Micro Weddings NJ | Our Wedding Day Story

Since the pandemic, we are seeing a lot more Micro Weddings in NJ. Allow me to tell you about our wedding day story! As a photographer, I figured I’d start this blog off by sharing one of my most special moments in my life! My wedding!

We married seven years ago, on June 14, 2013. I was 24 years young (one month shy of 25) and Mauricio (better known as Mo!) had just turned 25 that past April. We had a civil wedding and a total of 11 guests! We only invited immediate family, my closest cousin, and a few of our closest friends. We were babies!

I woke up that morning and signed the lease to our new apartment with my then fiancé, now husband! We took one quick photo with the keys in front of our new place and began moving in boxes shortly after. I, of course, needed to make it to my hair appointment so thankfully my reliable crew of my husband, my family, and my friends were able to do the bulk of the heavy lifting and moving for me! I don’t know why we thought it was a good idea to jam moving in and getting married all on the same day. As I said before, we were babies!

I only had my hair professionally done on this day. Back then, I had no idea you could pay to have your makeup professionally done! So after my hair appointment, I laid on a few quick swipes of my mascara, some eyeliner, lipstick, blush, and BAM! I was ready to go! It was such a crazy day, so far, and the ceremony hadn’t even started, yet.

We decided for all of our guests to meet us at a local park, Cooper’s Pond, to take some pre-wedding photos. I was determined to make it as special as possible even though it was “just a civil wedding”. My philosophy had always been it doesn’t matter how, but it matters with WHO! We even did a reveal by one of the park benches. It was so exciting and yet so nerve-wracking.. But it was fun and we shared a great laugh! Definitely needed that reveal to calm my nerves! And it is still such a great memory to have! There is something about finally seeing each other after a whole day of preparation that just comforts both the bride and groom instantaneously! You just feel 100x better after you see the very person you are about to commit the rest of your life with.

My friends, cousin, and I took some really fun photos prior to my husband’s arrival, and more once everyone had arrived. Determined to really stick to a humble-budget wedding, I brought along my beginner professional camera for the photo ops! It was a great team effort on mine and my guests’ part in capturing some really great photos! Looking back, were we ever so lucky! It was cloudy with scattered showers all day. But prior to our photos, it completely stopped raining, and the sun was shining was just right giving us even light throughout our photos! (A photographer’s dream which I had no idea about back then!) Had it been any other way, I probably would not have had as many great shots.

The actual wedding ceremony took place at Bibi’z Restaurant in Westwood, NJ. Afterwards we performed a wedding dance to our favorite song by Goo Goo Dolls called “Iris”. We were taking dance lessons at the time (for fun) and actually hired our instructor for a special routine. The routine was a Waltz dance that ended off with a bunch of spins! The food and desserts prepared by the restaurant were amazzzing. Our cake was a customized red velvet cake designed as a glazed donut, in honor of our donut story. (A blog for a different time!)

We ended the night newly wed, in love, exhausted, as official new and permanent roommates, and ready and excited to start a new life together! Boxes were everywhere by the time we stepped foot into our new apartment and my cousin took one final picture of us, on his cell phone camera, with Mo carrying me into our new home! I wouldn’t change a thing about that day. Except maybe I would have hired a professional photographer!

But I don’t like to live life in regrets! You live and learn and you make the best out of every situation as much as possible! You try to always look on the brighter, better side of things. Yes, I wish I had professional photos from that day. Especially now that I realize how much I value photos even more than before. But at least I was still able to capture a lot and able to make my own professional edits! (Even though I didn’t shoot RAW!) It was still an awesome day and our marriage is stronger than the day we first married! Plus, I can capture way more photos for our kids! So it’s all good! Hopefully, one day we can renew our vows with our children and capture even more magic then!

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my special day!

XO,

MaryRose