Romantic Microwedding at The Mount (Lenox, MA)
Taylor and Sam’s romantic summer microwedding in the Berkshires was such a memorable day and introduced me to one of my favorite New England venues - The Mount.
Taylor and Sam’s summer microwedding in the Berkshires was such a memorable day and introduced me to one of my favorite venues - The Mount. This venue was one of the most unique, beautiful places that I’ve ever had the privilege of working at and it is now at the top of my list of my favorite New England venues (blog post on those to come!).
The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts was once the home of celebrated author Edith Wharton. The historic estate was designed and built by Wharton in 1902.
The property includes over 50 acres of meticulously landscaped grounds and has lots of gorgeous options for ceremony and portrait spaces. Taylor and Sam chose to have their first look in the intimate Italian Garden, their ceremony in the Versailles-inspired French Garden, and their dinner in the linden tree-lined walkway between the two gardens known as the Lime Walk. They also used several rooms and spaces inside the house itself for getting ready and portraits.
My favorite part of their day was the intimate dinner they had at long tables surrounded by twinkly lights set up between the rows of trees in the Lime Walk (see below for photos of the details!). I photographed Taylor & Sam’s wedding day primarily with my digital cameras but was testing out my grandfather’s old Konica Minolta film camera for fun so I threw in a handful of film shots as well for them. See if you can spot them!
The Mount is a great option both for couples that are having smaller, intimate microweddings like Taylor and Sam’s and for those who are having a larger celebration with room for up to 250 guests. The space allows for so much flexibility! If you’re looking for a unique and historic wedding venue in a beautiful location like the Berkshires, I highly recommend that you check out The Mount!
Taylor & Sam’s Wedding Vendors
photography: Kayla Rice Photography // venue name: The Mount, Edith Wharton's Home, Lenox, MA // planning/catering/bar: Mezze Events // florals: Carolyn Valenti Flowers // hair stylist: Good Vibes Beauty Co // makeup artist: Liz O’Malley Makeup
Arti & Jay's Hindu Wedding Ceremony at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
Arti & Jay chose an absolutely beautiful venue, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, for their intimate wedding ceremony with their families. The venue is picturesque year round but especially so in the spring with the flowering trees in bloom and fields of tulips filling the gardens with color. The colorful backdrop was a perfect one to compliment the vibrant colors of their Hindu wedding attire.
Arti & Jay chose an absolutely beautiful venue, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, for their intimate wedding ceremony with their families. The venue is picturesque year round but especially so in the spring with the flowering trees in bloom and fields of tulips filling the gardens with color. The colorful backdrop was a perfect one to compliment the vibrant colors of their Hindu wedding attire.
Arti and Jay’s love story is straight out of a rom-com. The couple met spontaneously at the airport and connected while talking nonstop throughout their flight. When they met they were living in different cities but stayed in touch and ended up re-connecting years later when the stars aligned for them to live near one another.
One of the botanical garden’s greenhouses served as the ceremony space on their wedding day. The lush greens of the space made for a gorgeous backdrop making the colorful reds and golds in their outfits pop.
The couple’s small family-only wedding was a traditional Hindu ceremony and featured some beautiful Hindu traditions such as exchanging garlands (symbolizing the partners welcoming each other into their families), Saptapadi (when the newlyweds have their garments tied together and walk together to signify their friendship), and the Mangal Fera (the bride and groom walk around the fire four times, each time signifies something different; duty, prosperity, love, and spiritual liberation). The family members in attendance were each given parts to play throughout the ceremony. The way Arti & Jay involved each member of their family beautifully showed how much they all meant to them.
Congratulations, Arti & Jay!
Arthi & Greg's Roger Williams Botanical Center Wedding
Arthi and Greg’s Rhode Island wedding was a visually stunning, colorful, joyous celebration. Take a look through some of my favorite photos from their day below.
Arthi and Greg’s wedding took place on a cold, rainy day in early March. In March, Rhode Island is at its greyest point - in between the snow-covered bluebird days of winter and the first signs of green and blossoms of Spring. It’s mostly cold still, and the trees are bare and the ground is usually sort of muddy. Even on the most beautiful of days, it’s hard for me to love March in New England. Stepping into the ceremony space at Roger Williams Botanical Center made me completely forget all of that. The floral-scented air was humid and warm, and lush, green plants covered every inch of the space. My serotonin levels were instantly boosted.
As a Boston wedding photographer, I love discovering new venues all over New England. As fun as it is to return to New England wedding venues I know and love, there’s something about photographing at a venue I’ve never been to that sparks a special sort of creativity in me. I’m framing photos with fresh eyes and am constantly seeing new angles and new possibilities wherever I turn my camera.
Arthi and Greg decided that I was a good fit because I was a wedding photojournalist and therefore, shot in a way that matched the vision that they had for their wedding day. It was important to them that they could enjoy their day with their family and friends and not spend too much time on posed photos, which I always love to hear and am happy to accommodate. They wanted mostly candid wedding photography and wanted me to capture authentic personalities and emotion throughout their day. Easy!
Arthi and Greg got ready at The Graduate in Providence. They also performed the Ganesha Puja at the hotel with family before heading to the venue for the rest of their ceremony and reception. The Puja is offered for good luck as Lord Ganesha is believed to be the destroyer of obstacles and evils.
Once the Puja was complete, we headed to Roger Williams Botanical Center for some portraits before the ceremony. We explored the lush greenhouses and the couple enjoyed a moment away before the ceremony began.
The ceremony space in the greenhouse was gorgeous; tall palm trees and greenery acting as a backdrop to the bright colors of the Indian dress, garlands, and flowers. The ceremony incorporated a lot of aspects of a traditional Indian ceremony, but also included some “Americanized” touches like a ring exchange.
After their ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktail hour among the greenery, then headed into the reception space for the rest of the festivities. Throughout the toasts (one including giving the couple a literal piece of toast “you asked me to give you a toast…”), the delicious Indian buffet dinner, and the dancing, I had a great time capturing candid moments and documenting the pure joy that filled the room.
Arthi and Greg’s Rhode Island wedding was a visually stunning, colorful, joyous celebration. Take a look through some of my favorite photos from their day below.
Vendors
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Roger Williams Botanical Center
Hotel & Puja Venue: Graduate Providence
Photographer: Kayla Rice Photography
Second Photographer: Christine Hochkeppel
Videographer: Steve Levin Cinematography
Henna: Boston Henna Artist (bride) & Henna by Ruhi (guests)
Cake: Sin Bakery
Misc. Desserts: Mike’s Pastry, Reena Rad Baking
Catering: Rasoi
Alcohol: Bottles
Day-Of Coordinator/Service Staff: Extra Hands For Your Events (Gigi Halsing)