David contacted me earlier in the week to chat about documenting his Congress Hall Marriage Proposal to his girlfriend, Amy. (Spoiler alert, she’s a fiance now!) David had a few really amazing ideas on how he would propose. At first it was going to be on the beach by the lighthouse, but the wind was a bit much. He decided to propose on the lawn at their hotel, Congress Hall. Which by the way, is one of the most amazing Hotel’s in Cape May! (Good choice, David!) He planned out their entire proposal, down to the champagne, ice bucket and flutes (even the chairs that faced the beach for a gorgeous sunset!) I heard it was a very nice bottle of champagne, but you should know that David is one of the world’s leading wine writers and just recently wrote a book titled, “But First, Champagne: A Modern Guide to the World’s Favorite Wine”. (Seriously, what a lucky lady to have a fiance that knows all about champagne and wine!)

As I waited for them to arrive, getting text updates from David, I did my best to hide in the bushes by the parking lot. Hotel guests were staring at me, as I am sure I looked… well… pretty shady standing in a parking lot, hiding behind bushes with a hoodie up and holding a giant piece of black metal (yep, it’s my “stalker lens” as I like to call it. Perfect for documenting proposals from far away and not being noticed!) (Although Amy told me later on, that she saw someone in the bushes with a camera… I think she knew all along this would be the day for a marriage proposal!)

Congress Hall was phenomenal, I met with Casika who unfortunately couldn’t wait to watch the proposal, but she was so excited that this was happening at their hotel! If you are even THINKING about it, stop thinking and do it, have a Congress Hall Marriage Proposal! They were so fantastic and helpful! Ask for Casika!

So, When it came time to pop the question, it was magical. David and Amy hugged and kissed, and all the love was there! I was secretly crying in the bushes because well, who wouldn’t!? When I told the hotel guests, I wasn’t some crazy person, I was documenting a proposal that would go down at approximately 6pm… of course they stayed to watch! Everyone loves a happy ending! After that, we went down to the beach to take some beautiful portraits to capture their happiness! It could not have been a better evening for a Congress Hall Marriage Proposal!

David and Amy, Congratulations on your engagement! I wish you both nothing but success in love and your future together! Thank you SO much for trusting me to capture such an intimate moment between the two of you!

LOOKING FOR A PHOTO BOOTH IN GALLOWAY, NJ? We’ve got one!
We’ve got the best photo booth in Galloway, NJ, although, we like to call it the SnapBooth! What is a SnapBooth and what are the details? We are SO glad you asked! 

 

-Our SnapBooth is an open air design that allows MANY people at once (so far we have fit 20, please challenge us for more!)
-No small dark spaces, everyone can watch the crazy happen! (Seriously, it’s a fun time!)
-We offer TONS of props from hats, rubber chickens, colorful glasses, feather boa’s, masks, clock necklaces, and so much more!
-Your guests get a 2×6 print and so do you for your guestbook (You get this at the end of the night after your guests doodle, write notes, and sticker it up)
-We provide the markers, super fun stickers, a guestbook and the props!
-In 48 hours, you will receive a link, where you can download all of the images AND strips to give to all of your guests!

OMG We are so excited, is this just for the weddings that book photography coverage with you? 
-You can add this onto your wedding photography collection, or you can book the SnapBooth for your wedding or party! (Graduation, Birthday, Anniversary, Office or Holiday Party…)

How far in advanced can we book?

-As soon as possible, as dates do fill up.
-We have been booked as far as 12 months in advanced!

Where are you located?
-We’ve got the best photo booth in Galloway, NJ
-We are 15 minutes outside of Atlantic City, NJ and conveniently located by the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway for easy travel!

Do you charge a travel fee?
-If outside of Atlantic County we charge a $30 Travel fee per 30 miles.

How large is it?
-We require at least a 10×10 area in order to have room to move around.
-We bring with us the backdrop, the freestanding booth, a table with all of the props, printer, camera, guest book, stickers, pens, etc.

How long does it take to set up?
-We require an hour to set up. (don’t worry, we don’t charge for this, we just want to be ready to go for you and your guests!)
-For example, if it is for your wedding we will set up during cocktail hour and we open for your reception (for all 4 hours).

How is the image quality?
-We use a Nikon DSLR
-This means, no web cam here, only high quality images!

Do we receive the digitals too?
-Yes, you do! We send you BOTH the strips digitally AND the individual images!
-No fee to download, that’s included in the cost of the SnapBooth!

Do you only have one backdrop?
-We have 8 backdrops!! (so far)
-You select the backdrop you want!
-We love backdrops so much and would love to work with you if you have a theme! Just tell us what you’re looking for!

How much is it?
–Weddings (4 hours) – $650 + 7% NJ Sales Tax
-Parties (2 hours) – $400 + 7% NJ Sales Tax

Have any more questions that we didn’t answer? 
-email us lauren@bokehlovephotography.net

Our backdrops:

When I first met Lauren and Justin, they told me to be myself, have fun, and enjoy hanging out with them.

It honestly felt like I was meeting up with two old friends. We just clicked automatically. During their consultation we began to plan their engagement session. They wanted to climb ontop of a building to capture the sunset. Later on, unfortunatly plans changed. They did however end up taking my husband and I off roading with their amazing dog, Ruger in their jeep! It was probably the most fun engagement session, and most down to earth experience I had ever had. Lauren and Justin weren’t about frills, or anything fancy. They wanted something real. Their dog, was probably the most amazing part of the day. He was like an extremely well behaved child who went with the flow and did what he was told. They made a sign to go around his neck for their save the dates, and he actually stood there like a handsome little boy. Here are some photos from their engagement session:

So for their wedding day, I knew I was going to have an amazing time!

They had their wedding at The Smithville Inn!

It’s so perfect here. The historic towne of Smithville is quaint, and just set up for photos. It’s gorgeous, and so are they!

I have to say, that Lauren and Justin, are such an amazing couple. I know I talk about couples in love all the time, but they really are so much in love, it’s hard not to get emotional around them. Their wedding had me a bawling mess. So many tears, all day long. So many moments where you couldn’t help but cry because what was happening was just so beautiful. Weddings like these, are key reminders of why I do what I do, and why I am so passionate about capturing these moments.

I could chat all day about how perfect they are, and how amazing their day was, but I am just going to show you the photos.

Lauren and Justin, thank you SO much for trusting me to capture your day, and for allowing me to be there and enjoy these moments with you! I wish you nothing but love and success in your future together!

xoxo,
Lauren

Melissa & Peter had a contemporary wedding at the lovely Doolan’s Shore Club in Spring Lake, NJ!

I met Melissa & Peter earlier in the year for their engagement session. They decided to go to Laurita Winery! You can view their session here. It was a perfect day then, and I am still in love with their session. They are so in love and it shows in the photos. I was so excited for their day, we even chatted about it at the winery. She had everything planned out and was excited and ready for it to finally be here.

When I arrived at the venue I was instantly blown away by the gorgeous lobby! I knew I would be incorporating the iron stair case with Melissa’s dress! Her details were so pretty, and that veil! I love a gorgeous veil! Fast forward to their ceremony, a skylight Atruim! It was just stunning! The sun was shining, and it felt so nice on our skin (with the air conditioner of course!) Their day could not have turned out any better. Blue sky’s and beautiful weather. They truly on their engagement session AND were lucky newlyweds on their big day!

Doolan’s Shore Club was a fastastic venue. Everyone there was amazingly kind, and I could tell they really cared about their couples. I love talking about venue’s when they just do it right, and let me tell you – they do it right! The night was, nothing short of AMAZING, like a dance club, where everyone knew eachother! Melissa sure does know how to party! She was on the dance floor for most of the night! All in all it was an amazing night, and I was so happy to be a part of it!

If you’re looking for a fun venue, check out Doolan’s Shore Club! They will be sure to impress, and definitly give me a call! I would be honored to shoot your wedding and would LOVE the oppourtunity to visit Doolon’s again!

I’ve decided to enter one of my images into a contest! I am a WPPI Member (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) and being a member has some perks! You can enter contests that are only available to members. That is awesome, because your images are in a contest alongside other amazing photographers! Right now, I have entered my images in the details second of the contest, which is judged by the actual judges. They also allow you to enter those images into the “People’s Choice” section which is a different contest alltogether. It’s for the people to vote on their favorite images. The prizes are not as high, but it’s so much fun and nice to see what the people think are the best images. I am really really excited because so far out of dozens of pages, one of my images is showing up on the FIRST page with 30 votes. I am coming in at 8th place so far and I am just literally blown away that I’m even on the front page. If you haven’t casted your vote yet, I would absolutley appreciate it if you did. It would mean the world to me if I could win this, but there are so many awesome images, I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t win. Anyways, here is my image below and the link to follow to cast your vote. Thank you so much in advanced and best of luck to everyone competing!

Vote here: http://www.rangefinderweddingcontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=2015200092