Valley Rock Inn Wedding : Emily & Brendan : Sloatsburg, NY

Emily and Brendan got married on a crisp, clear day in mid-August at Valley Rock Inn — my third time shooting there, and it keeps earning the trip up.

Valley Rock is a strange, wonderful thing to describe. Walled in on all four sides, you step through the gate and the outside world just goes away — leafy green, hydrangeas everywhere, rustic and sleek weaved together in a perfect type of synergy. The cocktail hour space is an old ivy-trimmed garden patio, stone walls on every side, with a reflecting pool at its center. It's one of my favorite cocktail hour settings, period.

Emily's family is from Los Angeles, and there was something fitting about the venue as a landing spot for them — it's about as close as upstate New York gets to a slice of California.

The morning started separately, each side getting ready in their own guest house on the property. Emily's dad had his moment in the mirror — the kind you can't direct, just be ready for.

I'm always trying to get atmosphere and emotion into the same frame rather than treating them as two separate jobs — the light, the setting, and the actual feeling of the moment, all doing work at once. Valley Rock just hands you that chance over and over. First look was tucked against an old stone outbuilding on the property, ferns and dappled light, and it set the tone for the rest of the portraits — genuinely happy, not posed-happy. The ceremony ran under a rose-covered arch with Brendan's brother officiating, which is not a role you see filled by family very often, and it changed the whole feel of the vows.

Wedding party portraits happened poolside, reflecting pool fountains going the whole time, the old stone wall behind everyone catching the last of the afternoon light. Cocktail hour moved into that garden I mentioned — string lights just starting to come on as the sky did its thing.

Reception was under a sailcloth tent strung with bistro lights, dinner tables dressed simply — white roses, daisies, burlap runners, the kind of florals that don't try to compete with the room. Ignition had the floor moving from the first song, sunset landed right on schedule, and the night went the way these nights go: dancing, a cake cutting, more dancing.

Congratulations, Emily and Brendan.

Vendor Credits:

Venue: Valley Rock Inn

Planning: WedWell (Claire Letourneau)

Florals: Anthony and Sage Event Design

Music: Ignition / Hank Lane Music

Cake: Lulu Cake Boutique

Photo Booth: Oh Snap Smile

Tent: Sperry Tents

Hair: Hair by Arden

Makeup: Yuby Leoce

Transportation: Ramstar Transportation

Photography: Brian Hatton Photography