We are always on a hunt for great places to get married outdoors in Wisconsin and other parts of the Midwest. So one day, on our way to Madison, we stopped by the historic Old Feed Mill and Sugarland in Mazomanie and here are a few pictures of our visit.  They are both beautiful old spaces (yes, in some spots they have a few too many decorations, but we still think they are worth considering for a wedding location near Madison.  You can check out the oldfeedmill.com or sugarland-weddings.com for more info on hosting a wedding or event. Also, here’s our list of some favorite Midwest wedding venues if you are looking for other ideas.

This is Sugarland which is just five minutes outside of Mazomanie.  The barn is currently being redone to host events and is scheduled to be completed mid 2013.

There are so many reasons we love photographing weddings, but the one that trumps them all is that couples allow and trust us to witness and document some of the most beautiful and intimate moments in their lives. Doing a first look is not only great for stress relief, it’s often a wonderfully intimate, emotion-filled moment for couples who choose to go this route.

We were honored and blessed to document this for Ryan and Miranda:

If you haven’t already read our thoughts about doing a “first look” on your wedding day, you can read about that here.

Oh and just in case you are a photographer, I VSCO’d every one of these photos. :)  

I’m not really big on selling print products, as a photographer. It’s mostly because I’ve worked in photo sales at a few different jobs in the past and it gave me an aversion to selling, period. Personally, I think photographers who prioritize selling and force their clients to pay super high costs for prints cheapen their art. So I try to be as fair and reasonable as possible with all the prints that I offer through my galleries and – though I think my printer does an excellent job (and a whole lot better than say Walgreens, etc.!) – I am not going to say they are the best in the world or hold hostage the images I’ve taken for a client. I know others do it differently, but that’s what I’m most comfortable with, so it’s how I do it. :)

With all that being said, I recently came across Plywerk bamboo photo mounting and their products are – in my opinion – the best!  They are beautifully crafted, created in a eco-friendly way (in Portland, OR – yay!) and they are the first products that I would fully endorse for printing, compared to anything else I have seen. Not that there aren’t other great options (I also like canvas prints, for example), I’m just saying that this is my favorite. And I’m not getting paid a penny to say any of this. :)

As a photographer myself, I don’t print nearly as much personal work as I’d like to so, when Kelly and I stumbled upon Plywerk, we decided it was finally time to print a few images of our kids.  Here’s a glimpse into our latest photo wall:

And in case you’re a client who is interested, I am now offering a few of their products through my galleries! It will cost you a few extra dollars if you order it from me, but I’ll do the legwork and it all goes back to those cute little kids above. :)

When we first heard of Huntington Farm via an ad in the La Crosse Wedding Magazine, we thought it sounded like such a charming venue for a local wedding, but we didn’t know just how close it was to our home. When we realized that, we contacted Diane and asked if she would mind if we took a tour of the place.  She invited us over to check out the venue and Ray took some photos while the kids and I walked and talked with Diane. =)

A little bit about the farm:
Huntington Farm is a family business located on 135 acres of land.  Most wedding rentals include time to set up/rehearse starting at noon on Friday and enough time to tear down through Sunday at noon.  It includes a gorgeous summer kitchen cottage that is a great little space for the bride and her bridesmaids to get ready, and it’s painted in the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen.  All outdoor amenities and most outdoor spaces are available as part of the rental (which allows for many great outdoor ceremony locations to choose from) and the large gambrel barn provides a grand reception area.

Diane offers professional support with catering and consultation and loves assisting in finding whimsy little vintage pieces to add to your day. She’s starting to offer vintage table linens in her rentals as well as vintage plates and serving platters.

This is Huntington Farm’s first full year in business (they just had a couple of weddings last year), but we think that this unique, picturesque wedding ceremony and reception venue will quickly become a popular choice for local (Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa) brides.

The farm is located at:
S-4240 Haugen Road
Viroqua, WI 54665

For more details, contact:
Diane Hunter
608.637.2936
scishunter(at)yahoo(dot)com
huntingtonweddingbarn.com

We photograph almost exclusively in outdoor-based environments because we feel they are the best places that allow us to tell wedding stories that are full of color, action and life.  Our favorites are those with personal meaning to the couple that they also find beautiful and inspiring.

Over time, we’ve compiled a list of great, accessible, unique wedding vendors and venues in and around Wisconsin (a few are in Minnesota/Illinois/Iowa).  We plan to keep it updated as we connect with more great people and places that cater to weddings in their own unique ways. While we absolutely love backyard, one-of-a-kind wedding venues, we know that it’s not an option for everyone. So here are a few of our other favorite venues and vendors to help you in your planning!

Unique Wisconsin Wedding Venues/Vendors (a few IL/MN too)

Venues

South West WI
Norskedalen Heritage Center (Coon Valley) (wedding photos)
Pedretti Party Barn (Viroqua) (wedding photos)
Myrick Hixon Eco Park (La Crosse)
Grandad Bluff Park  (ceremony only) (La Crosse)
Villa Bellezza Vineyard (Peppin)
Hilltop (Spring Green)
Milkweed (photos) (Spring Green)
Country Pleasures B&B (Cashton)
Castle of Spring Green (Boscobel)

South Central WI
The Old Feed Mill/Sugarland Farm (photos)(Mazomanie)
Door Creek Orchard (Cottage Grove)
Trendy Acres Barn (Mt Horeb)
Devils Lake State Park (Baraboo)
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (Madison)
O’Brien Barn (Madison)
Barn at Harvest Moon Pond (Poynette) (wedding photos)
Olin Park (Madison)
Lussier Family Heritage Center (Madison) (wedding photos)
Olbrich Botanical Gardens (ceremony only) (Madison)
Over the Vines Vineyard and Wine Barn (Edgerton)
Old World Wisconsin – Farm  (Southwest WI)

South East WI
Camp Wandawega (Elkhorn)
Urban Ecology Center (Milwaukee)
Schlitz Autobahn Nature Center (Milwaukee)
Trimborn Farm (Milwaukee)

Central + Northern WI
The Enchanted Barn (Hillsdale)
Cedar Hill Farm (Central WI)
Kamp Kenwood (Chippewa Falls)
Woodwalk Gallery (Door County)
Cana Island Lighthouse (Door County)
Mulberry Lane Farm – (Appleton)
Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan)
Paine Art Center & Gardens (Oshkosh)
Irish Barn (Kohler)
Island of Happy Days (Northern WI)
Lake Superior Barn (intimate -20ppl – weddings only)(Superior)
Blue Vista Farm (Bayfield)
Madeline Island Cabin (intimate weddings only) (Bayfield)
The Inn on Madeline Island (Bayfield)

Minnesota Wedding Venues
Mayowood Stone Barn (Rochester, MN)
Four Daughters Vineyard (Spring Valley, MN)
Round Barn Farm (Red Wing, MN)
Camrose Hill Flower Studio + Farm (Stillwater MN)
Outing Lodge (Stillwater, MN)
Julian James Place (Northeast MN)
Little Log House Pioneer Village (Hastings, MN)

Illinois Wedding Venues
Salvage One (Chicago, IL)
A New Leaf (Chicago, IL)

Iowa Wedding Venues
Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca (Iowa City, IA)

Catering
Rooted Spoon Culinary (Viroqua) Seasonal, local, sustainable, beautiful.
HeartBeet Farm –  (Viroqua)Wood-fired Pizza
Enos Farms (Spring Green) Fantastic catering with food sourced locally and organically whenever possible.
Milkweed (Spring Green) Amazing food straight from their garden.
Underground Food Collective (Madison) – Good, Seasonal, Local Food.
Swagat Indian Cuisine (Madison)

Floral
Shining Hills (La Farge)
Alesa De Jager (La Crosse) (wedding photos)
daffodil*parker (Madison)
Master’s Touch Flowers (Neenah)

Makeup
Jennyface (Madison/LA)  Jenny is awesome and works on-location which we think is totally the best option for a wedding day!

Rentals
Midwest Textiles (Madison)
A La Crate Vintage (Madison)

Dress
Tara LaTour (Minneapolis, MN)

Planners/Coordinators
Weddings by Nancy (La Crosse) (wedding photos)
Toast Wedding Planning (La Crosse)
Dt’s Details (Waunakee)
Cherry on Top (Lake Geneva, WI)

Music/Entertainment
Red Hot Horn Dogs (Madison)
Cityscape (Madison)
Dylan Peterson – DJ (Chicago)

Videography/Photo Booths
Don’t Shout Films – Super 8 Film (Fond du Lac)
One Fine Day Productions (WI/IL)
Capture Studios (Minneapolis, MN)
Copper Clover Films (Appleton)
MatKat Productions - (Sauk City)
I Do Films (Chicago, IL)
Studio272 (Chicago, IL)
The Traveling Photo Booth (Madison)

National

Etsy Shops
Sweet Lulu – The cutest little reception accessories around (striped straws, milk bottles, cake stands, etc)

Wedding Attire
The Cordial Churchman - Bowties
jcrew – Mens
Anthropologie – Womens

Paper/Design/Calligraphy
Lindsay Letters Calligraphy - A font will never match custom calligraphy, and Lindsay is awesome!
Birdy Blue Design – Our friend, Rachel, designs fabulous custom invitations
Bella Figura
Slide Sideways
Minted
Love vs. Design - Good designs that you can print yourself.
A Printable Press – Another option for print yourself designs
Smock Paper – Great Letterpress (we love letterpress!) printed on wonderful bamboo paper.

A Few Wedding Blogs
Well-Groomed (for grooms)
Green Wedding Shoes
100 Layer Cake
A Northwoods Wedding
Snippet and Ink

Also be sure to check our our Pinterest boards for a little more wedding inspiration.