Asharoken Beach Wedding in Northport, NY
Apollo Fields | Long Island Wedding Photographer | Beach Weddings on Long Island | Backyard Wedding Photographer | Northport Wedding Photographers | Northport, NY
Jackie & Eric
“The best-laid plans o’ mice and men often go awry” was the line that Kevin, Eric’s best man, decided to begin and finish his speech with. It made me remember the public speaking course I took in college and how effective using a quote is in anchoring the message of your speech on both ends. If I had any advice for the best men and maids-of-honor out there--this is it. Speak from the heart, keep it short and sweet, and begin and end on the same quote.
Jackie and Eric held their ceremony Our Lady Queen of Martyr’s on a beautifully bright indian summer day in September. Centerport Harbor glistened with the sparkle that guests love and photographers have to work around. Their officiant, Deacon Doug, was as affable as he was devout--weaving in biblical references into Jackie and Eric’s stories almost as much as he mentioned the New York Mets. In a symbol of union, Jackie and Eric poured soil from each of their homes into a potted plant, a unique ceremony idea I’ve never seen before. I loved it. Do anything you can in your ceremony to represent who you are.
From there they took the party to a private residence on the beach on Asharoken Avenue in Northport, NY. The reception began underneath a tent in front of the house but gradually moved to the beach as the sun began to set. Eric and Jackie held their first dance in the sand and the levity of the moment is making it hard for me to remember a more memorable first dance. The late summer breeze, the sun setting in the distance, the weight of the world--for the first time in awhile--floated off my shoulders. I can still see the hazy orange sky when I try to picture it.
“Now that we’re here it doesn’t matter what the plan was--I want to face it head on, I want to face it with you,” Kevin continued in his speech. Such a poignant meeting point between a healthy relationship and the demands of planning a wedding during a pandemic. There is no blueprint on how to celebrate your love in a time where gatherings are restricted. There is no certainty to how the next few months will transpire. It is up to the Jackie and Eric’s of the world to decide what is right for them and Kevin hit it on the head.
Marriage is a partnership and the plan is to face it together. “What you’ve endured [during the pandemic] is nothing compared to marriage,” Lou, Jackie’s father joked during his speech. Heather and I like to treat our life like the way we take vacations: implementing a loose structure, hitting the key can’t-miss tourist destinations, but leaving plenty of room for flexibility and adapting to the whims of weather and mood. Jackie and Eric’s wedding definitely had a vacation vibe, the sand between our toes, fully knowing that “the best-laid plans o’ mice and men often go awry.”
Enjoy these images from Jackie & Eric’s beach wedding:
vendors:
Apollo Fields | Photography
Paul Vibes | Videography
Our Lady Queen of Martyr’s | Ceremony Venue
Floral Designs By Melina | Floral
Precision Sounds | DJ
Hometown Bakeshop | Cake
Anomalie | Dress custom designed by Jackie, the bride!
La Mode | Dress Alterations
Karako | Suit
Blue Nile | Engagement Ring (responsibly made!)
Wedding Bands | Family friend, Carlo Gilioli
Styles by Marcella | Hair
Makeup By Samantha | Makeup
Ann’s Bridal Bargains | Invitations and Save the Dates
Limos Long Island | Car Service
As seen in:
Brooklyn Bride Mag
Upstate NY Wedding Photography at "The Big House" in Newburgh
Billy and Rachel's Summer Wedding in Newburgh, NY | Upstate New York Weddings | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
What do you do when you have to reschedule the best day of your life? You focus on people rather than things. Obviously it’s easier said than done, but our initial experiences of weddings during Covid have shown us what it looks like when couples are forced to strip away wedding details like invitees from an oversized guest list. Every item or service lost pangs of what could or should have been, but what remains is what really matters. When Rachel and Billy held their wedding in Cornwall, New York, this past weekend, you never would’ve known that this was a contingency plan.
The day began at “the big house,” a stunning Airbnb seated on a hill in Newburgh, NY, which boasts an obstructed view of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge as it stretches over the Hudson River. The eight-bedroom, six-bath, feels like a boutique hotel with its combination of modern and classic decor, and seemingly has natural light pouring in through every one of its unique windows. Heather was like our Jack Russel, Riddle, on a hunt in there--taking sharp turns through hallways and bedrooms while chasing the light (her most cherished natural resource). Meanwhile Rachel and her bridesmaids lounged in luxury as they got ready way ahead of schedule.
When Billy arrived, one of his groomsmen helped him tie his bow tie on the wrap-around porch in front of a rolling peanut gallery of family and friends. He then made his way down the stairs to the sloped green grass in front of the house, and drank in the view of the bridge before closing his eyes. If only we could live our whole lives in those tense moments of beautiful anticipation leading up to a first look. When Rachel tapped Billy on the shoulder and their eyes met you could see them get lost in a look of relief and wonderment, almost as if their souls took a breath of fresh air.
We proceeded to the venue which was a private residence 20 minutes south, in Cornwall, NY. The expansive property had rolling green hills, a pond tucked away in the corner, a putting green, and a house built around an old barn that was brought onto the land several years ago. Rachel planned this entire contingency celebration and the ceremony and reception hummed along as the hot summer day turned to a warm summer night. The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love echoed in the air as their recessional music after an intimate and heartfelt ceremony.
With the help of family and friends, Rachel and Billy never let the best day of their life slip away from them. They showed us that it is possible to safely plan a ceremony and reception during a pandemic while staying true to themselves and their relationship. Cheers to their perseverance, love, and all of their future plans, contingencies and otherwise.
Enjoy these sneak peeks from Rachel & Billy’s Newburgh wedding:
Team Apollo!
Hey guys, it’s us! Loving what we do.
Boulder Colorado Engagement Photography
Olivia and Tim's Engagement in Boulder, Colorado | Eagle Trailhead Hiking Path | Adventure Engagement Photographer in CO | Rocky Mountain Weddings | Apollo Fields Photographers
Sometimes I feel like our identities are torn between New York and Colorado. It’s hard because I have a serious love for both states but for completely different reasons:
My NY side loves the art scene, ethnic food, the fast paced lifestyle, the ocean, and getting to dress in all black.
My Colorado side loves the mountains, the sense of adventure, the laid back culture, local beer, and getting to wear flannel.
Sometimes, I feel like we’re supposed to choose between these two worlds, but then I remember that we have intentionally carved out a lifestyle that allows us to wear both hats instead of picking only one or the other. It’s pretty damn cool and I think we are so lucky to be able to work in such epic places. What is extra cool for me, though, is when both of my worlds collide. Olivia and Tim’s engagement session was the perfect example of this.
Here’s the backstory… Olivia’s mom is one of the owners and the head trainer of the barn that I board my horse at in Northport, NY. Olivia and Tim recently relocated to the wild, wild west and just like that—BOOM—my worlds collide!
I love showing people around some of our favorite Colorado digs, so this was especially fun for me because they haven’t had a lot of time to explore the front range yet. We hit Eagle Trailhead for golden hour, and it did not disappoint.
Olivia and Tim have such a sweet and fun way about them. It made my job VERY easy because I barely had to pose or direct! It was more of, “okay so let’s go into this light and then just hang out together” click-click-click-click. It felt more like us all chilling by the foothills swapping war stories about turning my horse out than a formal session (AKA the dream for me). And trust me, there are always plenty of stories about Limbo to go around— one of Olivia’s first things she said to me was how my horse had a major meltdown with her when she was bringing him back to the barn once. Oh, Bimbo… he’s so adorable sometimes!
Enjoy Olivia + Tim’s engagement pics:
2020 is booking fast!
Reach out ASAP to check in on your date :)
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!
Guanella Pass Campground Wedding Photography in Colorado
Emily & Ole's Wedding In The Woods | Colorado Campground | Apollo Fields Photojournalism
Emily & Ole's Wedding In The Woods | Colorado Campground | Apollo Fields Photojournalism
DIY RUSTIC WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY | CAMPGROUND INTIMATE WEDDINGS | ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHER ERNY PHOTO CO
Emily and Ole had a laid back wedding at the Guanella Pass Campground this past July. Celebrating with close family among the aspens and evergreens, their Colorado campground wedding was nothing short of perfect.
During the ceremony, Emily read from her own personal journal, opening up her heart and sharing her intimate thoughts and feelings from when she first met Ole.
And I couldn't help but notice the leaves she had tucked inside her journal pages, dried out and preserved for years to come. As a nostalgic person myself, this made me love being a part of their day even more.
And then I found out that Emily's bouquet, in all of it's beauty, was the dried version of the very first flowers Ole ever gave her. It turns out she had been saving them for this very day. I can't even put into words how amazing that is and how much I adored it!
After the wedding, we drove up to the top of Guanella Pass for some intimate couples portraits of just the two of them. As soon as we arrived, you could see Emily and Ole relax. It was obvious that they felt most at home in the quiet of the mountains. Mt. Beirstadt stood tall in the background, which while unplanned was also awesome since that was one of the first 14ers Emily and Ole ever climbed together.
This was their perfect wedding. From the do it yourself touches, to the breath-taking views, to them including their adorable French bull dog, Winston, and his adorable red bow tie. If they could do it all again, I'm not sure they could do it any better.
Emily and Ole's Colorado Campground Mountain Wedding
Photography: Apollo Photo
Journalism: Apollo Journalism