March 10, 2026

StoneHurst at Hampton Valley Wedding

Posted in: Weddings

After 8 years together, Erin and Michael had the sweetest, most intentional August wedding at StoneHurst at Hampton Valley in Hampton, Connecticut. Photographed by Megan Niger Photography.

First Look & Private Vows

I’m not the photographer that’s going to push my clients either way on a first look. However, there are certainly pros to doing one. The biggest thing to consider is how you wish to spend your limited time on this one day. If you forgo a first look, your time with your partner will be limited to the few hours you spend at your venue after the ceremony. This means only about 5-6 hours will be spent together out of an entire day that is meant to celebrate you and your partner.

Erin and Michael chose to spend as much of the day as possible together, rarely leaving each other’s sides from the first look on. They exchanged the sweetest vows together, and were able to calm their nerves before the rest of the day and night.

Ceremony in the Forest

StoneHurst offers a few different ceremony location options. The forest location gives enough separation from the rest of the grounds to create a unique and private atmosphere. It was early August, and the shade beneath the trees with flickers of sunlight peeking through was most ideal for summertime.

Erin and Michael walked back down the aisle as husband and wife while guests tossed petals that lingered in their hair while they glided hand in hand. If their smiles didn’t say enough in the aisle, then the happy dance (literally jumping for joy) afterwards sure did. I couldn’t help but smile as I witnessed the purest love.

Family & Wedding Party Photos

They don’t Have to be a Production

“We’ve noticed a lot of time at weddings is spent being pulled for pictures, we prefer hands off style, in the moment, being present. There’s only a couple hours and we want to be present in what we’re doing.” – Erin & Michael

Staying true to Erin and Michael’s wishes, we created a plan for photos that was intentional and allowed them to be at cocktail hour. We didn’t spend an hour doing wedding party and family photos. Instead, we did a handful of straightforward family photos, and approached the wedding party exactly the same way.

You don’t have to do all of these prompted, time consuming photos with your wedding party. That is a choice. Instead, you can approach them the same way as a family photo – one group photo, one of the bridesmaids, and one of the groomsmen. That’s all you really need.

Saving time by not faking and prompting moments with your friends and family, allows you to have real time & real photos together instead. And in my opinion, those are better.

Rustic Barn Reception

Thinking about this reception still makes me smile. In my many years photographing weddings, I’d never heard the song “Everywhere, Everything” by Noah Kahan as a first dance before this day. And now every time I hear it, I think of these two. They sang that song at the top of their lungs together with the biggest smiles. They looked as if they believed they were the only two humans in the world. Fully present together in that moment. Nothing else mattered.

You only get one go at this, so Spend your time intentionally.

My biggest tips for a wedding day you won’t regret…

Focus more on experience, less on perfect photos
Stay with your partner all day/night (or as much as you possibly can)
Leave the shot list behind, and allow space for real life and spontaneity
Spend time at your wedding. You only get to do this once, don’t turn your day into a photoshoot
Hire a photographer that can give you beautiful, real photos without asking you to perform. Planning a wedding is stressful enough, you don’t need any added pressure to perform or be expected to do anything other than be present.