Emily & Josh ~ A Rustic NH Lakes Region Wedding
Church Landing in Meredith, NH is a very popular spot for weddings. It sits right on Lake Winnipesaukee near downtown and boasts amazing views of the lake along with great ballrooms for reception celebrations. The grounds are amazing for photos as I'm sure you can imagine. There are pathways on the water's edge and the iconic gazebo that sits over the lake. I've shot weddings there many times but on this day I was only going to be there for a short time.
Emily and Josh are two of the most fun people I've had the privilege of getting to know. From their engagement session in Bear Brook State Park they had little camera shyness and were excited to get creative and just be themselves. I was looking forward to their wedding and, like usual, it snuck up on us quickly! They were getting ready together at Church Landing but the ceremony and reception was going to be at a friends rustic barn down the road in Holderness, NH.
I had Kael with me on this one and we both arrived and helped over the final touches of hair and makeup before Emily got into her dress. The wedding dress was really unique. The design and texture of the material was different than I had seen before. It was also a bit strange that they were getting ready together, which isn't the norm, but hey... you do you!
We did hide Josh from Emily while the dress went on so he could be surprised to see her in all her glory. We set up a first look near the water's edge then took some photos before heading over to Holderness.
The barn had only just started hosting weddings so I hadn't been there before but it was beautifully set up with the barn playing home to cocktail hour and dancing while there was also a tent with tables for the dinner. The two were connected so if there was inclement weather nobody has to go outside to get from one to the other. We were lucky to have a beautiful fall day so that, thankfully, wasn't an issue.
Back behind the barn was a vast field with views that played host to the ceremony. Guests were arriving as we got there and we moved along with the schedule. We gathered family for photos after the ceremony then had some fun with the bridal party. They were a lively buch so I tend to go with the flow and see what we can come up with. I don't usually plan on bridesmaids jumping on trampolines but bring it on I say! Do what you want!
Introductions into the barn were followed by the first dance and dinner. Even though there were no real clouds in the sky we had a great sunset so we went out to get some shots. After the fact I made them a little more magical just to mix things up a bit :)
I hope you enjoy some photos from their amazing day!
