Andrew & Becca’s wedding at Hosmer Point Camp in Craftsbury, Vermont wasn’t about spectacle, pomp, circumstance, or performance. It was about celebrating love and community.

Although they had already legally married, this celebration in the Northeast Kingdom was their chance to gather the people they love most and build something together - literally. From handmade details to friends assembling florals and building the chuppah, the entire weekend felt beautifully communal and deeply intentional.

Weddings like this (rural Vermont camp weddings where everyone stays together, swims together, cooks together) are literally so much freaking fun. They also require an interesting mix of logistical planning and going with the flow. Before the weekend even began, we built a timeline for the day of the ceremony that left room for flexibility, collaboration, and real breathing space so nothing felt rushed or forced.

September in the Northeast Kingdom

September (or any month) in the Northeast Kingdom is absolutely magical. On this early fall weekend, the leaves had just begun to turn, showing hints of gold and rust against deep green but not yet fully aflame. It was warmer than expected that afternoon, especially for a ceremony on a hilltop with no shade, just open sky and panoramic views of rolling hills and forests.

Guests sat wearing flower crowns as gentle clouds drifted through. Becca’s aunt officiated, as she has for many other relatives in their family. Her cousin and uncle sang as she walked down the aisle. During the ceremony, Andrew and Becca wrote their names in a family ledger of marriages dating back decades and lit a candle that had been passed through generations. Their vows were some of the most thoughtful and genuinely funny I’ve ever heard. They were each deeply personal, beautifully written, absolutely hilarious.

The “Do It Together” Wedding

Becca described their wedding not as DIY, but as “DIT” or, “do it together”.

Instead of outsourcing every detail or trying to do everything themselves, they invited their friends into the process. Flower crowns were made together. Friends helped decorate. The chuppah was assembled by people who would later sit beneath it. Everyone stayed at camp for the weekend, turning the wedding into something that felt more like a gathering than a production.

This is one of the things I love most about photographing rural Vermont weddings - when celebration feels so wonderfully collective rather than performative.

There were some parts that Becca and Andrew did themselves, however…

For instance, Becca made her own wedding dress from vintage fabric she thrifted.

Let me repeat that in case you didn’t get it the first time…

BECCA MADE HER OWN WEDDING DRESS, which I was absolutely floored by when she told me on our planning zoom call.

Both she and Andrew wore cowboy boots - hers borrowed and blue. They each wore flower crowns: Becca’s filled with colorful blooms and Andrew’s woven with hops.

Their decor carried the same spirit. They thrifted mismatched plates, napkins, vases, and even salt and pepper shakers for the long tables in the camp dining hall. Becca crafted small ceramic moons for every place setting so each guest left with something she had made by hand. Andrew welded the signage that directed guests through the camp property.

After the ceremony, before dinner and the incredibly delicious mezze buffet by Liz Chadwick took over, I gently pulled Andrew and Becca aside for a few quiet minutes overlooking the hills. They laughed. They breathed. They held each other and let it sink in.

If you’re planning a wedding in rural Vermont, maybe in the Northeast Kingdom, maybe at a camp, maybe somewhere with wide open land and people who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, this day is proof that it doesn’t have to be perfectly curated to be beautiful. It can be handmade. It can be communal. It can be built by friends and held by family. And with thoughtful planning, emotional support, and space to breathe, it can feel deeply romantic without ever feeling like a performance.

Moments before walking up the hill and down the aisle. Becca & Andrew chose not to see each other before they met under the Chuppah

The Hilltop Ceremony at Hosmer Point Camp

When they walked back down the hill, flower crowns tilted in the sun and confetti flying through the air, it felt less like a wedding exit and more like a homecoming. The kind of moment where everyone is laughing and yelling and you can feel how many hands built the day that just happened.

Photographing This Day on Film

There are some weddings that just ask to be photographed on film and I am always so delighted when my couples ask me to do that! The softness of early September light in the Northeast Kingdom, the way the hills layered into the distance, the warmth of the afternoon heat - it all felt made for it.

I brought my Nikon F5 loaded with some Fujifilm 200 and used it throughout the day. Film has a way of slowing me down just enough. Each frame is intentional. Each moment feels weighted. On a day so centered on tradition and community, it felt right to document parts of it in a medium that carries its own sense of history.

And now back to digital…

And onto some handmade Details and Thrifted Treasures

Also, the cloud cake of our dreams!

Weddings like this ask something different of everyone involved. They ask guests to participate and for couples to trust the process. And they ask photographers to be present, observant, flexible, and deeply attuned to what’s unfolding.

When a celebration is communal rather than performative, my job shifts. I’m not orchestrating spectacle. I’m documenting connection. I’m reading the room and I’m stepping in when guidance is helpful and stepping back when something sacred is happening on its own. Photographing weddings in Craftsbury and across the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, and New England always reminds me how special rural Vermont celebrations can be.

If you’re dreaming of a Vermont or New England wedding that feels more like a gathering to celebrate lovef than a production… One where friends help build the day and you actually get to experience it instead of performing it… I would love to get to document that for you. Let’s chat 💖

A Handmade, Community-Centered, Summer Camp Wedding in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom