I think every wedding photographer has a location they just love shooting and where everything seems to click. For me, every Highgrove Wedding is like that. Knowing where the light falls, how the reception room is lit at night and all the cool little nooks for photos when time is tight. What makes this even better, now, is the wonderful owners spent the off season renovating much of the location including a new reception hall (it’s now a permanent structure) complete with chandeliers, many doors to allow the cool night airflow and a gorgeous stained concrete floor. In other words, they took the best parts and made them even better!
Katie & Matthew’s Highgrove wedding is the first time I have been back since their renovation and, I must say, the facility is gorgeous! When I met up with Katie in the “bride’s room” upstairs, I could immediately see the excitement on her face. There can be such a range of emotion on the wedding say and, I’ll be honest, excitement is my favorite. :) After hanging out wither her for a few minutes, I went over to Matthew’s room to hang out with the fellows for a bit. It’s always a (to me) slightly amusing experience to witness how different rooms have totally different vibes and feelings associated with them. While Katie’s excitement was overwhelming, Matthew’s room was somewhat subdued in comparison and while the excitement was definitely present, I could also sense a touch of nervousness. Drawing on my own experience, I know exactly how he felt – just wanting to spin the clock forward to start the ceremony.
It was a beautiful day for a Highgrove Wedding, albeit a bit toasty. I witnessed a first, for me, with one of my favorite officiants, Kayelilly Middleton, doing a little “cleanup” on the guys with a handkerchief. Between the gorgeous sun coming down, a combination of excitement, nerves and black tuxedos made for a great moment at the ceremony. Overlooking the water and underneath the trellis, the wedding went perfectly and finished with a great kiss and a very loud “Mazel Tov” to end the ceremony! We all headed inside for a break from the heat to photograph the family formals then moved on to get some great & fun moments with the bridal party and couples wedding day portraits.
Heading back into the reception hall, the room was setup beautifully. A head table was setup with the wedding cake (Ashley Cakes) off to one side. Ryan from Spin was DJ’ing their gorgeous wedding and, as always, knocked it out of the park. As you could probably tell from earlier, the ceremony had both christian and Jewish elements so, of course, the Hora was coming at the reception. If you aren’t familiar with the Hora, it’s a Jewish wedding celebration where the bride and groom sit in chairs and are lifted up and carried around the room. I think there may have been a small miscommunication though as the chairs appeared, well, slightly unbalanced. I think this is part of the tradition though as every person I’ve spoken with about the Hora has always mentioned a small element of fear. Everything ended up well in the end and I’m pretty certain every single person was on the floor which made for beautiful photos.
The rest of the reception was filled with dancing, spinning, singing, more dancing, cake cutting, cake smashing, cake eating (innocent whistle here), more dancing and eventually a sparkler exit with the longest sparklers I have ever seen! I want to take a moment and thank everyone involved with this wedding for their wonderful hospitality, flexibility and, well, awesomeness! Having great clients, friends & families really make me love doing what I do! Of course, here are a few select photos from Katie & Matthew’s Highgrove Wedding!
