Hannah & Travis’ Rustic Wedding at Holliston Historical Society, MA
Who knew that there would be this cute barn venue down some country roads off of busy Interstate Highway 495. The Holliston Historical Society is a non-profit dedicated to preserving the historical buildings in the town, including the 1800’s barn where Hannah and Travis got married at. The venue is also down the road from the historic 8-Arch Bridge, where did our First Look. Here is what the wedding day looked like!
Getting Ready at the House at Holliston Historical Society
I usually like to start my day photographing bride and groom details. This includes bouquets, if time allows! Here’s a photo of their handmade wildflower bouquets made by a friend.
The large room in the back of the house was where Hannah and her bridesmaids got ready. It was great that this room was larger than most bridal rooms I photograph in. Open the back curtains of the rooms, and you have some gorgeous window light for glorious shots like these.
First Look at 8-Arch Bridge, Holliston, MA
If you photograph at the historic 8-Arch Bridge, you can park one car on the same side of the street as the bridge. However, beware of poison ivy that covers the area all under the bridge! This bridge was built in the mid-1800’s.
Because I knew that the wedding party was meeting us here too, I asked permission to park at a business that was across the street. You can also park at the school, and walk down the path over to the bridge. If you do the first look up here, expect for frequent joggers and walkers to pass by. However, mostly anyone will stop and gawk at a bride as beautiful as Hannah!
Love this private moment with just Hannah and Travis. Maybe it was almost like when Travis saw Hannah for the first time in 6 months after returning from sea just a few days prior to the wedding.
Then, we did most of the wedding party photos back at the venue, as well as family photos, too.
Wedding Ceremony at Holliston Historical Society
It’s a small world! Hannah and Travis’ officiant was Katherine Blaisdell, whom I met at Molly & Al’s wedding! Katherine performed a hand-fasting ceremony with a piece of rope that Travis got.
Lavender was thrown in the air as they walked down the aisle, and at the same Hannah’s brother sang out a song that I can’t remember (but he was amazing!) while their friend played guitar, who was really great too! It was fun.
Barn and Tent Reception
Love this view of their first dance, the perfect photo taken in between the shoulders of Hannah’s two brothers!
The sperry tent was set up in front of the barn so that guests could eat outside under the tent, and meander back and forth into the barn for dancing. I loved the garden-themed decor everywhere, with a lot of moss elements, such as moss table numbers, and a lot of bottles with wildflowers.
Rustic wedding decor is sweet, but even sweeter was when Hannah’s dad played guitar and sang a song he wrote about Hannah and Travis, that made everyone laugh and cry!!! This precious song surely melted some hearts and made many guests listen intently and also laugh away!
I found out later that the reason why Travis’ mom was tearing up so much was that she was awestruck over the song Travis picked for their dance together, which was a surprise. The song was “You are My Sunshine” which was on point! Travis had sent his mom a card that said “You are My Sunshine” on the front when he was away at sea this past year. And also this was the song that she sang a lot to Travis when he was a little boy. She didn’t know what to expect for a song so this definitely was so meaningful and special for her!
This wedding was full of wedding guests rocking it out with their retired DJ friend, and I love this shot of Hannah’s brother and a guest showing their grooves to “Love Shack.”
Photographing the Sparkler Exit outside Holliston Barn
Hannah and Travis’s wedding exit was the perfect sparkler shot! Thank the Lord for wireless microphones to make announcements to all the guests! I did a count down 3 -2-1-and then everyone lit up their sparklers as fast as they could while Hannah and Travis ran to the end. My speedlite flashes were all set up, and so you can see everyone’s faces lighting up with joy and well wishes!
