Blithewold Mansion Wedding

This Blithewold Mansion wedding is the stuff dreams are made of.  Believe it or not, this wedding happened in LATE October.  It’s hard to believe because it was 70 degrees and the Blithewold Mansion gardens were still in full bloom – the perfect wedding weather!  Then in true New England fashion, it snowed the following week.  

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised by this, considering we had unseasonably warm weather for their Arnold Arboretum engagement session almost a year prior too!  We were all looking forward to their big Newport wedding this fall until, like so many others, they were forced to put their plans on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  They decided to hold off on the big party until next year but still wanted to get married with just their immediate families in attendance on their original date.  Blithewold Mansion was able to accommodate their micro wedding on somewhat short notice, and we are so glad they did!

Getting Ready

It was an abbreviated wedding day schedule of just 2 hours, but somehow I still ended up taking several hundred photos.  We started with the bride putting on her dress in the Blithewold Mansion wedding suite.  Her sister (who was a bridesmaid at Courtney and Bobby’s wedding a few years back!) helped her into her dress.  Then she got to come out and show her mom and mother-in-law and get some help with the finishing touches.  Meanwhile, her father was waiting outside for her, and they shared a special first look before walking over to the mansion.

Blithewold Mansion Wedding Ceremony

The wedding ceremony took place in the sunken garden surrounded by Dahlia flowers and views of the mansion and water.  After the bride and her father processed out from the side door of the mansion and walked down the ivy-covered stairway, they rounded the corner to see her groom waiting.  The groom’s brother officiated, and the bride’s best friend surprised her by being there and playing music during the ceremony.  Throughout the ceremony, the sun was going down, bathing the whole garden in beautiful light.  It was magical.

Blithewold Wedding Photos

After the ceremony, we took formal wedding photos on the front side of the Blithewold Mansion.  By the time we were finished with that, the sun was just about to dip below the horizon. Ali and Devin took a few minutes to themselves and took a stroll on the great lawn.  Then they went up to the patio to do a private vow reading.  I was there too but I barely even heard what they were saying because I was distracted by the ridiculous sunset!

Moon Gate Wedding Photos

We had decided to finish their wedding photos in the Blithewold Mansion rose garden.  It was getting pretty dark by the time we got over there. I decided to try backlighting them with flash and it turned out pretty cool! It was also a fitting end to the day. I learned later that in many cultures, married couples step through a moon gate for good luck in their marriage!

To be continued at Belle Mer in Newport in the spring! 

To see more of my wedding photography, click here.  Or head over to my contact page to start the conversation about photography for your wedding!