There is so much pretty right here contained in this very beautiful wedding blog that I hope you take your time reading and enjoying this love story.

I got to know my bride's mother about a year ago. Fast forward, Wendy reached out to me to see if I would be interested in photographing Rachel and Luke's wedding. We met at Starbuck's in Morristown (isn't that where we all go) and I felt a wonderful connection with Rachel and Luke right away! I knew that this felt right and the contract was signed!

Before I chat about all the wonderful things that happened this day, I will talk a little about how Rachel and Luke met. (I am a hopeless romantic and love this part of blogging). Rachel was actually best friends with Luke's brother Jonny when she was 16. I guess you could say she was close with all of Luke's family except Luke. Actually Luke was away at college so they really never got to meet until Luke happened to see Rachel's picture on his brother's facebook page. He thought she was so pretty but soon learned that she was only 16 and he was a bit too old for her at the time.

A year had passed and eventually he did meet Rachel. Their circle of friends became very close and they both enjoyed getting to know one another and hanging out together. Luke was becoming more and more interested in Rachel and he soon got up the nerve to ask her out. He finally did and well the rest is history!

Now on to the pretty little details! Their family and friends were so incredible throughout the whole process of planning their wedding. Rachel grew up right across the street from Centenary College in Hackettstown NJ. It was the perfect choice for their wedding ceremony and reception and quite convenient. If you have never been there, it is a must. From the victorian feel upon entering through the main doors, you feel like you went back in time to a beautiful southern plantation. I was so excited when I got to see it before the wedding. Right away I started dreaming about this perfect setting for all of the beautiful images we would capture.

Most everything was handmade from the bouquets, to the food and all the pretty little details scattered all around the college. Their friend Susanne took charge of the catering from calculating how much of everything they would need for the reception to the ordering of the food. Colette spent hours helping to make all of the food. Their menu consisted of chicken tort, scones, honey baked hams, croissants with yummy jams and a wonderful grain free blueberry torte. Mama's Restaurant and Cafe Baci gifted Rachel and Luke a delicious tray of fresh mozzerella, tomato and basil. Alongside of the blueberry torte sat a very lovely strawberry crumble pie. (Are you getting hungry yet?) The main course was a wonderful ham prepared by Rachel's dad. He got up especially early to prepare and cook for the dinner. Rachel's mom did so much of the beautiful decorations and floral arrangements accompanied by a whole group of very talented women. The flowers were purchased at Little Big Farms in Blairstown, and Trader Joe's. Many of the flowers were actually foraged by the bride and bridesmaids.

The cake was adorned with purple thistles and white peonies. It was so pretty to look at that I was almost hoping they would not have to cut the cake, but once they did and I tasted it, I was so glad they did. Their friends, Joyce and Joe Perkins baked their beautiful wedding cake and was decorated by Rebecca (who was also the amazing event planner) . Our lovely bride actually made 250 scones herself!

The special entertainment was provided by a very talented and up and coming group called Sleepy Man. Their voices blend so beautifully and they play the banjo, violin and guitar. They are on You Tube so you really need to go and have a listen. They will not disappoint. Rachel's brother Josh is also a part of the band. Robby plays the violin like a fiddle, Josh plays base, Tommy plays guitar and Jonny plays the banjo and Robby is also their lead singer.

I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that this family is blessed to be surrounded by. It was a fresh and new way to celebrate a wedding and really loved the whole feel of the intimacy of the day.

Rachel shared a little bit about her feelings on her wedding day. Her first and happiest moment was when she entered the church and saw all of her friends and family sitting and waiting for her to arrive . When she looked up and saw her groom waiting for her she knew everything had come together as she had always dreamed it would.

After the ceremony, we went right into capturing the portraits of Rachel and Luke. My time with them was so beautiful and relaxed and we had been blessed with perfect light! From there they went onto to the reception which was held in the parlor of the college. It was so awesome to see all of her guests seated on the beautiful Victorian furniture awaiting their arrival to be announced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Luke Timoldi!

The other wonderful part of this celebration was of course the food. All of the homemade pies, desserts and dinner was a delight to all of us. The wedding cake was beyond beautiful to look and the taste of it was even better! Rachel's favorite part of the wedding in particular were the toasts given by Mariah (her maid of honor) and Luke's brother Jonny. They all spoke with heartfelt stories and the jokes were so entertaining! Then Rachel's dad spoke about his love for Rachel and welcomed Luke into the family and ended with the blessing. Rachel said she could not stop talking about their wedding day almost all of their honeymoon. They got to enjoy a week spent on Martha's Vineyard.

Rachel and Luke are such a beautiful couple and I feel so blessed to have had the honor to have documented their wedding day.