Ninety Acres | Wedding | Jamie & Mark — Rachel Watkinson Photography

It was a cloudy day on April 1st, 2017. It poured the day before, but the skies were holding back the rain and created the perfect light for Jamie and Mark’s wedding.

Jamie was getting ready at her parents home, the same house that she grew up in. It was very special to her to be able to be in an environment that was relaxing, comforting and felt exactly like, well... home.

I thought it was super-sweet that one of the more important moments to her was getting a picture with Roxy (Jamie and Mark’s cutie-pie Boston Terrier) and her parents on the front steps. This was a place where so many pictures had been taken of her over the years of while growing up. School dances, holidays, prom and now, her wedding day. All of the details that were part of the day and around the house were so adorable! The front door had it’s own wedding day decorations, there was an amazing smelling candle (properly called ‘Wedding Day’), white M&M’s, little black confetti cut-outs of a bride and groom and her grandmother’s paper doll with a cool pop-out skirt that she had on at her wedding. Roxy had her own special collar and pearl leash, and the list goes on! It was so much fun to see all these little special touches all over. I knew that her family had put a lot of time and effort into making it special for their daughter. I also have to gush about how adorable Jamie’s parents' home is and how absolutely sweet and welcoming they are! Every room was so cute and clean and the powder-room…glorious! I’m pretty jealous:).

I spent most of my time photographing the details in Jamie’s old room. I get a bit emotional when I think about it – here I am in the room that this sweet and fun girl grew up in, with soooo many memories; and now here I am, photographing her, along with all the special things and people in her life on her wedding day. It was such an honor to have been a part of this experience.

Jamie and Mark had their intimate wedding at the beautiful, expansive and historic Ninety Acres property in Peapack, New Jersey. They had their own private room for dinner which was decorated beautifully including flowers from Jardiniere Fine Flowers and place cards by Dove House Handmade. Jamie and Mark wanted to keep their wedding private and special with just their immediate families to celebrate the ceremony and dinner. And later that night went to go party with their friends on a rooftop bar in Morristown! It was a really sweet way to enjoy the day and evening. Mark’s brother officiated the wedding and brought a bunch of laughs. It was funny and sentimental, there were laughs and happy tears. Mark also brought out the inner comedienne of Jamie, cracking jokes and having fun with the cake ;)

It was such a pleasure to be able to spend that time with both families and share those moments with all of them. And by the end, I was giving hugs to everyone because I felt so warm towards and excited for them. By now, the bride and groom are off in New Zealand and Australia, or another amazing island on an adventure or just relaxing. I know they are having an amazing time because this honeymoon has been a special part of their plan for a long time.

Jamie and Mark, thank you so much for having me be a part of your wedding day. You and your families are incredible, funny and kind. I’m honored to have been the one to capture the moments and details of what is now a whole new, awesome chapter in your lives! :)