Joyful Film Wedding Photography for a Beautiful Backyard Weddin

Film wedding photography is my absolute favorite medium for documenting weddings. It’s perfect for preserving emotional, heartfelt days, from the portraits you’re going to hang on the wall to the sweet in betweens. Film photography was the perfect way to preserve Heidi and Ryan’s wedding day. Their small backyard wedding balanced a no-fuss atmosphere and spontaneity with deeply meaningful details.

A bride's grandfather reads from a paper during a backyard wedding ceremony on film wedding photography.

A Beautiful Backyard Wedding with Sentimental Details

When Heidi and Ryan reached out to me about film wedding photography for their celebration at Heidi’s family farm, I knew I had to be there. For starters, the property is gorgeous. Peachy dahlias and hot pink roses line brick sidewalks around the sweet house. Old trees shade large swaths of the rolling green lawn. It’s picturesque.

A bride in a silk robe sits in a window seat in a Kentucky farmhouse.
A bride holds hands with her grandmother in a Polaroid wedding photo.

But more importantly than that, Heidi and Ryan put a lot of care into their wedding day. Instead of going all out on trendy rentals and installations, they took every chance they could to incorporate what matters most to them – their family. Film wedding photography really was the perfect medium for documenting it.

Wooden pews and chairs sit outside a farmhouse before a backyard wedding.
Dahlias and roses line a brick walkway outside a Louisville home.
Wedding favors sit on wooden pews on a lawn in film wedding photography.

Here are some of the ways Heidi and Ryan made their wedding deeply personal. 

  • They got married at Heidi’s grandparents’ farm. 

  • The church pews that they used for the ceremony were from the church where Heidi’s grandparents got married. How sweet is that??

  • After the ceremony, Heidi and Ryan drove around in an antique car that her grandfather had won in a giveaway.

A wedding guest reads a handwritten speech during a backyard wedding ceremony on film.
A bride poses beside a tree after a backyard wedding ceremony preserved on film.

All of these details rooted Heidi and Ryan’s marriage in all the love that came before them. You could feel that they were part of their families’ stories as much as they were making a new one for themselves.

A Louisville wedding photographer photographs a bride and groom at a backyard wedding.
A bride gathers pink and white flowers in a garden on film wedding photography.

A No Fuss Wedding Day

Despite all the sentimental details, Heidi and Ryan had a small, laidback wedding. Their whole day had a feeling of expansiveness and joy. It’s not every wedding that a bride gets to cut the flowers for her bouquet from her grandmother’s garden! 

A bride holds a bouquet of freshly cut pink and white flowers in a film wedding photo.
A bride leans on a groom outside a farmhouse in film wedding photography.

Everyone felt so at ease throughout the day. It’s a testament to the power of getting married in a place to which you feel deeply connected. I felt so lucky to document it on film.

A bride and groom cuddle on a back porch in a Polaroid wedding photo.
A groom kisses a bride's forehead at a backyard wedding outside Louisville.
A bride and groom walk across a lawn towards a Louisville wedding photographer.

A Laidback Photography Experience

This celebration is a perfect example of why I made a change to my film wedding photography services. I realized I was sick of charging clients an hourly rate for weddings. Small weddings, especially, are supposed to feel laidback, but they ended up feeling like we were in a time crunch. 

A bride and groom sit at a table laughing with family members.
A bride and groom share their first dance in a Louisville backyard in a film wedding photo.

So I stopped charging an hourly rate. Yes, I’m working longer hours, and yes, there is trust that needs to be there on both sides to make it work. But I’ve been so happy with the experience so far.

A groom poses with his father for a Louisville wedding photographer.
A bride and groom pose in an antique car in front of a Louisville farmhouse.

By not charging an hourly rate, I’m able to help my clients and their people feel even more comfortable being photographed. We simply have the time to ease into it all. Because of that, I’m able to get more candid photos. 

A bride waves her bouquet from the passenger seat of an antique convertible in a film wedding photo.


It’s those in between moments that you can’t plan, pose, or put on a timeline. They just happen when people feel at ease and are able to be themselves. These silly, imperfect, lovely moments are unique to each couple and show the intricate aspects of what makes us human. I can’t predict it – but I can preserve it.

A groom shows a Louisville film photographer his gold wedding band.
A groom puts his arm around a bride and smiles at her in a film wedding photo.
A bride and groom kiss under a tree at a backyard wedding in Louisville.

Joyful Film Wedding Photography

Heidi and Ryan really valued having film wedding photography. I was so glad! I offer 35mm film and Polaroids as an add-on option for my wedding photography packages. It’s the medium I’m most passionate about.

A bride holds a champagne glass in a garden.
A bride laughs with friends in a bar.

I love film photography because it’s so good at conveying the emotion of the moment. You can feel what you felt on your wedding day when you hold a film print in your hands. It’s instant nostalgia. There’s a kind of poetry to having a tangible way to preserving your wedding photos instead of letting them collect digital dust in the cloud.

A bride sips a cocktail in a bar.
A bride poses with a friend for a film wedding photographer in Louisville.

Would you like me to document your celebration with film wedding photography? I’m Kendra, a Louisville wedding photographer specializing in nostalgic film images. Reach out to me here! 


Thank you to the vendors who helped make this wedding so special.

Planning: ABC Weddings

Photography: Kendra Farris Photography 

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