Michelle + Dillon’s Autumn Wedding at Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden, Vermont
Hi dolls, Caitlinn Mahar-Daniels, Hudson Valley based wedding, destination, and adventure photographer here! This blog post is dedicated to Michelle + Dillon, and their destination wedding in the mountains of Vermont (specifically Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden, VT). Mountaintop Resort is such an amazing place to get married because of the options, all with views of the mountains. I always emphasize that the best venues are the ones that have lodging, and Mountain Top Resort has MANY options for lodging from entire homes to cabins, the list goes on. Michelle + Dillon hold such a special place in my heart because I got to meet them at one of Michelle’s best friends weddings in May 2019 - Clare and Zack’s! During cocktail hour at Clare’s wedding, I was taking photographs of couples hanging out outside during cocktail hour while I was waiting for the room decor to be completed. Michelle + Dillon were newly dating, a possible plus one risk, but she seemed to know their relationship was something lifelong and special. I remember getting nothing but WONDERFUL vibes from them both, and them together as a couple. I had a mini photo shoot with Michelle + Dillon, which led me to photograph their wedding almost 6 years later.
Photographic evidence -
Michelle + Dillon at Clare + Zack’s Cocktail Hour at the Candlewood Inn, May 2019
“This will sound cheesy, but you were certainly our favorite vendor! We hope you put something in your blog about the full circle moment of you shooting Clare and Zack's wedding when we had only been dating for four months; Clare and Zack had one of those weddings where you find yourself picking out elements of it that you want to "steal" because there was so much love there; when we got home from that wedding, we shared with each other that we were pretty sure that we were the loves of each other's lives, so having one of their vendors there - and it being specifically YOU - was actually amazing for us!! We stole their idea of doing mini photo shoots for our wedding party too hehe :)”
I was so so so honored when they reached out years later for me to photograph their own wedding, and SO happy that they did end up on their way to marriage. They surround themselves with such wonderful people and we had the most wonderful time documenting them, their friends, and their family. It was such a full circle moment to have the same cocktail hour photo shoots with their wedding party couples, just like I was doing the day I met them on that beautiful May day years ago. One of my favorite small details of their wedding day, was that Michelle wore her mom’s wedding shoes, whom very sadly passed away years ago.
Scroll to the bottom to see their wedding vendors and details.
How you met
“One of Michelle's best friends from growing up was roommates with Dillon's friends. We first met at a party, but were both too nervous to really make a connecting until the second time that we met about a year-and-a-half later at a Christmas party. (I almost didn't go, but decided to take the night off from my waitressing job to celebrate and the rest is history!). Fun fact is that the party was on my mom's birthday about two years after she passed away, so we like to think that she was looking out.”
How you got engaged
“We went for a winter walk on Duxbury Beach in MA (the town where I grew up). Dillon proposed privately and then had a surprise party planned at our apartment back in Boston later that evening.”
How you chose your dress, suit, shoes, hair/make up, anything you want to share about your wedding looks and inspiration!
“I did everything you're not supposed to do wedding dress shopping - I hate shopping/having people watch me try on stuff so I went to Alexandra's Bridal Boutique in Fall River, MA because they have basically any designer you'd want to look at. I did a little research on dresses and in advance sent a list of exact dress models I wanted to try on. I was between my final Martina Liana dress & one from All Who Wander, and when my aunt cried when I put on the Martina Liana, that's when I knew! Something that I found when trying on wedding dresses was that a veil made me feel like I was swimming in fabric on top of the larger dress - it felt like a lot for me personally. My hairdresser from home, Marissa Young, does awesome bridal hair and helped me figure out a great look with roses and baby's breath to jazz up my hair without a veil.
We're definitely a bit eclectic - Dillon custom designed his suit via Indochino, but he bought the Taft shoes first. He worked his whole look off of Taft. We love nature, and so the flowers on his shoes/the flowers in my hair, and our earthy colors with the dusty rose and green really became the vibe. Piece of advice for wedding look shopping for men is that if there is a black Friday during the course of your engagement - use it!”
How how you decided on your wedding size, who you chose for your wedding party and why, etc
“For us, we definitely wanted a smaller wedding party though. Our maid of honor was obvious - not only because she's amazing, but she's Michelle's childhood friend who lived with us for about a year and a half; she's the best cat aunt and friend in the world to now both of us. Our best man was Dillon's best friend since kindergarten, who lived with Dillon when we first got together so he's been around since the beginning. Our officiant is also a close friend to us, who dates the maid of honor - not only do we both love him, but we love him and our maid of honor's love so having them both super involved was a no brainer and also such an honor knowing that they met through us. Other wedding party members were our siblings, Michelle's friend who introduced us, Clare from college who's wedding you shot and who is like family to us, and two of Dillon's dear friends from growing up.”
I loved photographing moments between Michelle and her father. Especially that they honored him and their cultural by having Polish traditions incorporated into her wedding ceremony.
Their families so clearly adore them both, and each other, and this is always one of my favorite things to document on a wedding day. It gives me peace knowing they have a great support system if things ever get rough.
How you decided to get married at Mountaintop
“We love Vermont - we're big campers/hikers. Michelle did her undergrad in the Burlington area and Dillon's family is from Montana, so he spent his summers in the mountains as a kid. After touring a few venues in MA more local to us, it quickly became obvious that we needed to live our Sound of Music fantasy in the mountains! We wanted to create an experience where everyone could stay on site and make a bit of a vacation out of it together, and the Mountaintop was certainly able to accommodate. We had houses on site rented out for our families and bridal party, which made logistics much easier. The panoramic views of getting married in the Knoll at the Mountaintop were also unbelievable. We wanted an October wedding and it certainly delivered.”
During their wedding ceremony, they honored Michelle’s Polish roots by doing a Bread and Salt ceremony. This was led by Michelle’s father in which he explained the tradition to the wedding guests - he will give them bread with salt sprinkled on top that they will share, and then take a shot of Vodka.
The Bread represents that they hope that the couple never has to want for much. It is their hope that they never go hungry and always have enough.
The Salt is used so that the couple understands that life will not always be easy.
The Vodka is there to show that they hope that the couple never goes thirsty. It also symbolizes the wish for the couple’s life to be filled with joy and happiness for many years to come.
The joy that radiated through their ceremony (regardless of the chilly late October Vermont wind) warmed us all. Them walking towards the sunset after they were announced husband and wife was so symbolic.
It was full circle when we got to photograph their wedding party with their partners, just like at Clare + Zack’s wedding many years before.
Their cocktail hour was full of love and laughter.
Any wedding planning/vendor decisions you hope to share (decor inspiration, anything!)
“We tried to streamline things to make it easy peasy, and one of the benefits of the Mountaintop was that they have their own internal floral department and everything is right on site. We wanted sort of upscale boho/earthy chic. We're both whimsical and I think they really helped this vision come to life.”
Why you chose your first dance song
“Our first dance song was Strangers by The Kinks; it was on the one mix CD that Michelle had in her old Jeep when we first started dating. The lyrics are beautiful and it reminds us of when we were long distance and Dillon would opt to visit Michelle in the summer since she was on Cape Cod when he was in Boston. We'd try around the Cape blasting the mix CD and we always loved this son.”
Please enjoy the black and white wedding photographs that captured the quiet moments of their very fun and joyous wedding day.
Michelle + Dillon’s fathers both made their wedding toasts, and they were some of the most beautiful speeches Laurel and I have ever heard at a wedding.
I adore this couple so much, and the wonderful people that they surround themselves with.
Michelle + Dillon’s Wedding Vendors
Vermont Wedding Venue : Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden, Vermont
Shooting Partner : Laurel Jollie (especially groom getting ready photos + groom portraits)
Ceremony Officiant : Young Marsh (friend of bride and groom)New England Wedding Make Up : JW Artistry Massachusetts based Hair Artist : Marissa YoungDress Designer : Martina LianaDress Shop : Alexandria's Bridal Boutique in Fall River, MABride's Shoes : Michelle's mom's wedding shoes from the '90s :)Suit Designer : IndochinoGroom's Shoe Designer : Taft BootsFlorist : Meadow's Edge Floral Design (Mountain Top Resort's exclusive florist)Bakery : Sweet Birch Bakery in Wallingford, VTDJ : Go Event GroupWedding Bands and Engagement Ring : Brilliant EarthLinens : Wild Fern Boutique
