George + Martina || The Tides Estate
What an incredible way to wrap up our 2016 wedding season with George and Martina’s wedding.
After an exciting morning filled with laughter, singing, thoughtful gift exchanges and stunning wedding details, our bride and groom had their first look at Kakiat Park in Montebello, NY. Admittedly, the weather was bone chillingly cold. We are both grateful that our large bridal party was brave enough to battle the cold for a quick portrait session at the park.
George and Martina got married at St. Mary & St. Pachomious Coptic Orthodox Church in Stony Point, NY. Over the last few years, we’ve had the privilege of photographing quite a few Coptic Orthodox weddings. If you’ve never been to one, then surely you are missing out. From a visual perspective, there so many beautiful aspects that make up the wedding ceremony. Between the crowning of the bride and bridegroom to ceremonial robes draped upon the couple, to the anointing and reciting of scripture, the many traditions seen at a Coptic Orthodox Ceremony highlight the sanctity of marriage within the Christian church. Although the entire ceremony is performed in Arabic (of which neither one of us speaks), we’ve thankfully been invited to enough Coptic weddings to know how it flows. Although we know the routine, we love the challenge of seeking out unique wedding moments— whether it be candid or emotional or just plain comical— and thats really what we love about photographing weddings.
Immediately after the ceremony, we headed towards one of the most elegant venues in New Jersey, The Tides Estate. Their wedding reception was packed with a whole lot of celebrating and fun details. We especially enjoyed their miniature-house gift card holder, and the decadent wedding cake featuring fresh orchids. Right after dinner, the bride led her bridesmaids in a surprise dance performance for the groom; the rest of the evening was spent on the dance floor.
George and Martina, thank you for allowing us to pop a champagne bottle during our final portrait session that evening hours. We hope that image captures the emotions you felt that day as two became one.
Cindy + Derek || Winter Weddings at The Addison Park
Almost one year ago today, we were delighted to have wrapped up our wedding season with Cindy + Derek’s gorgeous engagement session in Savannah, Georgia. Once again, we find ourselves finishing off the 2014 wedding season with the same amazing couple… and we couldn’t be more honored to do so with anybody else.
Truth be told, we at Dreamlite Photography have been looking forward to this day for quite some time. Having already “tied the knot” on paper, Cindy + Derek emphasized this particular marriage celebration be exactly that– a celebration. Shedding away many of the traditional wedding day formalities allowed this couple to have a really beautiful, easy-flowing schedule. By doing so, this couple made room for a whole lot of dancing, laughter, love, and a few tears along the way (the good kind).
Although the winter weather was in full swing by this weekend (with temperatures dipping to the 20’s), you probably couldn’t tell by the portraits we took around the Princeton University campus. That’s how brave our bride + groom were. We consider ourselves blessed by having such courageous couples to work with. Even when things got really cold, Derek + Cindy pushed through, knowing that these portraits would be worth it.
Typically, our blogposts are filled with real moments… authentic emotions, crazy dance moves, and candid images that reflect our couples’ wedding day stories. And in doing so, we hardly ever shine the spotlight on the details. Not that we have anything against details, but we simply prefer to highlight the living over the inanimate 🙂 However, there was no way we could share this wedding without applauding Nada and her team from DB Events for being the creative force behind all the wedding details. The amount of creative energy poured into making this all possible was truly unspeakable. Every single detail– from the suspended wedding cake to the elegantly designed centerpieces to the dream-like ambiance of the reception room– can be credited to the folks at DB Events. We even had the opportunity to watch two separate dance performances that evening: an Irish dance troupe, followed by Pali Dabke Arabic dancers, to honor our couples’ Irish and Palestinian backgrounds. Thank you DB Events for making the magic real.
Above all else, congratulations to Derek + Cindy on celebrating their new marriage!
(To see more of our work, and even more photos from their celebration, visit us on our facebook page)
