Let Your Love Shine, Apple Pie Moonshine | Jade + Nick

The Beginning

Fate works in mysterious ways. It just so happened that Jade went over to her neighbor's house when Nick was visiting. Turns out, Jade's neighbor is Nick's cousin. At the time, Jade was living with her parents while Nick had his own home where he enjoyed Lord of the Rings in solitude - this was all about to change! Nick took Jade on their first date to Texas Roadhouse since both of them love BBQ. Over crispy Diet Pepsis, their relationship blossomed. Going on many dates, one of the favorites being going to Hibachi then enjoying a bucket of popcorn and pretzel bites.

At some point, they both fell in love with the other. Jade's moment was when Nick would come over to her parents' house for dinner, every day straight from work. Jade's parents definitely loves how charismatic Nick is, as well as how often he helps with odd side jobs around the house. Nick had his realization moment when they both started remodeling all the rooms in his house. Between the chemistry and teamwork skills, he immediately wanted this to last forever.

And now, they can start forever.

Wedding Day

Getting Ready

Nick

From the moment he was getting ready, Nick was HYPED. Whereas the room was super small for the group of guys, they enjoyed their drinks, fun patterned socks, and preparing Nick to see Jade. Every single day, he looks forward to coming home from a hard day's work and Jade greeting him at the door. Spending quality time together, such as cooking dinner, is always a favorite of his. From the moment they had their first kiss, Nick knew that something he has been missing became right.

As time was counting down, the excitement only builds.

Suit from Chazzmatazz Formal Wear

Flatlays

Nick and company arrive to the venue early, where him and his best man share brews.

Of course, we had to get all the guys looking sharp!

After some fun group photos, it was time to set Nick up for Jade's arrival!

Jade

Jade blew me away as soon as I arrived - she looked absolutely incredible. As she was getting her finishing touches, we were able to get her and Nick's details done (love when I can do both of them). Little Stella was also looking her best in her white flower girl dress! Everyone jumps on the bed (without injury) and we grab some cute shots in their getting ready robes!

Wedding mornings definitely have some time matrix attached to them because time flies so quick. It was already time to get into her wedding dress. With a classic, romantic look, Jade was about to transform into a bride! Her mother buttoned her up, she put her earrings in, and her maid of honor tied her shoes. It was now time to leave the hotel and get to her first look with both Nick and her dad!

Dress from The Curvy Bride.

Flatlays

First Looks

Groom

They picked Spring Valley Meadows as their venue because they were able to envision all the possibilities. They fell in love immediately and knew it was the perfect place for both first looks and the rest of their wedding day celebrations.

Nick does not often lose his words, but the moment he saw Jade as his now-future wife, he fell silent. Once he regains his voice, he tells her how beautiful she looks. I mean, c'mon. look how good these two clean up.

Dad

First looks with dads always get to me (same with daughter/father dances) since my father wasn't well enough to come to my wedding. Regardless, Jade's dad had the BEST reaction. He was in absolute awe over his little girl getting ready to walk down the aisle. While he does not have to drive her to soccer games every weekend anymore, he will still be able to watch her start the next stage of her life.

Pre-Game

Jade's personality is unmatched - she's fiery and funny and Nick is an absolute compliment to her in every way. She is the absolute life of the party. That being said, both her and Nick chose the most important people in their life to witness and support them on their big day.

The great thing about this venue is that it has the coolest barn that you can decorate any way that suits you. It's also always nice when I see the engagement session we did together as some sort of decoration throughout the wedding space (go, me!).

Jade + Nick took a moment to enjoy each other's company before they walk down the aisle and become Mr. and Mrs. Cerra.

This is when your entire relationship flashes before your eyes.You look back at favorite memories you both have shared. For J+N, it was a road trip to Vermont and how they made a pit stop in Massachusettes. Or Nick drinking Mai Tai's while Jade enjoys Bushwacker's during their cruise to the Carribean. This is just another adventure they are on together and will continue to explore the world as one.

Then, it was time to walk.

Ceremony

Details

Mr. and Mrs.

as the music plays, everyone falls silent. Then Nick sees Jade as she walks towards him and his reaction goes a little bit like this:

This is where all his emotions came from the pit of his heart and out on the surface. Jade's dad proudly walks her down the aisle, shakes Nick's hand and goes to sit.

The ceremony was beautiful and my favorite part was their vows they wrote for each other. Witnessing them pronounce their love for each other made it obvious, they were put together by the universe because they are meant for each other.

Portraits

During cocktail hour and forty five minutes before sunset, I stole the both of them for their portraits.
Let me be honest, these are some of my absolute all time favorite wedding portraits.

Reception

Details

Dances

As everyone came to the reception, it was time for the newly appointed Mr. and Mrs. Cerra to have their first dance. They danced to "Live Forever" by Kane Brown. After, Jade and her dad danced to "Forever Now" by Michael Buble. Nick and his mom danced to "That's What Mamas Do" by Jason Matthews.

Speeches went on and everyone cheered the couple; then it was time to PARTY.

PARTY TIME

This reception was WILD. Everyone was on the dance floor - with and without drinks in hands - and was getting funky. Even baby Stella was running around to the music.

Instead of a traditional cake, they had the most delicious gourmet donuts by Cupcake Magician.

and after a sweet exchange of cupcake, they shared a kiss and danced the rest of the night away.

Future

Every day, Jade looks forward to Nick coming home and getting a big smooch. She loves doing the little things together such as running errands and starting new house projects. Nick dreams of a weekend getaway in a cabin located on a mountain. Jade wants to see Tennessee. Both love to travel and want to explore the world.

As for long term, Jade wants a successful marriage and always encouraging to do better for themselves, whether its getting a new job or some type of thing to help support their family. Nick dreams of a house on a lot of land, "raising some babies and being dedicated to my family".

I believe with my whole chest that these two will accomplish all of the above and then some. It was an absolute joy getting to know the both of them and being able to capture their day. 15/10. totally recommend Mr. + Mrs. Cerra.

Check out another wedding here: Tattoos + Glitter: A Love Story | Emily + Greg

Interested in booking? Check out this link.

Engagement Session at Willowwood Arboretum (NJ), Victoria + Frank

Scouting out locations are all apart of the job - and stumbling upon Willowwood Arboretum is a dream come true. Willowwood, 130 acres of rolling farm land, has about 2,100 kinds of native and exotic plants, many of them rare. In addition to the formal gardens near the residence and undisturbed forest, they are open daily from dawn to dusk and offer one of the dreamiest of locations that is outside the standard gardens and beach photos we often see here in New Jersey.

Victoria + Frank are one of the sweetest people I have met. Victoria loves reading, movies, and animals while Frank love sports and gaming. They met through Tinder roughly six years ago, and his first line (which was a play on her name) was, "If I won your love, would be Victorious". Like c'mon, how cute is that? Their first date was at Barnes & Nobel, where they browsed their favorite books and had coffee. After a few dates, everything felt natural and went with the flow. Two and a half years later, they moved in together and eventually added five cats, a dog, and two guinea pigs to their family. On Halloween 2020, he leaned down while she was on the couch and proposed.

Victoria said it felt they were already married but looking forward to the wedding cake since they are total foodies and definitely looking forward to cocktail hour as well.

Victoria + Frank, I am so excited for your wedding day - you to absolutely adore each other and it totally shows. I love you both!

xoxo,

Christina

Tips For Your Engagement Session (From A Photographer!)

First off all, congratulations on your engagement!! This is absolutely the most exciting time ever - and we are SO glad that you stopped here for some tips! We’ve photographed hundreds of couples from their engagement session, to a surprise boudoir session, to their wedding day, and all the way to any of their future events, so we hope that you stick around too! Here are our MOST important tips for your engagement session, from a professional standpoint:

1. Location, Location, Location

My biggest advice is to pick the location that screams YOU and YOUR love story. Do you love being outside? I’ll help you scout out the perfect location. Hate the outside? Think about the activities you both are into - we can go to a roller rink or arcade or anything in between! Still stumped? I always have a list of places I adore and will always create the most dreamy of photos.

2. Wear SOLID, neutral colors!

I know what you’re thinking! “But I saw this beautiful flower dress that I really wanted to wear!” or “my partner really wanted to wear matching plaid” and if that’s really what your heart desires, who are we to stop you. But let me explain why we highly suggest you take our advice! Prints, such as stripes, florals, animal print etc. tend to “warp” on our high tech cameras. Stripes can be extremely unflattering depending on the outfit, and florals will just about clash with every background. Why neutral colors? Our editing style is “earth tones” which focuses on greens, browns, yellows, etc. and a BRIGHT red or purple outfit might not match with the vibe that you were after. Neutrals allow you to blend in with the beauty of nature for a more cohesive, warm vibe.

3. Try to plan your session as close to sunset (or sunrise) as possible.

I cannot stress this enough! When you’re hiring a photographer, you hire them because you love their work and trust their artistic abilities. Every photographer’s dream is that EVERY session be photographed at sunset! Or for the early birds, even sunrise! This is the absolute best lighting of the day and we cannot stress enough how much lighting impacts your photos. If you’re looking for those dreamy, creamy, warm tone photos, trust us - sunset is the best time! Even if at first it may seem like you’re unsure, we definitely recommend it. We have the ability to make magic regardless of the time of day, but we promise the BEST lighting is about 45 minutes before sunset!

Feeling nerdy? Click here to learn why golden hour is the absolute best and to know all the good scientific facts behind it!

4. Be confident + have fun!

We ALL doubt ourselves. Some of us don’t like how we look in selfies, some are unsure of how poses will look on ourselves - but trust us!! We have spent hundreds of hours PERFECTING our personal posing style so that you look and FEEL amazing in every single photo! If you’re not feeling so sure, the camera may capture that! The best way to enjoy your engagement shoot is to let loose, have fun, smile, laugh and be yourself! Let us capture your beauty how the world sees it! Don't worry, we’ll be hyping you up every step of the way.

Engagement sessions are so much fun and an amazing way to get to know your photographer. We hope that you consider our advice when you schedule your engagement session! Either way we can’t wait to create magic with you and have the best time capturing your love in the best way possible. As long as we have a good time, you will love these photos for the rest of your lives.

This being said, so not worry about posing - do not worry about feeling awkward. My signature style is “romantic and candid” and I will have you both doing silly movements to loosen you up and capture the in between, goofy moments - then I will start bringing in the more classic poses, this way you get the best of both worlds!

5. Not sure? Ask your photographer.

If all else fails, ask your photographer for their opinion! We are constantly learning the new trends and styles as well as spend our free time scouting new locations, learning the latest and greatest in the photography world. We want to take time to make sure you have the absolute best experience as well as have amazing photos to show for it! We want to make it totally customizable for each and every client that it can represent you in the best way. This isn’t just my job or some type of side-hustle, it’s my art and career - both things that I absolute love and take pride in. Nothing is more rewarding for me than creating emotional, jaw dropping, art that captures you and your partner.

Interested in booking an engagement session? We will have a total blast! Contact me here and tell me your vision: Girl, let me tell you our love story!!!

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