Waterloo Village Wedding Photos in New Jersey
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Alyssa + Travis
The “off-season” hasn’t quite felt like the off-season to Heather and I. We did New Years in Nashville, a winter wedding in January, a family vacation to Aruba, a ski trip to Vermont, and Alyssa and Travis’ wedding at Waterloo Village in Stanhope, NJ. I guess I didn’t quite realize how much travel has been a part of our relationship until Heather gifted me photo albums this Christmas, one for every year we’ve been together. After looking at everywhere we’ve been, it only makes sense that we would explore during our “off-season.”
Colorado Buddies
Alyssa and Travis live in our former home, Colorado, and we still long for adventures in the mountains. They decided to have their wedding at the Waterloo Village in Stanhope New Jersey because it reminded them of the charm of the Rockies in a location closer to their relatives. Alyssa and Travis are mountaineers through-and-through; as Alyssa has conquered more 14ers than she has fingers, and Travis finds any excuse to ascend or descend inclines no matter the season. In fact, just a couple short weeks before their wedding, Travis broke his back rock climbing! I don’t know how, but he still made it out to the dance floor!
Mosh Pit
Okay–so we like to think that we’ve seen it all–but a mosh pit at a wedding was a first. Granted, it was subdued and quickly dispersed for the sake of everyone’s wellbeing, but to see Travis (!!), Alyssa, and her dad out there jumping around to My Own Worst Enemy by Lit, I couldn’t help but get hyped. Especially since it was the first and only song I’ve ever crowd-surfed to! The chilly day did nothing to stop this party from rocking on and you better believe we got right in the middle of it!
Waterloo Village Wedding Photos
From the huge stone fireplaces to the cute decor and sprawling grounds, this venue left us want for nothing. The entire property runs along Musconetcong River with old Victorian buildings which were perfect for romantic photos. The staff was kind enough to shuttle us from one historic building to the next, snapping different looks in a matter of minutes. The riverfront and waterfall also add a more natural setting for the outdoorsy couple like Alyssa and Travis!
Couples with Two Places they call Home
Alyssa and Travis weren’t the first Colorado/Northeast couple we’ve photographed and they won’t be the last! We love having our home states overlap with our couples because it means that our values overlap too. We love the solitude and natural beauty of the mountains but also enjoy the luxuries that cities have to offer. We also just wrapped our second Florida wedding of this “off-season” and are beginning to think that these snowbirds might be flying south for at least part of every winter. If you live in the northeast and want photos up here but are getting married somewhere else, please reach out! We obviously love to travel!
Vendors
Photography | Apollo Fields
Venue | Waterloo Village | Stanhope, NJ
Videography | Eyeris Films
Floral | Flower Cart Florist
DJ | 3 West Productions
Dress | D’Annelli Bridal | Lakewood, CO | Stella York
Suits | Men’s Wearhouse
Hair and Makeup | D’Jais Salon | Tom’s River, NJ
Rings | ShaneCo
Waterside Restaurant Weddings New Jersey
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Heather and Scott’s Wedding
“This is actually the park where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton,” Scott told me, his eyebrows raised with the enthusiasm that comes with sharing a juicy factoid. Heather (my wife), Heather (the bride-to-be), Scott, Capa, and I were walking through Hamilton Park in Weehawken, New Jersey, just on the other side of the Hudson from Manhattan, snapping some pre-wedding celebration photos before we made our way up to their venue. I have to say, the view of the skyline from Hamilton Park is unparalleled--and I do love me some views from Brooklyn Bridge Park, The Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Liberty State Park (NJ), and Gantry Plaza--but the combination of the elevation and the location of the park (across from ~ 48th Street in NYC) truly takes the cake.
I met Heather and Scott about seven years ago in my favorite community that I’ve ever been a part of in New York--Sheep’s Meadow Ultimate [Frisbee]. Led by a dear friend, Ben, Sheep’s Meadow Ultimate is an ever-increasing group of performers, hospitality professionals, tourists, and pretty much anyone who ever wanted to join in on our ultimate frisbee game. We spent so many hot summer days out there, sweating, laughing, and trying not to get kicked out by the park rangers. I knew Heather and Scott before they were Heather and Scott--and it’s amazing that our frisbee community led to Heather and I being their wedding photographers.
Heather and Scott are performers through-and-through. They’ve both been on Broadway and it had me wondering how people who love the spotlight fared through quarantine. They said that they both found ways to redirect their unspent energy: exercising, eating healthy, exploring career options that don’t rely on rooms filled with hundreds of people. They’ve fallen in love with biking up and down the coast of New Jersey, staring across the Hudson at the city that brought them together. “We love it here,” Scott said.
I was so excited to see Heather and Scott dance together because I know the energy and skill that each of them bring to the table. So when the music started and the smoke machine started pumping I put headphones on Capa and Heather and I started snapping away. Heather and Scott immediately locked right in, synchronizing steps, movements, and looks toward the crowd, baiting their guests with confident stares that said, I know you want more. Things started getting really spicy when Scott heard Michael Jackson come on. I’m so jealous of performers like Heather and Scott who can own a stage like that--Heather and I talk a big game--but when all the lights are on us we pick up a camera, pen, or meet for a beer at the bar.
When you make a connection with someone you never know how long it’s going to last. I’ve seen so many friends disappear over the years, and sadly enough, most of the time it’s for the better. Yet the ones that come back, the ones that reach out, and say, “hey, heard you were in town, want to grab a beer?” Are the ones who are growing right along with you; the ones who aren’t just living life but taking center stage.
Enjoy Scott & Heather’s Wedding Reception Photos:
vendors
Photography | Apollo Fields
Venue | Waterside Weddings
Team Apollo!
Having a blast, as usual, with baby Capa in tow!
Princeton University Engagement Photos
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Jessica & Angelo
Every time I walk on an Ivy League university’s campus--I feel smarter. I think of the philosophy books I read during undergrad and I hear snippets of passages as little soundbytes in my head. The “collegiate gothic” architectural style of many prestigious institutions may have questionable origins, but if it doesn’t make you hear the voices of old white aristocrats then it probably conjures up the gruffly-spoken line: “You’re a wizard, Harry.” So when we met up with Jess and Angelo to take their engagement photos at Princeton University, it was no surprise that our conversation was filled with a beautiful mix of history and Hogwarts, of reminiscing and laughter.
Jess and Angelo told us a funny story about how both of their families would go to the same Christmas party when they were kids. One year Jess remembers playing with one of Angelo’s siblings but doesn’t remember Angelo being there at all. Angelo couldn’t recollect anything about where he was. We love hearing stories like these because it places our couples in a totally different context and time of their lives. Photographing Jess and Angelo’s engagement session was like we skipped to the middle of the book; but as we walked and talked it was like thumbing through their relationship’s first pages.
We got to talking about the plans for their wedding and how important it is for them to have a customizable space so they can really express who they are. We can’t emphasize enough how much we love to hear when our couples take the extra effort to curate an event that celebrates their relationship rather than what is easy (what about planning a wedding is easy?!) For us--it’s less about the minutiae and more about the moment. Embrace your wedding day because it’s truly one of the only days in your life when you can do whatever the hell you want!
Many call it the best day of our lives but we don’t believe that. We believe that our days and our stories carry us through many peaks and valleys and that our paths aren’t as linear as a mountain range at a distance. We prefer to see the days of our lives on the trail in the trees whose path eventually opens up to a big sky above the treeline. We prefer to get a little mud on our shoes, take a deep breath, and crack a beer when we reach the top. Your wedding day is but one peak of the whole mountain range.
We’re so lucky to be able to document the natural beauty of the stories that unfold before us. We get to be part of every one of our couple’s history, even if most of it is from behind the lens. Our jobs have taken us to mountains and oceans, inside mansions and cabins, and on strolls through “collegiate gothic” campuses. May we derive as much power from the jagged spires as we do from the spellbooks, for inside everyone of our minds and hearts are the magic things that make us us.
