Vermont Wedding Photographer

It’s important to ensure that the studio you hire not only has beautiful images that speak to you personally, but also that the photographers who document the day you’ve carefully planned are experienced and professional. Experienced wedding photographers have learned, over the course of many years and many wedding days, how to predict the emotional reactions of family members and friends while creating photographically interesting compositions that will bring you back to the feeling of your wedding day like a window in time. Experience can mean other things, as well; many experienced wedding photographers can tell you stories about unusual circumstances or situations in which they had to improvise, whether by sewing a ripped seam in a wedding dress moments before the bride walked down the aisle, or by finding a unique indoor location for portraits during a torrential downpour. These experiences, and many others, have given us the tools we need to craft professional and high quality images even during unusual or excessively difficult situations. (While every wedding day has every chance of running perfectly, we like to prepare for the worst case scenario, just in case.) Experienced wedding photographers are also more likely to have the proper paperwork setup for their business in order to work in the state of Vermont; further details like paying state taxes (very important for a small, tourism based economy), carrying appropriate liability insurance (we’re covered for $2,000,000 and can list your venue as additionally insured if they wish), and having backup gear aplenty are all important.

The glowing examples of staged wedding photos that are published in magazines or glossy advertisements may be what’s been on your Pinterest board for the last few months, but we’d like to encourage you to dig deeper. While we strive to make beautiful portraits of every couple we work with, we like to think of ourselves as being closer to documentary photographers than fashion photographers. The difference lies in how we view weddings: as one day, albeit one very important day. A slice of life as it’s being lived, with leading roles and supporting characters, locations and weather that are uniquely combined to be your day. Unrepeatable, unscripted, and filled with small idiosyncrasies and details that will serve as memory triggers throughout the rest of your lives. The formal group photos and traditional posed images will also be important, but somewhat less so; when you show your grandchild the photo of your father beaming at you while he walked down the aisle, how will you not be moved to tears? Capturing genuine emotion and the interactions between the most important people in your lives is a skill not found in a typical selfie or Snapchat video. In this current era of overly snapshotted families and endless Instagram streams, finding a photographer skilled at capturing the in-between moments will give you a collection of images that have a raw, visceral ability to make you feel.

While it’s not necessary for your photographer to have been to your specific venue prior to your wedding day, it doesn’t hurt for them to have a general familiarity with the feel of a Vermont wedding. Importing a glamorous fashion photographer from Los Angeles may seem like a way to get great wedding photos, but in reality the stark differences between the relaxed Vermont countryside and the concrete jungle of the city might make the end result very different than if you’d found someone familiar with the relaxed elegant countryside and the delicate details that make up many Vermont weddings. A Vermont photographer has the ability to not only source local inspiration for portrait locations, but often already has connections with many of the other vendors and venues in the area through the Vermont Association of Wedding Professionals, creating a friendly and cooperative working environment, which only makes things easier on you. We have spent considerable time exploring the venues and vistas of Vermont, and getting to know the delightful florists, makeup artists, bakers, videographers, bands, innkeepers, wedding planners, and calligraphers of the region, just to name a few! The state may seem sprawling at times, but the magic of modern technology allows us to be constantly in touch with our tightly knit network of fellow photographers and other vendors, where all work with a cooperative spirit and the end goal of happy clients with breathtaking weddings. (When you and your guests go home happy and dream of returning to Vermont, everyone wins!)

Well… five seasons. Or possibly six, depending on how you look at them. The Vermont Seasons include the usual Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, but you can also add in “Mud Season” (between winter and spring, as the snow melt causes most cars to become mired in dirt roads that have turned to, you guessed it, rivers of mud), and “Stick Season”, which is a chilly time of year after the fall foliage has fallen from the trees but the snows have yet to stick, leaving much of the wooded hills looking like they’ve been graced with a buzz cut or studded with giant toothpicks. While neither of these “seasons” is ideal for weddings, you can in fact have a wedding in Vermont in any season. 

Vermont weddings in the spring can have fickle weather; while not ideal for outdoor celebrations, the main advantage of choosing a spring date is a lowered chance of travel delays while retaining a reasonably low cost for out-of-season venues. If spring is early you may be treated to blossoming flowers and trees, verdant greenery in a green brighter than you can imagine, and even sunny warm days that promise summer’s heat. If spring is late, on the other hand, you may find yourself with a surprise snow shower, which have happened as late as May in many years, particularly in mountainous locations. 

Ahh, quintessential Vermont summer weddings! This season is more likely to be warm and dry, particularly in July and August. Don’t be surprised if it’s also very warm; Vermont is cooler than many of the nearby northeastern cities, but it does get quite hot on sunny days, though it usually cools down after sunset. Summer weddings in Vermont mean blue skies, puffy clouds, hot sun, and peepers singing through the night. (Peepers: tiny frogs in wetlands, ponds and lakes who sing a chorus in the evening; sometimes mistaken for crickets, peepers have a much more pleasant song and are somewhat unavoidable in low lying parts of Vermont.) Summer weddings can occasionally be rainy, particularly earlier in the season; sudden downpours are also possible, though they don’t always last through the entire day. Evening campfires are common at many weddings, and having a s’mores bar can be a great way to embrace the country feel of the end of your reception.

Autumn weddings in Vermont have a very special feel, regardless of whether the day is overcast or not. The peak of foliage season varies depending on a wide range of unpredictable factors, but typically occurs sometime in the end of September or beginning of October. Regardless of where the actual peak of season falls, the entire season has a crisp beauty as the air cools. The deciduous trees start to show their brilliant color in stages, along with many shrubberies (sumac in particular, though not planted for its beauty, has a vibrant red color throughout the fall, which makes for a splendid blaze in the background of any wedding photo). New England has a unique take on fall, embracing the coming colder days with festivals, bakeoffs, and a variety of activities for the whole family. Many of these traditions can be used as an influence for your wedding celebration; how about serving hot cider toddies and freshly fried cinnamon sugar doughnuts as your guests enter cocktail hour, or at the end of dinner? Fall temperatures can vary widely from year to year; much like spring, it’s best to plan for extremes so that you aren’t caught shivering or sweating by lack of preparation.

While somewhat unpredictable, winter weddings in Vermont can be amongst the most magical. Short days and long nights make for winter traditions in small Vermont towns of having wild town hall dances, where everyone burns off their hearty stews and homemade breads by dancing up a storm; it’s not uncommon to find a group of teens, flushed red from dancing, standing outside in the snow with bare arms to cool off before heading back in for another round. Finding a venue that caters specifically to winter weddings is paramount; many Vermont venues specifically state whether they are available during the cold season, because not every building is winterized. (Some barns, for example, would be impossible to heat enough to be comfortable for you and your guests.) Vermont ski lodges and cozy inns make for some of the best winter wedding locations, particularly if your guests can choose to stay indoors for all or most of the weekend. Whatever you plan, be sure to allow plenty of extra time for travel to and from Vermont, just in case of a sudden storm that delays you or your guests. Winter can be fierce and fickle, so it’s always better to stay flexible. (And be sure to bring something warm to wear that looks good with your wedding finery; whether that’s wool long underwear and heavy duty snow boots or a faux fur shrug, portraits in the evening snow can be amongst the most beautiful you’ll ever see.)