Grace + Daniel | Skyland Manor Elopement | Ringwood, NJ
Grace and Daniel had planned to be married in late August of 2020, but a global pandemic had other plans for them. Once they had made the tough decision to postpone their big wedding day, they knew they couldn’t wait to be married - so they didn’t! The pair got married on a beautiful Saturday in June, under a canopy of dreamy spring greens in the New Jersey Botanical Gardens.
The evening started out with a sweet first look on the steps of the reflecting pool. I had known Grace’s dream wedding dress was still in limbo, so when she showed up in this gorgeous gown I was shocked when she told me she had gotten it off Amazon last minute. It was absolutely beautiful and fit her perfectly. I have to say if anything good comes out of this pandemic for all of my Corona Brides - getting to wear TWO wedding dresses, has to be one of the best parts! She got to surprise Daniel at their first look and she’ll get to do it all over again in her dream dress next year. And not to mention… her cathedral veil was so much fun to show off in the photos!
After their first look, they shared intimate vows just the two of them before becoming husband and wife in front of their closest family members. The chairs were set far apart to allow for social distancing, a gentle breeze rolled through and thunder rumbled in the distance, but the rain held out the whole time. Their ceremony still included all the elements that they had planned and their friends and extended family joined in via zoom.
Following the ceremony, I got to venture around the grounds and into the gardens with the newly weds for some amazing portrait time! It was intimate and sweet and Grace and Daniel were beaming the entire time. One of the best parts of elopements is the extended time for photos of just couple together!
It makes me so happy that they chose to still get married despite the odds of incredible uncertainty and stress that has flooded the world this year. It was a bright light amidst the darkness and chaos of these hard times. And even though it feels SO weird to not be able to hug my clients, it brought me so much happiness to know that I could still be a part of this incredible day and to know that we will get to do it all over again together next year!
So many couples are being faced with the hard decisions of postponing their dream wedding, but it doesn’t mean you have to postpone your marriage. Doing an intimate elopements with just your closest inner circle may not have been what you had originally planned for, but I don’t think it’s something you will ever regret. A wedding day is not a destination; it is simply the start of another chapter in the story of your lives together… and to say “I do” during a global pandemic is certainly a story they will be telling for a lifetime!
Photos by Cassondre Mae Photography
Venue: Skylands Manor, New Jersey Botanical Gardens, Ringwood, NJ
★★★★★ Review From the Couple…
Our photos were STUNNING!
I cannot recommend Cass enough! We chose her to photograph our wedding because of her impressive portfolio, but she has surpassed our expectations in every other way. Even in the middle of a global pandemic, she constantly showed professionalism, flexibly, care, and patience as we navigated the uncertainty around our wedding. Our wedding photos turned out absolutely stunning and we can’t wait to work with Cass again soon for our bigger wedding next year! We were originally supposed to get married this summer, but due to the pandemic, we ended up postponing our reception and having a small ceremony/elopement with immediate family this summer. Early on when we still were unsure about what we would do about our summer wedding, Cass was proactive in communicating and so flexible in offering us many personalized options. She was so easy to work with as plans changed and offered helpful advice as we navigated our sudden change in plans. On our wedding day, Cass made the portrait sessions so easy! We were both nervous about posing in front of the camera, but with Cass we felt so comfortable and had tons of fun taking our portraits. We were so impressed by how clear her direction was and how many ideas for shots she had just ready to go! She took so many beautiful pictures in a short amount of time! During the ceremony, Cass went above and beyond and took care of the livestream from our phone for us - one less thing to worry about! We didn’t even ask her to and didn’t know she took care of it until after the ceremony when we were watching the video! The sneak peak for our wedding photos came just a day after our wedding and our full wedding album came shortly after! Our wedding photos turned out beautifully and we are constantly getting compliments about what a good photographer we chose! Cass is not only a talented photographer, but was also so sweet and easy to work with throughout the entire process - I would recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer! - Grace + Daniel