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.
Our Engagement!
Out Engagement Story | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers
Ramsey, NJ
WELL, HEATHER AND I ARE NOW ENGAGED. CHRISTMAS MORNING WAS FILLED WITH SNOW AND DIAMONDS. I WAS NEVER NERVOUS; OUR COMMUNICATION AND CONVERSATIONS ON THE TOPIC MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE. THINKING OF ALL OF THE CREATIVE ENERGY AND LOVE WE HAVE TO BRING TO THE WORLD PROPELLED MY HEART INTO ACTION.
We have disputes, but they are usually about the process of understanding one's emotions. They rarely end poorly, and we usually move towards a unified perspective on any given topic. I love her for that.
Our past is only filled with love, creativity, and achievement; and it's difficult to imagine a future that doesn't contain the same. If life can be broken down into a pattern of decision-making, I couldn't have picked a better partner. It really helped me to look at all the things we have done to fight the enemy of worry.
Now all we have to focus on is building capital to fund the foundation of our future. The hunt for a home, a mountain, and a wedding venue begins...
I THINK MY FAVORITE PART ABOUT OUR PROPOSAL WAS THAT TERRENCE STARTED IT BY SAYING, "WE DID IT, BABE".
In life's most important moments, we are a team. It wasn't 'Will you marry me", or "I love you", necessarily... it was we and us.
We have always based our relationship on the following values: communication, openness, rationality, creativity, and community. Our ability to create together is what we both believes makes us strong. We have dated for a little over three years, and in that time we have built this strong foundation of communication, moved across the country together, expanded our fur family, hosted dozens of dinner parties, and published a book, just to name a few.
Lust and physical attraction may fade over time, and if we based our engagement on those values, then I believe we would be setting ourselves up for failure. But instead, we have based our engagement on the promise to create together and find rational ways to work through the storms that life throws you way.
Heirloom Engagement Ring
We decided that we wanted to honor tradition and legacy, while building upon our own values. I never imagined myself having a diamond ring until Nana offered us this one. It's vintage, with one center stone surrounded by six small diamonds, but what really caught my eye was the story behind it:
HEATHER’S GRANDMOTHER, BETTY, GOT THIS RING FROM HER GRANDFATHER, HERMANN, 64 YEARS AGO IN 1953.
The story goes that Hermann’s boss randomly took him to a jeweler and when Hermann said that he had to save up for one, his boss offered to advance his pay. When he gave it to Betty, she couldn’t believe how much she loved it. Hermann worried like most men do when picking out jewelry for their special someone, but the love and hard work that went into this stone signified more beauty than any karat ever could.
Fast forward to the 21st century and Heather’s finger is the same size. We hope to carry on a tradition of hard work, longevity, creativity, and love that Betty and Hermann started.
When I put my knee in the snow this White Christmas morning in her grandparents backyard, as the wind blew the snow from the tree branches, all I had hoped for was that we would make them proud.
To all the creative traditions in your lives, and may they be filled with immeasurable love.
– Terrence & Heather