When Kelly reached out to me about her and Dan’s Martell’s Water’s Edge New Jersey wedding, I was super stoked because I had already worked with her family on her sister’s wedding over five years ago at Laurita Winery (you can check that out here) and they were a total joy to work with. I’m always so happy to see my couples and their families again. Kelly and Kaitlin are the ninth set of siblings whose weddings I’ve photographed and I’ve got number ten on the books for 2020! I consider it a great accomplishment when families want to work with me again.
Kelly and Dan met in Dan’s hometown of Chicago, but had their wedding at the New Jersey shore at Martell’s Water’s Edge. It was a beautiful fall day and Kelly and Dan were full of smiles and joy from start to finish! 
I started with the guys at their shore house…
…and I headed around the corner to the ladies at their shore house… I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the typical dress hanging photo. Dresses are fitted to the bride’s body and so I find it strange to photograph it hanging from a hanger. Once in awhile, there is a great backdrop or a certain type of dress and an opportunity for light to carry through it beautifully and the image can really do the dress justice. For the most part, it is just an image that has been ingrained in people’s minds from social media that people don’t even think about if the photo makes sense at all. I love to bring some sense to wedding imagery, but with such a vivid backdrop, I couldn’t help, but grab a shot of Kelly’s dress hanging in the window…
I’m not even sure what is going on here, but this is my kinda bridesmaids in matching outfits photo!
I love this little series of Kelly’s mom helping her with her dress. Maybe part of it is because this is the second time I’m photographing her help her daughter into a wedding gown and it’s so nice to witness such joy once again…
Who else to make sure your teeth are looking great, but your mom?
Love this reaction from the bridesmaids when they saw Kelly in her gown for the first time… (also a great chance to see Katie Bay’s hairstyling magic- click here to see more)
Kelly did a first look with her dad as well. I love how people often close their eyes when overwhelmed with emotion and I caught Kelly and her dad doing this at the same time…
Dan’s three sisters help him with his boutonniere…
I love Kelly’s enthusiasm– it’s contagious!
The girls grabbed a selfie while I was taking pics of the guys…
I love this moment during family photos. Dan has a lot of nephews and this just sums up the season of life when you have little ones. Holding babies, kids clawing at you, it’s just a lot of needs and I love the expression of the little guy looking at the camera. It is so reminiscent of a defeated parent. This image is my kind of family photo.
Dan’s aunt officiated the ceremony and she added to the infectious joy of the day!
Martell’s Water’s Edge has a beautiful ocean backdrop for an outdoor ceremony…
Another one of Dan’s nephews just chilling with one sock…
Kaitlyn, my former bride and now a mother to a little cutie pie, watches as her sister exchanges vows…
So much joy!
Party time!
Dan’s sister has a baby strapped into a carrier and is dancing with two more little ones. Mom superpowers!
Kelly and her grandmother…
Fast asleep…
I’m not sure what is happening here with this coffee cup and a selfie stick… is this a trend I’m not aware of?
Kaitlin and Mike… five years later…
Such a blast working with Kelly and Dan on their Martell’s Water’s Edge New Jersey wedding. It was so great seeing familiar faces and all the love and joy of the day. Thanks to Brandan Calhoun for assisting me.
