Last weekend we packed our bags, hit the road, and spent a couple of days documenting Charlotte and Stu’s wedding weekend on Lake George in Bolton Landing, NY. When we first heard from them over a year ago they tossed some rough ideas at us for their wedding plans, including things like a steamboat welcome dinner, hilltop ceremony overlooking the water, and a lakeside cocktail hour all at a family property that’s been the site of countless other family weddings in the past. Immediately our imaginations ran wild and we spent the next year or so giddily preparing for what we knew would be a special couple of days. Bolton Landing, a rather sleepy, quiet community situated on the southern end of Lake George, is the site of the multi-generational home of Charlotte’s family. When we first arrived there and pulled into the lot for the town pier, we were met with such a picturesque scene it almost felt out of a movie. Charlotte and Stu welcomed guests one at a time as they boarded the Mohican - a steamboat that’s been in service since 1908 - which would tour around the lower half of the 32 mile long lake as they ate and caught up and gave toasts of remembrance with them. These families have known each other for so long (their parents attended each others weddings!) that although Charlotte and Stu’s wedding would be the first official uniting, they’ve long since considered themselves joined as one.

These two currently live in Kentucky, where Stu’s family is from, and among many other things share a love for the outdoors, their dog Holstein, and perhaps most peculiarly black walnut syrup. Charlotte’s family, from the Lake George area, have a history in maple sugaring so their shared passion project of tapping and collecting the sap of black walnut trees (native in great numbers in Kentucky) is a beautiful and very literal blending of their family histories. The hilltop farmhouse, surrounded by maple forest and appropriately called Topside, hosted the wedding ceremony itself and offered guests stunning views of the lake below. With so much deeply engrained history there it’s difficult to describe how much it meant for their families to witness Charlotte and Stu get married there, but suffice to say that there were few dry eyes in the crowd. Once they had the chance to say hello to everyone who made the trip to get to their wedding at Topside, Charlotte and Stu hopped in their green 1976 VW Beetle and took off down the road to join their guests for cocktails.

The reception just down the hill at Mohican Point was equally grand and impossibly beautiful, and between the boathouse, the private docks, the craggy black locust trees, and the perfect late September light we almost couldn’t believe our eyes. We had this feeling, the entire time we were there that night, that everyone knew Charlotte and Stu would end up together. Passing like ships in the night for so long and ultimately reconnecting as adults felt almost fated for the two of them, and the wedding seemed to us like a release of sorts. Charlotte and Stu couldn’t seem to let the other go, always reaching for and grabbing onto one another as family member after family member recounted tales of childhood, of the beginnings that lead to where they had gotten that day. It was a profound thing for us to document, and we felt humbled to be there and witness this epic uniting of two families.

Venue: Private Family Property on Lake George
Coordination: Amanda’s Errands & Events
Catering: Rainer’s Gourmet
Florals: Finishing Touches Florist
Invitations: Designed by Charlotte’s mother
Rings: Lackadazee
Dress: Custom made by family friend, Lisa Hall
Suit: Macy’s
Hair & Make-up: Brianna K
Pies: Gambles Bakery

Charlotte & Stu's Late Summer Lakeside Wedding in Bolton Landing, NY