Sydney & Aniello’s Wedding | Ninety Acres Farm-To-Table Wedding Photography in Peapack, NJ | Backyard Wedding Ceremony | Apollo Fields

From the beginning, Sydney and Aniello had planned an intimate wedding in New Jersey and a bigger reception in Italy. Then, of course, COVID hit and their plans to wed in April were completely derailed. I remember talking to Sydney on the phone right at that time when Italy was getting hit really hard and the US had only begun to worry about the power of the virus. I could hear the shakiness in her voice, as all of Aniello’s family lives in Italy, and their wedding was supposed to be right on the horizon.

Luckily, this couple is both resilient and logical and they were truly able to make the best out of an unfortunate situation. In fact, the one word they used to describe their own relationship was “unwavering”, and I couldn’t agree more! They postponed both celebrations and waited for the dust to settle, but were still eager to get married.

Sydney and Aniello decided to continue with their intimate wedding in New Jersey on September 19th and the day was absolutely perfect. We had a gorgeous fall afternoon together while they got ready for their backyard ceremony at Sydney’s family home. The energy was quaint, but buzzing with positivity and love. One important element that was executed beautifully was digitizing the ceremony so Aniello’s Italian family could still watch and be as present as possible for their wedding. The couple even exchanged their vows in both English and Italian in order to include everyone.

I loved getting to know this couple more and learn more about the origins of their sweet relationship. I loved how Sydney described their first date in Italy: “I think when I first saw Aniello, I felt love at first sight because I got this weird nervous, inexplicably ecstatic feeling that I had never felt before! We had so much fun talking to each other that my mom and Sal felt quite excluded from the conversation, but were smiling at each other the whole time realizing they were witnessing something special.

“We never officially called it a date, but we dined al fresco and spent the rest of the evening meandering around town just talking. The food was actually quite terrible, but we were so engrossed in our conversation that we really didn't care. I remember when we left the restaurant and we started walking, he placed his hands on my shoulders and gently moved me inside so that he could walk on the side closest to the street. My thoughts were "Wow he is very chivalrous in an old-fashioned and charming way, which is something very rare!"

Aniello had a similarly adoring memory from that date, “My thought beforehand was that I was very lucky to be spending a beautiful night with a beautiful girl. During the date, I thought Sydney was gorgeous, as well as really witty and patient (I talk a lot and she listened intently!). I also thought that she was great company because she was had very good manners and was very entertaining to talk to which I don't find often with people; she also was very thoughtful as she gave me a little tour of the town and brought me to ice cream after dinner. After, I thought I wanted to spend more time with her and hoped to see her again soon”.

Sydney and Aniello love to travel and immerse themselves in culture and language, and look forward to being able to celebrate Part II of their wedding in Italy when the time comes! I was so lucky to have been able to be a part of their sentimental celebration in NJ and wish them all the best in their lives together!