Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Hillcrest Orchards, Amherst

A wedding at Hillcrest Orchards in Amherst happens among the apple trees on a fifth-generation family farm. You get married in the orchard, celebrate in a restored barn, and step out to a pond at sunset, so your photographer and videographer have rows of trees, old barn beams and water all within one evening of wedding photos.

Everything is on the farm. Your wedding ceremony takes place in the orchard, with cocktail hour on the paver patio behind the barn, where there's an outdoor bar, Adirondack chairs and Gala apple trees all around. Two pavilions with string lights sit beside a one-and-a-half-acre pond, and couples have used them for ceremonies, cocktail hours and receptions too. A bridal suite is yours for the whole wedding day, and staff can drive you to different corners of the farm for pictures. If it rains, the ceremony moves into the barn, with the wedding party entering from the patio through the big sliding doors.

Inside, the barn holds up to 160 guests for your wedding reception, with exposed beams, twinkle lights and Edison bulbs, plus heat and air conditioning. Food comes from the venue's catering partner, and the farm provides the bar. In September and October the orchard adds sunflowers and a pumpkin patch to your pictures. An orchard ceremony is quiet and open, but there's no sound system out there, so ask your videographer to put a small microphone on the officiant for the vows.

• Book a tour by appointment, since weddings run from May through October.
• Plan sunset pictures at the pond with your photographer.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines and the rain plan for your ceremony.

A little about Hillcrest Orchards

The barn has been part of the family farm for nearly 100 years and was first used for sorting and packing apples. It was restored as the farm's reception space.