Categories
Weddings

Microwedding with Dogs

There were almost as many dogs as guests at Sarah and Matt’s microwedding on June 20th. This was the silver lining of getting married in the midst of COVID-19. They postponed their larger celebration until 2021 but had an intimate ceremony this June with their parents, siblings and fur-family. A total of seven human guests and five dog guests attended their wedding in Vermont at Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield, VT.

Sarah and Matt both grew up in Vermont and knew that’s where they wanted to get married even though they now live in rural Pennsylvania where Sarah works as a college professor of psychology and Matt works as an electrical engineer in renewable energy. Matt spent summers working in landscaping growing up and loves the solar energy and stone walls surrounding the Lareau Farm Inn venue. The couple met on a dating app and their first date was over pizza and beer so Lareau Farm Inn, which is part of American Flatbread Pizza, was in all ways the perfect location.

“Lareau had everything we were looking for. It was stunningly beautiful (we wanted an outdoor ceremony), allowed dogs (a must!), and we wanted pizza and beer at our reception and with American Flatbread, Lareau is like the original pizza spot in VT!” says Sarah.

Sarah wore paper flower hair accessories that her mother had worn at her own wedding in 1989. As a wedding present, Sarah’s mom had earrings made from diamonds that belonged to Sarah’s grandmother who had passed away last year. Both Sarah and Matt wore heirloom rings from their family. Matt’s ring is his late grandfather’s wedding ring and Sarah’s rings were created from Matt’s late grandmother’s engagement ring.

Sarah and Matt had been engaged for a year and half before their wedding when COVID-19 hit and they knew they didn’t want to postpone. Sarah says they were so fortunate that Helen, the innkeeper at Lareau Farm Inn, helped them plan a microwedding for their families who both live in rural areas with limited COVID cases.

“Matt and I felt like the ceremony was perfect. We were surrounded by love and dogs and nature. We had asked my brother, Charlie, to officiate in our original plan, so that remained the same! One thing that we added to our ceremony because of the tiny wedding was “Community Vows,” where our families shared expressions of their love during the ceremony and my sister sang “Where You Lead, I Will Follow” by Carole King. Having fewer people really allowed us to more intentionally celebrate and embrace joining our two families together. We are so hoping we can celebrate our one year anniversary back at Lareau Farm Inn with all of our loved ones in 2021!” says Sarah.

They had their first look under the tall trees by the river and their intimate ceremony was incredibly romantic and overflowing with so much love and beauty. We walked down to the river to take some mountain photos and then Sarah and Matt spent some time cuddling with their dogs before they all walked down the aisle together.

The couple had initially planned a European hiking honeymoon, which they’ll go on in 2021, but they spent the three nights following their June microwedding on Lake Wapanacki in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and stayed in the Boathouse. After the ceremony, Sarah attached “Just Married” signs to their backpacks and we took the cutest photos of them on the trails behind the Inn and even got photo-bombed by a biker.

This was such an amazing wedding, with such a sweet and stunning couple. Thank you so much, Sarah and Matt, it was a true honor to be there! I loved every moment of documenting your day and getting to meet you all!

Categories
Weddings

Pink House Farm Wedding Venue in Cornwall, Vermont

I had the honor of photographing a mock wedding for the Pink House Farm, a new wedding venue in Cornwall, Vermont. The Pink House Farm is a gorgeous wedding venue just minutes from Middlebury, VT, but with a serene farmland setting with mountain views of the Adirondacks and pastures grazed by black Angus. They even have a flherd (a combined flock and herd). There are large fields with infinite reception setting possibilities and gorgeous red barns. The entire property has been restored by owners Churchill Franklin and Janet Halstead Franklin, both Middlebury College alums. The immaculately restored pink farmhouse and its fabulous porch lined with a row of white rocking chairs create a luxurious setting that offers both quintessential red barn Vermont and luxury. Last year, I also shot a family portrait session on the property for a luxury family getaway. This is truly a one-of-a-kind wedding venue and unlike any other venue I’ve seen in Vermont.

Wedding Photographer: Cat Cutillo Photography & Video
Wedding Venue: The Pink House Farm
Flowers: Middlebury Floral & Gifts
Cupcakes: The Waybury Inn
Stylist: Molly Sheehan Daly
Models: Katie and Joe Sheehan

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Categories
Weddings

Kaitlyn + Doug’s Alpaca Wedding

Kaitlyn and Doug’s wedding sparked a tsunami of creative fireworks in my heart. I mean it was an ALPACA wedding! Alpacas everywhere. You can’t top that. Baby alpacas, giant alpacas, and one insatiably curious alpaca that is near and dear to my heart now and kept photobombing their wedding photos with an open mouth full of grass.

From a wedding photojournalism perspective this was as inspiring as it can get for me. The bride even got to hold a baby alpaca named Speedy for their wedding portraits. That’s normal. In fact, I want this to be my new normal, shooting weddings at the Vermont Wedding Barn at Champlain Valley Alpacas in Bridport, Vermont.  I think Kaitlyn has a natural alpaca mothering aura because Speedy hung around in her arms for a really long time and gave me tons of time to take photos.

It also helped that Kaitlyn and Doug are one of the sweetest couples I’ve met, super easy-going, full of fun and laughter. Their families and friends were all cut from that same cloth. Doug, who is a native Vermonter, moved to San Francisco on a whim where he immediately met Kaitlyn at work who hails from the Los Angeles area. The two now live in VT.

They had this amazing outdoor ceremony that completely teased them with rain. The drops started to come down right as Doug was walking down the aisle. It really seemed like the sky was going to open up and you could see the look in everyone’s eyes. And then suddenly it all just stopped and they had a completely gorgeous ceremony complete with dramatic clouds. At the end of their ceremony the alpacas escaped as they were walking down the aisle and raced along the road with them as they processioned onto the reception area. These alpacas were very mischievous that day and that was such a treat. I loved everything about this exciting, inspiring and quirky free-spirited farm wedding in Vermont.

Kaitlyn and Doug, thank you so much for having me come along for the adventure!

Wedding Photographer: Cat Cutillo Photography & Video
Wedding Venue: Vermont Wedding Barn at Champlain Valley Alpacas

Officiant: Patrick Leene
Catering: Southern Smoke BBQ
DJ: Two Sev (Jamie MacLeish)
Rings: Connie Coleman (Alchemy Jewelry Arts Gallery)
Flowers: Joint effort with friends
Cake: Pratt’s Store
Cake Topper: Etsy SugarBlushStudio
Bridesmaids dresses: JJ’s House
Wedding Dress: Mother’s wedding gown altered by Evelyn Grant of Fine Threads, Anthropologie topper
Groom’s attire: TheBlackTux.com
Groomsmen attire: TheBlackTux.com

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Categories
Weddings

Lacy + Dan’s Lareau Farm Wedding

Lacy and Dan are two of the kindest people I’ve met. And between Lacy’s beauty and her dreamy never-ending wedding dress train, I was on a creative joy-ride snapping away in a speechless photo-heaven flow state for most of the day. Their July 6th wedding at Lareau Farm Inn in Waitsfield, Vermont, was filled with dramatic rain showers and a magical glowing light that only follows a thrilling downpour. I love the raucous roller-coaster of a hardcore Vermont rain and the buzzing glow-shine of relief that exhales in its wake. Despite the fact that their outdoor ceremony was moved inside the pavilion, Lacy and Dan were overflowing with nothing but smiles and a contagious gratitude to everyone who surrounded them, to each other and to Dan’s two sons. Their Justice of the Peace Wedding Officiant, Stephen Laurie, created a beautiful ceremony, and the Lareau Farm staff seamlessly moved their ceremony inside and created and all-around outstanding celebration while Digital DJ Entertainment brought the party and the photo booth fun. I was so honored to be able to witness and capture their day. And I was deeply inspired by the way they smiled, laughed and glowed throughout their unpredictable weather, loving every moment of their wedding journey’s wild ride.  That spoke volumes that this is a couple who will weather anything life throws their way, and they’ll do it with a smile. Lacy and Dan, thank you SO MUCH for making me a part of your day! It was an incredible experience for everyone who got to be there!

 

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