When Pam reached out to me about her daughter Josie’s Hotel Du Village New Hope PA wedding, I was so excited to hear from her and to be considered. Pam and I met over a decade ago at the hot yoga studio we both attended. Ten years ago, we both attended a yoga retreat in the mountains of Greece. You can check out the blog I did on that trip by clicking here. It was such an honor to be chosen to document her daughter and Pierce’s wedding. Like many events this year summer, rain was a threat, but I have a weather angel up there who came through for us. While it said it was going to rain for pictures and their ceremony… it didnt… until the very tail end of the ceremony which was actually kinda neat, but you’ll have to continue on to see that.
I loved the look Josie and Pierce pulled together– Pierce’s lovely blue suit for a bright, summer vibe and Josie’s Anthropologie boho wedding dress.
Pam, looking so beautiful!
After twenty years of photographing weddings, it is easy to spot trends. One trend I have noticed is more couples backing down from prep coverage or a lot of it. I also tend to attract couples who are bringing a bit of reverence back to weddings and so I really respect these choices. While the prep has always been a fun way for me to just document a story, I also really respect keeping this time as a less chaotic time overall. With Josie’s prep, I showed up just prior to her being ready to get into her dress and was able to capture some images of her with her mom and the girls. I love the simplicity of this moment as the girls take a moment to figure out a little dress snafu. 
Pierce and I had a good laugh while setting up the first look during a dry and sunny time. I looked at my phone to check the weather to see what the best game plan should be and it told me that the rain should stop in ten minutes, hah. One thing I have also seen over the last couple decades of photographing weddings is that the weather predictions have become far less accurate. 
Landmark Venues Hotel Du Village in New Hope, PA is a quaint wedding spot tucked away in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 
With the threat of iffy weather, a decision was made to hold the wedding ceremony on Hotel Du Village’s outdoor patio. Here, Pierce walks down the aisle with his mom and dad.
Pierce watches as Josie walks down the aisle for their Hotel Du Village New Hope, PA wedding.
The sun came out in full force just as Josie walked down the aisle. I love working in simple gestures like the arm around Josie’s mom as she walks down the aisle with her dad. 
The outdoor patio at Hotel Du Village made for a lovely setting for a wedding ceremony. 
This is one of those images that I’m not sure if it resonates with viewers, or maybe, moreso with photographers and debated on whether I would include it in the blog. Then I remembered that it is my blog and I always said from the start, I’ll do what I want on my blog. It is my place to share what I want and to provide any insight if I so choose.
I saw the man in the background and felt that the gesture of the way he was sitting was probably very much ‘him’ and I loved the juxtaposition of him in a moment when he looking over at someone else against the bridesmaids who are standing quietly, not grinning, but quietly observing the ceremony. Even the crop with him on the edge is deliberate to create a bit of tension in the image. Tension in an image isn’t a negative thing- it can add strength and impact to the moment. Even this image of Josie, who is intentionally in the foreground and out of focus, captures her posture. These are very little details about people that most people don’t really stop to notice, but I do, and I know that these are little things that make us who we are.
I know that as a photographer I view my images differently and being so close to the images can also alter how they are viewed. Sometimes I like to explain what struck me about the moment and why I took the picture the way I did. As someone who has experienced a lot of loss in life, I also know how much it means to be able to look back at simple candid images of moments in time and really pick out the small details of people and when I take images, these are the things I’m thinking about– how can I take an image that will have an impact, but also have value in years to come when we look to see how we’ve changed or want to remember the finer details of a person or a moment in time. 
Faith was a strong theme throughout Josie and Pierce’s day so I wanted to work in the cross from more than just a straightforward perspective. 
At the very tail end of the wedding ceremony, rain started to fall. Josie and Pierce didn’t flinch. They kept focused on one another which was really awesome. 
As the rain picked up a little bit, the Hotel Du Village staff brought out umbrellas for guests. You can see Josie and Pierce in the background, not phased by the rain. 
When I tell you the skies opened up shortly after everyone was inside, I am not kidding. It was straight-up, crazy, torrential rain. The timing was beautiful. Here, Josie and Pierce share their first dance.
After a few toasts and some dinner, the guests headed out to the dance floor. 
A couple more friends from my hot yoga retreat in Greece that I hadn’t seen in forever. Was so awesome seeing them both! 
Believe it or not this was literally a ‘grab shot’ for me. I know that Josie and Pierce are the kind of couple that didn’t want to spend 15 minutes setting up one photo and I can respect that. One thing I will say about the wedding industry is that it has become so commoditized by vendors who are so focused on needing to create content and photographers wanting to win awards and accolades that weddings themselves have really lost the quiet respect that they deserve. I’m sure this statement may aggravate some other vendors and photographers, but this is my blog so I’ll say what I want. I’ve always stayed true to my values and my clients throughout my twenty years in the industry. I’ve gone rogue in plenty of ways and have found success in that and have continued to find couples whose resonate these same beliefs. Not every image has to be shot to absolute technical perfection if it means compromising the time or desire of the couple. 
A wonderful summer Hotel Du Village New Hope, PA wedding day! You can check out a fall Hotel Du Village wedding by clicking here (and if you want to check out this couple’s cute little baby, you can click here.)
