A few years ago, Nicole told me that she was sick of dating punk rock boys and wanted to settle down with a man that could truly take care of her. At the time, she was living in a punk house a few apartments down from us with a close friend of mine, Sal Lucci (roomates in the truest sense). He moved to Indiana, Nicole moved out, and I lost touch with Nicole for a year or so. One day, while on the midtown direct train back to Montclair, I ran into Nicole and she introduced me to her new boyfriend Jared. He was from Chicago, but had spent most of his life living not too far from her in Northern Jersey. Fate struck on a business trip and she met the man of her dreams in the Windy City.

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.

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