Dora and John filled their wedding day at Glen Foerd with their own custom details, with their dog ‘Beacon’ making a few well timed appearances. Thankfully, we also had plenty of time set aside pre-ceremony to create a variety of portraits and group shots around the mansion. As a photographer, I couldn’t ask for more!

Keep scrolling to see some of my favorite images from their wedding day.

Two things I love about Glen Foerd; the bridal suite is spacious and beautifully designed for getting ready, and really all of the interior spaces offer a classy larger space for candid pictures of pre wedding activities.

Also, the shaded area behind the mansion is perfect for first looks and group photos just steps from the comfortable indoors, making it both visually strong and super easy for the couple.

Dora’s father seemed like a really cool, interesting guy. He arrived to the bridal suite for a quick ‘first look with dad’.

Time to head outside for their ‘First Look’, and to capture all of their pre ceremony portraits and group shots…

The second photographer, Jackie, is shooting on a 35mm prime here, which lets me stay focused on tighter moments with the 200mm f/2. The idea is she covers the wider establishing scenes while I work that longer lens for more compressed, three dimensional images with the kind of background separation you only really get from something like the 200 f/2.

It’s an incredible look, but it’s not a flexible lens, so having someone else covering the wider story is what makes it work in a wedding setting.

With a second photographer and plenty of time in a great outdoor space, I like to take advantage of the light and elevate the portraits a bit. I’ll mix natural sunlight with a softbox, using off-camera lighting to give everything a clean, polished look with nice depth and separation.

At Glen Foerd on a perfect day it’s tempting to stay outside the whole time and ignore the interiors. The inside has way too much character to skip. With just minutes to go before the ceremony started, we slipped into the green room and then the art gallery to create a few more creative looks before everything kicked off.

I like working with off-camera flash and an editorial approach when indoors in a space like this.

Their wedding ceremony was coming up, so we all headed back outside to capture it…

We had an opportunity to set up a family group portrait session after their ceremony, and we managed to catch that fleeting special light at the very end of golden hour…

After that, we headed over to the reception tent and got ready for their party.