Upstate NY Wedding Photographer | Crested Hen Farms Wedding | Crested Hen Wedding New York
Jenny & Jarryd’s summery Crested Hen Farms wedding featured their dog, a cookie cake, and
guests from Australia to the USA.
Photos by Hudson Valley wedding photographer Kathryn Cooper Weddings
J & J’s Crested Hen Farms Wedding in Accord, New York
Tucked off a tiny country road in the middle of the Hudson Valley sits Crested Hen Farms. For Jenny and Jarryd, this Upstate NY barn wedding venue was the place to be for their Australian-American wedding.
For quite a few years, Jarryd, from Australia, and Jenny, from just down the road, dated. They had a quick ceremony during COVID, but never really got to celebrate. Because Jenny’s family (and many friends) still live in the area—and because this venue is just 3 minutes down the road from their home (which has beautiful views of Mohonk Preserve)—having a Crested Hen wedding was a no-brainer. Quite a few of Jarryd’s family and friends flew in from Australia to attend.
From Cookies to Cookie Cake
My second shooter and I covered their getting ready, where Jarryd’s family finished up making hundreds and hundreds of cookies. On the other side of the town, Jenny put on white, flower-lace-cutout dress with colorful blooms dotting her hair. Though she didn’t have bridesmaids, she had a group of friends get ready with her, and gave them each a flower bracelet to thank them for being a part of her day.
For Jenny and Jarryd’s Crested Hen wedding, they had a rather simple setup, keeping with the colorful blooms, mismatched country plateware, and summer vibes. But let’s admit it: Their dog Tilly’s reaction stole the show.
Jarryd had been getting ready with her, and they did their first look together. What was before a very calm, shy dog, saw Jenny approaching and just lost all control, lunging at her and unable to control her excitement. Even after they saw each other, Tilly went jumping all over, running into the nearby river, bringing her owner giant sticks (okay, more like tree limbs), and wanting ALL the attention.
J & J love the outdoors, and because we knew we were having their adventure session less than 48 hours later, we tried to keep them out of the hot August sun and stay cool. We went down by the river for several shots, by the red barns located around Crested Hen Farms, and then cooled off as guests found their seats.
Jenny & Jarryd’s Barn Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony was an emotional one—and Tilly just couldn’t wait to snuggle with her owners. Afterwards was family photos, cocktail hour, and their first dance with their live band. Throughout it all, the Australian guests stood gawking at the edge of the Crested Hen Farms’ river, shocked to see such lush greenery and water. They live in that part of Australia.
One of my favorite parts of the day was their wedding cake cutting. A giant cookie cake with a cookie bride and groom, they decided to do a no-forks-or-knives first bite. The photos speak for themselves as they gruesomely bit the cookie heads off their cake 😀
Photos #2 is the aftermath.
Upstate NY’s Crested Hen Farms barn venue is definitely rustic with a home-y feeling, and they have plenty of space for a small or large wedding. It’s an upscale barn with a customizable space, fields, a pretty tree-lined driveway, different barns and arbors, a garden of sorts, and a lot of land along the flowing green river for photos. You can read more about it in my list of Hudson Valley, New York barn wedding venues.
Because it’s out in the country, there’s no need to worry about partying too loudly, or too late. You can just enjoy time with family and friends until you wan the party to stop.
An Evening at Crested Hen Farms
The endless cook trays came out, the dancing and drinking commenced, and they partied late into the night.
Not long after, we did their 4-hour adventure session in nearby Minnewaska State Park, but that is a gorgeous blog post for another day~
This is amazing! You did a great job storytelling, very vibrant colors. I also love accord NY, great rock climbing nearby, wonderful!