A Jedediah Hawkins Inn Fall Wedding for Victoria and Nick

Victoria and Nick’s Jedediah Hawkins Inn fall wedding was built around her family.

She got ready with them around her, which is how she wanted it. Her sister was one of her bridesmaids. Her mother was beside her through the morning, and when the portraits started after the ceremony, her family went first.

They married in October, and their day ran across two places. Victoria and Nick got ready at the Inn in Jamesport, married at a Greek Orthodox church in Mattituck, and came back to the Inn for the reception.

The Morning

Victoria started in the solarium, which is where brides at the Inn usually start, and then the whole group moved upstairs to the bridal suite.

What that room gave their morning was space for all of Victoria’s family to be in it at once, which is the whole reason she wanted to finish up there.

Her mother helped her into her dress and then stayed to watch while we photographed her in it.

Wanting your family around you on the morning of your wedding is an easy thing to say. Her mother standing there through the whole session is what it looks like when it actually happens.

Nick got ready downstairs in the speakeasy.

He finished first and went outside with his groomsmen for their portraits before leaving for the church. Nick was going ahead of Victoria, so anything involving him had to happen before he left.

Victoria and Nick saw each other for the first time that day when she walked into the church. They did not do a first look.

Victoria finished upstairs with her family. Once Nick had gone, she came outside. Her bridesmaids first, then her mother, then a few of her on her own.

So both sides of the wedding party were photographed before anyone got in a car.

The Ceremony

They married at the Transfiguration of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Mattituck.

The first thing to do in that church is look up. The ceiling is painted and full of color, and it changes the room underneath it. Nothing in there is neutral or quiet.

Nick watched Victoria come in. So did everybody else.

There is a particular quality to a room where every person turns at the same moment. It is one of the few things in a wedding day that cannot be staged, repeated, or recovered if you miss it.

Then the service began. They stood with the priest. The crowns came next, the stefana, and the priest led the two of them around three times.

None of that was theirs to invent, and it is the part of an Orthodox ceremony I find moving. A couple does not design this one. They step into something that was running a long time before them and will keep running after, and for a few minutes it holds them.

A Greek church is also a good room to work in, and the reason is where a photographer can stand. From one position I could see both sides of the ceremony, which is not something the guests get. It meant I could stay out of the way and still have the picture. Staying out of the way is the job regardless. In that building it costs you nothing.

Getting Back

The North Fork is busy in October, and we were slower than planned in both directions.

It cost them nothing they had planned to do. We had built extra time into both legs of the journey, which is the only reason I can write that sentence.

We put that extra time where it would do the most good, before the parts of the day we would otherwise have had to cut rather than saving it all for the end. A wedding with an off-site ceremony needs that slack on each leg. Theirs used both.

Family First

We went into family portraits the moment we got back.

Family groups take the most coordination, because several people have to be gathered at once and most of them would rather be at cocktail hour. Clearing them first releases the largest number of people the fastest.

The wedding party followed. Then a handful of the two of them, the essential ones only.

Victoria and Nick then went to their cocktail hour and were at it for most of its length.

Out Front, Before the Room Filled

After Victoria and Nick saw the barn finished, there was a short window before the guests were brought in.

We used it. Out in front of the building, just the two of them, and then back inside before the guests arrived.

Nothing was pulling at them by then. The hard part was behind them, nobody was waiting on them, and for a few minutes they had the front of the building to themselves.

The Reception

Nick danced with his mother. In place of a father and daughter dance, Victoria danced with hers, to a song chosen in her father’s memory.

The cake came from The Treatery, a bakery a few minutes up the road in Jamesport. Dolce & Gelato Catering brought a gelato cart out partway through the evening.

Then East Coast Band started, and Victoria and Nick were on the floor for the rest of the night. Not in and out of it. On it. Nobody else left either.

It finished with everybody in a circle around the two of them, singing.

I like that ending better than any other way a reception can go. It puts the couple where they belong on their own night, and it lets the guests be part of something instead of watching it happen.

What Couples Can Take From Their Day

Two timeline decisions, both made well before the day.

Allow more travel time than the drive normally takes. If your ceremony is not at your venue you have two journeys, and either one can go wrong. How much slack you need depends on the route, the season and the day of the week, so work it out for your own wedding rather than borrowing a number. The North Fork in October needs more than you would think.

Photograph each side when it is ready. Nick and his groomsmen went outside before he left for the church. Victoria and her bridesmaids went outside after. Neither group waited on the other, and neither one needed finding later.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should you expect at a Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony?

A set liturgy rather than a ceremony assembled from choices, so there is less for you to decide and more to understand beforehand. For photography the thing that matters is position. A Greek church usually lets a photographer see both sides of the service from one spot, which the guests themselves do not get, so the coverage can be complete without anyone moving around during it. Ask your own church what it permits before the day, because rules on movement and flash vary.

What order should portraits happen in after the ceremony?

There is no single right order, but families first works well when your guests are already at cocktail hour. Family groups need the most coordination and the people in them are the keenest to get back, so clearing them first frees up the most people. Victoria and Nick’s wedding party followed, then the two of them.

When do you photograph the couple if there is no first look?

Each side separately before the ceremony, then in whatever the evening offers. Victoria and Nick did not do a first look. Nick and his groomsmen went outside before he left for the church, Victoria and her bridesmaids went outside after, and the two of them were photographed after the ceremony and again in the short window between seeing the barn and the guests coming in.

Is autumn a good time for a wedding at the Jedediah Hawkins Inn?

A Jedediah Hawkins Inn fall wedding gets the grounds at their best, and there is a quality to the light out there in October that is hard to find at any other time of year. Two things to plan around. Sunset comes early, so portraits that need daylight have to sit earlier in the day than a summer couple would expect. And the North Fork is busy with visitors, which affects anything involving a drive.

Our Jedediah Hawkins Inn venue guide goes through the spaces and the timing in more detail.

About the Photographer

Stephen Mayo is the founder and lead photographer of Heritage House, a boutique wedding photography studio. We serve Long Island, New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, and the East End. Stephen is a member of Fearless Photographers, and his work has appeared in Sophisticated Weddings and hamptonBRIDE.

We plan a wedding backward from what the couple wants to be doing at seven in the evening. For Victoria and Nick that meant time built into both drives and a portrait order that put their families first.

Planning a Jedediah Hawkins Inn Fall Wedding?

We have photographed weddings at the Inn with the ceremony on the property and with the ceremony somewhere else entirely. The two days are planned differently, and the difference is worth settling early rather than on the morning.

If you are looking for a North Fork wedding photographer who has worked it both ways, tell us what your wedding looks like and where the moving parts are. We will build the photography around them.

Schedule a call with Heritage House.

Vendors

Photographer: Heritage House Photography
Venue: Jedediah Hawkins Inn
Ceremony: Transfiguration of Christ Greek Orthodox Church
Florist: Blooms by Design
Dress Designer: Renhue
Bridal Boutique: Lovely Bride
Hair and Makeup: Victoria Elizabeth
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Band: East Coast Band
Transportation: Hampton Jitney
Invitations: Minted
Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Attire: Mr. Robbie Suits
Cake: The Treatery
Dessert Catering: Dolce & Gelato Catering