Meredith and Stephan’s Wright-Locke Farm wedding

On a beautiful late summer day in September, Meredith and Stephan were married at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, MA. I was fortunate to be photographing alongside Pete Hammond as his second shooter for this wedding.

Pete was my photography student at Thayer Academy. He graduated, went off to college and started teaching at a school in 2008. We ran into each other again in 2009 at a photo conference when Pete was on the cusp of becoming a full time photographer. In 2010 he moved to Colorado and started his own photography business. It was my absolute pleasure to work with him on this! He came back east to record the three day event that was Meredith and Stephan’s wedding. I was along side on the final day when they held the official ceremony and spent a long afternoon sharing stories and playing yard games. The dancing and traditional reception had been held on the previous night. I am SO SO SO proud of Pete for following his dream and becoming a photographer.

The very cool thing about Meredith and Stephan is that they are both committed environmentalists living in California. All the food and utensils, glasses dishes, EVERYTHING at this wedding was re-usable or recyclable. The caterer, Chive Events in Beverly, MA, left with ONE bag of trash. It was truly incredible. No paper goods (except straws). All the signs were reusable or written in chalk.

I started the day by photographing the details and the set up of the event. I then joined Stephan and his best man at the ceremony site to finish setting up the details. Stephan was very nervous! I stayed with him as he received a surprise gift from Meredith (the photo book he was looking at).

We headed up the hill to the ceremony site once the majority of the guests had seated themselves on the potato sacks and the trio began to play. Stephan and his mom processed down the aisle followed by Meredith and her mom and dad. The ceremony was heartfelt and filled with interesting traditions. I love the looks they each gave each other during the ceremony and the emotion Meredith’s mom showed.

After the ceremony everyone descended down the hill to the barn for cocktail hour. Pete shot the family photos while I photographed the guests. This was a real farm and there were chickens running everywhere. It was fascinating!

This wedding was filled with so many incredible details and I was able to really focus on them. I ABSOLUTELY loved that Chive could pull off an event like that with so little waste and create such delicious dishes. I would work with them again every weekend if I could. They were truly incredible and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to get these images together to share!

Pete and I took the couple aside for some formal photos. I shot the couples portraits with a wide lens which I never get to do as the primary. As a result, I got some lens flare and used the backgrounds as a significant compositional element.

Next everyone convened at the long table and dinner was served. The next few hours consisted of guest after guest getting up to share stories about Meredith and Stephan.

Finally, the couple came outside for the cake cutting. The guests started playing lawn games and enjoying the afternoon as I was heading home.

Second shooting this wedding was incredible because I got to see one of my students in action as a photographer in his own right. Pete did an amazing job with the couple and I truly loved watching him work. I felt like a proud mama 🙂 I also loved the consciousness for the environment and the emotional presence of everyone at the event. It just felt like everyone was so content to be together in that moment.

Thank you Pete Hammond for including me as your second shooter and for giving me the opportunity to see what you have become. I am so proud to have been a part of your journey as a photographer.