Tina & Michael's Wedding at Peirce Farm at Witch Hill in Topsfield, MA
When these two first reached out to us to tell us a bit about themselves and their wedding plans, we learned that Tina (a creative director intimately familiar with the photography world) and Michael (a shoe designer) were aiming to craft a wedding plan that honored their Chinese and Jewish cultures while keeping things relaxed. The space they chose to host their friends and family, Peirce Farm at Witch Hill, as the name suggests sits atop some of the highest land in the county and features a rather lovely three story mansion and renovated Victorian-era barn. It ticked a lot of boxes for both of them, being large enough to host their nearly 150 guests without feeling over-crowded, while having beautiful interior spaces to get ready on-site in and similarly charming outdoor spaces for their friends and families to spread out and enjoy. The property is dotted with majestic trees of all sorts and feels like your classic New England estate, full of interesting history and little details that hint at its past lives.
The day-plan ended up chock full but with definite focus on people in places; the tree shaded ceremony took place outdoors underneath a beautiful chuppah and ended with a glass stomp, cocktail hour spread out through the mansion garden area and lawn and invited folks to drink and play lawn games with varying degrees of danger (think bocce ball and hammerschlagen), and a traditional Chinese lion dance both bestowed good luck and warded away evil spirits as well as beckoned guests down the main driveway and into the beautiful barn just a short way from the main house. It felt like Tina and Michael put a lot of thought into the time spent between the big pieces of the day, which ended up creating so many naturally photographable moments for us and made it so fun to document. It definitely felt like an ode to their joining of cultures while also making sure that folks just had fun, and the fact that everything looked as beautiful as it did was just the icing on the cake. Continuing with the energetic theme of the day, Tina and Michael’s choreographed first dance kicked the reception off and just before we headed out for the evening an impromptu hora lifted them into the rafters of the barn, sparking huge laughs and much cheer. An absolutely gorgeous day from start to finish, Tina and Michael’s wedding day was triumphantly them and we are as grateful as ever to have been there to capture it all.
Venue: Peirce Farm at Witch Hill
Coordination: Harken Events
Catering: Vinwood
Florals: Fleur + Stitch
Hair/Makeup: Love Notes by June
Dress: Eva Lendel
Menswear: Custom Shoes designed by Michael w/ Florsheim
DJ: Meritage DJ / Caitlin
Cake: Flour Bakery
Film/Processing: Kodak Portra 400 / Kerry’s Warwick Photo
