Our venue, Honeysuckle Hills, has three irresistible horses that love to be included in wedding photographs. They add a unique experience to your wedding whether you adore from afar or ask your photographer to capture them running behind you and approaching close enough to touch. If you love horses as much as I do, read on for tips to make the most of this exciting addition to your wedding package.
Sugar, Ben, and Smoky claim several of the 30 acres of our farm as their home. Each has a unique story explaining what makes them pretty eye candy instead of hard-working trail horses. Your wedding guests will enjoy being able to pet them from across the fence on our main grounds. There’s no telling how many photos have been taken of them from this perspective alone.
Sugar is our famous white appaloosa quarter horse who’s been kicking up her heels at Honeysuckle Hills since 2009. I acquired her from a local horse trainer who had a challenging time breaking her to ride because she spent her first five years in seclusion. No one has EVER been able to stay on her back for more than five minutes. She and I struck a deal that’s never been broken to this day. Sugar agrees to lovingly show off for pictures if humans stay off her back. She’s well known to try to “kiss” people, often sticks out her tongue, and is the star when it comes to running from food pile to food pile behind you.
Ben is our quarter horse paint who’s been here since 2014. He prefers a back seat to performing. Give him a sweet cup of grain and he’s happy as a lark. Also known as the “pirate,” Ben is missing an eye due to an unfortunate accident. Sugar and Smoky compensate for his one-sightedness with their companionship and love, but they’re not the only ones who help take care of him. The farrier gives him extra TLC on pedicure days because of an old tendon injury. I call him the “old man” and remind him daily he has a forever home here.
Smoky belongs to Sierra, my daughter-in-law. As a full appaloosa with attitude to match, she decided to take the same deal as Sugar and show off a little for pictures as long as people stay off her back. She’s been here since Sierra fell in love with my son in 2016.
Honeysuckle Hills is a photographer’s playground. This means the horses are only one of many backdrops to choose from, so you’ll want to make sure you book a package that has enough time to include all your selections and ideas. We literally have a package to fit a variety of budgets and wedding plans. The most important thing to consider at our venue is the TIME required to accommodate guests, events, and photography.
There are minimum wedding package requirements for photos with our old truck or an interactive horse experience. Because our 1950 Ford photo prop is inside the horse pasture, as long as you’ve chosen a package with enough time, there’s no charge for photos with the horses eating grain in the background. We must feed them at a safe distance to keep them from photobombing and seeking your attention. If an up-close experience is what you crave, however, an additional fee is required so we’ll have qualified staff members to make that magic happen safely. I recommend our luxury elopement package for the most time to create exhilarating, emotional images. You can even bring your own professional photographer if they can provide us with a copy of their insurance listing Honeysuckle Hills, LLC, as additionally insured.
Your safety is always our number one priority. Horses are large animals after all and deserve our respect even if they do act like sweet, overgrown dogs. Our horses are not the same as those in petting zoos or riding stables, so no children are permitted inside the horse pasture. Period. This is an adults-only activity, for no more than two people at a time. And while you’re going to get some stunning wedding photos like no one else has, you won’t be able to hop on their backs. (Remember that agreement I made with them?)
The best time of year for photos with our horses is in late April, early May, and October. A carpet of yellow buttercups bloom in the field in early spring. The trees at the edges of the horse field turn bright red and gold around mid-October, and it’s my favorite time of year to use our hitching post photo prop further down in the field by the creek. Summer brings hot weather and more flying insects, but if you’re a hard-core country guy or gal we’re game!
The best time of day for photos in the horse field is as late as possible, although this varies by season. In the summer, I recommend about an hour or two prior to sunset. In the fall, our horse pasture typically has shade after 2:00pm. Experienced photographers who use off-camera lighting will be able to capture well-exposed images regardless of the time of day. However, do you really want to stand sweating in the blaring sun at noon? At the very least, choose a time of day when photographers can place the sunlight behind you.
The least desirable time for photos with our horses is in mid-November through March when the horse pasture has less grass and more mud. Our horses love a good roll in the dirt just to say, “Hey, we performed all year and now it’s our time to rest.” It’s almost impossible to brush them completely clean. Our horses are free-range, preferring the open sky to the confines of a stable. They’re blanketed during extremely cold and snowy weather events.
If you book a wedding with reception, I recommend slipping away just before sunset while your guests are doing a fun line-dance or grabbing a mixed drink from an optional horse-trailer bar provided by Single Barrel events. You sure don’t want to get your dress dirty before your ceremony!
All our wedding packages that include photographs with our horses can be found on our website, Honeysuckle Hills. I would love to hear all about how horses have been a part of your life or your love story. Share your ideas with me, and it will be a joy to help you plan a wedding that includes photos with Sugar, Ben and Smoky!
