Bear Brook Valley Wedding | Fredon Township, NJ | Jessica & Jeff

Last weekend, I photographed Jessica and Jeff’s Bear Brook Valley Wedding in Fredon Township, NJ. We had a beautiful spring day and their rustic and romantic wedding was filled with so much love, joy and sunshine!  I am so happy to share their wedding.

Jessica and Jeff met online on Ok Cupid and Jeffrey had in his profile that he is actually his height and that he can help you get things on high shelves. Jessica messaged Jeffrey saying she was short and needed help getting things on high shelves because she usually just climbs like a monkey and the conversation just flowed from there. Their first date was April 26th, 2014 and Jess and Jeff walked the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset followed by pizza at Grimaldi’s under the bridge and then took the subway to Flat Iron Hall for some beers.

Engaged on 02/17/2018, the proposal from Jessica: “Last winter, we were in Vermont for the annual ski trip with Jess’s family and Jeff asked Jess to not ski in the afternoon on Saturday because he wanted to plan something romantic for Valentine’s Day. Jess drove while Jeff put the directions on his phone. On the way to the Valentine’s Day mystery trip, Jeff got a call from Londonderry, Vermont. Jess heard him say things on the phone like “what?”, “are you serious?”, “we are already on our way there, what am I going to now?” Jeff then got off the phone and asked Jess to pull over. He then said his plans are canceled. Jeff was visibly very upset. Jess tried to suggest various things to do as alternatives. Then Jeff said well I guess I can ruin the surprise, we were supposed to go on a horse drawn sleigh ride, but one of the horses fell down so they had to cancel our ride. He said the person on the phone said we can still come to walk around the farm, so we decided to keep going and check out the farm. When we got there, Jeff asked if we could walk to the fire pit and the woman in the cheese shop said yes. Then she told her brother Farmer John that we were going to walk there. Farmer John then said “you know what, I think I was more scared that the horse fell down than the horse was hurt,” so he decided he was going to take us out on the sleigh anyway! Farmer John talked to us a little on the ride out to the fire pit and pointed out the mountains in the distance. Once we arrived at the fire pit, he offered to get us hot apple cider with rum and marshmallows to roast. Jeff was very quiet. Then Farmer John said he was going to take the horses for a walk and that he would be right back. When he got back, Jeff asked him to take some photos of us. First in front of the fire, then the horses, then back to the fire where Jeff got on one knee!!!! Jeff proposed and Jess said yes, however Jess was kind of speechless (we know, shocking) and when Jess said yes, Jeff couldn’t hear it and asked Jess if that means yes and Jess said yes, of course, yes!! Farmer John got the whole thing on camera! It was perfect!!!! When we headed back to the house with Jess’s family we told them the engagement story. After drinking some champagne to celebrate we headed outside to see the fireworks on the mountain (which Jeff says were part of the engagement, however they are done every year on the mountain.).”

Bear Brook Valley was the perfect backdrop for their day and Jessica thought about every single detail. Her necklace held the diamond from her late grandmother’s engagement ring and the pins on her bouquet also belonged to her. Her gorgeous bouquet by Twisted Willow Flowers was filled with Mauve ranunculus, quicksand roses, snowberries, astilbe, peonies and amnesia roses. Jessica’s purse was made from the fabric from her mother’s wedding gown and she even had a piece sewn into her dress. Another thing about Jessica and Jeff was that even Jeff thought about the small details and he had the coordinates of their first date along with and their wedding date embroidered into his suit jacket. Once Jessica was in her lace Maggie Sottero gown, she made the long walk to the bridge to see Jeff for their first look. Following the first look, we had nothing but sunshine and joy! These two laughed and they loved every second being together for their portraits.

Their personal touches continued throughout their Bear Brook Valley wedding into the ceremony, they wrote their own vows and read them to one another underneath their gorgeous chuppah before finally breaking the glass. Their cocktail hour had a stunning sunset and we were able to capture a few golden hour portraits before their reception. Again, their personal touches continued into their reception, their challah bread was made by Jessica’s mother, the prayer was performed by her grandfather and the kiddush cup used was Jessica’s great great great great great grandfather who survived nazi Germany.

Jessica and Jeff love to travel and hope to continue doing so, so far they have been to Ireland for Jeff’s 30th Birthday, Barcelona for Jess’s 30th Birthday, Curacao for their 3 year anniversary and Costa Rica for Christmas vacation with Jessica’s Family (Where Jeff asked Jess’s Dad for his permission to marry her). And now they are off on an exciting honeymoon and are visiting Vietnam, Bali and Singapore. They would also love to have children, they talk about how Jess will teach the kids Math while Jeff makes them pancakes.

Thank you Jessica and Jeff for having a such a joyful wedding, I loved capturing it. Enjoy your honeymoon! xoxox

Contributing Vendors:
Photography: Susan Hennessey Photography

Venue: Bear Brook Valley

Wedding Dress:  The Curvy Bride – Maggie Sottero Marta

Bridal Shoes: Harriet Wilde

Bridal Veil: Kleinfeld  Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses: Brideside – Amsale & Dessy

Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Indochino

Invitations: Minted

Hair Stylist: Cassandra DeRosa

Makeup Artist: Makeup by Samantha Linn

Florist: Twisted Willow Flowers

Cake: Palermo’s Bakery

Videography: Michael Simons Wedding Films 

Band: Eturnity Star

Officiant:  Rabbi Inna Serebro

Painter/Live Artist: Daniel Angeli

Favors: Chocolate Moderne

Engagement Ring: GNK Jewelry

Wedding Rings: Tom Cherin

Honeymoon: Liberty Travel

Are you planning a Bear Brook Valley wedding? I’d love to chat further, click here to fill out my contact form for more info!