CLAYTON WEDDING /// GARRISON, NY

At night, we had the feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, waking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal.  We slept when we were tired, and if we woke, the other one woke too, so one was not alone.  Often a man wishes to be alone, and a woman wishes to be alone too, and if they love each other, they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that.  We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others.  We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.
— An excerpt from “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway

Oh my goodness.  Where do I even begin with Jaimie and John?  These two have to be one of the cutest, most adorable couples I’ve EVER worked with.  I’ve never seen a bride beam with this much joy on a wedding day before.  I think every time Jaimie was in the presence of John, she couldn’t help but smile at him.

Jaimie + John’s wedding is one of my favorites of the year.  They chose to host their wedding at The Garrison in the Hudson Valley, just outside of New York City.  While it was a tad warm, it was a splendidly beautiful day.  Also, can we talk about how incredible her Hayley Paige dress is?!  She looked absolutely stunning.

I loved how personal their ceremony was.  Their mutual friend from college narrated (hilariously, I might add) through their love story with anecdotes from other friends and family.   The theme of the wedding was how persistently they pursued their relationship in tough times, namely through many long-distance periods.  They first met at Syracuse University, right before Jaimie left to live abroad in Italy.  They held their relationship over one large ocean, and then did the long-distance dance again while their careers took them to different states.  Thoughtfully, they incorporated bits and pieces of literature into their ceremony.  J+J are both writers, so, of course, the excerpts were beautiful.  One was from a book that Jaimie read when she lived in Italy (the excerpt above), and it led many people to tear up (including the bride and myself).

All of this to say, thank you Jaimie + John for choosing me.  It is a privilege and honor to be friends with you both and to also witness such an incredible wedding and start of a marriage.  Thank you a million for letting me be your photographer.  I enjoyed every minute.

(Also!  Thanks to Amy Semple for second shooting!  She’s amazing!)

I believe this moment was captured when someone at the restaurant yelled out to J+J with sex advice for marriage.  True story.

I love the anticipation before being announced into the reception in the moment above.

Congrats Jaimie + John!