Ashley Nichols and Benjamin Rosenbaum Wedding

We always hope for nice weather on wedding days, but unfortunately Mother Nature doesn’t always co-operate. Such was the case this past Saturday (10/3/09) for Ashley Nichols and Benjamin Rosenbaum’s wedding.

The day started out promising, but even the most positive of intentions couldn’t hold off the rain. The beauty of it was that the weather really didn’t matter that much to the bride and groom. It was their wedding day, and their primary focus was becoming husband and wife. As it should be.

Steve and I arrived at the Woodriver Cellars, in Eagle, ID early afternoon to capture the wedding party during their getting ready process. I found Ashley, and her Maid of Honor, Molly Conein, in the spacious and beautifully appointed Bride’s room. Ashley was in the midst of having her hair done by Christina Hudson.

Soon bridesmaids Kelley Smith, Rachel Nichols, Janel Papadakis, Judy (Ashley’s Mom), and Chris (Ben’s Mom) joined the others and set about putting the finishing touches on their hair and make-up.

Once the girls were ready, they helped Ashley into her dress.

Then they toasted the bride-to-be.

Meanwhile Steve found Ben and his groomsmen, Andy Rosenbaum, Chris Smith, Jason Nichols, Michael Papadakis, Ben’s Father, Dirk, and Doug, (Ashley’s Dad) in the Groom’s room drinking beer and watching football on TV.

The first order of business was to re-position the antique fire truck, (borrowed from the Eagle Fire Department)  that was in the parking lot to a nicer setting. The truck was to be used as a prop for some of the pictures—appropriately so, as both the bride and groom were fire fighters (Ben with the Eagle Fire Department and Ashley with the Boise Fire Department).

Ben and Chris got the old vehicle cranked up and drove it to an area Steve and I had determined would provide a nice backdrop.

Then the guys headed back to the groom’s room to dress.

After getting one another’s boutonnieres pinned on, Steve took them outside for a fun series of shots.

Though there was a chill in the air and a brisk breeze, the weather was holding, and we were able to do the “reveal” outside.

Ashley looked beautiful, and Ben was duly impressed when he turned around and saw his bride.

We were able to get several different shots of the wedding party before the rain started to fall.

Judy really wanted a picture of herself driving the fire truck.

Everyone quickly retreated to the wine tasting room to keep dry.

The rain halted just long enough for us to grab Ashley and Ben for a few couple shots, though our time was pretty limited.

The ladies sequestered themselves back in the Bride’s room as guests began to arrive.With no sign of a break in the weather, the executive decision was made to move the ceremony from the picturesque outside area (now thoroughly soaked) to inside the tent. Though the change of setting was somewhat of a visual disappointment, the ceremony, officiated by Randy Majors, was just as beautiful and touching as ever.

Vows and rings were exchanged,

the two were pronounced husband and wife, and Ben kissed his bride.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Rosenbaum.

The Boise Fire Department Pipes and Drums, donned in dress kilts, performed the recessional as Ashley and Ben led the wedding party out of the tent. It was a wonderful tribute to the newlyweds, and a great conclusion to the ceremony.

The wedding party and family members, huddled under umbrellas, and made their way to the wine tasting room for portraits.

With my help coordinating the groupings, Steve took pictures of various combinations of the wedding party and the bride and groom’s families.

Once the family portraits were completed, everyone headed back to the tent.  There, formal introductions were made as the parents, the wedding party, and the bride and groom made their grand entrances into the reception.

The bride and groom were invited to the buffet line where Me Time Catering had prepared a lovely array of food.

The crew of Summit Dental, (where Judy Nichols works).

Shortly after all the guests had been through the buffet line, the Bride and Groom cut their cake and respectfully fed a piece to one another.

Ashley’s father, Doug started off the toasts.

Best Man, Andy Rosenbaum, followed. During his speech, Andy thanked the couple for their help and support with his Health Club Business.  He admitted to his surprise and respect of Ashley when she came into the club one day and demonstrated her strength by cranking out 150 pull ups.  Looking at this beautiful, feminine young bride, it is hard to believe underneath it all she is a woman of steel.

Maid of Honor, Molly Conein, informed the guests that Ben is rarely found without a hat on his head.  She surprised him by producing and returning his beloved ratty old red baseball cap that had been missing (inadvertently left in her car) for the past two years.

He was thrilled to get it back.

Daniel of Aardvark Entertainment, (the D.J. at the event), invited Ashley and Ben to take to the floor for their first dance as husband and wife.

As the song ended, Daniel presented the couple with a plaque commemorating their first dance music.

Then, as is customary, Ashley danced with her Dad, and Ben danced with his Mom.

Two of the couple’s friends performed an over-the-top rendition of “The Time of My Life“, much to their amusement and many of the guests’.

There was plenty of dancing going on throughout the night.

Skip Pierce and Judy Nichols really got down. This  is called the alligator, and from what I now understand, these two are notorious for doing this dance together.

Skip happens to be my dentist. I had never seen him in a social setting before and was quite surprised and amused to see him “come out of his shell”. You go doc!

Judy was not to be outdone, though you would have thought that wearing a skirt might present some limitations.  Let me just say, I won’t be sharing all of the photos of her performance with you.

In addition to dancing, guests had fun hamming it up in the photo booth, provided by David Schneider of photoboothboise.com.  A big box of props was on hand to add to the humor.

Two sets of pictures were printed out. The subjects got to keep one set for themselves, the other was put into to a scrap book for the bride and groom.

Ashley tossed her bouquet, but they opted not to do the garter toss.

Towards the end of the evening cigars were passed out.

To top off the celebration, Ben and Ashley and some of their studly friends showed off their strength by doing push ups and pull ups.

This was definitely a first, and we’ve photographed a lot of weddings!  What a cap off to the evening!

The weather may have been inclement, but it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits, joy or fun of this event.

Thanks to Ashley and Ben for choosing us to photograph their wedding.    It was a terrific celebration and we wish them a lifetime of bliss!

To view all the images from this event, click here.

All images copyright 2009 Steve Smith Weddings.