Katie & Ben's Rustic Family Farm Wedding
Katie & Ben’s elegant rustic-chic family farm wedding ceremony and brand new sailcloth tent reception was so frikkin awesome.
Several things made this wedding special. Yes, all of the details were top notch by Rochester’s best wedding vendors, but…. more than that, this wedding was just spectacular in every possible way because of the authentic love of this couple.
The weather cleared just in time for the ceremony, giving us a perfect blue sky and wispy white clouds just like I dreamed of the night before.
Everything on the wedding day went like clockwork, including the things I mentally prepared Katie & Ben to skip…. like the ‘first look’ and romantic sunset photos during dinner.
Ben even told me on multiple occasions that they were all there at my command… He dumped hay bales all over the property for little benches for photo ops, for example.
I felt like a movie director on a movie set or Norman Rockwell…
Family Farm Wedding and Tent Wedding Reception
This wedding had ME written all over it. Seriously, if I ever get married and don’t get married at Hurd Orchards, this is exactly what I’d want my wedding to be.
Not to devalue anyone else’s wedding… especially the awesome weddings I have photographed… there is a wedding to fit every personality and this one just happens to fit mine.
Anyone who’s known me for years knows that rustic weddings are totally me. I’ve been photographing them for 8 years and never tire of their charm.
Ben’s brother shuttled guests from the parking area to the ceremony via a hayride.
He made a mad dash into the woods to change just before the ceremony and when he came out, dressed in a suit, he reminded me of Superman!
Ben is so cool that he made all of the wooden benches for the ceremony AND he made the spiced blueberry jam for favors!
Katie and Ben are some of those people that I should have already known. They live a few blocks from me and frequent all the same watering holes.
Ben is one of my new favorite people and Katie, as it turns out, handles her booze just like me… getting super-duper LOVEY when passed a certain point.
Ah, to be on the other side of the drunken love-fest was amusing. Yes, Katie, I’ll be your new best friend!
Having a golf cart to get around the 200-acre farm was really efficient
The Best Family Farm Wedding Venue
The families and friends were all ridiculously friendly.
Katie and Ben invited me to stay and enjoy the end of the reception as a guest and I sat around the campfire meeting people. Awesome.
The band, Auld Lang Syne & Walri, was just too fun and kept people hopping all night long.
After 10 years a wedding photographer, a first…. the Bride’s Dad asked me for a dance!
Unfortunately, Katie now has something new that is also blue…. a CAST! She broke her finger on the dance floor very late in the evening.
At least she has a sense of humor about it and also a great story…
What an honor to be the Photographer for this rustic-chic farm wedding and to make so many new friends.
A special thanks to Pat Luke for again being my second Photographer and lighting genius! I loved seeing Ben high five you at the end of the ceremony aisle!
Hello Heather, where was Katie and Ben’s wedding held? It all looks so stunning!
Hi Lyndsay, the wedding was held on Katie’s grandparent’s property in Western NY, so it held a lot of meaning to the couple. And gorgeous of course!
It is just so beautiful. I’m looking for a similar vibe in Western NY myself and having the hardest time of it 🙁 I currently live in Oregon but all my family is in Rochester. Might you have any suggestions? I looked into Hurd Orchards but we need to accommodate around 175 ppl.
Yes, I have a lot of opinions. All of my booked clients get free wedding planning advice with all the behind the scenes stuff you would never think of…. Depending on exact location, the standard options are Bristol Harbour Resort, Heron Hill Winery, Black North Inn (brand new), Glendoveers, Wingate Barn and many more. Email me if you are interested in a small good faith retainer for your wedding and I can help much further. Good luck!