Rick & Rachel - 1761 Old Mill, Westminster, MA

Mazel Tov!

Also known as - wedding number two in one day!

Rachel & Rick reunited as adults after actually having grown up together!
They have one beautiful daughter together, each had daughters of their
​own before, and Rachel also has one son.

​Both Rachel & Rick are artists themselves - painters & photographers. Every part of their special day had artistic details that were meaningful to them, including paintings from family members.

Their day was full of loving family and friends, we felt a unity of two families merging to become one.

Rachel with her father before heading out to the ceremony.

We arrived from wedding #1 about 15 minutes behind, thankful that the bridal party was also behind! We don't typically ever run late, in fact we always aim to arrive early. Today was an exception and both couples were aware of us doing both weddings in one day. There was clear communication on all of our parts to make it happen for everyone. I was tired and immediately realized that I had left my flatlay canvas in the car that John had just driven away with to head over to where the groom was getting ready. Luckily he hadn't made it far down the road and was able to turn around. For snags in the day this was the end of the mistakes on our part! I take it as a win!

Rachel with her cousin (bridesmaid) and Rachel with her two daughters while getting ready.

Rachel's adorable son had been practicing posing for pictures.

At this point when I entered the bridal suite I was able to find a safe space to start charging my batteries and find some water to hydrate myself before moving on to taking detail shots. Meanwhile John was at a nearby Inn with the groom, his daughter and groomsmen. 

Rick with his gorgeous daughter who was his "best man" for the day. 

The venue - the 1761 Old Mill - Cracker Barrel Pub restaurant.
​Since 1761 the Old Mill has been in business - 98 of those years as a restaurant. The venue was beautiful and unique. There were many rooms to be able to use to spread out and get ready and a beautiful room to bring the dress and details into for detail shots. Their coordinator was amazing and helpful to work with all day and the food was delicious! We always appreciate when a couple makes sure we eat, it's always such a long day and having been at our second wedding of the day we most especially appreciated some food to keep our energy up.

Above is the symbolic rope with other details used for their traditional Jewish ceremony.

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The flower girl basked with a cardinal bird.

The Swan Ring boxes held Rachel & Ricks rings!
The detailed embroidered boots were worn as Rachel's wedding shoes.

Guests gather awaiting the ceremony, a Jewish ceremony under the chuppah.
​The ceremony was officiated by Rachel's aunt.

Rachel's cousin walked her son down the aisle.

Rachel's bridesmaid walked their daughter, the flower girl, down the aisle.

Rick, seeing his bride in her dress for the first time. This couple chose not to do a first look.

There was breaking of the glass and beautiful vows. 

Below, Rachel with her uncle - gotta love the bowtie!
Rachel's cousins in the middle.
​Rachel's Nana giving off all the artistic hippie vibes.

My very favorite image from the day - two daughters from their previous relationships officially sisters. Unintentional sun flare created a rainbow at their feet. I had no other images with sun flare the entire day which makes me feel like it was just meant to be in this moment!

On our way to do some quick couple portraits after their ceremony.

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Their ceremony begain with Sheva B'rachot: Seven Blessings over wine and challah.
​The blessings were read by Rachel's cousins.

The night continued on with amazing dancing including the Hora! Rachel changed into a lacy cocktail dress shortly after eating so she could dance more easily,

After the reception, it turned into a karaoke after party in the same location! We stayed for one song but we were absolutely exhausted and had an hour drive home still ahead of us. We were really impressed that the venue could accommodate an after party - many venues will close down right after the reception due to there being so much to clean up and hours worked by their staff. We would highly recommend this venue for someone wanting extended hours, delicious food (hushpuppies in real maple syrup!), a great coordinator and tons of room to spread out. 

Overall it was a successful day for us as photographers but I wouldn't do two weddings in one day again! The amount of time spent on our feet, bending in awkward positions, and not hydrating to avoid bathroom breaks really does wear on you.
I plan on doing another blog post specifically for photographers about this!

​Congratulations Rick & Rachel - your day was amazing!