Michaela + Graham | Engaged

Yesterday’s engagement session at Beardslee Castle with Michaela and Graham felt like something out of a storybook.

I met Michaela a couple of years ago, when she stood beside her cousin as a bridesmaid in a wedding I photographed. This summer, that same cousin will stand beside her as Matron of Honor while Michaela begins her own next chapter. There is something so meaningful about being asked to do another wedding for the same family. It never gets old.

When we began talking about locations, Michaela shared how much they both love castles… and books. It felt so right to bring those two pieces together, and towards the end of their session, Michaela grabbed her and Graham’s favorite childhood books.

It was my first time photographing at Beardslee Castle, and it felt like stepping into another time. The stone walls hold so much history, the courtyard feels quiet and tucked away from the world, and the blue windows catch the light in a way that feels almost surreal. Even the empty water features out front hinted at the beauty that will come with summer. The castle itself, commissioned by Lavina Beardslee in 1860, stands on the site of an old fort—built by Swiss and Irish masons using local limestone. You can feel every bit of that history as you walk through it.

The air was warm—one of those rare mid-April days that feels like a soft preview of summer. The wind moved through in gentle bursts, just enough to keep the warmth comfortable, even if it meant pausing here and there to let Michaela’s hair fall back into place.

But more than anything, it was them.

Michaela and Graham have such a quiet, steady kind of love. Being around them feels calm. Easy. Like everything is exactly as it should be. Hearing their story—how they met in high school, went their separate ways for a time, and ultimately found their way back to each other—only made that feeling stronger.

Some stories don’t rush. They unfold, they wander, and then… they come home.

I am so looking forward to their wedding this summer at Settles Hill Banquet and Events.

-Nikki

Engagement Session Location: Beardslee Castle, Little Falls NY