Equestrian Wedding Photos

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Helen + Sam’s Wedding

The first wedding of a triple-header weekend feels like the first lap around the track when running a mile. Your pace is good, energy is high, and you think to yourself, “I got this, this is going to be easy!” Lucky for us, Helen and Sam’s equestrian wedding at John Jay Homestead was the perfect mix of their fun personalities to get our weekend off on the right foot!

John Jay Homestead Wedding Photos

The best part about having a wedding on a blank canvas historical site like John Jay’s Homestead in Katonah, NY, is how customizable it is. Yes, you have to do the legwork to bring everything in, but the result is a wedding that reflects the most important aspects of a couples relationship. Take Sam and Helen’s wedding for example: they held their ceremony behind one of the many picturesque, historical buildings, and branded a cowhide rug at the ceremony’s conclusion. From there, their guests moved onto cocktail hour in the garden while the staff put the finishing touches on their reception space under a pristine white tent. Helen and Sam decided to bring in food trucks rather than a catering company, and had a mechanical bull (!!), and a bunch of other carnival games scattered about the grass. You won’t see these details at your local country club.

Equestrian Wedding Photographer

We knew going into Helen and Sam’s wedding that wedding photos with their horses were at the top of their priority list. Right after the ceremony, their horses, Pacman and Pepper, arrived to the property, and we found a great shaded spot for them to stay cool while we corralled them. Taking photos of horses can feel like trying to take photos of 2,000 pound children who can’t be bothered to look at the camera, but Pacman and Pepper did a great job! Helen even jumped on Pacman bareback—the kind of no-frills bride we absolutely LOVE to work with! Do what YOU WANT TO DO on your special day!

Personalized Wedding Details

Whether it’s something blue, a pair of cufflinks, a watch, belt buckle, tie clip, or cowboy hat—make sure you grab a little something for yourself to show off on your wedding. Heather and I had “bad cop” and “good cop” stitched into our respective wedding garments for our celebration. We always joked that when we had a kid that these would be our roles. As for Helen and Sam, they trekked down to Fort Worth, Texas, to get some American-made, custom cowboy hats for their wedding day. They both dazzled in them and wore them like badges of honor. No faux cowboys or cowgirls here, just a couple horse lovers through-and-through.

Golden Hour Photos

We finished Helen and Sam’s wedding day with some absolutely stunning golden hour photos! They strolled the grounds, already reflective and ecstatic with how their wedding day went, and shared a few beautiful moments before we headed home.