This gorgeous Berkshires wedding was my third time working with the Gary family; just under four years ago I photographed the back-to-back weddings of the two Gary sisters, Katie and Liz; Katie and Topher got married in their parents’ back yard on the Saturday – a hot and sunny Cape wedding with a bright blue beachy theme – then the very next day, Liz and Tim got married under umbrellas and softly falling rain and celebrated with a brunch reception with muted tones (I remember how impressed I was that the same venue could be transformed overnight, allowing both couples to have very unique celebrations). I’ve kept in touch with the family over the years – and particularly with mom Janet – and I was utterly delighted to work with this amazing family again for brother Mike’s wedding this past weekend!

My first introduction to Rachel was over a FaceTime call a few short weeks ago, but I felt like I already knew her; this sweet, smart, bubbly beauty is the perfect fit for Michael, and they are one of the loveliest couples I’ve worked with; caring and thoughtful, yet also bright and so much fun.

The entire wedding day was perfect. I started the day at the golf club just down the road from Rachel’s parents’ home in Blandford, MA where Mike was getting ready. The guys were hilarious. I then headed over to Rachel’s parents’ home where she was getting ready with her mom, grandma, and many of the girls. The wedding party was huge – and included tons of little ones who were so much fun to photograph.

The ceremony took place under a huge tree in the back yard, with the most perfect light. Rachel and Mike worked hard for weeks on creating all these amazing details, and they even built a freestanding door at the entrance to the ceremony which was covered in beautiful flowers by Rachel’s aunt who flew in from California to do the flowers. Two of Mike and Rachel’s grandmothers gave readings during the ceremony, including my favorite – the story ‘Love Monkey’ by Edward Monkton (we used an Edward Monkton cartoon for our own wedding invitations and I’m a huge fan!)

After family photos in the back yard, Rachel, Mike and I headed over to Blandford Fairground (now disused) for some couples portraits. This was such a great spot, and perfectly fit their vintage-chic wedding theme.

Some highlights of the reception included the amazing piñata for the kids (Topher and Katie’s daughter Maddie was a piñata champ!), the sweetest parent dances, and an incredibly moving toast from Mike’s brother Adam. I had a really hard time keeping my focus during this emotional toast, and there were multiple points during the day where I felt myself well up …

The perfect weather lasted throughout the evening, until a huge storm rolled through during the dance party. I say this to all of my couples, and probably sound crazy, but there’s something special about a storm on your wedding day; it adds a kind of intimacy to the atmosphere.

Thank you Mike and Rachel for trusting me to document your amazing day. It was really tough choosing just a few favorites to share with you now – I can’t wait to share the full set of photos! And if you stumbled across this post looking for a Berkshires wedding photographer, please get in touch, I would love to return to this gorgeous area for more weddings!