Wedding Details & Bride Getting Ready

The lakeview castle wedding of Matt and Jessica this past weekend at Belhurst Castle was such a gorgeous event! Jess got ready in the Dwyer Room… one that I had never shot in before but that was a lot of fun because it was different! Welcome to their wedding blog post!

Jess had some really awesome bridal details, from her headpiece, to her bouquet, her perfume, wedding bands and engagement ring, shoes, vow book, necklace, drop earrings AND a second pair of earrings from her great grandmother from the early 1900’s!

Also, Arnold’s Flower Shop in Dryden arranged the bride and bridesmaid’s bouquets as well as few other arrangements, and their flowers were beautiful. But what stood out to me, something I have never seen in my 9 years of shooting weddings, is that they actually included a towel to dry the ends of the flowers off with! When the flowers are delivered, they’re naturally in vases of water. Every time a bride or bridesmaid pulls them out of the vase, the water drips everywhere, gets on the girl’s dresses and I’m always looking around for paper towels or something to dry them off with. Arnold’s went one step further and provided a towel with their name AND wedding date on it! Ok, that’s awesome service! Just sayin’!

Hair and makeup were done by Erin Bienvenue Beauty with A La Mode Salon!

Jess had two great bridesmaids and a Matron of Honor, McKenzie, who helped her into her Stella York dress!

And mom to help with her earrings!

I’ve always wanted to get a staircase shot from above like this and when Jess walked down the stairs I thought, “this is it!” I love this one of her!

Now this idea… sitting on the window sill of this stained glass window was all Jess’ idea, and one that I also LOVED!

Groom Getting Ready & Portraits

Here’s Matt, the handsome groom all dressed in his suit from Charney’s Menswear and Tuxedos and ready to see his bride.

Straightening his tie…

…and tying his shoes.

Bride & Groom First Look

Then the moment came for Matt and Jess to see each other!

I love the look on Matt’s face when he first saw Jess!

I also loved that they took a silent moment to read each other’s vows.

One of Matt and Jess’ favorite aspects of their lakeview castle wedding at Belhurst is the lake! So we made sure to do lots of photos on the dock!

I’m telling you what, Jess and Matt had the spin and twirl thing down pat! I could tell they had been practicing! Just wait until you see their entrance and First Dance pictures.

I really love the face Jess makes when she’s laughing!

And the look that Jess is giving Matt in this picture!

Doesn’t she look like a fairytale princess here?!

Bridesmaids & Groomsmen

Jess had a Matron of Honor and two bridesmaids and Matt had a “best woman”!

One of my favorite impromptu things that happened on their wedding day!

Lakeview Castle Wedding Ceremony

There were two of these floral arrangements on either side of the altar at the ceremony site! I loved that at this lakeview castle wedding, in front of the guests was the lake while behind them was the castle!

Here come Jess and her dad!

Their officiant opened with one of the most iconic quotes from The Princess Bride, “Mawwiage, mawwiage is what bwings us togeffer today”. It had everyone in stitches!

While Matt and Jess poured some of their Unity Sand together into their combined container, they also had guests add sand to it while they were signing the guest book! I hadn’t ever heard that before but I loved it. Such a cool way to include your guests.

The new Mr. & Mrs. at their lakeview castle wedding!

Carmen, Karen and her staff at Belhurst had their drinks ready for them as soon as the bridal party came back down the aisle!

Lakeview Castle Wedding Reception

Their sweetheart table was stunning with the flower arrangement on it!

Entering their lakeview castle wedding reception as Mr. & Mrs… and look at that twirl!

And the dip kiss! Super epic!

There were toasts from the Best Woman and Matron of Honor…

Love Jess’ parent’s reactions to the speeches!

… and from the Matron of Honor.

The cake was made by Bagels and Cakes by Club 86 in Geneva.

Father Daughter and Brother Sister dance!

And then party dancing with our awesome DJ Jeff owner of Whirlin’ Disc DJ!

I know that Matt and Jess especially loved the old castle aspect of their lakeview castle wedding venue, so I chose this spot outside the castle for their epic “happily ever after night time shots!”

Jess and Matt, thank you so much for allowing Andrew and I to be a part of your wedding day! We hope you have the most relaxing time in the Dominican Republic and a wonderful mawwiage!

And if you enjoyed looking at these wedding photos and would like to see more, check out the wedding blog on my website or reach out to me here! I’d love to get a note from you!

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