I just love surprises. One of my wonderful 2010 brides just IM’d me with a link to a featured post about her wedding on Wedding • Paper Divas, a blog dedicated to wedding style and planning. When wedding season is in full effect, it’s always tough to find time to submit my photos to some of the hundreds of wedding blogs and magazines. In this case, Michelle actually submitted them herself to showcase her lovely early November wedding ceremony at St. Thomas More Church in Manalapan, NJ and reception at The Reception Center in nearby Matawan.

It’s always fun to go back and look at older weddings, even if they are from just a few months back. In this case, I will never forget the end of the ceremony. It was supposed to be dark already, so Michelle and Ed opted to do a first look and take all the family portraits before the wedding. As I walked out into the church parking lot, I saw the sun just starting to set and the light was absolutely brilliant. I immediately grabbed the couple and an off-camera flash and proceeded to make a handful of epic portraits of the newlyweds as the sun set in the distance. In no way could you tell that the we were in an ugly parking lot, surrounded by cars. What we created was an image of two people that truly love each other and the only thing watching them was the sun.

As an aside, anyone looking for incredible, custom invitations should check out Michelle’s work at Shelly’s Touch Boutique. Her attention to detail is phenomenal and I couldn’t recommend more highly.

Click here to see the featured article on Wedding • Paper Divas

Click here to see more photographs from the wedding

Related Images: