Blog— Weddings — Rhode Island — 2022 —
Wright's Farm Wedding Photos
Chrissy & Brandon
Wright's Farm, Burrillville, Rhode Island (Ceremony & Reception)
October 1st, 2022
Sometimes, as a wedding photographer, the best thing you can do to control how a bride and groom's day goes is to realize you have no control. At least that's what I kept telling myself on the morning of Chrissy and Brandon's October wedding day at Wright's Farm in Burrillville, Rhode Island.
Chrissy and Brandon said "I do" on one of the darkest, coldest and flat-out most miserable rain-soaked mornings I had in 2022 and it would have been very easy for us to let the lack of sunshine cast clouds over what was an otherwise awesome wedding.
Instead, we shrugged our shoulders and said "If it clears long enough for us to go outside for some photos, it clears long enough for us to go outside for some photos."
And it did. For about 20 minutes. But 20 minutes was more than enough and, for this bride and groom, it was just enough time to turn an amazing wedding day into a picture perfect one.
I knew from the moment I walked into Wright's Farm that this was going to be a day of a lot for emotions for Chrissy and Brandon. Having photographed their engagement photos back in 2021, I knew how excited they were to become husband and wife and could feel the anticipation build as the time for their 10:45 a.m. ceremony drew closer.
I was especially happy to see how excited Chrissy herself was as she got into her dress and we took some simple formal photos with her and her girls before they hid back in the bridal suite as guests began to arrive.
And Brandon? Brandon was in a great mood as well. I don't think I saw a smile leave his face from the moment he arrived until it was time to walk down the aisle.
All told, it made for an exciting lead-up to their ceremony as I knew they were both going to LOVE how everything turned out once we got underway.
Chrissy and Brandon said "I do" at Wright's Farm in Burrillville, a venue known more for their family style restaurant food than weddings but having done a few weddings at this location now, I can say it's truly an underrated gem of a place to tie the knot.
I wasn't sure what to expect from an indoor ceremony on the property but, thankfully, I arrived early enough to see how everything was set up and thanks to my food friends at ProSound Rhode Island — who were already DJing the event — we made the location look great with the help of some nice uplighting that made the otherwise plain restaurant walls look super colorful and pretty.
Chrissy and Brandon's wedding ceremony was exactly what I expected and more. Not only was it lighthearted and full of fun jokes between the bride and groom but there were really touching moments of genuine emotion as well.
I loved watching these two exchange custom vows and stay true to themselves during this life-changing moment and I had the biggest smile on my face as they sealed their love with a kiss.
As excited as I was for Chrissy and Brandon to officially become husband and wife, I did feel a slight hint of bummed out because their ceremony was indoors and not outdoors. Thankfully, they took it in stride and we made the most of their ceremony location for family and wedding party formals.
We didn't do much in terms of bride and groom formals, choosing instead to wait and see if the rain let up long enough to go outside after lunch.
I will say, as much as it bummed me out to spend so much time during Chrissy and Brandon's wedding indoors, their venue did lead to some awesome photos in terms of decorations and decor.
Chrissy and Brandon did a wonderful job mixing fall and winter themes in their decorations and the fact that their reception was in a restaurant made it seem perfectly intimate and real.
It's why I knew that, despite this wedding taking place in the morning, we were likely in for a great time once the dance floor opened later in the afternoon.
Speaking of dancing, Chrissy and Brandon kicked off their reception with the perfect song for a perfect moment by choosing “Something like this” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay.
Chrissy and Brandon's first dance was fitting with the song because it was a wonderful mix of sweet, sentimental and absolutely silly. I especially loved Brandon blowing raspberries at his wife mid-song because it was just so "them."
It was one of my favorite first dances of 2022 and one that still makes me smile months later.
Chrissy and Brandon's choice to have their reception in the morning/early afternoon made for a super low key vibe all day long. They kept it up by only having a couple of toasts prior to dinner and each one was sweet and said a lot about who they are as people and how excited those closest to them were to see them finally tie the knot.
While everyone at Chrissy and Brandon's reception sat down and enjoyed the fantastic meal that only Wright's Farm can provide, I'll be honest ... I spent most of the hour of their lunch/dinner service watching the radar and waiting for the clouds to pass by.
It took nearly the entire meal period but we managed to get a 20-minute period where the rain stopped and that was all I needed to halt everything we were doing and take everyone outside while we could.
We didn't have a ton of time but I'm so thankful we had this little break in the rain as it led to some of my favorite photos of the entire day and let me breathe a sigh of relief that Chrissy and Brandon would get the outdoor bride and groom portraits they deserved. Talk about a prayer answered.
Following their outdoor portraits, Chrissy and Brandon resumed the formalities of their reception with a simple cake cutting and a pair of parent dances.
For me, Chrissy and Brandon's parent dances were the best part of their wedding day. I always love seeing a bride and her father get emotional on the dance floor but I could have never predicted just how amazing Brandon's dance with his mother would be as he surprised her entirely with the song choice.
Dancing to "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" by Panic! At the Disco, Brandon and his mother had one of my favorite moments of the entire year together. It made me smile so much and was the perfect way to lead right into the open dance floor portion of the reception.
As for the dance floor, I was really unsure what to expect from Chrissy and Brandon's reception being that it was taking place on a Saturday afternoon but, without missing a beat, Christy and Brandon's friends and family members weren't in the slightest bothered by the early start time and treated it like a Saturday night reception.
That meant lots and lots of dancing and lots and lots of silliness and I was here for it all.
Chrissy and Brandon capped their wedding off with a last song together as their friends and family members gathered around them and I can think of no better way they could have ended this beautiful event than in each other's arms.
By the time I started packing my gear up and heading out of Wright's Farm from Chrissy and Brandon's wedding reception, I was completely spent. Not only was Chrissy and Brandon's wedding day substantially earlier than I'm used to, it was in the middle of my third-consecutive triple wedding weekend and the toll of that workload was starting to wear me down.
Thankfully, Chrissy and Brandon's wedding was exactly what I needed to remind myself why I do this because the cold and wet weather would have wrecked other couple's celebrations and all it did was give Chrissy and Brandon something to laugh about in 20 years.
These two are an amazing couple and I'm so glad I got to see them become husband and wife. So thank you Chrissy and Brandon for a wedding day far more beautiful than I thought possible and good luck on this new and exciting chapter of your lives together.
-Paul J. Spetrini
Check out more of my most recent wedding blogs:
The Vendor List:
Photographer: Paul J. Spetrini, Paul J. Spetrini Photography; Bride's Hair and Makeup: Hair Stage 5; Bride's Dress: David's Bridal; Groom's Suit: Mens Wearhouse; Florist: Christine's Cottage Florist; Ceremony & Reception Venue: Wright's Farm, Burrillville, Rhode Island; DJ: Prosound DJ Entertainment.; Videographer: Andrew Lemery.