Misty Dawn Photography » New Jersey wedding photographer

Cape May Wedding | Jen & Ron

Misty Dawn — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:13:13 +0000

{When Jen contacted me about photographing her Cape May Wedding last fall, I was excited for more than one reason. First, because Jen and I used to work together and second, I’d never been to the Jersey shore! Lame, I know, but my family have always been Delaware Beach goers instead. Big thanks go to Ole for coming down to the shore to shoot with me! He got some really great shots, some of which are included in this post. This wedding was one of the classiest affairs I’ve ever had the pleasure of documenting. Since Jen has a background in photography and design, you can imagine how well planned and creative the details were for her wedding. AND because Jen is a blogger herself (she does a great job guest blogging for The Finer Things), I thought it would be fun to let her tell you about her wedding herself! }

Hello readers! My name is Jen, and I am a friend of Mistyâ€™s, as well as a blogger. When Misty asked me to write a guest post for her blog, I couldnâ€™t help but be excited â€“ especially because she asked me to write about something very close to my heartâ€¦ my own wedding! Misty captured the day so perfectly, and I am anxious to show you her lovely work, but first, Iâ€™d like to share with you a few details about the wedding day.
My husband and I were married on September 19, 2009 in the seaside town of Cape May, New Jersey. Having our wedding at the shore was an obvious choice for Ron and I, as we both grew up spending summers on the beach and eventually fell in love at another Jersey shore point. Cape May was perfect for hosting the wedding, as it offered beautiful beaches, plenty of activities for guests, and romantic charm. Cape Mayâ€™s Victorian era styling led to a ceremony and reception full of quaint elegance. The dÃ©cor consisted of many DIY projects â€“ strands of ribbons with tiny shells hanging from the pews, a Just Married sign on the bar, table number cards with the lyrics to â€œOn the Way to Cape Mayâ€, a cake table decoration with a Shakespeare quote and salt water taffy favor boxes to name a few! Our vows were short and sweet, and our guests dined on gourmet food and then danced the night away. We had perfect weather that day, and could not have asked for a more joyous celebration! At the end of a wedding weekend full of family and fun, Ron and I are left with memories to last a lifetime, and gorgeous photos to tell our story so well.

: Getting ready on the morning of the wedding was nothing like I had thought it would be. It was so much more relaxed than I had anticipated.

: The engagement ring and wedding bands are so beautifully captured in the picture on the left. Some of the detail shots are my favorites from the day.

: My dad came in the room after my mom and bridesmaids helped me into my gown, and I remember how he looked at me, and then put on my necklace. The necklace was my â€œsomething borrowedâ€, as it belongs to my mom.

: Itâ€™s amazing to me how nicely a photo can turn out when the subject is so uncomfortable! I could barely sit down in my gown, but the way Misty was able to capture me in these bridal portraits really is lovely.

: You canâ€™t tell in the picture on the left, but I was getting my picture taken from all angles! Misty was above me, and Ole was at the bottom of the stairs surrounded by picture-happy relatives. The photo on the right is hands-down my favorite bridal portrait â€“ and now I will never forget how old I was on my wedding day.

: Walking the two blocks to the church from the house we stayed in was one of the most fun parts of the day. The weather in Cape May was beyond perfect, so the streets were full of tourists offering their well wishes. I love the way the light settles on my gown and creates shadows on the pavement.

: Ah, the handsome groom! Ron does not like getting his picture taken, but youâ€™d never know from looking at these photos!

: This is one of the favorites, as far as pictures with both Ron and I â€“ itâ€™s just so natural and â€œin the momentâ€. The look on his face is so sweet as we make our way up the aisle.

: One of my favorite parts of this picture is the way my Maid of Honor looks (sheâ€™s next to me on the left). This really captures her just as she is â€“ giddy and fun!

: Can you say, GQ? Did I say that Ron doesnâ€™t like getting his picture taken?

: I love the exchange of looks between everyone in this photo. This was just before our photo session on the beach.

: Heading to the Cape May Point Lighthouse was not in the original plan, but we needed an excuse to rock out in the limo and sip our champagne, so we took the 10 minute drive to Cape May Point. We are SO glad that we decided to do this â€“ there are so many great photos from the trip.

: The photos of Ron and I by the dune grass are so nice. The way the blue sky, grasses and light come together really make this a great shot.

: The way in which all the little details came together at the reception really was gorgeous. One of my favorite things about the venue was the gold Chiavari chairs. The day before the wedding, all the bridesmaids, my grandmother, mom, aunt and cousins sat around the huge table in the kitchen and assembled the little boxes of salt water taffy. My mom cut out over 100 boxes from craft paper, and the tags were made from templates I downloaded from www.marthastewartweddings.com.

: I remember waiting to walk in to the reception â€“ we were both a bit nervous! We entered to the instrumental part of the song, â€œThe Final Countdownâ€ by Europe. The way weâ€™re looking at eachother is like, â€œReady? Let’s do this!”

: The wedding cake was inspired by my gown, with folds of buttercream icing instead of folds of satin. I love the cake toppers, too â€“ they look just like Ron and I!

: Our first dance as husband and wife was to â€œLuckyâ€ by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. I think we were trying to remember at what point in the song Ron should twirl me.

: My best friends Ashley and Meghann were Maid and Matron of Honor, and they each gave a beautiful speech.

: This is the moment these three boys were waiting for all weekend! They talked about this â€œAlligator Danceâ€ for weeks before the wedding. The choreographed dance was first performed at our good friends Meghann and Bryanâ€™s (guy in the middle) wedding, and is highly anticipated at Ashley and Bryanâ€™s (guy on the right) wedding this August. Unfortunately, this photo is sans the groom â€“ he joined moments later.

: My mom and dad, getting their dance on! Note the expression on my friendâ€™s faces behind them.

: The last song of the night was â€œPiano Manâ€ by Billy Joel. This is a tradition between my cousins â€“ the last song is always the same, and all the guests circle around the bride and groom. It was truly a fantastic ending to the perfect day.

: Much love and an enormous amount of thanks to two seriously awesome photographers â€“ Misty and Ole. The way they captured every moment of the day was perfect. Ron and I could not ask for better wedding photos, and we owe it to these two! They followed us around all day and rocked out with us all night long. What other photographer dances around the floor in stylish shades while taking pictures?

{Big thanks to Jen for the insider account of her wedding day and for treating us like one of the family. It was truly a pleasure to document her amazing day. Here’s hoping she’ll be willing to come back and blog for us again in the future! }

The Mill at Spring Lake Heights | Colleen & Dave Wedding

Misty Dawn — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:44:31 +0000

Colleen and Dave are two of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of calling clients.Â We have entirely too much in common to be coincidence, so I blame it on fate that they found me.Â How many ferret loving, Rock Band playing, Ford Probe owners could there possibly be in a 100 mile radius?Â Ok, technically the Probe isn’t mine – it’s Marc’s, but still.Â I USED to own one and there’s still one in my driveway, so I say it counts.Â Â OH, and our wedding colors were the SAME – pink and green.Â Eerie.Â I think Colleen and I were sisters in another life.Â Anyway, Colleen and Dave had their wedding at The Mill at Spring Lake Heights in NJ and despite the rain, it was an amazing day.Â Lots of fun people, lots of color and lots of love.Â Check out the photos…

There was so much great color in this wedding that I had a hard time shooting much B&W! The mood lighting was incredible and no detail went unnoticed.

I love the texture in Colleen's Maggie Sottero gown.

I'm not such a fan of flats but even I adored these Coach shoes! and the RINGS! Wow.

Lovin the antique ring like a fat kid love cake.

Ummm...yeah, so those are her REAL eyelashes. Jealous.

FAB. U. LOUS. Seriously.

The photo on the right inspires me to believe that Colleen belongs in a perfume ad in the pages of Vogue or Vanity Fair. BTW, she made her own headpiece as well.

Since the entire bridal party was riding in the limo to the wedding, Colleen & Dave saw each other beforehand. They were so excited!

It rained. Whacanyado? Everybody had a good attitude about it so there was no way Mother Nature was ruining their day.

Can you say.....Lady Gaga fans? Love it!

The guys were looking very dapper.

The ceremony was very personal and one of the bridesmaids sang a beautiful song. Very touching.

Dave looked so handsome!

The rain let up after the ceremony so we were able to do some portraits outside. I'm in love with how the lake looks at twilight here.

Carlo’s Bakery, from TLC’s Cake Boss, worked their confectionery magic on the cake.

The reception was a whirlwind of fun!

We closed out the night with an ending shot in front of this cool piece of glass.

You guys rock!Â Thanks so much for an amazing experience and for being such awesomely creative people.Â

Joann & Steve | Marlton, New Jersey Wedding Luau

Misty Dawn — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:46:45 +0000

Joann & Steve had an amazing wedding luau celebration at the Kings Grant Open Space in Marlton, NJ.Â I’ve known Joann & Steve for many years, since I am good friends with her sister’s family.Â So when they finally set the date, I was excited to be their photographer.Â It was a perfect sunny day for a wedding luau and all of the little personal touches made it a day not soon to be forgotten!Â I arrived just before the ceremony to capture the amazing entrance of the bride and groom.Â Â (and I DO mean A-MAZ-ING!)

Let's set the stage with a few details, in the form of an inspiration board.

Uhmm. Holy Cow. That's some serious bling.

Here comes the bride! (Yes, they do happen to be pointing across the water. Hmmmm)

Joann & Steve came across the lake in a canoe! Talk about a unique entrance!

Such a picturesque moment. You can't even tell that Joann was scared out of her wits. LOL

The ceremony setting was beautiful with the lake behind it and incorporated some Hawaiian traditions.

Love & Laughter. It's a beautiful thing.

Their lei's were just magnificent! Aren't they just gorgeous?!

An ecstatic Mr. & Mrs.!

Joann's daughter and step-daughters made beautiful bridesmaids in their vibrant tropical attire.

I decided we just had to hop back in the canoe for some photos. (But we promised Joann it wasn't going back into the water with her in it! haha!)

Beautiful day for a luau and an amazing couple soaking up the sun.

Anyone else feel like these could be on the cover of a romance novel? LOL

Steve cleans up well, eh?

Joann was radiant. I LOOOOVE her dress!!

LOVE it!

Their first dance.

Started off slow and ended up fast!

Joann's two sons gave toasts.

Who invited the ice cream man?? Joann & Steve did! There were just as many adults in line for Mr. Softee as there were kids. haha! (Myself included!)

Let's get this party started!

I love how the kids are following this mans moves!

Just the way it should be - bride and groom on the dance floor!

You can't have a luau without grass skirts, right?

Joann getting in on the grass skirt action.

More of the guys ended up in the skirts than the girls did, I think. LOL

On top of all great touches they added to their day, Joann & Steve also rented a photo booth from The Wilmington Photo Booth Company.Â Everyone had such a blast playing in the photo booth!Â For each group in the photo booth, it prints out two copies of the photo strip – one for the person in the booth and one that goes in a scrapbook for Joann & Steve.Â How cool is that?!Â If you were thinking about a photo booth for your wedding (and even if you weren’t!) than you should definitely check these guys out.Â They rocked.Â Here is one of the photos from my strip with Maria (Joann’s sister and my friend).

Thanks Joann & Steve, for inviting me to take such a special part in your day.Â As always, more photos from this wedding can be found on Facebook and Flickr.