nicole & alex

alex is a fellow wedding photographer friend of mine, so when he asked me to shoot his wedding i was honored. then i was a bit freaked out! being asked to shoot another wedding photographer's wedding is one of the biggest compliments, but also one of the scariest jobs i could possibly land.

no pressure... no pressure....

alex and nicole were awesome. alex did a great job being a groom and not a photographer for a day, although he couldn't stop himself from adjusting nicole's dress as needed :o). the hurricane held out and we were able to shoot on the beach in long branch.

alex's beautiful daughter...

nicole looked amazing!

i loved this reaction of the flower girls and thought it was cool that i could creatively incorporate myself into alex's wedding photos...

nicole also photographs weddings. the first time i met her was on a shoot... and i liked her immediately. if she was uncomfortable in front of the camera, i definitely could not tell.

alex and nicole's balconies lined up perfectly so that i could photograph both of them without seeing one another. shortly after this photograph, they saw each other for the first time...

being on the other side of the camera can be uncomfortable for photographers. alex and nicole were so happy to be with one another, and their adoration of one another is so true and real that they were total naturals!

i gave alex my camera for a few minutes. he went crazy shooting nicole and nicole obliged and posed it up for him. it was adorable. here they are taking their own picture together...

yeah... we are still in new jersey...

i had to post this picture because the whole time this flower girl was mashing her face against the railing, waiting for the dove release, i kept thinking about when i was little and making faces and adults would say..... if you don't stop, your face will get stuck like that.

fortunately, her face did not get stuck like this...

dove release in honor of nicole's grandparents...

i loved how sweet and tender alex's relationship with his daughter is. a sweet moment during their father/daughter dance...

this is a more fun way of taking group pictures... truly candid

...but of course this is how i really take them.

i loved watching alex being able to relax and have fun at a wedding...he totally deserves it!

i had such a blast photographing alex and nicole's wedding at 'ocean place' in long branch. it was neat to have a chance to be a part of one of the biggest days of their lives. i have such respect for both alex and nicole and photographing their love was a pleasure. i'm stoked that they found each other...

the love and respect nicole and alex have for one another became even more evident during their vows. the intent they spoke them to one another was very moving. i'm not going to lie... my eyes welled up.

i hid them behind my camera.