The Fields Reserve Wedding Venue
It’s been a few years since I was last in Stoughton, Wisconsin for a wedding, but this year I finally made my way back to this little city south of Madison for a wedding. Well, I didn’t really see anything of Stoughton, because the wedding itself was out in the rural parts, tucked away without another house or building in sight.
It was the Fields Reserve, this amazing wedding venue with a pair of barn-like buildings and one of the most spectacular outdoor ceremony sites I’ve ever seen.
I’ve been to many an amazing wedding venues, most which are venues strictly made for weddings and most of the time the outdoor ceremony site itself is quite simplistic. It’s usually placed in a large grassy open area with an arch that may be moveable or one that might built into the ground and stationary. The folding chairs are brought in and then taken out.
It’s simple and effective.
However, the Fields Reserve far outpaces this simplicity with a natural amphitheater that is within maybe 200 yards of the reception, but because of the woods surrounding it makes it feel hidden away and locked deep within nature’s forests.
The venue built in long thick and rustic wood benches that make you think of fallen logs that are placed on both the bride and groom’s side of the aisle. The benches lead up and out to where the wedding party will walk in on the concrete path.
They then have a timber-sized arch built into the concrete at the bottom of the amphitheater and beyond that all you can see is forest everywhere you look.
It really was incredible and I’m an absolute sucker for nature, so to me this was a perfect combination of the ease of getting ready in a beautiful building and then suddenly feeling like you’re getting married in the forest.
It was a perfect spot for Tess and Jacob, two lovely people that are down-to-earth and have a lot of outdoor hobbies.
Getting Ready Photography Magic
It was so much fun working with Tess and Jacob on their wedding day. In photographing so many weddings, I’ve found that the absolute best people to work with are the ones that diligently plan out their weddings with military precision, but then are carefree and go-with-the-flow on the actual day.
That was Tess and Jacob.
When I arrived, Tess and her party were deep in the throes of getting ready and Tess was already ahead of the game with her hair and makeup. That left us ample time to take getting ready photos and we found time for more than a few creative getting ready photos as well.
After getting some standard makeup shots and one of her holding her wedding dress, I got a couple more interesting ones: one with her looking out the window as if she was anticipating Jacob coming down the driveway and one standing in this narrow beam of light in the center of the reception space.
I’ve done this at a couple different weddings, but when I see a narrow beam of light coming from a window I find it’s nice to do something fun with it. Maybe the light lands on a table and I’ll put a detail in it, like the invitations or the rings. In this case the beam was large enough to fall on part of Tess’s face and I had her set up in a more elegant pose.
When Jacob arrived he got ready in a space that also had great lighting. His room was in the groom suite in an adjacent barn that had an indoor ceremony space for those people that chose it. His room had a couple couches and a window. The window had a desk in front of it and it was a perfect spot for Jacob to write out his wedding vows.
Actually, at my last wedding in Stoughton I was able to photograph the groom writing out his vows beforehand as well.
In Jacob’s case the light from the window gave him amazing dramatic lighting.
The main thing I’ll remember about Jacob was how he might have been the most dapper and well-dressed groom I have ever photographed.
The man was meticulous about his setup. He had a wonderfully custom-made white suit and he wore a black Johnny Cash-style button up shirt underneath with no tie that gave him a man’s man kind of look.
On the outside of his jacket he placed a brown floral handkerchief in his pocket and had a rose with a long feather pinned to his collar. He then had maroon-brown pants and a simple analog watch with a leather band to finish the ensemble.
Later Jacob had a change of clothes ready for the reception. It consisted of brown slacks and a floral button down shirt of complementary colors to the slacks.
A grand Grand March
Another wedding photography favorite from Tess and Jacob’s wedding came at the grand march. As a wedding photographer the grand marches can really be hit or miss. Even when wedding parties go through their plan in detail with the DJ, once they actually walk in their instincts take over and they may do something completely different than the talked out plan.
When I first started going to weddings I would typically stay far back and near the head table trying to catch them “where they were supposed to do their dance or routine.” Later, I realized many people would instinctively start dancing or doing their routine right in the doorway, so now I get out my wide angle lens and I get real close to the entryway. Even if they dance a little bit later, it’s at the entryway where they usually have the most energy and smiles.
With Tess and Jacob I did that same thing. I used my wide angle lens and stood really near the doorway and I retreated as they walked in and I’ve never seen a couple be so energetic and extroverted as they came in for the grand march. Both Tess and Jacob were laughing waving and showing off the love they felt from the whole reception.
Sparklers just for fun
Another fun moment from their wedding was at the end of the night. The DJ, Big Sand Productions, had brought along their sparkler machine and they ran it out in front of the reception hall outside in the yard. After taking a couple photos of just Tess and Jacob, they then had multiple couples run in front of it to get their picture taken before the sparkler ran out of juice. We also took a large group photo. It was a crowd pleaser!
Wedding Vendors
Location: The Fields Reserve https://www.fieldsreserve.com/
Dress: Vera’s Bridal https://www.verasbridals.com/
Groom’s Attire: FineLine https://finelinecustomattire.com/
Flowers: Surroundings https://www.surroundingsef.com/
Makeup: Unveiled by Tia https://www.beautyunveiledbytia.com/
DJ: Big Sand Productions https://www.bigsandproductions.com/
Hair: Unveiled by Tia https://www.beautyunveiledbytia.com/
Caterer: North & South https://northandsouthcatering.com/
