David’s Country Inn in Hackettstown was once a stage coach stop. But has been an inn since 1840. It was the perfect setting for Joanna and Ryan’s entire wedding.

A big thanks to my friends (Ann Marie, Jay, Dina and Ernie) for referring me!

Kristina and Nick have to be the calmest couple on their wedding date. They were very laid back and thoroughly enjoyed the day, despite some hot and humid weather. They chose to do portraits at
Quellen Spiritual Center and it was perfect. Then we were off to the The Bernards Inn for great food, drinks and dancing….as well as a HUGE spread of deserts.

It has been over a month since my last music/movie post. So I figured I should get it going again.

Lately, I’ve been in awe of Ray LaMontagne voice. It has such passion, pain, excitement, love, honesty, etc. To me, it is an instrument in itself. Put it with a great acoustic song and powerful lyrics, amazing.

His first album has a few great tracks. Here is a video of a live performance of ‘Jolene’.

Like alot of wedding, brides worry about the weather. Carolyn was no different! Hopefully I helped calm her nerves about what we would do if it rained! Luckily, after the ceremony, the rain had stopped and we took advantage of the beautiful Brooklake Country Club

I am sure that when my daughter gets married, I will be just as happy and emotional as Carolyn’s dad was.

The below is a perfect example of why I embrace weather and make it a part of the photos! Just a great moment!

A big thanks to Amy and Chris for referring Carolyn to me. It was great seeing you two!

I’m embarrased to say I have never voted before, until today. My roommate from college, Jake (a political science major), gave me plenty of talks about why I should. I guess I needed to grow up, have a family, own a home and have our own business to realize how much it effects me.

I’m not going to tell you who to vote for. I’m still not one for politics and fell asleep on all the debates and could barely comprehend half of what they were talking about. But I do know a change is needed and both candidates have their pros and cons. In a way, its sad that their are about 10 candidates and we only hear about two. But thats another discussion.

Just get out and vote because it does matter! I voted for the first time and feel great and proud to be an American about it. Whoever will win, I hope they can lead this country like we need/want them to.

I’ll end this post with a song and video by the Flobots. We saw them Sunday night and are an interesting mix of music/vocals. Their song ‘Rise’ is very election worthy.

I headed down to West New York to meet Perla and Will. Ironically, West New York is in New Jersey. Strange! We had some amazing light and with NYC in the background, their 3 month old daughter, two dogs and great chemistry, the photographs came out great! I’m looking forward to your wedding next month!

I do not think Lisa or Joe stopped smiling at any time on their wedding day! They were so happy, as was their entire family and friends! With beautiful weather, wonderful ethnic traditions and a bride who sings to her husband, I could not have asked for a better wedding to photograph.

Thanks to Marcin for helping me out and getting some amazing photographs throughout the day. Also, a special thanks to everyone at The Villa at Mountain Lakes for making their reception amazing!

Enjoy the show and remember, “I cannot live, I cannot breathe, Unless you do this with me”.

Liz wanted to surprise her husband with some photographs of her and her daughter for his birthday. Last month they came by the studio for a session and we had alot of fun! From yoga poses to mother-daughter moments, Joe was very happy with his birthday gifts!

A couple years ago, while in my coporate cubicle, occasionaly I would listen to Seton Hall’s Pirate Radio. Looking back, I should have listened more and will hopefully get to listen more once I check out the programming schedule.

It is a great station because it plays music I like, never heard of and can’t hear on alot of radio stations. I remember hearing a song from My Chemical Romance. It was off of their first album and they mentioned they were from NJ. I got their album and loved it! Little did I know how big they would get. All of their albums have been great!

Here is a cool video for the song ‘I’m not Okay’ off their 2nd album:

Finally, if you know anyone that has cancer or has died from cancer, you owe it to yourself to listen to MCR’s song ‘Cancer’ on their last album ‘The Black Parade’. You will not have a dry eye after listening to it!

Technically this is neither a movie or music Monday. But it is to an extent.

James Nachtwey is one of my favorite photographers. His photographs do more than tell a story! They move people, inspire people and make people take action on worldwide events and issues. I have his book Inferno which is breathtaking. If your not sure on what to rent one weekend, head over to Blockbuster or Netflix and get War Photographer.

In 2007, he won the TED prize. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, has been won by Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Al Gore and others. It gives them $100,000 to do one thing, “One Wish to change the World”.

Nachtwey’s “wish” was the below.

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