How Documentary Wedding Photography is Done at the Hill-Stead Museum | Connecticut Wedding Venue

Many couples decide to book their wedding at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, CT because of how picturesque this venue is with the rolling hills, gardens, and the prestigious-looking house. But even if you have the most beautiful venue, it alone can’t make your wedding pictures look good if you have a “bad photographer”. It is possible that you can hire a photography company to capture your day but the photos lack lustre, are blurry, poorly exposed, or maybe you are just posed very awkwardly. Read more to find out how the Trailing Twine Photography team photographs weddings at the Hill-Stead!

-Some of our favorite moments of a wedding day is when a bride’s favorite people see her complete and ready to see her groom!
-When the Trailing Twine Photography team works a wedding, no matter where it is, we are always looking for the light. A favorite spot for bridal portraits at the Hill-Stead Museum is right outside the Pope Board Room, where the bride normally gets ready. The huge window pane illuminates gorgeous details on a wedding dress like this one designed by Lebanese-Italian fashion designer Tony Ward. @tonywardcouture
-First look moments, when nobody is watching the groom except the bride and a couple of photographers shooting with their zoom lenses hiding near some distant bushes! Photographers: Jacqueline & Ling
-Have you ever seen a wedding dress with a tail? This mermaid gown by @tonywardcouture has a tail that’s kind of like a hybrid between a veil and a train!
-One of our signature “looks” when it comes to bride & groom portraits is just a romantic hug and kiss in the middle of wildflowers. Or, in this case, just down a path through the gardens at Hill-Stead Museum. This Sunken Garden is purely romantic…..
-Some wedding couples think they need to pick a photographer who has photographed at their venue before. For our full day photography collection, someone on your team visits the venue prior to the wedding day (typically it’s Ling) and the “route” for natural portraits is planned out. We don’t really like stiff, still poses, so our photography team will catch moments while walking in between areas around a venue’s property. Some of the best moments are quick shots like this!
-Looking for the light, the composition of the background, and moments like this when you just love eachother’s eyes and smiles. Love at the Hill-Stead Museum.
-For wedding party photos, Trailing Twine Photography likes to have some fun, so we stay away from stiff still poses! We love it when the wedding party cheers and just celebrates!
-Beautiful bridal bouquet by Kirstin of Haworths Flowers out of Farmington, CT. @haworthsflowersandgifts
-Best girl friends forever. Our photography team will typically do a couple quick traditional wide photos of bridesmaids with bride, but then the best moments are all the candids that come after that when we instruct girls to get to a group hug, or just start talking to eachother. So fun!
-Who says a groom portrait has to be the groom by himself?! We love to do a couple quick shots where the focus is on the groom and guys are in the distance.
-One of the ideas our team has for great guys photos on a wedding day is when we let the groomsmen tackle the groom. Sometimes you get some pretty epic and fun photos. After all, why do all stiff boring photos with a fun-loving group of guys?
-Enter Sam, wedding planner for Rose Rocc Weddings & Events. We usually don’t post a ton of photos of vendors but really really love this candid glimpse of the wedding planner greeting the bride & groom! If you have a big tent wedding at a historic estate having a planner is a life saver!
-You know when the brother of the bride is your officiant that your ceremony is going to be really unique…..!
-What does “documentary photography” mean? For most folks who aren’t into photography, trying to pinpoint your style can be confusing. But generally, if you love candids the most, and unsuspected moments like this captured, then you most likely would appreciate work from a Documentary photography team that works unobtrusively on a wedding day. By having two documentary photographers on the wedding day, we are most likely see more moments that you might not have noticed, too.
-During your ceremony vows, you probably don’t want a photographer in your face. That’s why our team mostly shoot at a distance during the ceremonies. We don’t want to be seen, we want the bride and groom to be totally immersed in their ceremony without distractions. Love these ceremony photos taken by our team Jacqueline and Ling at the Hill-Stead estate.
-Ceremony arbors can serve as a really cool frame in “moving” portraits! Love this handiwork by Haworth’s Flowers out of Farmington, CT.
-When Trailing Twine Photography considers areas for photography around a venue, we check out areas with the best backdrops and ground for walking. You can’t tell in this photo because it was taken lower to the ground, but we had this couple walk along a mowed grassy path.
-When we check out a wedding venue before the day starts, it’s so neat to make note of little spots where a bride and groom can sit down for a few minutes. Love catching “candid portraits” like this. The Hill-Stead Museum has a bunch of rocking chairs on the porches where you can also sit an enjoy the views.
-Italian Ices of Connecticut was such a delight during cocktail hour in the Sunken Garden at the Hill-Stead Museum! That lemon italian ice was an incredible refreshment on this hot day. Italian Ices is a family owned & run business based in Connecticut.
-When our team photographs a reception, we love shooting at a distance with our zoom lens so we can catch moments like this (without being in someone’s face lol). Love the look of a proud and happy dad!
-This champagne cake by Taste by Spellbound was so beautiful, adorned by chamomile flowers.
-We love a good golden hour and sunset! Portraits done within an hour before sunset equals golden soft light and colorful skies!
-We love moments like these. Photographing a couple in between places at a venue. Who likes still, stiff poses all the time, anyway!
-David Alan Catering cooked up some amazing food at this wedding. Maybe we were just hungry, too, after photographing for 7 hours by this time, but wow everyone loved how it looked and how it tasted. Loved this quick candid of Chef David Alan himself chatting with the bride & groom.
-When the light is perfect, and the food looks so photogenic itself, you’ve got a take a pic. This might be why Ling loves food photography so much. Check out Ling’s latest food photography work at https://lingmesser.com
-The Hill-Stead Museum is a historic estate near Hartford, CT. There are two different locations for tented weddings, the West Lawn, and the Grass Court. This tent was setup near the ceremony spot at the West Lawn. It’s super gorgeous either way!
-This groomsman caught the cameras of many friends at this wedding. Love it when someone can really surprise everyone with smooth dance moves! Awesome party with DJ Butch Gray.

Vendors:

Venue: @hillsteadweddings @hillsteadmuseum

Photography Team: @trailingtwinephotography

Cake: @tastebyspellbound

Catering: @davidalanhospitalitygroup

DJ: @djbutchgray

Florist: @haworthsflowersandgifts

Hair Artist: Tori

Italian Ice Cart for Cocktail Hour: @italianicesofct

Makeup Artist: @larissalakeandco @nat.larissalakeandco

Officiant: brother, Dylan!

Wedding Planner & Coordination: @roseroccweddingsandevents

Wedding Dress: @tonywardcouture from @kleinfeldbridal

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