Dancin' in the moonlight - Tom and Emily's Jacob's Pillow Wedding

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One of my goals since I started photographing weddings was to be able to shoot an event at Jacob's Pillow. Jacob's Pillow is a dance center, school and performance space, known for the longest running dance festival in the US. When I was 18-19, I danced there and lived in the Berkshires. It was some of the happiest times of my life. I tell people that it's basically an overnight camp for adult dancers. I never even knew you could even get married at there, and then I got the email from Tom and Emily. I met the couple for coffee at a local Starbucks and the next thing I knew they hired me for their Jacob's Pillow wedding! So on a beautiful fall weekend in September I headed up to Berkshire County with my good friend and second shooter Coco Boardman.

The day before the wedding I dragged Coco to the location and gave her a tour of my happy place! I took her to the cabin where I lived, I showed her the Ted Shawn Theater, and most importantly I showed her the inside out stage. Imagine a theater in the middle of the woods lit by torches overlooking all of the Berkshire Mountains. It is pure magic! I couldn’t wait to photograph Tom and Emily's formals there.

The wedding day started out pretty simple. Coco hung out with Tom and the guys. They got super silly for her and she got some great shots. I was with Emily at her home. She was really adamant about capturing the story of her childhood spent in the Berkshires. She grew up in Lee, MA and we share the same sentiment about the Berkshires. Her home was picturesque, like a Norman Rockwell painting. The best part was that Saint Mary's Church, where the ceremony was being held, was literally across the street from her house.

After the church, we had very little time to get formals done as the sun was setting quickly. We raced off to Jacob's Pillow where Coco and I whisked Tom and Emily to photograph them on the inside out stage. Then the couple joined their friends and family for cocktails in front of the Doris Duke Theater before entering the main space for dinner and dancing the night away.

The event was styled by Tara Consolati and MadJacks BBQ brought the food. It all fit perfectly with the space. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Emily had a huge dessert table. She had a beautiful cheesecake from Sarah's Cheesecake and then had her friends and family contribute the rest. Everyone baked something, mostly from old family recipes. The table was full of amazing deserts, complete with recipes for each dish.

Every moment of this wedding was so special for me because physically being at Jacob's Pillow really took me back. I loved that I could share my intense feeling for this beautiful area with Emily, and that it was such an important part of both our lives.

As I was gathering photos for this post I was totally remembering the whole experience of sharing Tom and Emily's day at my happiest place on earth. I really really really hope I can do more weddings at the Pillow, I know EVERY secret spot in the joint. Thank you Tom and Emily for allowing me to share my favorite spot with you on your beautiful wedding day!