Terrence Takeover | Farm Dinner at Honeymoon Acres in Ramsey, NJ
Apollo Fields | Best Wedding Photos | New York Wedding Photographer | Long Island Wedding Photographer | New Jersey Wedding Photographer | Honeymoon Acres | Ramsey, NJ | Terrence Huie | Writer
How does a guy go from surviving on late night halal to cooking and hosting multi-course farm fresh dinners? From “extra white sauce, please” to garnishing butter-poached scallops with pickled apple and fennel? I’m convinced cooking wasn’t part of my DNA until the first time Heather and I made fresh pasta together in Harlem; and I don’t think Heather knew of her penchant for hosting until we held a casual picnic with a few friends shortly thereafter. But now looking back at our almost ten-year path to this pilot dinner at our family farm, every step of the way falls into place like silverware surrounding a place setting.
Heather and I first met in 2014 while shaking light pink cosmos in neighboring restaurants on the Upper West Side. Ever since then hospitality has always been and always will be a through-line for everything that we do. Being three-deep at the bar while the expo machine cranks in the background was the training ground for the weeds that we now navigate in our everyday lives. Whether it’s meeting the demands of our two under three, being the steady rock for our couples who just need to take a deep breath, or serving 20 guests five courses–we will always hold the line.
The orange wax cascading down the side of the candle is reaching the point of splashing onto the champagne colored tablecloth. Dessert is about to drop with a chilled amaro-coffee cocktail. I’m trying to call words to the forefront of my mind but only see a faucet running with a sink full of dishes that we need to turn.
“First off, I want to thank you for coming…” I begin.
My mind is black like the trees all around us.
“I also want to thank Heather, who always keeps me reaching…”
Still blank.
“When I think about hosting dinners I think about how I get into a flow state, how the whole world shrinks down to your candlelit faces, like nothing else exists.”
A spark is happening.
“And it makes me think of the phrase, “the grass is always greener,” how you know, a lot of us are always looking to the future or the past, and we fail to appreciate what is right in front of us. Well, I just wanted to say that if you look beneath your feet right now, the grass is pretty fucking green, so here’s to that. Cheers everyone!”
My mind is still empty as I scurry back to the house to start firing the dessert course. Orange wax is all over the table.
Our guests are wiping whipped cream from their mouths and it’s our first opportunity to sit down and pour ourselves a drink. I guess not much has changed since our bartending days yet everything has changed. I can trust Heather to make sure things never stay the same and she can trust me to make them feel like they are. It’s our secret sauce. Photography, dinner parties, we are the same people we have always been and always will be–and we will always keep reaching. I will never stop crushing a styrofoam container packed with halal but it’s no longer necessary for my survival.
Sunken Meadow Pavilion Wedding Photos
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Gina + Peter
It’s funny how every growing family finds their little nook to get away from it all. Many times it’s a lake house or cabin in the woods that the family has been renting for generations. Other times it’s a landmark of mom and dad’s relationship that brings them down memory lane.
For my family, it was Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a wind-swept peninsula an hour-and-a-half drive from Boston. Its cozy cottages, relaxing beaches, seafood restaurants, and family-friendly establishments makes it a destination for the entire New England area. I always thought that the vibe was remarkably similar to the north fork of Long Island, not too far from where my grandmother lived in Wading River. This notion was driven home when I walked into the house that Peter grew up in Patchogue, where his mother warmly greeted me in the sunroom of her adorable colonial-meets-beach style home.
rom-com Relationship Origins
The story of the first time that Gina met Peter sounds like it is straight out of a rom-com: Gina was babysitting and went into a pizzeria that Peter worked at and the little one she was caring for ordered an eggplant Parmesan slice. Peter couldn’t believe that was what they wanted because he still didn’t like eggplant, and offered them a free slice of pepperoni on the house. There wasn’t any monumental shift in the kid’s palate but both Peter and Gina knew that there might be something between them.
Fast forward a couple years when they’re coincidentally both working at a restaurant in Patchogue. Peter comes in to meet up with one of their co-workers when they see each other and remember one another from the pepperoni/eggplant encounter. They wind up going on a beach date shortly thereafter and both show up to work one day rocking the same sunburn. They didn’t care about everyone knowing that they were dating but this totally blew their cover.
The Incredible Lightness of Being (In Love)
I never read the Milan Kundera novel of the same title minus the parentheticals, but I couldn’t help but notice the lightness of Gina and Peter’s relationship. It was clear in the way that their body language relaxed as they approached one another, folding together not only physically but socially and emotionally as well. You could tell that they were on the same wavelength, like they perpetually living in the “honeymoon stage.” You might think that every one of our couples behaves like that on their wedding day, but not quite like Gina and Peter.
Heather and I’s Relationship Origins
Coincidentally, Heather and I met at hospitality jobs also. We worked across the street from each other in 2013 at neighboring restaurants on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. People always find it romantic when I tell them that story, but it wasn’t until after getting to know Peter and Gina’s relationship origins that I began to understand why. I think it’s the idea of an organic, budding romance in the age of dating apps; how of the many relationships that come from working in the hospitality industry—where workers more often than not are in transitory parts of their lives, and people are growing into or building towards the next stage in their lives—that the idea of two people happenstantially meeting to come together and grow together seems improbable. That the odds say most paths diverge.
For Heather and I it adds to the strength of our relationship. We were talking about it the other day and it’s like we were building a foundation even though we didn’t know it. And every subsequent year or period of growth we were building on top of that. It would follow then, that we, and Gina and Peter feel lighter, because rather than building separate foundations we were building on the same one. The higher we go, the lighter we feel.
Vendors
Photography | Apollo Fields
Venue | Sunken Meadow State Park Pavilion | King’s Park, NY
The Vanderbilt Museum Wedding and Engagement Photos
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Brittany + Bryan
Despite growing up 15 minutes away from the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, the first time I visited the beautiful, sprawling property in Centerport, Long Island, was a couple years ago. I was taken aback by the charm of the mansion’s Spanish revival architectural style; the cobblestone roads, ceramic rooftops, and clearly mediterranean influence. All over the house are the spoils from the Vanderbilt’s worldwide travel: from a hand-crafted imitation of Napoleon’s bed, to ornate mantlepieces and boathouses, and perhaps most surprising—their extensive collection of taxidermied animals that is truly only trumped by the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. I didn’t even mention the fun-for-all-ages planetarium.
Engagement Photos at Vanderbilt Museum
All of the beautiful architecture makes for the perfect location to for your engagement photos. The architectural style makes it feel like you’re not on Long Island anymore, but the rolling hills and lush green trees overlooking Centerport Harbor bring you right back. You can even turn the session into a date night where they host a series of events, one of which Heather and I got to attend (a modern version of a Shakespearean play).
Centerport Wedding Photographer
Centerport is the perfect example for how easy it is to miss out on what’s right next to you. It’s a quaint residential neighborhood with winding streets and steep hills that feels secluded even though its just off of 25A, one of the busiest local roads. It celebrates it’s private and public beaches, looking out onto it’s own harbor just like so many cove-y towns of the north shore. As much as we love to hop on planes and explore the world it’s always nice to just climb into the car and show the kiddos the beauty around us.
Shuttle Meadow Country Club Wedding Photos
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Kelly + Evan
One of the first things couples realize when planning a wedding is that their opinions on the event are not the only ones that matter. Whether it’s their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or extended family, someone has a monkey wrench to throw into the best laid plans! It can lead to difficult conversations and even harder decisions, but Kelly and Evan’s intimate wedding ceremony in Rocky Mountain National Park followed by their reception at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Connecticut, clearly echoed not only their own values, but also the ones they learned from their refreshingly supportive families.
Family Values
Marriage, like anything else, is an institution that is evolving over time. Heather and I have noticed how marriage preserves some generational values, while it distances itself from others. For example, just a generation ago, getting married in a church by a pastor or priest was the norm, but now couples are opting to get married in beautiful backyards (raises hand) and scenic parks by one of their closest friends or family members. Antiquated reasons for a father walking their daughter down the aisle have given way to a deeper emotional connection that is one of my favorite things to witness. Perhaps the most modern and honorable aspect of the evolution of marriage is when parents who have parted ways come together at the wedding to pay respect to one another as partners and parents while also acknowledging the newer partners and parents in their children’s lives. Emotional intelligence may not always seem like it’s on the rise, but believe me if you were at Kelly and Evan’s wedding in Connecticut you wouldn’t have had dry eyes either.
Family Tradition
Kelly’s grandparents belonged to the Shuttle Meadow Country Club before her parents did and it meant a lot to her family for her and Evan to host their reception there. I don’t typically think about deep family ties and emotions when speaking about country clubs but it was apparent in the way Kelly and her family interacted with the property and staff. Family traditions take many forms and whenever possible you should try to embrace them when planning for your wedding!
Apollo Fields Family Values & Traditions
After Heather and I had Capa it changed the way I looked at my childhood and the choices my parents made. My five siblings and I were pretty much free range chickens in our cluttered house, finding our way home for dinner after playing with neighborhood kids until dusk. The only problem was that I didn’t know that I had autonomy and power over my own decisions until I left for college, whereupon I learned of my lack of discipline and returned home shortly thereafter. I consider it one of the best things that ever happened to me because it made me really analyze what decisions I was making and why.
So when I saw Evan and Kelly’s families and the connection and respect that they all have for one another; it made me think of providing Capa the guiding hand that I did not have, while at the same time giving him the power of his own decisions as early as possible. For our families are the ones who show us our values, but it is up to us as individuals to choose the ones that we wish to celebrate.
Vendors
Apollo Fields | Photography
Venue | Shuttle Meadow Country Club | Kensington, CT
Floral | Kellie Rose Florals
Band | The Parachute Brigade
Dress | Lee-Ann Belter
Dress 2 | BHLDN
Suit | Bonobos
Rings | Traynham’s Jewelers
Hair and Makeup | Opal
Invitations | Minted
Grayfields Farm Wedding in New Jersey
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Gray + Laura
I’ve always told people who don’t believe in ghosts that I’d pay for them to stay in a legit haunted house or hotel room. It’s not that I think that it’s actually dangerous but more that it will scare them in the same way I used to be scared of the monsters under my bed (that is, unless I leapt from the bed, in which case, they couldn’t reach me). Now I haven’t had a paranormal experience in a long time—but the photo that Heather took of Laura and Gray at their farm wedding in New Jersey this past weekend—that was the good kind of paranormal. The kind of feeling you get when someone you lost is there with you, watching over you.
Lens Flare? Don’t Care
During Laura and Gray’s golden hour session, they decided to stop by the pine tree that they planted for Gray’s late father, Chris. As they settled into a few poses, Heather kept noticing a flare following Gray around wherever he went. At first she thought it was a lens flare but the way it moved and the way it appeared she ruled that out. Then, as they went to the next spot, Laura and Gray’s favorite tree on their property on the other side of the house, the same flare appeared. Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the many other explanations for how that light appeared, I don’t really care. What I saw and what I felt gave me the sense of presence of life after death and that our energy lives on. This is the positive reality that I choose to believe in.
DIY Weddings
Weddings don’t have to be one-size fits all. You can prioritize or de-prioritize wedding details according to your needs. Laura and Gray didn’t want to have a lot of moving parts so they decided to host it on their gorgeous family farm in Allamuchy, NJ. They did, however, want the food to be amazing so they splurged on a high-quality caterer. They brought in a band, tent, tables, and a trailer restroom and had themselves a wedding to remember. Don’t get overwhelmed with details, instead, choose things that represent your priorities.
Relaxed Wedding Vibes
I always say that the vibe of a wedding comes from the top-down. If the bride and groom are relaxed, everyone else will fall in line, logistics included. Laura and Gray decided to have a more casual attire, jackets optional, because they wanted their guests to be comfortable in the August heat. Many think that the c-word (casual) is an invitation for friends and family to wear cargo shorts and a tuxedo t-shirt, but what happens more often than not is a dressed down, comfortable chic look. I for one, am heavily in favor of moving away from full suits or tuxedos during summer weddings, preferring a more customizable, fashionable style that Gray and his brothers absolutely crushed. Ladies, as for what you decide to wear, the floor is yours!
Laura and Gray’s wedding is one that will stick to me for a long time; if not for the spirituality, or the relaxed vibes, then it is because Capa got to come along. With a bunch of other little ones in attendance, the Grayfields wedding was the perfect blend of family and fun, class and comfort. Cheers guys!
It’s us!
The whole fam with Gray and Laura at polo the day after their amazing wedding. Reach out for your own photo needs below!
Chart House Wedding Photography in NJ
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Lily + Dan’s Wedding
Being invited to photograph any wedding is a privilege. But being invited to photograph the wedding of my childhood bestie is an extra special privilege and one that isn’t lost on me.
Lily and I met in pre-school and were fast friends, despite the fact that she came home from school to tell her mom about her new buddy “Feather” and promptly decided that I must be the spawn of hippie parents. (Little did they know, my dad wanted to name me Pinecone, so the assumptions weren’t that far off).
But as we grew closer, so did our parents, and for the next decade we had lived within walking distance of each other so there were endless playdates, hiking adventures, sleep overs, and I even managed to coerce Lily and her sister onto a horse one or two times. We went to the same schools and rode the same bus all the way up until 9th grade when I left for boarding school, but despite the distance, still managed to maintain our friendship as we formally grew up, went to college, began our careers, and eventually “settled down”.
“Settled down” is a term I mostly loathe, so please don’t take it too seriously. There is an inherent resignation in the phrase, which is precisely the opposite of how I feel at this point in my life. But it does sort of blow my mind to think that we are at the age where we can be getting married and having babies and it’s not scandalous.
When Lily and Dan first began dating, I was living in the UWS of the city at the time. And I remember joining them at the tail end of one of their early dates in midtown actually, but my fatal flaw was that it was during my "sober week” that I do the first week of each new year. We had a great time, but I do remember the bartender getting a little sassy with me for just ordering an iced tea late night at a bar….
Over the years though, their relationship grew and grew so I was both delighted and unsurprised when they got engaged! Getting the opportunity to photograph their wedding meant so much to me, as I was able to be so hands-on with both of them on one of the biggest days of their lives! And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up at least a few times during their big day.
