Novella Photography

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Winter Engagement Session at the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round & Willimansett Bridge

Hillary & Andy decided to do their engagement session at a historical spot in the town where they recently bought a home together: Holyoke, Massachusetts, an old mill town in the Pioneer Valley. Our plan was to meet at the Merry-Go-Round, but on our way into town we noticed some beautiful fog over the river. We had them meet us at the Willimansett Bridge instead, where the road was quiet early on that Sunday morning. After some dreamy portraits in the fog, we made our way to the carousel where we all warmed up and had a lot of fun hopping on & off the antique ride. It was originally part of Mountain Park: an amusement resort built in the late 1800’s at the top of Mount Tom. The merry-go-round was added to the park in 1929 and ran for 58 years until the park was closed. Almost every ride was sold, but residents of Holyoke came together and raised enough funds to purchase the carousel and keep it in town. Volunteers repainted and restored its parts while a new site was built, which opened in 1993.