Summer Camp Romance, by Daniel Orren and Quyn Duong of Chellise Michael Photography [Rf Wedding of the Week]

August 3, 2016

By Laura Brauer

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All photos © Daniel Orren and Quyn Duong for Chellise Michael Photography

The words “big crazy families” and “summer camp wedding” are all that was needed to hook Daniel Orren and Quyn Duong (photographers for Chellise Michael Photography) to this woodsy outdoor wedding, which took place at Windsor Mountain International Summer Camp in New Hampshire.

The Brooklyn-based photographers got the request from Neela and Chris, who are also living in Brooklyn and shared their back and forth history when they initially reached out:

“Chris and I are from the same hometown,” Neela wrote. “We actually dated in high school. Although things didn’t work out for us then, we reconnected after we both graduated from college and moved home to Massachusetts. We immediately fell back in love and moved in together briefly, and then packed our bags and moved to Brooklyn.”

Quyn_CMP0121 Quyn_CMP0225 Quyn_CMP0280 Quyn_CMP0315 Quyn_CMP0331G98A8381 G98A8437 G98A8477 8E6A9777 8E6A9847-2 8E6A9874-2“Two months ago,” the bride continues, “Chris surprised me and asked me to marry him. Now we are planning a big family wedding for September and are excited for an awesome photographer. The summer camp idea came from my mother. I was a big camper as a child and she pictured it as a casual but elegant and romantic wedding in that setting.”

G98A8604 Quyn_CMP0407 Quyn_CMP0449 Quyn_CMP0479 Quyn_CMP0572 8E6A0215G98A8778Quyn_CMP0828Quyn_CMP0654 Quyn_CMP0666 Quyn_CMP0707 G98A8902 Quyn_CMP0745 Quyn_CMP0880 Quyn_CMP0898 Quyn_CMP0917 Quyn_CMP0982 Quyn_CMP0988 Quyn_CMP1012Neela also mentioned that it had been difficult finding photographers who shoot candid yet romantic, somewhat non-traditional images, but when she landed on the CMP website, they didn’t have to look any further.

Quyn_CMP1079 G98A9108 G98A9078 Quyn_CMP1105 Quyn_CMP1183 G98A9338 Quyn_CMP1355 G98A9363 Quyn_CMP1393 G98A9408 G98A9440“Neela and Chris trusted us with full creative freedom to do our thing,” Duong says. “It’s always fun for us as wedding photographers to get a little experimental, and they trusted everything we were doing. They were the perfect clients: laid-back, in love and down to party.”

G98A9173Quyn_CMP1504 Quyn_CMP1531Experiments included some late-night light painting with a Pixelstick. “It was pretty damn cold outside,” Duong says, “but Neela and Chris were major troopers and let us run around in a cold, dark field with them.” The photographers stuck around for brunch the next morning, too, where they found the couple in full wedding attire (the bride slipped a sweater over her dress), which called for an impromptu “morning after” shoot.

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GEAR FOR THE DAY
Cameras: Canon 5D Mark III (x2) for Daniel Orren; Canon 6D (x2) for Quyn Duong
Lenses: Sigma Art 24-35mm, 50mm Art, 35mm Art, Canon 70-200mm IS and 100mm Macro for Daniel Orren; 35mm, 50mm, 85m, and 135mm Prime L lenses for Quyn Duong
Lighting: Canon Speedlite 580EX II (x2), Pixelstick (light painting)

Check out more Weddings of the Week, and email Libby Peterson or Jacqueline Tobin with submissions.