As a wedding photographer, you reaaaally aren’t supposed to have favorites. Every wedding is unique in its own way, regardless of the size or the budget. With that said, there is a little place in my heart for small and intimate weddings. When it comes to these personal gatherings, you know the priority is for the love of the couple and bringing the family together. This has never been truer than with Melanie and Matt’s New Hope wedding at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve.
Their wedding was incredibly unique and had some amazingly adorable touches, especially vintage-y ones. But enough about me telling you about them, see for yourself!
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You see that wedding dress? That was the mother of the bride’s real vintage wedding dress from the 70’s. How adorable is her mom helping her get zipped up?
The entire guest list, including the bridal party, didn’t even number 20 people. Yes, that’s all of them in the photo below. Such an intimate wedding that the whole guest list is able to fit on four park benches.
During the ceremony, each family member got up to pick a flower from the display. They then placed their flowers into a vase and created their own personalized bouquet for the bride and groom.
Mel and Matt just had to take a shot of whiskey during the vows, it’s a tradition, right? Okay, it might not be a tradition yet, but it should be. It was a nice personal touch in honor of their first date.
For those of you who don’t know, that’s a maypole dance! It’s a fun interactive tradition you sometimes see at Renaissance fairs and is a great way to get everyone up and involved in your wedding.
The bride’s friend from college is a violinist and performed during the ceremony.
Mel and Matt had their ceremony at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, which is a beautiful park open to the public. After all the guests left and we were ready to do the portraits, some visitors of the preserve stumbled upon the bride and had to compliment the beautiful bride.
As if Melanie and Matt’s wedding wasn’t cute or personal enough…those rings are actually antique rings that were their grandparents. Doesn’t your heart just melt?
And now for the vendor shout out for this stellar and beautiful wedding:
Bride’s Hair & Make-up // Zanya Spa & Salon in Lambertville NJ
Ceremony Venue // Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope PA
Reception Venue // Black Bass Hotel in Lumberville PA
Flowers // Petunia Bergamot in Lambertville NJ
Wedding Cake // Factory Girl Bake Shop in New Hope PA
Tuxedo // Custom Men in New York City
Music // Bride’s friend Claire Wilson
Dress // Mother of the Bride’s vintage wedding dress – shout out to Renee Sopko for the alterations
Jeweler // Grandparent’s vintage rings
Transportation // Groom’s antique Volkswagen Beetle that he fixed up himself
