Sara + Amish’s Manasquan River Ceremony

Sara and Amish got married on their neighbors’ dock overlooking the Manasquan River in the middle of the pandemic. 

“At the height of our planning process, the coronavirus hit, and we pivoted hard. Originally, a wedding of pineapples, sand, and sea with Indian and Quaker traditions mixed in. We realized our big plans were no longer feasible. So we dropped them. We let everything go and started again. We simplified as much as we could and stayed as flexible as possible.”

Their neighbors offered for them to use their dock and backyard for their special day. So much of their wedding decorations were DIY! With the inspiration from Anna Mancini, they were able to create their picture perfect on-the-dock wedding. The dock was decorated with ferns, palms, succulents, and even a ceremony rug from Joss & Main for the couple and their guests to be on while they said IDo. Fun fact: the rug is now in their office space at home! What a cute sentimental piece from their wedding day. Sara’s best friend Liz, designed and ordered face masks from Elizabeth Baehr for the ceremony. The couple kept their flowers and attire light and bright.  

Sara and Amish got ready at their own home before heading next door. We did a first look in their front yard, that was absolutely adorable! After the first look right in their front yard, we took a couple of romantic portraits of Sara and Amish. Sara wore a beautiful strapless wedding gown from David’s Bridal. The dress was beachy, flowy, simple, and romantic. Sara’s wedding shoes were from ThredUP. She styled her own hair in a pulled back low bun look with a delicate hairpiece. She also did her own natural makeup look for her wedding day. She looked STUNNING!!! She had dangly pearl earrings and bracelets to compliment her overall look. Amish looked handsome in his light grey matching suit set and teal blue necktie. Even though they could not have their beachy wedding, they certainly had the vibes for it at their dockside ceremony. Sara’s bouquet was the Orange Sorbet style from Bulk Flowers Costco. The flowers were bright and included calla lilies, which are Sara’s favorite flower. The couple gave their mothers, sisters, nieces, and sister-in-law’s flowers as well. During the ceremony, Sara and Amish’s friend filmed the wedding on a drone to play-back this unique and special day over and over again. 

“Because of the quarantine, I hadn’t seen my family in person in months. The anticipation of seeing them and being with them in person added excitement to the planning & getting ready that I’ll never forget. Walking down the dock to meet everyone after so many months apart was incredible. It will always be frozen in time for me. And having a professional photographer helped make the day feel special and like a normal wedding even though everything is far from normal these days.”

Walking down the pier to the ceremony space, their guests couldn’t help but smile. They were so happy to be able to be there to celebrate this marriage. Sara carried her gorgeous colorful floral bouquet down the dock. Amish looked at his bride in awe and could not hold back from smiling ear to ear. They were married by Andrea Purtell of A Joyous Occasion, who is a local officiant. It was a beautiful short ceremony filled with many smiles and happy tears from their closest family and friends. 

Sara and Amish had their first kiss as husband and wife and walked down the dock hand-in-hand, smiling and cheering! After the ceremony, the couple and their loved ones celebrated with mini bottles of champagne and individually packaged sandwiches from Panera Bread. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Sara and Amish had Nutella Pies from The Coal House Bistro. YUM! 

Congratulations, Sara and Amish! Thank you so much for choosing Limelight Entertainment to photograph your wedding day. We had a wonderful time celebrating your love with your family and friends.