A Castle Hill Inn Wedding in Newport, Rhode Island
Alex & Evan
Some weddings are built to be watched. This one was built to be felt.
Alex and Evan married on a Saturday in late October, at the edge of the water in Newport, Rhode Island, and asked for almost nothing posed. What they wanted instead was the truth of the day: the genuine reactions, the people listening to speeches, the dancing, the look on a face that no one thought to arrange. That is my favorite kind of assignment. Below is their day at Castle Hill Inn, from a private club on the harbor to a stone church in town to a tent on the lawn where the Atlantic does the work no backdrop ever could.
Why do couples choose Castle Hill Inn in Newport for their wedding?
Couples choose Castle Hill Inn because it sits on a private peninsula on Newport's Ocean Drive, where forty acres of lawn run straight into Narragansett Bay and a working lighthouse marks the horizon. The setting gives a wedding water on nearly every side, soft coastal light at the end of the day, and a sense of place that photographs as itself rather than as a rented room.That last part matters more than people expect. A venue that looks like everywhere looks like nowhere in a gallery twenty years from now. Castle Hill never has that problem. The land tells you where you are.For Alex and Evan, the day moved across Newport rather than staying in one spot, which is one of the quiet luxuries of getting married here. The town is small enough to hold an entire wedding and beautiful enough that every leg of the drive becomes part of the story.
Getting ready at the New York Yacht Club
The morning started at the New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court, a stone clubhouse above the water where the light comes in long and clean. Details first. The dress, the rings, the invitation suite, clippings the florist left behind, the things old and borrowed and blue that mean nothing to a stranger and everything to a family. If you know me, you know that starting my day here feeds my creative soul and gives me a glimpse into the couple’s personalities and priorities in a way that is integral to the way I capture the rest of the day. Alex stepped into her gown with only her mother helping. Then a first look with her bridesmaids (one of the sweetest ever in a suite that provided the dreamiest light) and a moment with dad at the bottom of a grand staircase. Across the building, Evan was getting ready with his brothers and crew. The two met on the dock and read private vows to each other before the ceremony - a tap on the shoulder and a turn. Whatever was said there stayed there. What I can tell you is that it set the tone for everything that followed.
What is a Newport, Rhode Island wedding actually like?
A Newport wedding is a wedding that uses the whole city. Ceremonies often happen in the historic churches downtown, portraits move to the cliffs and the harbor, and receptions land at the coastal estates along Ocean Drive. The result is a day with range, formal and salt-aired at once.
A ceremony at Emmanuel Church
Alex and Evan were married at Emmanuel Church, a stone Episcopal church in the heart of Newport, in a ceremony of about thirty minutes led by Pastor Rebecca Spenser. They lit a unity candle. There was a dip in the aisle. Guests slipped outside ahead of the recessional so that the couple could walk out through a wash of flower petals into the afternoon. A church wedding asks a photographer to work quietly and read light that changes by the pew. It also gives you something a tent cannot: stone, height, the hush of a room built for exactly this. The petal exit at the doors was the kind of moment that looks effortless. From the moment we first spoke I knew my assignment was to blend in during this time and we loved capturing these pivotal moments in the quiet and background of it all.
The vintage car
Before the ceremony, Alex rode to the church with her dad in a vintage car while the wedding party followed by trolley. After the vows, Evan helped Alex back into the car after their epic floral exit from the building, and they drove off toward Castle Hill together, married. A vintage car is not a prop. It is a small private room on wheels in the middle of a very public day, ten minutes where a couple is finally, briefly, alone.
The reception at Castle Hill Inn
By late afternoon the celebration with cocktails had moved to the tent on the Castle Hill lawn, and the day opened all the way up.
Design and decor
The design was the couple's words made visible: simple, whimsical, playful, and elegant, in hues of green with touches of blue and a foundation of neutrals. Stone Blossom's florals carried the green through the space. There were custom monogrammed napkins at the head table, a sailboat sign pointing the way to the signature drinks, and lounge and bar builds that gave the tent the feel of a room rather than a structure. Newport's sunset landed just shy of 6 o’clock that evening. When the light is that good, the plan bends to it. We stepped away for a few minutes so Alex and Evan could have the sky to themselves and I captured them simply walking back to their cocktail hour tent - a photograph that remains one of my very favorite to this day because it feels so very them. Emotional, simple, elegant.
Handwritten notes to every guest
Here is the detail I keep coming back to. Alex and Evan wrote a personal, handwritten note to each of their guests, more than two hundred of them, and set one at every seat. Really think about that for a second because the intention and follow through of it all still has me floored. The couple kept it a secret, so the reactions as people found their cards were real and unguarded and, in a few cases, immediate tears. Two hundred notes. By hand. For a couple who said they wanted candid emotion, they engineered the most honest reaction in the room and then let it happen on its own. Another instance of something showing their truly caring personalities. It was so evident this wasn’t for the show of it all, but for creating a quiet moment to tell their favorite gathered people that they were here for a reason.
Her mother's dress
Late in the night, Alex changed into a second look: her mother's wedding dress. There is no styling trick that competes with that. A daughter dancing in her mother's dress carries a whole family's history in a single hemline, and you do not have to explain it to anyone for them to feel it. No cake. A cannoli man instead, espresso and Italian cookies, an experience the guests got to be part of rather than watch. The dance floor opened at eight. Night Shift Entertainment carried the room, and the night ran long the way the best ones do, everyone tired and happy and slow to leave.
How a Newport wedding photographer documents a day like this
I document a day like this by staying close enough to catch the real moments and far enough back that no one performs for the lens. My job is to be the part of the day you never have to think about, so you can spend it being a guest at your own wedding rather than managing it. That is the whole philosophy, and it is especially suited to Newport, where the day moves and the light changes and the best frames are the ones nobody posed for. Alex and Evan asked for candid, genuine, and unhurried. The city, the venue, and the people in it gave us the rest. If you are planning a wedding at Castle Hill Inn, in Newport, or anywhere along the New England coast, I would love to hear how you imagine your day. You can tell me about it here. You can also see more from the Newport coast on my Newport, Rhode Island wedding photography page, or browse the full portfolio.
CASTLE HILL INN WEDDING VENDORS
Venue: Castle Hill Inn | @castlehillinn Photographer: Cora Jane Photography | @corajanephoto Planner: Lisa Nightingale, Infinite Events | @infiniteeventslisa Florist: Stone Blossom | @stoneblossom Hair: Moss Salon | @mosssalonprovidence Makeup: Aline Sarkis | @alinesarkisbeauty Church: Emmanuel Church | @emmanuel.newport Officiant: Pastor Rebecca Spenser Content Creator: Socials by Si | @socialsbysi Stationery: Emma Garfield | @edg_originals Keepsake Envelope: @nobhilljane Lighting, Lounge & Bars: Ryan Designs | @ryandesignsri Linen Rentals: Stradley Davidson | @stradleydavidson Chair Rentals: Pranzi Tent & Rentals | @pranzitentandrentals Band: Night Shift Entertainment | @night_shift_entertainment Transportation: Fischer Bus / Rockstar Rentals Dress Boutique: Kyha Studios | @kyhastudios @kyhabride Espresso & Cannolis: Only the Finest Italian Cookies | @onlythefinestitaliancookies
Cora is a wedding photographer based near Mystic, Connecticut, documenting love stories throughout New England and beyond. She is a wife and a mom to a daughter and son, and what grounds her work is relationships: with her husband, her kids, her family and friends, and the couples she photographs. Her style leans warm and romantic, centered on genuine people in classic New England places. When she is on the road or in the air, you will likely find her exploring Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; Block Island, Rhode Island; Martha's Vineyard; Nantucket; the Hudson Valley, New York; or New York City. Learn more about Cora
