The Wednesday before Dexter and Kiah’s wedding, I drove up from Hartford to meet them in the Berkshires. They gave me directions to a property that wouldn’t show up on GPS - Dexter’s family compound - the spot where these guys would marry on Saturday. Situated at the base of October Mountain near part of the Appalachian Trail, the property is down a long dirt road, very deep in the woods. It was the kind of dirt road that makes you question whether you made a wrong turn, or if you might get stuck in the mud and then meet a large elk or a family of bears or maybe fairies. It was also much much darker in the woods - for my photo nerds, I needed ISO 3200 at f2 in the middle of the day. After the exciting approach I made it to the property - nestled in a beautiful little valley, a cluster of buildings dating back to the 1600’s!! Dexter’s extended family has shared the property for a few generations, and their history, along with it’s previous owner’s history is everywhere in the form of photos, paintings, heirlooms, and artifacts. For me (art history major and architecture fangirl) this historic Berkshire spot gave me serious inspiration.
When I came back on Saturday, the path was more familiar but also Dexter and Kiah had sprinkled it with watercolored signage, reassuring me along the way. Now, lets talk about how amazing their DIY decorations were. Kiah and Dexter, both nurses, are also both very talented with watercolors and spent time leading up to the wedding making all their own signage, table markers, and name cards. It was whimsical and real and I loved it. Their tables were animal themed, with a big, watercolored cut-outs tucked into each table’s floral arrangement.
Another fabulous addition to their wedding were the colorful ribbon wands with bells on them that each guest grabbed with their name card. These were so much fun wave around for the ceremony! Kiah and Dexter also had a magnet making station for Polaroid captures and DIY banners that guests could paint and write notes on and hang around the party!
The day itself threatened rain, but this cool outdoorsy crowd was prepared with boots, jackets and umbrellas, so when the skies did burst into a downpour right in the middle of the ceremony (during a group singing of This Little Light of Mine - it almost felt summoned), we all laughed and huddled in the rain. As usual, it passed within minutes and we set down our umbrellas to cheer for the new married couple!
The party was fantastic. There was so much love and heartfelt toasts and dancing. In the Berkshires, there is no lack of farm to table cuisine, but I’m convinced they found the best caterer in New England with Wheelhouse. Seriously. Also, there were fireworks. BIG fireworks. Thanks to Dexter’s cousin Marco who put on a very long and impressive show we finished off the night dazzled, and I had so much fun photographing it.
Dexter and Kiah, you guys are beautiful. It was truly a pleasure to photograph your celebration with all your wonderful people!! Thank you for having me!!
ps. check back soon for a post on their engagement session :)
