parents, and her brother and sister as they all got ready for the wedding. There was a wonderful closeness they all had, and I could almost imagine them getting ready for work and school together as they once had when they all still lived there.

I was a little surprised to see Melissa, who had been as cool as a cucumber at our engagement session, start to get a little nervous before we left for the Church. My favorite moment of the day was how she calmed down and instantly lit up when she saw Joe’s face for the first time as her father walked her down the aisle.

After their wedding ceremony and some standard family portraits at the altar of the church, the Bride and Groom and some of the bridal party and their immediate family headed down to the Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar- also commonly known as Gibraltar Gardens in Wilmington. After a few more family and bridal party shots we released everyone but Melissa and Joe to cocktail hour. This is where things got truly magical- the lighting was perfect, and we had just enough time to squeeze in some wonderfully romantic photos around Gibraltar’s luscious gardens.

Finally we travelled to their reception at Hotel Dupont which acted as the perfect backdrop for this glamourous Bride and her Groom to dance and dine with their closest friends and family. A very wonderful night was had by all, and we hope it’s the first of many more such happy times for Melissa and Joe.