Modern Wedding Photography at Terrain

Terrain is a beautiful nursery that doubles as a wedding venue. When you get married here, you get lush, woodsy photos without the need for much decor. Steve and Devon customized Terrain to their colorful personalities. Their hand-crafted paper flowers and other details really brought the party atmosphere to life. I documented their wedding with modern wedding photography on film and digital with a creative approach to color, light, and double exposures.

A Winter Wedding at Terrain

Terrain has two locations, one in Glen Mills and one in Devon. They’re in the process of adding a Doylestown location too. Steve and Devon held their nontraditional wedding at the Glen Mills location. This location has some quirky features, including a historic Mushroom House that’s been converted into a getting ready suite. The Hot House is a great spot for portraits, while the Garden Shed is easily used as a combination ceremony and reception area for small weddings.

For most of the year, Terrain offers outdoor spaces for ceremonies and cocktail hour. Devon and Steve happened to get married on one of the coldest days of the year. We were a little worried that we wouldn’t get portraits with that lush garden feeling. Luckily, Terrain offered up one of the store’s greenhouses. Otherwise we might not have gotten too many portraits. The combination of Devon and Steve’s outfits with the double exposure and the hearts over the plants made for really unique and modern wedding photography.

(Would you like to see another Terrain wedding artistically photographed? I’ve also documented a wedding at the Devon location. Check out this Terrain wedding with incredible floral design!)

Modern Wedding Photography

When I asked Devon and Steve what drew them to my photography, they shared this: “Your work is authentic, true-to-life, and candid in all the right ways.” That’s exactly what I strive for in all of my work, so I was excited that Devon and Steve trusted me to take amazing photos without direction.

Devon and Steve aren’t a very traditional couple. They wanted artistic wedding photos that reflected the energy and creativity of their celebration as much as they documented the evening’s main events. Having Devon and Steve trust me to create modern wedding photography that portrayed their day authentically was the best feeling. I could follow my artistic instincts in a way that’s not always possible with very posed, predetermined photos.

To me, modern wedding photography is about the perfect balance of mediums, especially film and Super8. Even though they’re vintage technologies, they lend themselves to minimalist, emotional pictures and video. Film photography was a big part of Devon and Steve’s wedding day as well. I used six or seven cameras to create a variety of images and portray the different aspects of the day. 

I really appreciate how artistically free I felt working with this couple! To create the heart photos, I used a specialized film with the hearts already on it. For the portraits, Devon and Steve were up for me to use double exposures to create layered compositions. They turned out beautifully and allowed me to tell that much more of their story in one image. At the reception, I played up all the colors that Devon and Steve included in their event. 

Devon and Steve’s Nontraditional Celebration

Once they started dating, Devon and Steve realized that they went to high school in the same town and even knew some of the same people. Somehow they didn’t meet until they found each other on OKCupid. As you can guess, they wanted their modern wedding photography to document that feeling of being with the people who have shared in their journey.

Even though Devon and Steve aren’t traditional in many ways, their proposal is classically romantic. They spent an entire day reliving their first few dates by visiting the same restaurants. At the end of the evening, Steve proposed in the parking lot of the theater where they had their first date. 

Devon and Steve’s Terrain wedding reception was so much fun. The DJ kept everyone on the dance floor late into the night, and Devon and Steve got to connect with all the amazing people who came to celebrate them.

Are you interested in having me document your day with modern wedding photography? I’m a Philadelphia-based photographer ready to travel! Get in touch with me here!

Thank you to the vendors who made Devon and Steve’s Terrain wedding possible:
Photographer: Jason Moody Photography
Film Processed by: phtsdr
Venue & Caterer: Terrain Events
Florals: Devon 
DJ: The Other Wedding DJ
Their Attire: Asos & Indochino