Hilary & Jerry's Fall Hotel Lilien Wedding

Hilary and Jerry got married at Hotel Lilien on a Saturday in the middle of October, which in the Catskills is about as good as the timing gets. The color was popping and the whole property was lit up with it. Their wedding was low-key in the best sense of that phrase. They actually got to spend the day with the people who came for them, rather than being moved from one thing to the next. There was good food, there were drinks, there was a dance floor, and there was time.

A lot of guests stayed on the property, so the weekend started the night before with a bonfire and s’mores and everybody already together. The day itself moved between both of Hotel Lilien’s spaces. The ceremony was in the Lodge, with light coming in from over the mountains and filling the room. Cocktail hour was back at the hotel, and then everyone returned to the Lodge for dinner and dancing.

That light is the kind of thing nobody can plan for or ask a venue to provide, and it stayed for the whole ceremony. Hilary and Jerry were as relaxed as any couple I have photographed, and their guests took the cue from them. A couple who is genuinely easy about their wedding gives everyone else permission to enjoy it, and you can see that in the photos.