A wedding photographer had seen it all – until she planned her own!

New York fall wedding

How does a wedding photographer of 11 years plan her own wedding, and more importantly, choose her own photographer? The answer is: very carefully! After photographing 250 weddings, Lin Pernille said "I do" in her very own wedding to Corrado in October of 2022 at Paramount Country Club. She couldn't give up control of the photography for her special day entirely, though! Keep scrolling to see details and flatlay photography by the bride, Lin Pernille Photography + Video, herself, as well as the stunning photography and videography by Lizzie Burger Photography and Tone Media.

map of wedding location peach watercolor wedding invitation suite

The first step in wedding planning

After seeing 250 weddings by the time theirs came around, Lin was brimming with inspiration and ideas for her own wedding. The first thing she did once the planning began was scroll through and curate her giant folder of inspiration. She culled any of the ideas that no longer resonated with her and kept the ideas that she loved the most.

long-sleeve lace wedding dress fitted lace wedding dress

off the shoulder grace loves lace wedding dress

peach and coral bridesmaid dresses

Luxury venue

The couple fell in love with their venue, Paramount Country Club, for many reasons, including: the incredible mountain views, the cottages, fountain, Juliet balcony, tall grasses, and stone walls – so many beautiful backdrops to use for photos. The bride and groom also loved that the venue was perfectly located between all of the most sentimental spots in their relationship.

light fall wedding attire

floral ties for wedding party peach ranunculus boutonnieres

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cream suits with peach boutonnieres

Comfortable wedding style

For her special day, Lin wore the Grace Loves Lace "Nathalia" dress. She especially loved that it was comfortable, stretchy, and soft, and made her feel beautiful while still feeling like herself. Groom Corrado wore a made-to-measure Indochino suit that was also made from a stretchy cotton fabric.

watercolor wedding ceremony signs

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blanket wedding ceremony favors

fold-out wedding program

A glowing ceremony setting

The ceremony garden at Paramount is one the most beautiful features of the venue, and Lin and Corrado recited their vows on top of the little slope with the mountains in the background. The fall foliage was in full swing and glowed bright orange in the background throughout their entire ceremony.

peach bridal bouquet peachy floral arch

Floral inspiration: peach ranunculus

The color scheme for the wedding was inspired by the bride's favorite flower: peach ranunculus. The bridesmaids' dresses were different shades of peach, coral, and orange, and they had lots of vibrant peach-colored florals by Flowers by Angel throughout. These florals matched perfectly with the orange fall foliage of the mountains in the background!

personalized welcome bag items

A very personal welcome bag

In the hotel welcome bags, the bride and groom wanted to treat their guests to some of their favorite local Hudson Valley fall goodies, including: strawberry vanilla jam from Hudson Valley Pantry, cinnamon swirl English muffins from Dam Good English Muffins, bobcat dak bars from Adirondak Bar, and pumpkin spice smoked almonds from Papas Best Batch. Each of these items were attached to a special moment in the couple's relationship!

tall clear tapered candle votives

Plenty of DIY opportunities

Bride Lin took many opportunities to incorporate DIY projects! She made the vow books using handmade paper and a saddle stitch binding, designed and printed their entire invitation suite with gold foil detailing, made several watercolor signs for their programs and other signage, embroidered some of the bridal party gifts, hand-ripped deckled edge paper for the menus and stationery, dyed the groomsmen’s ties, painted their cake topper and champagne bottles, and more!

golf course wedding upstate New York

How a photographer selects a photographer

Lin Pernille had worked alongside photographer Lizzie Burger Photography previously, so she knew her style was similar to her own. Between that, her organization, and that the fact that she had been an October bride herself the year before, she was the perfect choice! Similarly, when it came to choosing a videographer, the bride instantly had one team in mind: Steph and Justin of Tone Media. They have a similar style of shooting (photojournalistic and non-obtrusive with an emphasis on storytelling) and editing (light, bright, natural). The couple was blown away by what they were able to capture! The bride was even able to add a raw footage option to their video package so that she could create her own video edits in addition to the deliverable Tone Media made!

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wedding portrait photographer

Portraits instead of a photobooth

Shying away from the traditional favor, Lin and Corrado hired Christie Caiola Studio to host a pop-up studio at the reception - an alternative to the typical photobooth! Each of their loved ones were captured on camera beautifully with posing and styling help courtesy of Christie. All of the guests raved about her, and many of their holiday cards the next year included these portraits!

custom wedding bar napkins

cultural traditions program for wedding

Danish kissing game for wedding

Honoring the couple's cultural heritage

Because Lin is Danish and Corrado is Italian, they wanted to include several special traditions throughout the wedding day. They played off of the concepts of "hygge" and "mangia" so that guests would have a memorable experience. The couple had a Danish marzipan wreath cake by Mandel during the reception before dancing to the "Tarantella" and a Danish rock song. They placed five sugared almonds ("bomboniere") at each place representing each of the wishes for the couple. During the reception, they played the Danish "kissing game," and they honored loves ones with a memory table featuring childhood photos and meaningful scrolls.

custom bride and groom cake topper Danish wedding cake

The perfect end to a wedding weekend

After their farewell breakfast the next morning, Corrado and Lin headed up to Minnewaska for their own self-timer shoot on top of Sam's Point on the way to their minimoon. It was the perfect way to capture all of their "Just Married" vibes!

New York State wedding photography

Advice from the (professional) bride

"While it’s important to clearly express your vision and wishes to your vendors, creatives will always perform their best work when they’re given artistic freedom without micromanaging. This was certainly true on our wedding day. When we received our wedding photos and videos, we were blown away (and still get teary!) when we saw some of the images." Lin is also the first to share that having her own wedding has made her an even better wedding photographer. She emphasized that after hosting her own wedding, she understands that much more how important those sentimental and reactionary shots are.

Jewish wedding dance traditions

Work-life wedding balance

To help her juggle working with being a bride herself, Lin prepped almost all of her DIY projects during slow season so that she could focus all of her attention on her clients during peak busy season. And as hard as it was to turn down booking, Lin strictly told herself that she wouldn't accept any photography jobs two weeks before and two weeks after the wedding so that she could be fully immersed in her own special day.

black and white wedding photography