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
Alex & Rae's International Wedding in New York State
Alex & Ragnhild's New York State Wedding | International Weddings | NYC Wedding Photography | Norwegian Dancers | Apollo Photojournlism
I met Alex on the Upper West Side in NYC at a restaurant. We got to chatting at the bar and I told him that I was a photographer, and as it turned out, he was engaged to his fiancé Ragnhild and looking for a wedding photographer. After talking a while longer, we realized that we had quite a few mutual friends from the neighborhood, and it all fell into place right after that.
Alex is a personal trainer and a former professional basketball player. He met Rae on the court, when her professional dancing career took her to one of his games. Rae and her daughter, Denise, were from Norway and literally packed up their lives to live in New York City with Alex. They have such a loving and playful relationship that made my job so easy!
Their wedding day kicked off with the guys hitting the basketball court, which was a fun alternative to traditional wedding mornings. Terrence was out there playing with the groomsmen, and it really reminded me of how much fun we have on our wedding days! The ceremony was officiated by a friend, who spoke of them so eloquently that it made me cry behind the camera. Yes, I still get emotional when I shoot!
The reception was one of my favorites to date. Rae's bridesmaids were all on her dancing squad and had planned a secret dance special for the couple. A room full of professional Norwegian dancers is just as much fun as it sounds. Oh my god they were talented! It was such a great party.
The importance of memories:
When you’re in a particular industry long enough, it’s easy to forget the importance of your job. You wake up on Monday, meet deadlines, schedule future goals, work through the drudgery, finish the week, and if you’re lucky, do it all over again on the following Monday. Wedding photojournalism is no exception.
Then, once in a while something happens, something that jars you out of your automatic work setting and you take a step back. Sometimes it’s good news like a family member is having a baby and other times it’s something tragic like someone has passed away. Whatever the case may be your life is drastically different than what it was just a few days before.
One of the defining things about wedding photojournalism is that we capture particular moments in our client’s lives where happiness and celebration are center stage. We have the luxury to see people at their best, laughing among their family and friends, assuming the roles they’ve carved out their who lives by sharing the stories that have made them into the persons they’ve become. When things inevitably change in their lives in the months or years that follow, we watch their stories unfold through the photos we’ve taken and we’re drawn right back to the happiness of that day.
Each story we relive is a jarring reminder of the unpredictability of life and the importance that weddings hold in bringing people together, rekindling relationships, and the celebration of love and happiness. From budding romances to lost love ones, our photos travel across time, telling our present selves the story of our past, hugging our hearts with tangible memories and familiar feelings. It’s borderline wizardry how our inanimate pens and lenses can animate our past so vividly.
As wedding photojournalists we professionally tell love stories, but it’s as friends that we remember our client’s personally. Connecting with you all is what makes us remember that our jobs are important and our happiness immemorial. Thank you for your love.
New York State Wedding Photographer: Apollo Photojournalism | Erny Photo CO