Montague Retreat Center Wedding… 
Briana + Miles had a late summer wedding at the scenic Montague Retreat Center. They met at a parade through a mutual friend and were soon engaged to be married. During a two month “epic adventure”, as they described it, in New Zealand and Tasmania after Miles completed his PhD, he proposed on a cliff overlooking a beach.
I also had the pleasure of photographing their engagement session, which you may see here.
Their celebration was a joy to photograph. They had described their dream wedding as one where they celebrate with friends and family where everyone is relaxed, with a minimum of pomp and circumstance. Thanks to thoughtful planning that’s exactly what their day entailed.
They each got ready on the premises and then had their first look in the venue’s upper field, which was followed by family portraits and then portraits of just the two of them. They hid out in the main building as guests arrived and then, due to a transportation mishap, I volunteered to drive them up the hill to the ceremony site. I held my camera over my shoulder upside down and managed to get a clear candid moment of the two of them in my back seat looking excited to be getting married momentarily.
Their ceremony was partially Jewish and partially Quaker. They had a chuppah and Miles stomped on the ceremonial glass at the end of the ceremony. During the service they invited guests to say a few words about their relationship to them, which was a significant part of the service, and was bookended by each of their mothers saying a few words.
After their first kiss they led a recessional of guests down the hill to the main building, encouraging everyone to dance they made their way through the path in the field.
During the cocktail hour they invited guests to sign their ketubah, and as the sun set we walked back up the hill for sunset portraits.
Because it was a warm evening they wanted the windows of the venue to remain open, but they planned ahead since local noise ordinances say that amplified music must end at 9pm, so they had a silent disco system. Guests would don headphones set to one of three channels, each playing a different genre of music. They could switch between channels, and you could see which one when the LEDs on the headphones changed colors correspondingly. It was quite the experience to see people dancing without audible music, but when you put the headphones on it all made sense.
Due to the heat it ended up being cooler outside, so guests went outside the main building and continued the silent dancing under the stars.
Briana + Miles had help on their day from…
Ceremony + Reception Location : Montague Retreat Center
DJ : MegaMusik Productions
Coordinator : Events by Pamela Joy
Second Photographer : Christopher David
Here are some photos from their day…
