The couple put everything into making this wedding come off without a hitch. From the legitimate Polaroid photo booth (not ours) to the seating cards made out of vintage transit tickets—every detail was impeccable. The ceremony was a tear jerker. Wally’s aunt served as officiant and her emotional delivery was perfect. The handwritten vows just ramped up the emotion to the next level. This was one of the few times that I turned and looked at Allison and she was tearing up in the corner with my lens in one hand and a tissue in the other.

The reception took place in the theater’s massive lobby and was punctuated with a traditional Chinese song sung by Lucy’s mother speeches from Wally’s brother and Lucy’s sister. I won’t lie, I wanted to photograph the theater so badly, but in the end, watching two families—so full of love and energy—unite as one made this evening a truly magical wedding that we were so glad to be a part of.

The two tied the knot with a quiet ceremony overlooking a stunning Pennsylvanian lake. The weather was perfect and the sky just lit up as the two said their vows. Russ’s daughter spoke a few words before the couple gave each other roses—the first gift to each other has husband and wife. Every member of the family made a wish on the rings before the bands were placed on each hand and friends and everyone in attendance swooned as both said “I do.”

Back at the reception hall, the party got started with dance off after dance off and the fun went on until midnight. I was shocked to see people in the crowd that knew the actual moves to popular songs. I didn’t even know modern songs had dance moves. I was wrong. The party didn’t end until all shots were downed and everyone went home happy. I need to start hanging out in PA more often. These guys are awesome.

He fell in love with her ravishing beauty and followed her back to the Garden State where he started his life over again. All for her. She called him her Wookie, he didn’t object, and a few months later a huge ring was placed on her finger. Nicole is the world to him and he means everything to her. Basically, it’s a match made in Jersey. Ironically, Jared did a very punk rock move by wearing Chuck Taylors during the ceremony, and looked totally cool in a Joey Ramone sort of way.

The wedding started at the First Reform Church in Pompton Plains—a stunning location that has light billowing in from all sides. Truly a photographer’s dream church. After the ceremony we headed off to the Van Vlek Gardens in Montclair for some lovely portraits in what I call the Secret Garden. An hour later, the party was kicking in full gear at the Women’s Club in Glen Ridge. Sure, the name sounds hoity toity, but the room was huge and screamed Hollywood. Nicole and Jared pulled a rock star move and made their entrance through the giant stage. Nicole spared no expense with stunning details ranging from a candy bar to a groom’s cake made out of devil dogs. But the highlight of the night, was a dance off run by Garret Lauer—DJ to the stars—which featured the wedding party pulling off some of the most hilarious moves I’ve ever seen. This was a party for the ages.

The wedding kicked off with a stunning ceremony at the lovely Second Baptist Church and the party continued all night long at Mt. Carmel Hall. James is a member of Member of Iota Phi Theta, and his brothers were on hand to light up the festivities with some great speeches and introductions. Marie was breathtaking, working the room and tearing up the dance floor as her brother cut it up in the DJ booth. Old school hip hop and smooth R&B was the flavor of the evening with nary a bad tune all night.

As the sun dipped low, the couple obliged me a few minutes to make some dreamy portraits amidst the open field that flanks the hall. James is a former football player and both are coaches, so the two walking through grassy meadow just seemed so apropos. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the evening.

Allison and I decided to pick two album styles—a modern album with photos flush with the paper and a more traditional matte-mount album. Almost everyone does flush-mount albums (I like to call them yearbook style), but the company that wowed us the most was KISS Wedding Books. Every album is handmade with the best leathers and come in an array of colors and sizes ranging from the tiny 4×4 Lil’ Kisses up to 12-inch square.

The albums feature super-thick photo paper and a lay-flat spine guarantees that two-page photo spreads will be fully visible. These are stunning heirloom pieces that will last generations, and are backed by KISS’s lifetime guarantee. While we went with Forbidden Green for our sample, KISS has a number of other colors available including: Virgin White, Sultry Blue, Smoldering Brown, Passion Pink, Voluptuous Black, and Redlight Red

Every album that we sell will be custom designed by me to your specifications. Check out the photos below for a more detailed look and shoot us an email to get your album designed today.

Ginny & Aaron

I can completely understand why some people might be frightened at the offer to photograph a funeral-themed wedding. Me, I get giddy. A few months back, Ginny e-mailed me explaining that she was having her wedding on Halloween and was going to have the place done up with corpses, caskets, skulls—the whole nine yards. She made it clear that this wasn’t going to be cheesy goth creepy, but full on night of terror wedding. For years, I’ve been not-so-secretly wishing to shoot a wedding on O’Hallows Eve and jumped at the opportunity.

Ginny made it clear—she wanted all her decorations captured on film and that took priority over everything else. Human skull. Check. Corpse in the corner. Check. Casket cake. Check. Keep in mind, the wedding was done at the Il Villaggio in Carlstadt, NJ—a very upscale Italian pavilion style manor that probably doesn’t see this type of spooky cacophony too often.

The wedding was amazing. Everyone was dressed in black from head to toe, except the bride. Ginny came out to “Fade to Black” by Metallica, which blew me away. When she kissed her new husband, Aaron, for the first time “Hells Bells” by AC/DC blew through the speakers—this was the most bad ass wedding ever. As a thank you for shooting their blessed event, the newlyweds gave me a resin skull and a mini-butcher knife. I swear, I love my clients.

Best wishes to Ginny and Aaron. You were right, your wedding was to die for.

As an aside, after I sent Ginny her slideshow, she sent me the sweetest email ever. Here’s the abridged version, minus any gory details:

“With every pic you took of me i can see and remember exactly how i felt at that moment which is wonderful because it all went so fast, i get to relive it at my leisure now, enjoying every minute the way i wished i could’ve. We got a once in a lifetime break with you because your talent is worth so much more then we ever could have afforded and i feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to have you be our photographer. You gave me my wedding to cherish forever instead of the messy blur in my head, which short of donating a kidney, is the greatest gift ever. By the way, if you ever need a kidney, I’m here for you.”

Ginny, you can keep the kidney. I’ll take the kind words. Thank you so much.

Richard & Nichole

A few weeks back, I photographed my first wedding on a boat and had a blast the whole evening. Congratulations to Nichole and Richard on their nuptials at the Moshulu in Philadelphia, a century old sailing vessel that was permanently docked in Philly a few decades ago. The couple had a wonderful wedding and I was introduced to the tradition of both the unity coin and handfasting. I’ve heard of tying the knot, but never knew where the phrase came from. Here are some of my favorite selections from the evening.

Two hours later, we were celebrating a wonderful wedding at King’s Grand Open Space—a lovely hall overlooking a picturesque lake. The two families were a dream to photograph and the sun came out just in time to take some outdoor portraits of everyone.

The other day I received an email from the bride that floored me:

We just took a look at the slide show…we loved it! Ed had a big smile on his face and I cried, so I can definitely say, “Job well done!” We can’t wait to see the other photos!

Lori, you’re more than welcome.

Just got back from Miami and the wedding of one of my oldest friends, Rob Fee and his lovely new bride Jeannette Mallozzi. The two tied the knot in the 12th century Ancient Spanish Monastary shipped to Florida by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s. The reception was a whirlwind of Cuban dancing and Mojitos sipped poolside at the National Hotel on South Beach. Congrats and best wishes to Rob and Jeannette.