Alex & Ryan had their wedding planned at Spruceton Inn, a b&b (that’s bed & bar) beautifully nestled between the mountainous landscape of the Catskills. A hidden gem in West Kill, NY, it’s the most perfect spot for an intimate ceremony. However, the original plan was not a covid-friendly intimate ceremony. The gathering was meant to be fairly intimate – but it wasn’t meant to be only 10 people, which is all who were present. Thanks to the pandemic, Alex and Ryan had to really scale down their already small plans even further. Like many 2020 couples, they moved the larger affair to 2021, at the same venue. Hopefully next time, they’ll have all of their other guests present and be able to use the facilities the way they intended. The lodging was not open, nor was the indoor barn space. So A & R had to get crafty.

Last Minute Changes

These two found an Airbnb 10 minutes down the road. Which turned out to have surprisingly good photo-ops, too! But we’ll get back to that in a second. We couldn’t go indoors anywhere on the grounds at Spruceton Inn, but that was totally fine! This couple lucked out with probably what we would consider the nicest day of the entire year. We were married on 10/3, and we thought we lucked out with the clear, sunny weather. But Alex & Ryan were married the weekend after on 10/10 and it was somehow even better. The sky was blue, but the light was soft and golden.

We didn’t have much foliage at our own ceremony in NJ, but two hours North up in the Catskills the trees had already burst to life with color. The rolling hills were like a painting. As we were driving up, I exclaimed to Steve multiple times that it just didn’t look real. It looked like the calendar stock-image you’d expect for the Fall months.

It’s Now Traditional to be Non-Traditional.

The intimate ceremony was set up between the lodging with the mountainous view and a quaint little babbling brook. The family helped set up the ceremony site, and then Alex & Ryan arrived hand in hand. Covid has messed with so many plans, but we think it might actually be benefiting the modern approach to weddings.

Rather than the heightened anxiety revolving around not seeing each other until your first look, or even more traditionally waiting until the ceremony, couples are now opting to get ready together. To walk down the aisle together. I mean, why not?! If you want to maintain tradition, that’s a beautiful thing in and of itself. But there’s definitely a beauty in the “togetherness” of it all right now. You don’t have to hide from each other. You can be together the entire day! Your nerves will remain calm, because you have the one you love by your side.

SO Much Time for Portraits

Alright, we are always telling our couples we need two hours of “formal” photo time on a regular wedding day. That’s 30 minutes with bridal party, 30 minutes with family, and ideally a full hour with the bride and groom alone. This is so that it doesn’t feel rushed, we can take our time and be creative and so you can take breaks. And who doesn’t love taking a break??

That being said, for this particular wedding we were sans bridal party and the family photo shot list was very short, considering only 10 people were there. That left us with a TON of time for portraits of Alex & Ryan alone. Maybe it was excessive. Especially because they’re doing it all again this Summer. But you know what? It was amazing!! The landscape beckoned us and there were so many amazing backdrops around Spruceton Inn. The light was hitting just right. Once we started, we couldn’t stop. We have no idea if A & R really needed THIS many portraits together, but that’s what they got!! They were game to try all of our ideas, so we kept going haha. Also, they were just simply too cute together.

Once we were finished, we left Spruceton Inn and they hopped in their car donned with a “just married” sign and cans. We followed them down the road to their Airbnb where there might have been a few more photos taken. (Scroll to check out the amazing wallpaper, and then I’ll ask – can you blame us?) But the gathering afterward was jovial, light-hearted and just the right amount of people. They had the most perfect little wedding day and we can’t wait to do it all again with them in August!

 

 

Vendor Credits

Venue / Spruceton Inn

Florist / Wegmans

Dress / Schone Bride, Anais Anette