Venue guides · June 14, 2026
Planning your wedding at The Salt Barn: a photographer's notes
Where the light falls, which room to use for getting ready and how to build a timeline that keeps the best hours for portraits.
I have photographed several weddings at The Salt Barn at Dunmore Farm, and couples often ask me for a few notes before they plan their day. Here is what I tell them.
The rooms
The main hall has tall doors on both ends. In the morning, light comes in from the east and falls across the floor. By late afternoon the west doors take over.
The loft is a quiet space above the hall, with a single window. I use it for rings and letters, because the light there is soft and the room is calm.
The yard is a gravel court with an old apple tree. It makes a lovely place for a drinks hour, and it is the first place I look for family portraits.
A timeline that works
- Getting ready, 1:00. In the loft or the farmhouse bedroom, both with good window light.
- First look, 3:00. Under the apple tree, away from guests.
- Ceremony, 4:00. In the main hall, doors open if the weather allows.
- Portraits, 5:00 to 5:45. Fields and yard, as the light softens.
- Dinner, 6:00. In the hall, with the west doors open for the last light.
Questions to ask the venue
Ask about the rain plan, quiet hours and where vendors can park. If your day happens to be wet, read about what happened at one of my rainy Salt Barn weddings. All of my weddings here are collected on the venue page.
Photographed at The Salt Barn at Dunmore Farm, 214 Dunmore Road, Port Alder, Maine.
Planning a wedding on the harbor?
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Rain at The Salt Barn, and why it turned out perfectA forecast that said rain all day, a barn with big doors and a father who could not stop hugging his daughter: a wet wedding that photographed beautifully.
Golden hour at Larkspur Cove GardensA late September wedding in a walled garden above the cove, and the twenty minutes before sunset that gave the couple their favorite photographs.