Shanna and Greg’s North Shore House wedding on Swartswood Lake in Sussex County, New Jersey was a long time coming. I photographed their engagement session back in early 2019 at Fort Tyron Park. You can check that out by clicking here. While the last couple years derailed their plans, with their third wedding date and a new wedding venue, they were able to have a wonderful wedding celebration with their family and friends. They were the last of my rescheduled events and I have to thank Shanna and Greg for being so amazing to work with throughout the last couple of years. Like anyone in the wedding industry, I was subject to major losses and a few pretty awful interactions that added a lot of stress to an already stressful situation. Shanna and Greg were so easy to work with throughout the entire time, understanding the position I was in and working together throughout the last few years to get to this beautiful day.
I had never heard of or been to the North Shore House until Shanna and Greg decided to move their wedding there. It looked like a great spot and I wasn’t disappointed once I arrived. It is a lovely lakeside venue in beautiful Sussex County, New Jersey.
Greg’s Best Woman gives him a little hand…
This little guy took a little tumble…
and then so did this big guy….
How do you make a lint rolling photo adorable? Like this. 
I did not tell them to do this… I don’t know if I was truly being a ninja or I was being ‘ninja’d’ back by the kids…
Love the look Greg pulled together with the blue suit and purple tie… and that smile!
Snacking and makeup…
Checking herself out in the mirror…
I like images like this… it gives you an idea of how many things are happening at once during a bridal prep.
Shanna’s grandmother watches on…
Shanna looking amazing with makeup done by the talented Samantha Agostino…
I love this image because Shanna looks so graceful like a princess and believe it or not, this was a candid image.
It was a long time to get to this moment, but Shanna and Greg looked fabulous!
I like a portrait that shows joy and some silliness. I also like this portrait because Greg’s suit is being blown by the wind and this serves as a reminder of how oddly windy and chilly it was for a June day…
The North Shore House is on Swartswood Lake…
I also love moments like this. All of the kids at the wedding were such sweet souls and I genuinely enjoyed all of my interactions with them throughout the day. Each one of them brought a smile to my face at some point during the day as I interacted with them. In fact, the little one having a moment of being upset bonded with me later on when I could tell he had an interest in my camera. He just didn’t feel like being told what to do during these bridal party pictures which I totally get because the reality is that wedding days are long days for kids. They get off of their napping and eating schedules, a lot of people are telling them what to do and sometimes it is a bit of chaos.
I’m a storyteller and a mother and I think these are parts of the story we shouldn’t forget or try to pretend didn’t happen. There is a lot of pressure in the wedding world to only present perfection even down to fake skies, but that is not reality and I think reality is more beautiful and more moving than perfection. There is a lot going on behind the scenes of all the portraits that you see out there in the wedding world, I’m just one of the photographers who thinks this part of the story is important to document and I know you’ll look back on it and laugh at one day. 
Some fun chaos…
Prior to the start of the ceremony on the awesome peninsula at the North Shore House on Swartswood Lake were some wonderful performances…
What kid doesn’t love a bubble machine entrance?
Fun evidence of the wind…
Beautiful setting!
Laughter during the ceremony is my favorite thing!
Shanna and Greg started off the reception with a lovely dance number…
Shanna was surprised by her cousin who did a lot of driving to make an appearance at her wedding…
Some pretty entertaining speeches. This one involved a chorus behind the Best Woman. 
Here is another reality. There was a technical glitch during Shanna and Greg’s first dance. It was clear they had worked so hard on their dance and so of course it was disappointing. However, once they moved past the initial disappointment, they decided to redo their dance a second time. From my perspective, they had more fun with it the second time. On wedding days, you just have to roll with it as best you can when things don’t happen as planned. Sometimes the outcome can be even better…
Party time!
I want to take a minute here to compliment the awesome uplighting that Greg and his friends worked on for this tent. I love tent weddings, but adding in some neat uplighting can definitely add something beautiful to the images…
Shanna’s grandmother got up for a dance and the reaction was very heartfelt and emotional…
Time warp!
Hank Lane’s Marcus Reid band!
Although it took 3 1/2 years from when I originally met with Shanna and Greg to get to this day, I think it was well worth the wait. They hosted a fantastic celebration at an awesome location, The North Shore House, with a great group of friends and family. It was a pleasure working with everyone. Thanks to Brandan Calhoun for assisting me.
