I recently had the honour of shooting Andrew and Sindy’s wedding. A last minute hiccup in their original venue turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I’ve had the honour of shooting weddings all over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the short post is, “This is by far the best property I’ve shot at.” Which is exactly what I told Jess Healy, the owner of Healy Events and Weddings, when she graciously allowed me to come to the property the evening before the wedding so I could see first hand what I had gotten myself into.

When I started out in photography, almost 30 years ago, it was essentially what would be considered “travel photography” today. For me at the time, it was a way to document my travels. But as I started to evolve, into more intentional travel shots and then into landscape, I would scout and plan a shoot for days and even weeks. I even had one shoot that was 6 years in the making.

This is something that I’ve brought over to my wedding persona. There are so many variables when it comes to shooting weddings, so I want to know and experience as much of a location as I can before the big day. There are two main reasons for this: 1. I can get a lay of the land before it’s filled with people, this includes, sun angles with the help of my trusted app Photo Ephemeris which is both web-based and has a mobile app that I’ve used since 2012. So this allows me to get into position to maximize the available light and know where the shadows are going to be. 2. It’s also going to allow me to experience the property and stir those creative juices.

This also incudes indoor weddings, and then wherever the post wedding photos will happen.

I was blown away, this property had everything that a photographer could possibly dream of, especially if it’s a not just a rustic theme you’re aiming for, but luxurious rustic, or is it rustic luxury? Either way, you’re going to get it in spades.

On the property, there are two barns! Yes, two! The one big barn (which I believe is used for storage for grounds keeping) Is the perfect backdrop for any scene. It also has a bush of blue hydrangeas that runs along one side and one end.

Also on the property is a pond surrounded by a forest on 3 sides, because it’s that 4th side is where the bride and groom exchanged their vows.

The second barn, which has two levels, the top level (which is kind of ground level, so don’t worry, not many steps, as well as having an all access ramp) is where the reception takes place. It’s all natural wood inside, with clear patio lights throughout. There are doors on one end and large doors on the one side, as well as a window on the other end. This is all of the natural lighting that’s going to make it inside, which, when the reception is at 11:30 am like this wedding, it helps a little. An evening reception, it’s not going to make any difference and you’ll probably need some form of speed light or strobe.

The window on the one end, again, it’s midday at this point, made for one of my favourite shots of the wedding.

There’s a large tree between the guesthouse/bride prepping area and the second barn. Jess has wrapped this wonderful large tree in white lights. Which, again, because of the time of day of this wedding, they weren’t utilized to my disappointment, because one of the images from the Deepa-Renaldo wedding that’s on their website, to me, is pretty awesome. Now they did use the tree in a way that no one was expecting… In hindsight, there’s a few things I would have like to at least try. Had it not been a wedding, but rather an engagement shoot or family shoot, maybe I have a little more time to assess the situation and come up with a few more ideas on the fly.

There are also tree lined pathways and driveways which also make for some pretty spectacular backdrops.

They also have a guesthouse on site, which doubles as a prepping area for the bride, it’s also my understanding that they guesthouse is also rentable for whoever wants to spend the night either before and/or after. It would depend on which arrangements have been made with Jess.

All in all, as I mentioned at the beginning of all this, Healy Events and Weddings at Healy Farms, in my experience is pretty close to the perfect venue especially for those of you looking for the luxurious rustic theme, or was it rustic luxury?

Healy Events and Weddings
439 Prospect Ave, Kentville, NS  

healyevents@gmail.com // Tel: 902-456-7688 
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