Amanda and Andrew | September Wedding | OCNJ and Family home

A warm September wedding. Amanda and Andrew could not have asked for a more beautiful day to get married in September. Amanda and Andrew started the day on the beach in Ocean City, NJ  and ended the day saying their vows on the front lawn of Andrew’s family home. I enjoyed getting to know this sweet couple. Amanda was highly organized and was happy to hear my advice on timing of the various parts of the day. Together we made the perfect timeline and everything went as planned except for getting stranded without a car! (Stay tuned for that story)

Ocean city, Nj First look

Amanda and Andrew wanted to have their first look, family, and wedding portraits on the beach in Ocean City, NJ. We were nervous about the weather, but it turned out to be a perfect warm, partly cloudy day. They were both so excited to see each other. It was one of the most anticipated moments of the day for the two of them. They both said that they felt so special during that moment and were so happy they chose to have a first look.

Wedding portraits on the beach in Ocean City

After we finished family portraits under the 14th street beach fishing pier, we walked down the beach taking photos along the way.  The photos under the pier and in the ocean are some of my favorites.  You can see their love for each other in the photos! They also pose so well together which creates some gorgeous romantic photos.

We had to leave the beach at a certain time to make sure we had enough travel time to get to the ceremony location. When we got to the spot where the car was supposed to be waiting for us, there was no car! Due to a miscommunication the car was in another location. We were panicking!  We were so hot and didn’t have enough time to walk back to our cars. Andrew said we have no choice but ask someone to drive us.  He stopped a car and asked the couple if we could hitch a ride to our cars. Thankfully, the sweet couple said sure, and they brought us to our cars. That takes the craziest moment award! It all worked out. Yay.

Ceremony at Andrew’s family home

The ceremony space was set up in the front yard of Andrew’s family home with the reception in the backyard. It was the perfect place for a warm September wedding. The sunlight streamed through the big tree that the ceremony took place under, giving it a romantic vibe. The second most anticipated moment for Amanda and Andrew was the ceremony. Amanda’s dad officiated the ceremony. It was the first time he had ever officiated and with it being his daughters wedding it added some extra pressure.  All three of them were nervous and didn’t want to cry. Amanda will treasure the words her dad said that day forever.

Amanda and Andrew also decided to write their own vows. They were nervous about saying their vows to each other in front of everyone but wanted to give her dad a break during the ceremony. Amanda didn’t want to have to worry about making sure she had the vows that day so after they both wrote them out, they handed to them to someone else to give to them at that point in the ceremony. I enjoy hearing couples recite their vows to each other! You learn so much about their relationship and love story.

Wedding bouquet and Wedding attire

Amanda wanted a lot of greenery for her theme but since everything was DIY, she didn’t want the stress of purchasing fresh flowers and constructing a bouquet the night before the wedding. She ended up ordering real touch greenery from Ling’s Moments and they shipped the items deconstructed. Amanda is not very crafty and was a little stressed out trying to figure out how to put the bouquet together (it didn’t come with instructions), so her mom took over and made her a beautiful bouquet. She really loved how it turned out and that she gets to keep it forever!

Amanda and Andrew wanted their wedding pictures to be semi-formal even though their wedding was taking place in the groom’s backyard. Andrew bought a  grey suit that he loved. Amanda had a tough time narrowing down what she wanted. She eventually went with a dress from lulus.com and loved it. It was perfect for her. She said she doesn’t normally do sparkles but they added some elegance to the dress. She looked beautiful.

Family helped create the perfect reception

Amanda and Andrew’s family helped them put together a beautiful reception in the backyard of Andrew’s home. Their guests enjoyed the tasty food, drinks, and the beautiful weather.  After the first dance and toasts the three of us went next door to take sunset pictures in the Christmas tree farm. We still had a bit of sunset glow and the photos looked so romantic.

Amanda’s advice for future brides

If you are planning a DIY wedding like we did, make sure you have a good group of people on the day of the wedding who can take over the planning. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks before that I asked my sisters and family to help on the day of and I didn’t realize just how important it would be to have them there! As much as I planned, most of it wouldn’t have been executed if it weren’t for them. I was much busier and scattered brained than I thought I’d be on the day of so having them to set up, direct vendors, and make sure everything ran smoothly actually gave me some time to enjoy myself which was a true gift! Of course, if you hire a coordinator or wedding planner I am sure it will also take a lot of the stress away 🙂

 

Congratulations Amanda and Andrew! You two are so sweet to each other and to me.  I enjoyed walking around Ocean City with you and photographing your day.  It was also my first time hitching a ride from strangers. ha-ha. That couple was so happy to help save the day. I look forward to seeing you two again.

 

Vendors:

DJ/Entertainment:  Deverin Glenn  https://www.dlgdjentertainment.com/

Food/Bartenders: Michael’s catering  https://www.michaelseventcatering.com/