Our last wedding of the year was a windy yet beautiful success! Joe and Emily tied the knot in front of family and friends at The Flanders Hotel in Ocean City, New Jersey. It was a chilly and windy day but that didn't stop these two from having an amazing time! I love when my couples take the risk of going outside for portraits when it's not ideal conditions. It is always worth it! And a big thanks to the bridal party for taking pictures outside on the windy boardwalk as well!
Burgundy and gold decorations with white and green florals made for the perfect decor. The inside of The Flanders Hotel is beautiful with grand chandeliers and wood floors. Joe and Emily exchanged vows and afterwards they danced the night away.
Here is a little bit of their love story from Emily's perspective!
Joe and I met through mutual friends in July of 2008. I was home, working at a restaurant as a hostess in the town where he grew up. Weeks later, fate intervened and we bumped into each other at a local bar: I had just turned 21 and was out with a friend, who was setting me up with her boyfriend's friend. The night went on and it looked like we were being stood up, so my girlfriend convinced Joe and his friends to come over a talk to us. We immediately hit it off, and although my blind date finally showed up, I ended up talking with Joe the whole night. We dated for the rest of the summer and spent as much time as we could together. In August, when I had to go back to college for my senior year, we both wanted to try the long distance thing to see if 'we' could work. We did, with lots of weekend visits, phone calls and texts. When I graduated that May, Joe asked me to move in with him when I came back home, and I did, on our one year anniversary, July 31, 2009. Since then, we've moved to Baltimore, adopted 2 dogs, a cat and a horse, and had so much laughter and love. We can't wait to see what this next chapter holds for us!
And the proposal!
Joe had my engagement ring in early fall of 2016, but was looking for the right time and place to propose. He wanted it to be special. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and in the beginning of November, we found out Joe would be deployed in 2 weeks for 8 months! It was a fairly stressful time, and Joe coordinated a beautiful photo shoot with the talented Anna Grace Photography to "take some nice pictures for us to cherish while we were apart." Little did I know, he had planned a proposal during our photo shoot with Anna Grace in cahoots! :-) The weather was perfect: sunny and warm for mid November. We took photos with our horse, our dogs, then just the two of us. While I was turned away looking for some photogenic scenery, he got down on one knee. I turned back and was so surprised! I started to cry and honestly couldn't believe it. One of our happiest moments so far and it was all caught on film! Definitely something we will cherish our whole lives. We spent the remainder of the weekend sharing the beautiful photos and celebrating with family and friends.
Enjoy these images from Joe and Emily's wonderful wedding!
What an amazing day. Congrats again to the newlyweds! Want to see another beautiful wedding? Check out Joe and Kristine's waterfront wedding at The Oaks!
Vendor Love
Wedding Dress: Juliet's Bridal
Florist: Betina's at Parkview
Wedding Venue: The Flanders Hotel
Hair & Makeup: Cassie Lynn Gardner
Band: The Bachelor Boys
Cake: Blue Dolfin Sweets
Bridesmaid Dresses: Amazon
Groomsmen Attire: Generation Tux
Invitations/Programs: Zazzle