Waterstone Estate and Farms
Ahhhhh what a wonderful day at Waterstone Estate & Farms for a wedding. It was the first day after a fresh snowfall and not a single footprint in sight at this venue. Holly and Kyle had a civil wedding ceremony inside the main barn. Despite being ceiled off from the wind, it was still relatively cold. Thank goodness for the warm blanket party favors the couple provided for their guests. Holly dazzled us all with a gorgeous wedding dress that looked frosted against the snow. So, if she was cold, you would have never guessed it.
Her flower girls were completely bundled up in winter jackets. In fact, you couldn’t even see their faces. Instead of traditional flowers, they held an assortment of colored ribbons. This was due to, this couple decided to perform an Irish hand fastening ceremony as part of their wedding. Every so often I’ll experience a new cultural tradition like this. Before I ran my own business, I used to travel the world as a cruise ship photographer doing destination weddings around the world. So learning about all the worldly traditions when it comes to weddings is honestly my favorite part of the job. In this ceremony, each colored ribbon represents a different factor important in marriage. The couple decides which factors are important to them. And the officiant binds the couple’s hands together using the respective ribbons.
What the Ribbons Mean
- Red – will, love, strength, fertility, courage, health, vigour, passionÂ
- Orange – encouragement, adaptability, stimulation, attraction, plenty, kindness
- Yellow – attraction, charm, confidence, balance, harmony
- Green – fertility, luck, prosperity, nurturing, beauty, health, love
- Dark Blue –for a safe journey, longevity & strengthÂ
- Light Blue – tranquillity, understanding, patience, health
- Purple – healing, health, strength, power, progress
- Black – strength, empowerment, wisdom/vision, success, pure love
- White – spiritual purity, truth, peace, serenity and devotion
- Gray – balance, neutrality
- Pink – love, unity, honor, truth, romance, happiness
- Brown – for healing, skills & talent, nurturing, home & hearth, the earth
- Silver – for creativity, inspiration & vision, and protection
- Gold – unity, longevity, prosperity, strength
Portrait Session
Holly got ready as any bride would on the morning of her wedding day. She did her hair and makeup off-site but got dressed in the WaterStone Estate bridal suite. Â Slipped into her long white dress. She also wore matching pashminas with her bridesmaids for warmth. However, instead of putting on sparkly slippers, she put on waterproof rain boots. This was my personal recommendation for a winter wedding. When your wedding day is expected to be this cold, the last thing you want is cold feet. Not just metaphorically by physically. These shoes are also a lot safer as you walk around the grounds of a country rustic wedding venue like WaterStone Estate and Farms.
