New Jersey Elopement | Lauren & Vic

While Lauren and Vic’s New Jersey wedding wasn’t allowed to take place as it was planned, they opted to adapt and have a New Jersey elopement instead. Lauren and Vic had to postpone their wedding due to the current circumstances, but they still wanted to be married in May rather than waiting until later this year. I love that they wanted to be married. That sounds kinda silly. Like yeah, duh Michelle, they hired you to photograph their wedding, of course they want to be married. The thing is… the wedding day starts to outshine the actual marriage part of the day with all of the planning, details, investments, etc. It’s easy to get caught up in it, so when a couple decides to break it all back down to the very reason a wedding day celebration happens- the marriage- and decides to have an elopement, I am delighted.

Lauren and Vic opted to elope with just the two of them. No friends or family. I think this is so intimate and romantic. I completely understand why people want to get married with all of their friends and family. I wanted that for myself, but my husband and I did discuss the idea of eloping and having a party at a later date at some point. We opted to do it all on the wedding day, but the current circumstances have forced my couples to have to bend and flex. Something they wouldn’t have considered before, now becomes an option. This has been a very stressful time for my couples with being so close to their wedding days and then being hit with so much uncertainty. As someone who built a business and has run it successfully for almost 12 years now, it should surprise no one to know that the uncertainty has been very stressful for me as well. So I was so happy when Lauren and Vic reached out about me photographing their elopement.

Since I have plenty of land and privacy, I offered up my property for their nuptials. I let Lauren and Vic look around to see what space felt good for them to have their ceremony and they chose a space that had a natural aisle. We played a song of their choice as Lauren walked down the aisle created by nature. Whether there were 400 guest watching, or none, this moment would still be just as special. When people are very moved by something, they usually look either upward or downward. You can see that Vic looked downward as he collected himself for the moment that Lauren walked down the aisle. 

All smiles as Lauren approaches the ‘altar’…

So wonderfully intimate…

Laughter during a ceremony… my fave!

I love that Lauren and Vic wrote their own words for their vows…

We took a few portraits to celebrate the new Mr. and Mrs….

I love moments like this… maybe this isn’t the picture that gets framed on the wall,  but I love the laughter and joy happening during portraits.

My 4 1/2 year old daughter drew chalk hearts on the ground for Lauren and Vic…

The signing of the marriage license isn’t something I usually photograph. The bride and groom don’t even have to sign it (Lauren was filling in some other info at this point). The officiant often grabs the witnesses and has them do the paperwork and then takes off. With the excitement of a reception about to happen, most people are distracted and this is done off to the side so I liked that the process here was sorta similar. We didn’t set it up to be the perfect picture. We just let it happen. My daughter, who you will often find in a fancy dress opted to go muddy river casual on this day, was just chilling behind them with her Barbie. It was also the first time I served as a witness for one of my couples. With no guests and the officiant not counting as a witness, my husband and I served as witnesses. These have been trying times for brides, grooms and everyone who serves the wedding industry. We are all left with so much uncertainty. Photographing Lauren and Vic’s New Jersey elopement breathed some life back into me. It was the first wedding that ever happened at my house (I always wanted to get married here) and it was the first time I served as a witness for one of my couples. My little space on this earth has always felt so special to me. I feel connected to it. Lauren and Vic’s elopement added to its meaning. Thank you to Lauren and Vic for the honor of photographing such an intimate moment for them. Thank you to my friend Mike for officiating the wedding. Thank you to my husband for playing the music and videotaping their ceremony and thank you to my daughter for picking buttercups to create a bouquet for Lauren in case she didn’t have one and for surprising us with hearts on the driveway to celebrate and show love. Looking forward to celebrating again with Lauren and Vic later this year…