Saneta + Kensheen|| Crystal Ballroom Weddings
Saneta and Kensheen’s story began some fifteen years back, when they first met in middle school. After nearly a decade of writing that love story, an engagement session at a “you won’t believe it till see you see it” spot in Central Illinois, they asked us to join them at their wedding celebration here in New Jersey.
The morning started off great; the bride and groom in their own respective locations getting ready. There was some mandated dancing on the groomsmens’ end (google ‘chinese wedding door games’) before the groom could see his bride. After a brief tea ceremony to honor some family members, we headed off for outdoor portraits.
Although quite chilly for a spring wedding, we were thankful that Saneta, Kensheen and their bridal party braved the portraits at Rutgers Gardens. Thankfully, there were some gorgeous cherry blossoms abloom at the garden, allowing us to incorporate some incredible and soft colors in the photos (also which seemed to compliment the bridesmaids’ colors just perfectly.)
The rest of the day’s festivities took place at the Crystal Ballroom at the Radisson Freehold in Freehold, NJ. The remainder of the night was filled with fierce dance moves, heartwarming speeches and even a raffle event for their reception guests.
Congratulations once more to our newlyweds Saneta and Kensheen!
Jen + Tim || Chimney Hill Estate Inn Weddings
In one of our last email conversations together leading up to their wedding day, we asked Jen what was most important on her wedding day. This was her response:
“In general, I am going for a very laid back ceremony and reception. I’m not very sentimental when it comes to items, but I am with the people in my life. A theme that keeps popping up in my head in the planning of the details is the phrase ‘Rejoice always’ from 1 Thessalonians 5:16. So that’s what Tim and I are trying to do, and what we want this ceremony and reception to be about.”
We’re so thankful for the opportunity to document their wedding celebration. Beyond the delicious brisket, curiously fuzzy alpacas and the beautiful May weather, it’s always refreshing to have a bride + groom whose heart is focused on something Greater than a perfect execution of wedding day details.
For the record, we absolutely loved working at the Chimney Hill Estate Inn in Lambertville, NJ. The staff were incredibly cordial, and everything from the food to the grounds to the alpacas made for an impeccable experience. A very special thanks is in order to staff + management at the Chimney Hill Estate Inn. Only with their cooperation and service did we truly enjoy our visit there.
Rose + Joe || Ballyowen Golf Club Weddings
Every once in a while, we only get to learn about a couples’ love story on the day of their wedding. In the case of Rose + Joe, our respect for their relationship grew tremendously when the wedding officiant revealed that their long-distance love story had stretched 7,393 miles… from Shanghai to New York.
Our bride + groom decided to tie the knot a year earlier, and thus, when they contacted us about their May event at the Ballyowen Golf Club, they highly emphasized their day being a “joyful celebration” rather than simply a wedding. We certainly kept that in mind as we documented this love-filled day.
If you asked us, we would definitely say that our favorite images were all the little moments in between the formalities. Such as the time that Joe unabashedly picked up his wife and spun her in the air during portraits; or the time that our newlyweds were joking around with one of the flower girls during some downtime at the reception. The table centerpieces were very clever as well: a cup of “joe” and a rose were fittingly centered at each of their reception tables.
Regardless of our personal picks, we hope you all will share in all of the joy of our couples’ celebratory day as you browse through these images.
Mark + Mariam || Coptic Wedding Celebration at the Tides Estate
Mark + Mariam’s wedding celebration is finally here on the blog. We really enjoyed working with this super friendly, slightly goofy and very much down-to-earth couple. From their early morning engagement session at Lambert Castle a few months back, we learned just how easy-going and humorous this couple was.
On their wedding day, we felt like we were hit by a hurricane. The beautiful blend of culture + faith was very much evident in their traditional Coptic Orthodox wedding ceremony, followed by an elegant wedding reception at The Tides Estate, and topped off with seemingly endless amounts of dancing. Sandwiched between the festivities was a bridal party like no other. The twenty bridal party members surrounding our lovely bride + groom were certainly memorable. To say that they too were excited, wacky, outrageously funny and ready to celebrate this new marriage would have been a great understatement. All twenty of them were a riot to be around— full of enough energy, jokes, and antics to keep us on our feet all throughout the evening.
Our favorite part of the wedding day was definitely the reception. The entire evening of celebration– dancing, slideshows, numerous speeches, and surprise flash mob (led by the bride herself)– was so much fun to be a part of and document. Weddings, after all, are all about the celebrating and honoring of a covenant, and not simply just one big checklist and fancy clothes… and the way this couple celebrated their wedding, surrounded by a sea of loved ones, was very much proof of that covenant.
Congratulations once again to our newlyweds, Mariam and Mark !!
