New England Autumn Engagement Session
New England Autumn Engagement Session | Connecticut Foliage Engagement Photography | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers
Jacki & Tim
Timing the New England foliage is never a perfect science– anyone who has tried to chase the leaves knows that all it takes is one nasty frost or snowfall and the whole landscape can get nipped overnight. So trying to schedule engagement sessions around the leaves during busy season can be especially tricky. However, with Jacki and Tim’s session, I think we nailed it (part luck, part good timing— true for most good things in life right?)
We met up in Washington CT (fun fact, the same town that “Stars Hollow” was based on in Gilmore Girls) on a beautiful Sunday and thought that this cozy, quiet little town would be all ours. We were in for a bit of a shock when we realized that the leaf peepers had taken over and pretty much every restaurant was booked except for one, which boasted a whole lot of motorcycles out front and a pretty good burger. We had a great lunch and caught up about all things wedding planning, quarantine life, and of course horses.
The horse world happens to be the common denominator between Jacki and I. Many of you guys might know how much of a role riding has played in my life (I have been riding since I started walking) and I actually went to boarding school in CT for four years to compete on the riding circuit. Jacki and I know each other from that past life, and we both are lucky to still be riding and own our own horses. So naturally, it only took us about five minutes to start chatting about that world and her sweet fiancé, Tim, was happy to let us go on and on about horses.
Terrence has less of a bandwidth for the pony-talk and certainly does not want to spend his weekends at the shows, so Tim got major brownie points from me for being such an enthusiastic horse-hubby! After lunch we went over to Hidden Valley Preserve to shoot and got so lucky to have an amazing golden hour against the beautiful New England foliage!
Enjoy Tim & Jacki’s beautiful autumn engagement photos:
Location: Hidden Valley Preserve, Washington Depot CT
Photography: Apollo Fields
The Burr Homestead Wedding Photography in Fairfield, CT
Laura & Bill's Colonial New England Wedding | The Burr Homestead Mansion | Fairfield, Connecticut | Farmhouse Weddings Photography | Apollo Photojournalism
I met Laura and Bill a few years ago when we were photographing a wedding in Old Quebec, Canada. They are both dancers and I was so inspired by their awesome skills on the dance floor and got some amazing shots of them in the Chateau! Fast forward a few years and they got engaged and were looking for a wedding photographer. I was so excited when Laura reached out to have me travel to Connecticut for their own wedding!
The Burr Homestead Mansion, Fairfield CT
Laura and Bill celebrated their wedding with all of their closest friends and family at The Burr Homestead Mansion in Connecticut. This historical property was the perfect venue for this couple, who I got to know through a wedding that we shot in Quebec two years ago. I loved photographing their big day even more because we knew most of the bridal party already, which made the day so fun and exciting!
Laura and Bill live in New York City and are both fantastic dancers. We got our first taste of their abilities on the dance floor in Quebec, so we already knew how important this part of the day would be for them.
The Wedding Day
The day started out quiet, with everybody casually arriving at the mansion with all of their clothes and accessories. Some of the women in the bridal party are hair and makeup experts, so the bridal suite was a buzz with everybody getting ready! In the grooms room, the guys were hanging out, getting dressed, and enjoying some whiskey and cigars together.
The skies began to threaten rain as we were close to the first look, and amidst all of the business, Laura and Bill had to reroute their original plan to get married in the open garden space outdoors because the rain was imminent. The first look was such a sweet moment – I just love how Bill took Laura’s hand and kissed it when he first saw her! The bridal party watched through the windows of the mansion, which added a little flair.
The ceremony had to be moved to the front of the mansion to keep guests dry. Laura had her heart set on it being outdoors and this backup plan ended up being a great option! People had a great time watching them exchange their vows, and then we did some fun and formal portraits afterwards. The rest of the night was spent dancing, toasting, eating, and drinking! It was a late night, but trust me we got down on the dance floor with everyone too.
Connecticut Wedding Venue: The Burr Homestead, Fairfield CT
Wedding Photography: Apollo Fields
Ethel Walker School Weddings Photography
Michelle & Sarah's Engagement Photos | Ethel Walker School Barn | Connecticut Wedding Photographer | Simsbury, CT | Apollo Photojournalism
Talk about a blast from the past! I spent my entire high school career at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT and it was so surreal to be back there to shoot Michelle and Sarah’s engagement photos there. It was a damp and rainy New England day and we were carefully planning when we could still shoot outside. When we realized that the rain wouldn’t let up, we decided to pull out the umbrellas and just go for it. This is what makes this couple so great, they didn’t let the rain get them down at all… if anything, I think it had the opposite effect!
I met Michelle at Walker’s many years ago. Her father was — wait for it — my first photography teacher!! He’s literally the person responsible for putting my first camera in my hands and where this whole thing started. I took a darkroom photography course and never looked back. There was something so magical about the whole process of shooting film and developing it myself. I soaked up the whole thing and spent all of my study halls in the darkroom processing my images. I loved learning about old school methods of dodging, burning, and even hand painting in your images. Mr. Coster, or “Papa” as we affectionately called us, let me run wild with my ideas. He showed me how to do double exposures and a lot of other fun photo manipulations that I find kind of cliche in digital but still fascinate me with film.
Mr. Coster helped me navigate my art career throughout my four years of boarding school. He gave me so much guidance and I quickly became close with his whole family. He has three daughters, one who was in my grade, so I easily fit into their dynamic. Then, his wife started physical therapy at the same doctor’s office as I was going to after my knee surgery so she would give me rides to my sessions. Being at boarding school meant forgoing a traditional “family” environment so when you did have families in walking distance who would take you in occasionally, you took advantage of the opportunity. I remember even walking into their house sometimes when the cafeteria food was inedible and just announcing, “so what’s for dinner”, and he would blankly answer, “Chinese food” without even looking up.
So when Mr. Coster’s youngest daughter, Michelle, got engaged, it made perfect sense that I shoot the wedding. Talk about full circle! Just being back on the old campus was such a trip, and it was also Terrence’s first time seeing EWS so it was crazy to show him the place where I spent my four years of high school. I love this session for so many reasons but I think it perfectly captures their fun and animated personalities at a place that I spent so much time years ago!
Connecticut Wedding Photographer: Apollo Photojournalism
Venue: The Ethel Walker School | Simsbury, CT