A springtime wedding at Forest Lodge in Warren NJ

I had been to Forest Lodge in Warren NJ a few years back, I always knew it as a location with wide open spaces that hosted picnics for large groups and company outings. The Sherwood Chalet at Forest Lodge started popping up on my radar more frequently a couple years back and I have been receiving more bookings at that location in recent months. This was my first wedding here and I was immediately impressed by both the location and the staff.

The day started at the Courtyard Marriott in Basking Ridge, they have great suites for preparations and it’s one of the only Courtyard Marriott hotels I know of that actually has a courtyard! It’s very nice and has been a great setting for group photos in the past. Today though, we had the open spaces of Forest Lodge for our backdrop, we headed over there after prep for the “first look” and photos with the wedding party and family.

I don’t think Megan & Billy could have had a more perfect day at Forest Lodge, the weather in New Jersey can be erratic to say the least, just a couple days prior it was very cold and rainy. This is one of my favorite times of year, when the trees have bloomed but not fully so you can still see a lot of branches, and the flowering trees still have their color, everything is vibrant and new. The bride and groom’s color choices for their attire, flowers and overall theme of the wedding were complimented perfectly by their surroundings.

Our day was planned with a first look and a lot of extra time for wedding photography, as well as relaxation time for the bride and groom. I strongly encourage this for all my couples, you will enjoy yourselves more and we will have an easier time accomplishing our photography goals. The first look is essential in a wedding day when your ceremony and reception are all in the same place. There is no break between the ceremony and cocktail hour, and you need to put that wedding photography time back into the day. Most New Jersey wedding venues provide great spaces both indoor and outdoor for your photography, and you want to take advantage of all they have to offer.

The outdoor ceremony location at Forest Lodge in Warren is really wide open with beautiful landscaping, it was prefect for Megan & Billy’s wedding vows. Ceremonies of this type are typically much shorter than those taking place in a church so I have to move around quickly to capture all the angles, which was no problem here. We finished the wedding ceremony with the bride and groom’s first kiss as husband and wife. Megan and Billy requested that I reposition myself to capture their kiss from the officiant’s position and the results are really fantastic.

The reception space at Forest Lodge is perfect for your intimate wedding in a natural and rustic surrounding. There are both indoor and outdoor spaces for your guests to relax and have fun. The ballroom itself has a great space for your entertainment setup, sweetheart table and dancefloor, with lots of room for your guests to party.

One of the most important moments of the day for a photographer and his bride & groom is the sunset. I had planned out these photos prior to the day, carefully checking the sunset time and making sure it would fit into out schedule. We actually got up to our sunset spot a little later than I had intended but it worked out perfectly. The New Jersey sky that day was so dramatic and beautiful, the resulting photos are my absolute favorites from the day. The staff at Forest Lodge was so helpful in making this happen, our bridal attendant for the day zipped us up the hill to our location on a golf cart and also assisted me by holding my light stand!

The evening ended in a sparkler send-off and smores by the fire pit. I am so thankful to have been a part of Megan & Billy’s wedding day, I’d do it all over again if I could. A big thank you to everybody at Forest Lodge in Warren for their help in making their day a perfect one, and helping me to capture it!

Shawn & Laura, a Rock Hall Romance

Shawn and Laura actually got married out in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall or Fame in 2018. They are long time friends of mine so I was a guest at that wedding, and I have a strict “leave my camera at home” policy when attending events. I did not photograph their wedding but their pictures were really great, the Hall of Fame made for a very unique backdrop, in a way I was a little jealous that I wasn’t working that night. I did have fun however, as did the rest of our group of friends, we’re a big bunch of nerdy weirdos and we know how to party.

A year later for their anniversary, I had the pleasure of photographing Shawn and Laura in their wedding attire back in our home state of New Jersey. They left all the details of the wedding photography to me, so picking the location was easy: Liberty State Park. The location offers a nice variety of architecture, history, and of course the view of Manhattan.

I work at Liberty State Park a lot, having done countless engagement sessions there, the location also has two catering halls within it: The Liberty House and Maritime Park. I have worked at both of these venues and I always look forward to it because their locations offer views that you just can’t get anywhere else. I especially photograph Liberty House weddings quite often, it’s an excellent venue along with their sister properties: The Stone House in Warren, The Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station and The Hudson House in Jersey City just to name a few.

Shawn and Laura rock, there’s no other way for me to say it, they gave me all the time I needed to capture photos all over Liberty State Park. Their style is formal with a vintage twist, perfect for their rock hall romance wedding. Laura did bring along the leather jacket just because it was a cool October evening, but I immediately suggested we incorporate into a few photos, and the results were just cool. I think their style blended perfectly with the historic train station architecture at Liberty State Park.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day, everything just lined up perfectly. Starting with the gorgeous late-day light as we photographed around the park. Then we were presented with spectacular skies at sunset, the dramatic clouds and vibrant colors were there for the taking. With the help of my lovely lighting assistant (my wife), I was able to capture some truly epic sunset photos of the bride and groom.

Finally, we had reached my favorite part of any wedding or engagement photo session, night time. Darkness offers some of my favorite opportunities for creative lighting. The first photo below is fairly straightforward, the couple stands in front of the gorgeous New York City skyline, lit once again my my excellent lighting assistant. There simply is no substitute for the view of Manhattan at night. Our last photo of the evening is a long exposure light painting using a two Godox AD200 flash setup and a Fotorgear Magilight (basically a programmable LED wand). I set a 10 second exposure and I ran through the frame with the Magilight after my flash fired. The resulting image is one of my favorites ever produced with this method.

When we were finished, we all went over to The Liberty House for an amazing meal. As I write this we are still deep into the “great pandemic” and dining out just isn’t a thing right now. I still think back to that evening, looking forward to when nights like those will return. I am fortunate to have amazing friends who put their trust in me to capture their special moments. These Liberty State Park wedding photos are amongst some of my most favorite in my portfolio, I always recommend this location to my clients for their wedding day or for Liberty State Park engagement photos.

Charlotte & Anthony at The Olde Mill Inn

Charlotte and Anthony were referred to me by their friend Amanda whose wedding I captured a year prior and was also a bridesmaid in the bridal party that day. Since then I have captured another wedding referred to me from Amanda as well. The relationships I build with my clients is very important to me and I am always grateful when they recommend me to their friends.

This wedding took place in August but the weather that day was perfect, not too hot and beautiful skies. Charlotte and Anthony are a very easy going and wanted to focus on their celebration, so we did a first look and group portraits before the ceremony to ensure that everybody would have fun afterwards. I love the central courtyard of The Olde Mill Inn because it provides the perfect back drop and shade for portraits, you never have to worry about the sun at that location. At night the string lights create an excellent backdrop as well, great for evening photos.

The Olde Mill Inn is the perfect venue for celebrating your wedding all in one place, I love working there. The bridal suite is enormous and great for photographing the preparations, with plenty of windows to let in the natural light. The entire building has many great opportunities to capture special photos to remember your day, especially the central staircase and upper levels with their enormous windows.

The couple and bridal party wore traditional styles that day, matching bridesmaids dresses and tuxedos. The color scheme for the wedding was very light, pink dresses and bouquets to match with the men’s ties. We had a great time at the portrait session, the first look ensured that everybody could focus on the group photos in a relaxed manner and also get to enjoy cocktail hour after the ceremony.

Charlotte & Anthony’s first dance took place in the clouds provided by DJMC Entertainment. It’s always a magical moment to capture! Dancing on the clouds, intelligent lighting and up-lighting always enhance your party, as a photographer I always recommend adding features like these to your wedding celebration.

I always tell my clients that I love taking pictures at night, and I love using color in my photography. Just after dinner time when there was a quiet moment in the celebration, I went outside to set up a couple of lights. When I was finished I went back in to grab the bride and groom for a fun and unique night time portrait. We grabbed the photo in just a couple of minutes and I sent them back inside to continue the celebration. I’ve photographed this spot at The Olde Mill Inn numerous times, but that night I decided to use a fuchsia gel in my Magmod kit to change the color of the building entirely.

I’m writing this blog post in February of 2021, but this wedding took place in August of 2019. The picture below reminds me of what I jokingly refer to as “The before times” when we could all party with a bit less concern. By March of 2020, the New Jersey wedding business changed drastically and receptions as we knew them would become a thing of the past for quite some time. As difficult as 2020 was, I am still grateful for the people who chose me to capture their weddings in their altered states, and I am very happy with the photos I was able to create with some very special people. Right now in early 2021, we are not a whole lot better off than we were a year ago, but things are trending in the right direction and we will hopefully be back to more care free days soon. Fingers crossed.