Horse Farm Engagement Session Ideas

Anet and Ian’s engagement photos | hunterdon county wedding photographers | apollo fields | New York wedding photography | farm wedding photographers | wedding writer

There’s something about looking out into a field from the wooden porch of a farm that makes you want to take a deep, full breath.  Maybe it’s the way that twilight seems to color the evening sky a little longer than it does in the city. Maybe it’s the smell of dinner from the stove that sweeps through the house and makes the screen door squeak.  Or maybe—it’s just the company that we find ourselves in.

Heather and I plan to create such a life on a farm together one day...but it looks like Anet and Ian are going to beat us to the punch!  We can’t wait to photograph their wedding next May at The Farmhouse at the Grand Colonial in Hunterdon County, New Jersey because we love being on farms with wandering animals, freshly cut grass, and seasonal vegetables.  And if it’s up to Heather, we’ll being feeding our horse, Limbo, through the kitchen window from the palms of our hands one day. 

Funny enough, Heather met Anet over 10 years ago in the—you guessed it—horse world.  As an equestrian novice, I’ve learned that the bond between a rider and their horse should never be underestimated; and apparently neither can the social ties between horse people.  It’s one of the everybody seems to know everybody kind of communities; a blast to be a part of and an absolute mystery to the rest of us.  In the years to come I hope to be integrated into the community through meeting people like Anet and Ian, who is also apparently a pretty deft hand at polo.  (I, on the other hand used to think that the players hit the ball with the small end of the mallet. facepalm.)

For us, one of the most alluring aspects of the living on a farm is learning to utilize fresh produce all-year round. Whether you’re storing, preserving, pickling or crunching into a spear of asparagus fresh out of the soil, there ain’t nothing quite like biting into some really fresh, homemade food.  Despite the fact that both Anet and Ian are afraid of birds, they’re also excited to start a farm and get some chickens—and we’re excited for them!  (We miss our little Colorado flock!) Anet and Ian’s plan after their wedding is to begin their family farm in the hills of Ireland and we couldn’t be happier for them.  As long as they share their vegetables.  

    Shooting weddings on farms feels like we’re part of a family or something.  Like we can hear the dinner bell and remember to hide the grass stains on our knees.  It’s the comfort of a shared table, the waves of chatter, and the clanking of glasses and silverware.  It’s the raucous bursts of laughter. There’s so much warmth in my thoughts when I think of farm life that it makes photographing weddings on farms one of my favorite things to do.  It may be because of the fresh food and long summer evenings—or maybe—it’s just the company we find ourselves in.

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Equestrian Photoshoot Ideas for Senior Photos

Horse Photography | Equine Portraits | Senior Photos | Capricorn Farm, Golden Colorado | Warmblood Horses | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers

Aralimbo’s last home, Capricorn Farm in Jefferson County, Colorado, is a peaceful oasis that is permanently painted into my mind. Seated right in front of North Table Mountain in Golden, CO, every sunset sunk behind the Rocky Mountains too quickly, splashing palates of pink, yellow, and blue into the open sky like a landscape portrait by your favorite impressionist painter. The kicker of Capricorn Farm, though, was the owner, Katie, and her daughter, Jenna, who rode and worked that idyllic farm property as naturally as North Table Mountain emerged from the soil of the front range.

Farm life isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, but those who dive head first into the hay do so because they love animals more than they love themselves. Katie, like most barn owners we’ve met, evoked a stern, take-no-shit attitude when we first talked shop with her. Then, when we saw her walk through the stable, strutting in her element, shaking the dust from the field from her jacket, we noticed the heart behind the hard work. The way she reached out to touch her equine friends was as gentle as a gardener’s whisper; the way she looked into their eyes as sensitive as a mother’s gaze. It’s only in the rare few that these two seemingly opposite character traits – toughness and tenderness – materialize into the calloused hands of the seasoned farmer.

The last month we were in Colorado, Heather secretly did a photo session with Jenna and her horse, Justice, as a thank you gift for Katie’s loving care of Aralimbo. There’s a certain bond between a horse and the rider, Heather keeps telling me, and it first became evident in those photographs. Jenna was heading off to college and was heartbroken leaving Justice in Colorado, but such is the price you pay when you love something so much. Yet that day at Capricorn, Heather immortalized Jenna and Justice’s bond in photographs that will also reinforce Jenna’s relationship with Katie. It reminded me that distance between loved ones can always change with time, but remembering the moments that shaped our lives never will.

There’s something about the love of animals that makes having weddings at barns or farms more appropriate than banquet halls. Perhaps it’s the unconditional love that’s exchanged between eyes, the reward of hard work, or the many loves that the old wooden walls must’ve seen over time. All I know is that Heather and I are going to find a farm wedding venue that captures whatever it is.

Whether a trend or if farm weddings are here to stay, having the privilege to meet people like Katie and Jenna is why we are in the industry that we are in. Nothing means more to us than providing meaningful pathways for families, couples, or relatives to connect to one another. It just so happens that many of the people in our lives have an overwhelming amount of love for the other creatures we share this earth with. If it’s anything we can learn from them is that although their hands are calloused, it doesn’t prevent them from also being gentle.

Jenna & Justice

Horse Photography: Apollo Fields
Venue: Capricorn Farm