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Weddings

Rainy Waterfront New Jersey Wedding

Do you know what the number one worry is for your wedding day? Take a minute to guess…. did you guess the weather? Then you’re correct! Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability to control the weather. This leads to the biggest worry of all when it comes to wedding planning, however, it doesn’t need to consume you. While we all hope to have a beautiful sunny day, a little bit of rain in the forecast does not mean that your wedding day is doomed. In fact, this beautiful rainy waterfront New Jersey wedding proves that even with some rain you can have the most romantic wedding day.

So fun fact, we actually already photographed Heather and Dan getting married. Due to everything that happened in the pandemic, they decided to have a micro wedding at her family’s shore house back in 2021. Surrounded by only their closest family, they had the most amazing and emotional ceremony. They then spent the day riding bikes and hanging out by the water! Despite this amazing ceremony, that didn’t take away from their dream of having a wedding with their friends & family together.

Sticking with the beachy waterfront theme, Heather and Dan had their wedding at The Yacht Club of Stone Harbor. This beautiful space is the perfect New Jersey wedding venue with some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for the ultimate place to get married in New Jersey and you love the water, then The Yacht Club of Stone Harbor might be just the place for you. To read more about their wedding spaces, click here!

Bride & Groom Getting Ready

The AKP team made the commute from Pennsylvania over to Stone Harbor, New Jersey to meet up with Heather as she got ready. Typically as soon as we arrive at weddings, we will begin taking detail photos. Detail photos are SO important in helping tell your love story which is why we love doing them. Some items to include in detail photos are shoes, jewelry, rings, ring boxes, flowers, invitation suites, photos, and more.

Tip: Gather all of your wedding details in a box the night before your wedding day. That way you don’t have to scramble the morning of your wedding and your photographer can begin photographing!

After wrapping up with the details, we met back up with Heather and her bridesmaids as they put on the finishing touches. The theme of their wedding was very much inspired by the beach and ocean. The invitation suite, bridesmaids’ dresses, and even Dan’s tie all were this teal blue which was so unique and beautiful.

While finishing up with Heather and her bridesmaids, the AKP second photographer was with Dan and his groomsmen putting the final touches on his wedding attire. Keep in mind this is the best reason to have a second photographer on your wedding day. Not only can you have both moments captured but you’re able to catch more moments than you would if you just had one. Just sayin’ *wink*.

The First Look(s)

Before we knew it, it was time to embark on our next journey… the first looks. Now keep in mind even though Heather and Dan already had gotten married, that doesn’t take away the impact of the first look.

What Is A First Look?

For any of you asking “what is the first look?”, well let me help you out. A first look is typically when a couple sees each other on their wedding day BEFORE the ceremony. Now a first look is not just limited to your partner but can be with a parent/guardian or even your wedding party. Here are some benefits to having a first look on your wedding day:

It gives you and your partner some much-needed alone time
Much more intimate and emotional
Read more intimate vows without a crowd watching

While tradition has been swayed for you to believe that you should wait until you walk down the aisle to see your partner, that just isn’t the case anymore. Of course, it’s your wedding day and you should do what you want on your special day. However, if you’ve been debating on doing one the AKP team LOVES photographing them.

Heather first did the first look with her father before heading to their venue for her and Dan’s first look. Like we said before, even though they were already married that doesn’t mean the initial shock of seeing each other isn’t still there. Heather wore this beautiful dress by Stella York that just flowed over her so beautifully. You could tell that as soon as Dan turned around he was absolutely starstruck by her beauty. Don’t worry, we were too.

Wedding Portraits

Shortly after, the rest of the wedding party met up with us to take some wedding portraits! We took a few outside of the Yacht Club before heading over to the docks by the harbor. At this point, the rain started trickling down even more so we brought out some much-needed backup. Oh and by much-needed backup, I mean the umbrellas and a good ol’ fashioned towel. We were able to put some white beach towels underneath Heather’s dress to protect it from any water damage while on the dock. Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Either way, the photos came out absolutely amazing. Even though we experienced some rain, these were some of AKP’s all-time faves. We moved to the beach to dip our toes in the sand and really soak up all that fresh saltwater smell (if you know you know LOL).

Tips for A Rainy Wedding

Bring Umbrellas – this is just a given, but when it’s raining your best bet is to stick to clear umbrellas. They won’t cast a shadow or obstruct any view from behind and are the perfect option if you are out and about when it’s raining
Bring an Emergency Kit – This emergency kit will be your best friend we promise. While we suggest bringing an emergency kit to your wedding day no matter what, you especially need one when it’s raining. Stain remover, safety pins, and a sewing kit are just a few key necessities when dealing with rain
Protect Your Dress – Your dress is bound to get dirty, especially when you’re walking about in the rain. We would recommend having the hem of your dress sprayed with professional repellent from the dry cleaners or having your wedding party help carry your train as you walk
Different Shoe Options – You may or may not be wanting to walk around in heels on your wedding day and especially when rain is involved, this seems almost impossible. We recommend wearing comfortable shoes if you plan on walking out in the rain. Investing in a nice pair of rain boots for you to wear while outside taking wedding portraits may just save you a ton of headaches

Later into the night, you will see that we were able to sneak Heather and Dan back onto the dock for some sunset portraits. The weather had cleared up and the sunset was absolutely TO DIE for, it seriously took our breath away. Keep scrolling if you want to see all of those juicy goods!

Ceremony & Reception Time

Once we finished up with portraits, we made our way back inside for Heather and Dan’s ceremony. It was fairly short and sweet but was still such an amazing one to witness. Shortly after, their reception began and everyone was soaking up all of the love. All of the wedding guests joined on the dance floor as we spent the remainder of the night bustin’ all sorts of moves. It was the perfect way to end the most perfect wedding day.

This Rainy Waterfront New Jersey Wedding was absolutely amazing, but have you seen this Summer Wedding at French Creek Golf Club?

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