Jersey Shore Engagement Photography at Avon-By-The-Sea
Apollo Fields | Beach Engagement Photos | New Jersey Wedding Photographer | Jersey Shore photographers | Jersey Shore weddings | Outdoor Engagement Photographer | Avon-By-The-Sea, NJ
As someone who grew up on Long Island, I never went to Jersey Shore. Ever. But after meeting up with Jane and James at Avon-by-the-Sea a couple weeks ago, I definitely see the allure of it. Avon-by-the-Sea didn’t have any of the carnival games or fist-pumping that the shore has become notorious for; instead it boasted beautiful new-england-meets-beach-house architecture with tons of wrap around porches, and old immigrant family vibes. Jane’s Polish uncle was actually having a small birthday gathering when we were finishing up the shoot.
Jane and James met while working at a bank a few years back, and have adapted well to the quarantine life of 2020. I think it’s the first time in my life when I (an extrovert) have been jealous of the introverted lifestyle that Jane and James prefer. I love puzzles and board games as much as the next guy, but after you work for years in crowded bars the constant ambient noise can make extended periods of silence feel jarring. Jane and James have been happy to stay in, work from home, and enjoy each other’s company.
We started the meetup at The Marina Grille to shake off some engagement session jitters with a beer and to get to know each other better. Heather and Jane actually did their undergraduate studies together at The College of New Jersey but they were both working so hard that they didn’t get to hang out much (My undergraduate experience was a very different story; or at least the beginning of it). We talked to Jane and James’s about their first date and how James had a firm policy about not dating other employees. He waited until she left the company to formally ask her out.
Jane and James have the kind of playful vibe you would imagine when you have a game night with friends who have a healthy competitive relationship. Heather and I on the other hand, push that envelope until we play a game so much we have to put it on the shelf for a few months. We all shared a laugh when James told a story of a relative finishing a puzzle without them that Jane and James had been working on for months. They just came home and the puzzle was done. I have no idea how I’d react if that happened, but I’m pretty sure that’s the kind of thing that gets you uninvited to dinner in the Huie household.
Jane and James will be getting married at a venue in Bayonne and Point Pleasant, NJ, in December 2020. We admire their steadfast dedication to getting married despite all that’s going on and will support our couples in any decision that they make. Next summer we’ll have to come visit them on the shore, bring some beers and board games, finish a puzzle or two, and enjoy an iconic Jersey Shore sunset.
Sapphire Point Engagement Photos in Colorado
Matt and Julie’s Sapphire Point Engagement Session | Dillon, Colorado Engagements | Lake Dillon Photography | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers
I’ve never described a view as “sticky” before, but that’s the word that came to mind after we wrapped Matt and Julie’s engagement session at Sapphire Point in Dillon, CO. It was like the feeling I got as a kid when it began to get dark and there was just one inning left in our wiffle ball game. “Just one more inning, mom!” It’s this feeling that this moment is all that exists and to leave it would be to deny yourself an experience that you will never get back. Call it juvenile or dramatic but I think 12-year-old me and 31-year-old me might be on to something.
Our first meeting with Matt and Julie happened in one of our favorite places—a brewery. Oasis Brewing Company in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver, CO, is a multi-level, exposed-brick venue with rustic wooden tables and industrial steel beams to anchor the open, charming space (I actually helped re-open it in March 2018). Once we grabbed a beer we all took a seat at one of the banquet tables along the wall and chatted about Matt and Julie’s wedding in Littleton, CO, in May 2020. The conversation mimicked the space in which we spoke: laid-back, organized, and youthful yet sophisticated.
Matt (a lawyer) and Julie (a teacher) represent the kind of couples that we are grateful to attract and meet. Matt and Julie know what they want, aren’t afraid to ask questions, and their communication is a wonderful mix of professional, candid, and casual. These conversational cornerstones allows us to navigate the complexity of wedding photography, i.e. “what do we get?” or “what are we paying for?”, with ease. Instead of bogging down the meeting in the details, we candidly ask what they are looking for in wedding photography as we all casually take a sip of our beer. This way, we can deliver a customized package based on their priorities rather than trying to sell them products or services they’re not interested in. Of course, we don’t expect every one of our couples to know what they want like Matt and Julie, but it’s definitely something we’re grateful for when it comes down to the brass tacks of wedding photography (totally thought it was “brass tax” until I Googled it).
Fast forward a few months and we’re meeting Matt and Julie at Matt’s family home in Dillon for their engagement shoot. We were welcomed by his mother and father, two dogs, and a brilliantly blue Colorado sky quickly approaching our coveted golden hour. We began by taking a stroll down by the cliffs of their home for a more casual start before we made our way up to the photographer-and-chipmunk occupied Sapphire Point (seriously, there were adorable little chipmunks scampering everywhere). Luckily, we came on a Sunday night when it wasn’t that busy, we don’t even want to imagine the amount of hikers we would have photoshop out of a picture on a Saturday afternoon.
The love was real, the mood was romantic, and the view was...sticky. Everything about Matt and Julie’s engagement session made my eyes and heart want to stay but it was starting to get dark. It was an experience I may never to get to live again exactly, but perhaps that’s the best way to appreciate a moment. To allow your desires to remain a bit unsatiated, to walk up the hiking path away from the view so that your mind clings to its pristine image in all its glory. I can still see that sunset when I close my eyes, and even though I won’t know how that wiffle ball game was supposed to end, maybe I’m not supposed to.
Enjoy Julie & Matt’s Engagement Photos:
As seen in: Couture Colorado Magazine
Breweries and happy couples… these are a few of our favorite things…
Hanging with Matt and Julie after their Sapphire Point engagement photos! What better place to connect than over a craft beer! If that makes us hipsters then you should expect handlebar mustaches on both of us shortly!
Rollins Pass Nederland Colorado Engagement Session
Mercie & Dan’s Engagement Session | Rollins Pass Nederland, Colorado | Mountain Engagements | Apollo Fields
As night gave way to day, rays of sunshine swept away the shadows on the trees, lifting golden purples and greens to contrast with the muted blue sky. The morning chill still lingering in the air brought our breaths and bodies closer together as our reflections shivered upon the reservoir’s still surface. Movements warm our bodies just as emotions stir our souls; and there’s always that one look during these engagement sessions that reveals this inward dance in the eyes of our couples—a sort of intimate revelation—that leaps from their irises like the first light over a dark horizon.
Mercie and Dan were first set up in high school and their relationship still shines with an optimistic and exuberant young energy. Bolstered by their strong and confident characters, it’s hard not to be enamored by the story of how Mercie asked Dan to prom by spelling it out in sushi at Dan’s first experience with the Japanese culinary tradition. Cuter still is how Mercie doubled down on this romantic gesture when asking Dan to marry her! (If that doesn’t immediately make you think of a scene in a romantic comedy I don’t know what does.) Their happiness during their engagement shoot in Nederland was as palpable as the smiles on their faces. Kind of like what Dan said about the first time she told Mercie she loved her (at prom), “[the words] just sort of fell out of my face.”
Bearing witness and documenting relationships like Mercie and Dan’s is just one of the many reasons why Heather and I love running Apollo Fields. Whether it’s the privilege of connecting with such loving people, or appreciating a love in an idyllic yin-and-yang, conditional-meeting-unconditional balance that serves as a reminder for Heather and I’s own symbiotic relationship, or perhaps the most practical and paramount point— what these photos mean to them. Around every corner of every moment of these engagement sessions are parts of life to be appreciated. We promise to never to forget that. For our sake—and for Apollo Fields’ sake.
Mercie and Dan aren’t sure where or when they are going to get married, but we hope to be there. They’re moving to California in a couple months and we’d follow them coast-to-coast, hell maybe even continent-to-continent if they asked us. We’re so excited for them to start this next journey together and know that they have all of the support they will ever need.
Sometimes in life you take leaps and sometimes you take bruises. “You learn to figure things out,” Mercie said, “I am who I am through trial and error.” I believe that the freedom to explore the world inside and outside ourselves is the key to finding enduring happiness and supportive partners. By staying close to home, or refusing to acknowledge the movements of the emotions inside our bodies and minds, our worldviews become myopic and close-minded. Learning to take risks and choosing to be brave opens an entire world of experiences, so if you’re looking for that little push—just remember—that first light is just on the other side of the dark horizon.
Here’s to you Mercie and Dan!
Colorado Engagement Photography:
Colorado Wedding Photography | Apollo Fields
Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
August 13, 2019
As we conclude another busy stretch that included: a wedding near the artsy town Hudson in upstate NY, a studio collaboration in Philly with a badass industry professional and friend, Dylan Crossley, and a boudoir shoot on Long Island—we’re ready to pack up our gear and start our next leg in Boulder, Colorado. Our rigorous schedule can be demanding, stressful, and scattered all over the place, but we find that it’s better to push ourselves rather than rest on our laurels because 1. our future selves will thank us; and 2. We have each other.
Heather has been on site for wedding days more often than myself this season, so when I got to shoot with her at the wedding in Ghent, NY, this past weekend, it reminded me of all the great parts of being a wedding photographer. From celebrating a couple’s love, to hearing people speak directly from the heart, and bearing witness to reunion after reunion and hug after hug—there’s so much going on in a wedding to be grateful for.
One thing I cannot emphasize enough for a couple who’s seeking a wedding photographer is to meet with your candidates before the wedding. You don’t realize how intimate the relationship is with your wedding photographer until the day of; when your mother or maid of honor is helping you slip into your dress, or your best man or father is helping you adjust your bow tie in the mirror—and just over your shoulder is a person with a camera. Yes, we’re professionals and can still do our job without really getting to know one another, but when we know what makes you comfortable or the backstory for the details that mean something to you, we can do our jobs that much better. At Apollo Fields, we prefer to be close to our couples, crying with them from behind our cameras rather than maintaining a safe distance from the connections and emotions that make a wedding day so special.
Traveling can be a lot. Personalities can be huge. Energy might not be there. There are so many variables that surround weddings that have stress written all over them, but just like any other obstacles or adversities, sometimes the best thing we can do is control the way we react to them. Better still, we can look at the current circumstances and pull from them the most positive things, choosing the silver lining of our experiences rather than the copper-colored rust of regrets or frustrations. Some say that life is a playground, others say it is a test—I believe it’s somewhere in the middle—with plenty of space for somersaults, self-improvement, and a craft beer in between.
As we zip up our luggage and secure our gear, I am energized by these words alone. They contain my reflections on the choices that I make everyday. I don’t run from difficulty and I am not afraid of the future. I pursue my goals with Heather, my partner who drives me mad at times but always helps to keep the course of this crooked ship. Here’s to the adventures that shape us along the way and the destination best left unknown.
Granite Ridge Estate Wedding Photographers
Outdoor barn wedding in maine | apollo fields | granite ridge estate and barn | best maine wedding photographers | wedding in the woods
Highways lined with tall green trees and deep blue lakes. A soaring summer sun casting shadows upon the open road, swaying the silhouettes of Maine over faded yellow lines. Distant laughter echoing from a canoe, heard between splashes and shrieks of joy. Just a stone’s throw away, atop one of the many peaks in Norway, Maine, Anna and Jeff were to be wed at Granite Ridge Estate, an irresistibly charming barn venue tucked into the backwoods in jaw dropping view of the Appalachian Mountains.
The natural beauty and lush greenery of Maine called to Anna and Jeff’s adventurous hearts, harkening to their love for the outdoors from their childhoods. In fact, Jeff’s family has been going to Camp Winona, a summer camp just down the block from Granite Ridge for generations. It may have been the family ties in the area that brought them to the venue, but it was the gorgeous views and cozy and intimate feel of the barn and estate that solidified it as the location to celebrate their love.
Anna and Jeff’s wedding was the perfect example of a laid back couple setting the tone for the day. There are so many moving parts to a wedding day that can pile up on the minds of brides and grooms, but a strong relationship and a willingness to roll with the punches can turn a bumpy ride into a smooth cruise down an open road with the top down. From the bridesmaids lounging in the rustic and comfortable leather sofas; to the groomsmen exploring a brand new treehouse and tinkering with power tools and construction materials, personalities and laughter were not in short supply.
Hosting a ceremony between the trees provided the perfect refuge for Anna and Jeff’s guests from the blaring summer sun as the crisp air buzzed with adoring anticipation. As words of love left the lips of those around the altar, the eyes and ears of guests drifted between the beauties of nature and the hallmarks of romance. Too often we forget to use our words, our gestures, and our energy to tell those in our lives how much we love them, but a wedding ceremony is the forum to air any and all of the love we carry in our hearts. It is an atmosphere of sensitivity and acceptance, the ethereal realization of the privation nestled in our souls. I can’t think of a better spot to sink into this headspace than in the natural sounds of the woods.
The reception and cocktail hour continued with the theme of natural serenity. Before the sun set towards the horizon, the outline of Mount Washington stood proudly in the distance as sunshine poured through the large windows of the reception hall like warmth into an empty cabin. The pristine decoration and detail adorned the space with a natural elegance, equal parts class and greenery. Refracted rays painted the room with an ethereal glow made of fairy tales and storybooks. It was the scene that children who cannot wait to get married dream of. This was Anna and Jeff’s reality.
It is a luxury and dream of ours to be part of days like this. We are constantly reminding ourselves that we get to enjoy some of the best moments of people’s lives, delivering a product that helps them relive them. Here’s to Anna and Jeff, the latest saga in Apollo Fields that proves that love is real.
As seen in: Mountainside Bride Magazine
The Vendor Team:
Venue: Granite Ridge Estate and Barn
Suits: Joseph A Bank
Day-of Coordinator/Catering: Blue Elephant
Wedding Band: East Coast Soul
Florist: Pooh Corner Farm
Cake/Bakery: Baked with Love
Decor/Party Rentals: Affordable Events
Dress | Designer: WTOO / Andrea’s Bridal
Shoes: Kate Spade Blue and Sparkly
Rings: Creative Gold
Hair and Makeup: Studio 88 Salon
Invitations: Little Ivy Paper Goods
Another happy couple…
Our favorite part about being wedding photographers is getting to know our couples. Apollo Fields is more than a vendor or service, it is a place for us to connect with people who care about creating and preserving timeless memories—it’s a place for us to make people happy and make new friends. If this sounds like you, click the button below!
Montauk NY Engagement Photographers
Bri & Tyler’s Engagement Session | Montauk NY | The Hamptons Destination Weddings | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers
An early evening summer breeze coming off the Atlantic reminds the Montauk locals of the sun and the salt on their skin, but that same breeze that warms a beach bum’s heart can chill a Texan to the bone. A kind memory of home to Bri is a reminder to Tyler just how far he is from his, but come October 2020 their families will join to celebrate their love in a half-homegrown, half-destination wedding.
Many would consider it a luxury to grow up in a destination wedding town, embracing the lifestyle and culture that seems as light as a day on the beach. Others might say that the summer months that bring tourists and city slickers who clog the one road, two-lane streets like the sidewalks in Manhattan are killing their vibes. The reality is that the sun shines no matter what and despite the traffic we are all going to enjoy our drink of choice on the beach for one reason or another.
For Bri, hosting her wedding in Montauk will be like having her own personal welcoming parade of family and neighbors, smiling faces lining either side of the aisle like a beach version of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While Tyler and his family, although no strangers to coastal waters, will mostly likely be dipping their toes into the Atlantic a bit more timidly than they do in the Gulf of Mexico. The thing about the locations of weddings is—whether a new or familiar experience—the love in the room is all the same.
Weddings offer us wonderful opportunities to connect with groups of people we might not speak to in our daily lives. Too often our occupations and locations restrict us to familiar routines that can limit our world experience, but when love is the accepted common ground all conversations and connections are possible. There is simply no space for judgment when love is in the air. Breathe it in, take it in, and clink glasses with someone you might otherwise not meet.
Heather and I are so lucky to share these spaces in places all over the world, snapping photos and writing down all of the emotions that we see. I’ve said before that our emotions are our secrets until we share them with someone, but on wedding days most people wear them as proudly as their finest suit or most elegant dress. Restraining the contents of our hearts would be like putting those garments back in the closet and throwing on the wrinkled clothes that adorn the floor. Instead we see tears trickle down cheeks like rain down window panes and eyes well up like dams that are about to burst.
A forum to express the version of ourselves that is too often buttoned up and hidden away is one of the many reasons that make our jobs more than an occupation or service. According to our tax documents we are wedding photographers, but according to ourselves we are photojournalists who never settle for the surface, always scanning the room for people to show us the best version of themselves.
Enjoy these pics from Bri & Tyler’s Montauk Engagement Session:
Hi! We’re Terrence & Heather…
…we are the husband-and-wife duo of Apollo Fields! Thanks for checking out Bri & Tyler’s engagement photos. We are so stoked to shoot their 2020 Wedding at Gosman’s Dock in Montauk!
How To Run A Wedding Photography Business
Happiness in the Workplace: The Life of a Wedding Photographer
Apollo fields | Denver wedding photographer | New York wedding photographer | Wedding photos | Engagement photos | wedding writer
Most people don’t enjoy their jobs. Whether it’s the fluorescent lighting or the no windows casino approach to work environments, the tired early morning commute or the death by a thousand cliches like “happy wife, happy life,” working in the 21st century is at best and worst a dull sort of suffering. The intermittent good days make the job not quite bad enough to quit, and the benefits of a stable job outweigh childish millennial pursuits like happiness in the workplace. Lucky for us, we don’t have that problem.
Heather called me yesterday after her 4th wedding of the weekend (!!), and I could hear her smiling through the phone. She was beaming about being in the center of a 30-minute horah (Jewish wedding dance celebration) and reflecting upon how grateful she is to have an occupation that lands her in the middle of these powerful cultural traditions. Despite having no ties to any sort of religion ourselves, more often than not, we are educated on and included into these intimate spiritual circles rather than being forced to the perimeters and relegated to the role of outsiders. Take that “multicultural day” at the office!
This wedding season, Heather has already shot weddings in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, soon to be Maine, and at the tail end of the season, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Travel is part of our jobs and we’ve learned that there is love to be photographed everywhere! In the past, we’ve photographed weddings from the Dominican Republic to Quebec City, Canada, and we’re excited to the places our jobs will bring us in the future. Our ever-changing workspace keeps our eyes fresh and the hundreds of miles of open road keep our hearts for adventure well-fed.
That being said, the life of wedding photographers can be stressful and inconsistent. We don’t have work until we book it ourselves, making security and stability in our profession an autonomous responsibility of discipline and dedication. We don’t have windows in our office either, but that’s because the sun is on our shoulders; and we can’t hear cliches because we’re too busy dancing to the live band. Sure, it can be hard to keep the energy level high as the season wanes on, but every time it begins to fade there is a tear-jerking moment to bring us right back into the fold. I would trade the dynamic difficulties of our job for the static grinding of the human will that permeates office culture a hundred times over—because at the end of our workday—we’re growing towards love rather than withering towards retirement.
Running A Wedding Photography Business With Your Spouse
Colorado Outdoor Wedding Photographer | Apollo Fields | Long Island Wedding Photographer | Golden, CO | Longmont, CO | Altona Grange Hall | The Pines at Genesee | Clear Creek |
Wow. What a weekend. Two weddings, an engagement shoot, a maternity session and all of the friends, outdoors, and craft beer in between. Back when I was bartending in New York City in my mid-twenties, my older regulars would always say, “your twenties are great—but just wait for your thirties,” and I never quite believed them because my life was dope AF. But now as we come back to New York after this epic extended weekend of professionalism mixed with genuine connections and long-lasting friendships, I’m beginning to understand what they were talking about.
At Apollo Fields we like to be as connected to our couples as much as possible. That means spending time with them and their families, laughing through the embarrassing stories, and working through the inevitable bumps in the road that hosting a wedding brings. At Naomi and Johnny’s outdoor wedding in Colorado this past weekend at the Pines at Genesee, we saw some familiar faces (Naomi’s cousin is Dylan Kintish, whose wedding to Alli Bell we shot in the August 2017) and embraced new ones. We’ve sort of become their family photographers and we’re loving every second of it! Every wedding we shoot we get a little better at inserting ourselves into these wonderful intimate circles that envelope our couple’s lives; and every wedding we shoot our storytelling ability gets that much stronger, especially as we develop these long-lasting relationships with our couples and their families.
Speaking of lasting relationships, we captured these maternity shots of Lindsey and her husband, Jeff, who got married in November 2017 at Grant-Humphrey’s Mansion. It humbles us to know that our previous couples trust us to continue to document the most pivotal moments of their lives. In the coming weeks, once Lindsay and Jeff’s baby is born, Heather will also be their newborn photographer and storyteller, and it’s these deeper connections that enrich our hearts long after we hear the couple say, “I Do.”
Another wonderful couple of ours, Casey and Thomas, had an outdoor wedding in Colorado at Altona Grange Hall in Longmont this weekend. Our trusted photography associate, Sara, captured their destination wedding beautifully, telling us of their community-centric approach. Casey and Thomas held a two-hour cocktail hour to offer more time to connect with their guests who traveled a long way to enjoy their special day. They even gave a personal heartfelt toast to express their gratitude to all who made the trip. We love when our couples explore the customizations of wedding planning and cater to their values rather than outdated traditions.
Then there was this engagement session in Golden Gate Canyon State Park with our dear friends, Kat and Brett. I developed a great relationship with Kat while bartending at Oasis Brewing Company in Denver, but it was this session that made me realize our friendship is in for the long haul. Kat and Brett are goofy but professional, serious but light-hearted, and celebrate their rough edges with a self-deprecating elegance. Documenting these intimate moments brought us all closer together as we helped them conquer the shyness that freezes most couples when they pose in front of the lens. “We couldn’t imagine anyone else taking these photos,” Kat said. Funny thing is, I couldn’t imagine anyone else taking them either. It made me think, who else should document these intimate moments in your life other than people who make you feel most comfortable, most yourself, and most happy? I don’t mean to toot our own horns (OK, maybe I do), but this entire trip set in cement what Apollo Fields is all about.
At Apollo Fields, we connect with our couples. We embrace the raw and the genuine. We don’t settle for anything other than what your soul carries. We don’t just want to be a part of your wedding day, we want to be part of your lives.
So if my twenties were about exploring the world to find myself, then my thirties are about finding who I want to spend my life with. And I gotta admit—after this trip—our lives are looking pretty damned good.