I fell in love with Nika & Jack the minute I met them. The way I met them was a little different than the way I meet most of my couples and that was through Skype! Since they lived in Washington DC & I lived in New Jersey, that was the best way for us to chat and honestly… it was SO fun. I spoke with them for nearly an hour and a half and all I can remember from that conversation was laughing a TON with them. It’s all I can remember from their engagement session as well. Just a lot of laughing and having a really good time with them. So I knew going into their wedding day that we would have nothing but the best time with them! And I kept hyping it up to Jose, constantly telling him “they are the cutest together!” And they were. Constantly kissing each other, holding hands, always keeping contact… when we were shooting their portraits, I barely had to give them any direction. I literally said to them “just keep doing exactly what you’re doing because you’re adorable and it looks great!” We were capturing them 100% naturally and since they are SO in love, it was all so effortless for us. And Jose was gushing over them all day, saying “they’re so cute together!!” We had the biggest smiles on our faces just watching how in love these two were that when we wrapped up their sunset portraits and make their way back into their reception alone, I couldn’t help but hug and kiss Jose, feeling even more in love with him after being around two people that simply adored each other. They made me APPRECIATE the love I had and how lucky I was to do what I do, with the one I love 🙂 Wow… super sappy and it’s just the beginning of this blog post!

Jack & Nika had been carefully planning out their wedding day for months. From the minute they booked me, even before that!, we were putting together their timeline and deciding what would be the best way to plan their day. There were several things that were very important to them. They wanted their day to go smooth and wanted to have a lot of portraits of the two of them around their gorgeous venue, Bonnet Island Estate. That’s why they went with the First Look. They knew it’d be the best way to knock out all of their portraits before the ceremony because they NEEDED the free time in the cocktail to prepare for their AMAZING surprise salsa dance for their guests! (And by the way, that was one of the highlights of this wedding season for me! They were SO awesome and now Jose and I want to take salsa lessons even more than we did already!) Another thing that was very important to them was their Ceremony. They had planned a beautiful ceremony with handwritten vows, planting a unity tree and exchanging the beautiful, unique rings they had picked for each other that they wanted their guests to be 100% present at all times of the ceremony. They asked what I thought of them doing an Unplugged Ceremony and OF COURSE I was all for it! I INSTANTLY saw the pay off to the unplugged ceremony before Nika even walked down the aisle. When their three hysterical ring bearers and adorable flower girl walked down the aisle, their guests laughter FILLED the chapel like I had never heard at a wedding before! It was beautiful! And the tears and cheers when they were pronounced husband and wife were even greater 🙂

Everything about their wedding day was a dream come true. Bonnet Island Estate was the perfect backdrop for their colorful and vibrant wedding day filled with hues of grey & sangria and yet, still inspired by the sea and the natural landscapes around them. All of the locations in their venue made that happen and it all looked flawless. The AMAZING florals that surrounded them helped set the scene as well, with the most lucious bouquets and Nika’s breathtaking cascading bouquet to the florals and candles that burned surrounding them in their ceremony… even the evening light creeping in to their venue and creating a beautiful glow around them as they had their first dance as husband and wife, and first salsa dance 😉 Jack looked SO suave in his suit and you could see on his face all day and night long that he just felt so blessed and grateful to be marrying the woman of his dreams. And Nika? Well, like her mom said perfectly… she was born to be a Bride! They were calm, cool and collected their whole wedding day, giggling with each other throughout all portraits and every detail they so carefully thought out came together BEAUTIFULLY. I left their venue and as Jose started up the car and I packed away our bags, I said a little prayer thanking God for giving them such an extraordinary day and blessing them with eternal laughter, love and giggles 🙂 I can not wait to share this wedding with you all. Thanks to the amazing vendors we worked with that day and our beautiful couple, this is definitely one of my favorites of the year so far!

Nika & Jack, you know we love you both!! Your wedding day was absolutely beautiful and we wish you nothing but happiness and love!! ENJOY YOUR PHOTOS!! 🙂

CREDITS

Venue – Bonnet Island Estate

Florist – The Loft Florist

DJ – Off the Chart Entertainment

Wedding Dress – Demetrios

Bridesmaids Dresses – David’s Bridal

Cake – Bake Works

Cake Topper – Beach Cottage Boutique

Invitations – Wedding Paper Diva’s

Grooms Suit – Jos. A. Bank

Hair & Makeup – Daneene Jensen & Associates