Christina & Tajay’s wedding at Hartford City Hall

The story begins with the two of them. In the lead portrait Tajay carries Christina as they laugh together beneath the Hartford City Hall skylight, and the glass roof overhead gives the picture height without taking attention from their faces. The portraits that follow stay on the upper level, where the balcony railings and columns turn the building into a natural frame.

In a tall frame, Christina and Tajay lean together on the upper balcony, and the vertical format lets the railing and the space above them show. A wider frame then pulls back for a full-length kiss beneath the glass roof, so the couple and the room are in the picture together. The two views answer each other: one is about closeness, the other about scale.

Behind the balcony railing, Christina and Tajay pose together with an arched window behind them, and the railing’s pattern sits in front of the couple like a border. Using a building’s own lines in this way is a simple method for portraits, and it works best when the couple stay close enough to read as the subject. For more on how wide and close couple pictures fit together, see the guide to couple and bridal portraits.

The staircase is the longest portrait sequence of the set, and it keeps changing as the couple move through it. Christina holds Tajay’s hand beside the tall arched window, a simple, connected gesture that places the window behind them. In the next frame Christina stands in the foreground on the staircase with Tajay behind her, so depth does some of the work.

Christina and Tajay then stand together with her lace veil spread along the steps, which gives the stairs a long, soft line. Tajay sits on a stair below Christina as she stands beside the window, and the difference in height makes the two figures feel layered.

Christina holds her pink bouquet with Tajay behind her on the staircase, bringing color into a setting of stone, brass and glass. The pink repeats later in the wedding party’s bouquets, so the flowers connect the portraits to the group pictures.

The camera then moves to a higher position. An overhead view follows the curved brass stair rail toward Christina and Tajay below, and another frame looks down through the rail as the couple embrace on the staircase. From above, the spiral of the rail becomes the main shape, and the couple are small inside it.

Changing position this much within a single location is a quick way to get several different pictures from one staircase: eye level, from above, close and wide. If your venue has a tall window or a staircase, it is worth asking how it could be used.

Before the ceremony, the photographs turn toward the people who came. A guest in a red knit hat smiles during a conversation, a small expressive moment that has nothing to do with posing.

Two greetings follow. Guests embrace beside the ceremony chairs, and Tajay leans down to greet a seated loved one with a kiss. Together they show the room warming up before the ceremony begins.

A guest chapter is easy to overlook when you plan a short ceremony, but these pictures are often the ones that people remember afterward, because they show who was there and how glad they were to be there.

The patterned atrium floor makes a handsome base for the group portrait. Christina and Tajay pose with their wedding party on it, and the floor’s design repeats across the bottom of the frame. In a livelier picture, Tajay dips Christina into a kiss as their wedding party stands behind them, a posed group portrait with a playful moment at its center.

Smaller combinations follow. Christina shares a smile with two wedding party members holding pink bouquets, and Tajay poses with three wedding party members in blue suits. Pairing the formal group with smaller ones gives a wedding party more than one picture to appear in.

Group portraits move faster when the groups are planned in advance. The wedding party and family photography guide has suggestions for keeping them quick and easy.

Taken together, the photographs show a wedding built around a single distinctive building. The skylight, the balconies and the curving staircase give Christina and Tajay a changing backdrop for their portraits, and the same atrium becomes the setting for the ceremony and the group pictures.

A viewer can start anywhere, whether at the laugh beneath the skylight, the ring exchange or the large group on the stairs, and still understand where they are and who is there. Wide frames set the scene, close frames carry feeling and the guest pictures show the people the day was for.

If you are planning a City Hall wedding or any wedding in a distinctive building, tell us about your venue and what you would like to see in the pictures. You can read more about wedding photography or about wedding photography and videography.