Intimate Romantic Wedding | Jennifer + Rich

October 26, 2026

Most couples see their venue for the first time on a tour. Jennifer and Rich had already sat on the bench. This was an intimate romantic wedding for the books.

Jennifer and Rich are both high school teachers. About eight months into dating, Rich was chaperoning prom, and it just happened to be at Villa Siena. So he asked Jennifer to go to prom with him.

Somewhere in the middle of that night, they ended up sitting on a wooden bench under the barrel eaves.

Years later, they came back to get married in the same place. And the small-world moments kept coming. Katie, their venue coordinator, turned out to be one of Rich’s students from years ago.

Jennifer was calm the entire day. Her dress hung in an antique armoire. She put her earrings on in the mirror. She looked like someone who knew exactly where she was supposed to be.

Rich was the emotional one. As guests arrived, he greeted each of them with a hug. Not a handshake. A hug.

Their wedding party wore deep berry gowns and black tuxes, with white rose bouquets that matched the florals over the fireplace. And their dog showed up in a tux of his own.

The ceremony was inside, in front of Villa Siena’s carved stone fireplace. Rich walked down the aisle with their dog right beside him.

When it was time for personal vows, Rich held up his vow book and said, “I wrote my vows, but I am going to change them.” Then he spoke from his heart. He never opened the book. You can’t find a more intimate and romantic wedding move than that.

Jennifer read hers. She told Rich she can’t wait to grow their family… with more dogs. Their pup, lying a few feet away by the groomsmen, seemed fine with that plan.

During portraits, Rich asked for one specific picture: the two of them on the bench under the barrel eaves. Then he told us why.

That’s the photo we’ll remember from this wedding. Not because it was on a shot list, but because he told us the story behind it.

If there’s a spot at your venue that means something, tell your team. A shot list helps. The story behind a shot helps more. We build portrait time around good light and around the places that matter to you.

During their first dance, Rich sang the words to Jennifer the whole time.

Then, during their welcome speech, Jennifer shared a thank-you poem she wrote for their guests. It was her way of telling everyone in that room how much joy and gratitude she felt.

A calm bride and a groom who sang through the first dance. That’s a pretty good marriage.

You don’t need to be a natural in front of the camera. You don’t need your vows memorized. You don’t even need to stick to what you wrote.

What you need is a team you trust enough that you stop managing the day and start living it. That’s why every couple gets a photography coordinator who keeps the timeline, the vendors, and our team aligned before the wedding ever starts. After 26 years and more than 1,000 weddings, our team knows how to keep the day moving so you can set the vow book down too.

Planning your own wedding and want a team like that? We’d love to hear about the two of you. Getting married at Villa Siena? Our team photographs weddings there, so reach out and we can talk about adding video or an engagement session.

Congratulations, Jennifer and Rich. Thank you for letting us be part of your full circle.