Elopement in the Park - Spring Lake, NJ Photographer

I LOVE weddings, but I will say, I didn't know I loved weddings, until I was getting married.  When I was a little girl, I was more concerned with the "concrete" I was brewing in the backyard out of sand, stone, and water, than I was about putting on a big white dress and standing in front of tons of people professing my love to someone.  Maybe it's because at the time, I didn't know I could ever love someone so much as to stand up in front of that many people - If you knew me when I was little, you probably had heard the story (or witnessed) about the time I ran for school treasurer... Folks, it involved tears, and a lot of them, and was recorded for all of the local residents to see, but I guess out of pity I won that election.  Needless to say, getting me up in front of a good 100-150 people was not my idea of a fun time, so I suppose a little part of me has always loved the idea of elopement.  Two people, who love each other, enough that they don't need to profess it to the world, because the only person who really needs to know it is the person you're standing beside.  That's not to say I don't love a good-old-fashioned big sha-bang, and I LOVED my own wedding, but after watching Lauralyn and Frank tie the knot, just the two of them, it reminded me why I will always think that the ceremony, the affirmation of love, is the most important part of the day.  It's not the cake, it's not the party, that you need to value the most, it's the marriage.