Shuttle Meadow Country Club Wedding Photos
Apollo Fields | Shuttle Meadow Country Club Wedding Photos | Connecticut Wedding Photographer | Best Wedding Photos
Kelly + Evan
One of the first things couples realize when planning a wedding is that their opinions on the event are not the only ones that matter. Whether it’s their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or extended family, someone has a monkey wrench to throw into the best laid plans! It can lead to difficult conversations and even harder decisions, but Kelly and Evan’s intimate wedding ceremony in Rocky Mountain National Park followed by their reception at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Connecticut, clearly echoed not only their own values, but also the ones they learned from their refreshingly supportive families.
Family Values
Marriage, like anything else, is an institution that is evolving over time. Heather and I have noticed how marriage preserves some generational values, while it distances itself from others. For example, just a generation ago, getting married in a church by a pastor or priest was the norm, but now couples are opting to get married in beautiful backyards (raises hand) and scenic parks by one of their closest friends or family members. Antiquated reasons for a father walking their daughter down the aisle have given way to a deeper emotional connection that is one of my favorite things to witness. Perhaps the most modern and honorable aspect of the evolution of marriage is when parents who have parted ways come together at the wedding to pay respect to one another as partners and parents while also acknowledging the newer partners and parents in their children’s lives. Emotional intelligence may not always seem like it’s on the rise, but believe me if you were at Kelly and Evan’s wedding in Connecticut you wouldn’t have had dry eyes either.
Family Tradition
Kelly’s grandparents belonged to the Shuttle Meadow Country Club before her parents did and it meant a lot to her family for her and Evan to host their reception there. I don’t typically think about deep family ties and emotions when speaking about country clubs but it was apparent in the way Kelly and her family interacted with the property and staff. Family traditions take many forms and whenever possible you should try to embrace them when planning for your wedding!
Apollo Fields Family Values & Traditions
After Heather and I had Capa it changed the way I looked at my childhood and the choices my parents made. My five siblings and I were pretty much free range chickens in our cluttered house, finding our way home for dinner after playing with neighborhood kids until dusk. The only problem was that I didn’t know that I had autonomy and power over my own decisions until I left for college, whereupon I learned of my lack of discipline and returned home shortly thereafter. I consider it one of the best things that ever happened to me because it made me really analyze what decisions I was making and why.
So when I saw Evan and Kelly’s families and the connection and respect that they all have for one another; it made me think of providing Capa the guiding hand that I did not have, while at the same time giving him the power of his own decisions as early as possible. For our families are the ones who show us our values, but it is up to us as individuals to choose the ones that we wish to celebrate.
Vendors
Apollo Fields | Photography
Venue | Shuttle Meadow Country Club | Kensington, CT
Floral | Kellie Rose Florals
Band | The Parachute Brigade
Dress | Lee-Ann Belter
Dress 2 | BHLDN
Suit | Bonobos
Rings | Traynham’s Jewelers
Hair and Makeup | Opal
Invitations | Minted
New Haven Lawn Club Wedding at Yale, CT
Apollo Fields | Connecticut Wedding Photographer | Yale Wedding Photos | New Haven Wedding Photographer | New Haven Lawn Club Wedding Photos | Best Wedding Photos
John + Christine
“Compatibility is an achievement of love, not its precondition.”
- John quoting Alain de Botton in his vows.
It’s not often that a line from one of our couple’s vows stops me in my tracks. And it’s not like our couples mail in their vows. It’s just that expressing how we feel about our significant other in front of an audience is a very tall task. Even me, who writes about love all the time, wound up coming up with my vows on the spot. But when John said the line above, I realized that it summarized why my relationship with Heather continues to grow—because our compatibility is something that we are constantly, intentionally working on—it isn’t just some divine, ethereal, fixed connection that we stumbled upon. Of course, luck played a part in our paths crossing; but it has nothing to do with bringing those paths together.
Yale Wedding Photos
I guess I should’ve known that two Yale grads would wind up sending me to the library to find books from a Swiss-born romantic philosopher (de Botton). But as we made our way around the campus, snapping photos of John and Christine in the beautiful mixture of historic and modern architecture, I couldn’t help but notice how nice everyone was. There was none of the nose-in-the-air snootiness that Ivy League institutions have become infamous for. Instead we took a literal walk down memory lane on a beautifully sunny Sunday afternoon with a gleeful couple so very much in love.
Open Mic at Weddings
It seems that John and Christine’s friends were cut from the same brilliant, creative, and kind cloth that they were. From both group and solo a cappella renditions of romantic classics, to classical piano and cello arrangements, musical talent was not in short supply. Even Christine’s dad brought a mountain of his endearing personality to both his heartfelt speech and dance with his daughter. Your wedding provides you a venue to not only express your love, but your friends and family if they so desire.
New Haven Lawn Club Wedding
One of the pieces of advice I constantly hear myself saying is that your wedding should reflect your values. Do you have a bunch of musically talented friends like John and Christine? Have a mic and instruments ready to go. Are you more casual and like games? Rent some carnival games and concessions. Somewhere along the way we forget as adults that we can celebrate things or live life the way we want to. Christine and John created an unforgettable experience for themselves and their guests with some great choices and help from an absolutely fantastic wedding coordinator.
Romanticism Comes in Many Forms
If I learned anything from Christine and John it’s that you don’t have to be saccharine to be romantic. You don’t have to resort to cliches and platitudes. All you have to do is do a little research, stay in your lane, and express your love in the language you know best. It doesn’t have to be poetic or original to resonate with someone else—it just has to be true.
Vendors
Photography | Apollo Fields
Venue | New Haven Lawn Club | New Haven, CT
Floral | The Floating Dahlia
Dress | Woo by Watters Vielle | BHLDN
Videography | Powerstation Events
DJ | Local Motion
Party Planner | Irene + Co
Suit | Men’s Wearhouse
Rings | Tiffany and Co.
Invitations | Zola
Hair/Makeup | MBD Beauty
It’s Us!
Having a blast with John and Christine! Reach out for your own wedding photography.