Katie & Tommy’s Port Washington Harbor Links Country Club Wedding!

When I got an email before Katie and Tommy’s engagement shoot asking if it’s ok if they bring their marathon medals for a few pictures, I knew this would be a couple full of fun and zest for life! Not only were they full of fun and zest but the two are incredibly head over heels in love! Fast forward 8 or so months when I read an email that states- please be sure to capture the napkin jump roping at the reception. Can you imagine the smile on my face as I read this? Please read on as you are about to learn about one awesome wedding oozing with love, fun, jump roping, limbo and of course BRUCE!!!Katie and her ladies got ready at her Grandmother’s beautiful home. It was very sweet to see Katie’s wedding dress hanging in her Grandmother’s room. The beautiful gown was created by designer Monique Lhuillier. In the following images you will see that Katie added a belt to the dress created by Renee Pawele!

As the ladies were all buzzing around, there was one particular little lady that caught my camera’s attention! Here she is holding on tight to her Great Grandma’s hand!

Is it not perfect that Katie’s shoes and the clutch bags that were gifts to the bridesmaids are Kate Spade’s Charmed collection in sparkly rainbow colors?!!

Mom did a wonderful job getting the dress on just right!

When Katie was all dressed, she lifted the top layer of her dress to reveal underneath something quite special. It was a small portion of cloth cut from her Grandmother’s wedding gown and embroidered with her and Tommy’s names and their wedding date! On the right is a beautiful wedding portrait of Grandma hanging in the room where Katie got ready!Like Katie with the sparkly clutches for her ladies, Tommy set the tone for the day with these shades for the groomsmen!And don’t think Katie is the only one with special wedding shoes!Gearing up! I love the contrast of the men vs the women getting ready on a wedding day!All dressed and ready, the ladies board the bus to the church! Katie was one of the coolest brides ever- full of smiles instead of nerves!

A bagpiper greets the guests as they arrive for the wedding ceremony.

This adorable little flower girl was perfection, bringing big smiles to the whole room and preparing the crowd for…

Katie and her Father’s entrance!

The priest had everyone laughing, recalling the story of Katie and her sister’s thoughts on when Katie first met Tommy!Katie & Tommy recite their vows in front of all their family and friends. Kiss the bride!!!!While all this serious stuff was going on, under a pew I could see the busy little feet of the flower girl! What’s sweeter than pink little shoes, flowers and some blueberries?!The bridesmaids’ pew had a little visitor when this little boy saw his Mama in the front and had to have a quick hug! The bridesmaid on the left was a real trooper as she was due within the next few days!

Catholic churches are not always the easiest to photograph in as they have limits to where the photographer can shoot. Also, generally they have the bride and the groom with their backs facing the pews. BUT this church has a little side door that they allow photographers to take an occasional look from. I was more than thrilled when I peeped and saw one of my favorite moments- when a bride and groom are checking out their new wedding bands!

The priest asked everyone in attendance to raise their palms toward Katie and Tommy for a last prayer. Katie and Tommy are officially announced as Mr. and Mrs. Wade!Congratulations!!The newlyweds and their bridal party headed over to the Long Beach boardwalk for a jumping picture! I’m pretty sure Tommy had the highest jump here but those 2 bridesmaids on the end sure were giving the boys a run for their money- barefoot and all! Katie’s little brother on the very end I think wins the award for the jump with the greatest style! You will be seeing some more of that style on the dance floor!The reception was across the other side of Long Island. The bus was piled onto and everyone sat back and relaxed for the journey. Well, almost everyone took a seat but when a bus has a pole, why not?The beautiful Harbor Links Country Club.

The groomsmen looked amazing in their tuxes and shades!

The bridesmaids looked so fashionable in their J. Crew dresses and pink shoes!! What a great color combo, perfect for a summer wedding!Katie’s’ flowers were so elegantly done by Wicks Florist.The reception room looked amazing with tables set so elegantly with personalized bottles of wine as table numbers. And who can resist cupcakes?! These delicious ones were created by Baked to Perfection.

Nothing topped this though. Katie’s cousin George so cleverly created this magazine cover poster for the wedding day! So witty and adorable, what a great idea!

Guests knew right from the start that this couple wanted their reception to be nothing short of a full-on dance party!! Everyone was given shades to get the party started!First dance! The toasts from Katie’s Father, Katie’s sister, Tommy’s sister and Tommy’s childhood friend were perfect! The room laughed, howled and cried.

A special toast where the whole room exclaimed “To the Empire” was in honor of Tommy’s brother who unfortunately could not attend the wedding. Katie and her father had a sweet Father-Daughter dance, while Tommy shook things up from the traditional parent dance and took his Mom on some spins around the dance floor!We have seen some great wedding bands in our years as photographers but never have we seen guests actually standing and watching them perform as if it was a concert. Arcadia was that good, in fact they were amazing!A big dance circle started immediately, allowing this crowd to strut their stuff! Grandma escorted by her grandson were one of the first ones out!!The Moms got in on the action too!Ok, we all know that occasionally the band has to slow the wild stuff down and allow for a little dance floor romance……and some relaxing.Then it was time to rev things up again!

Katie’s parents!And the jump roping begins! Katie was doing her thing when suddenly Tommy came flying in from the side, as a good husband should!Wedding perfection: a happily married couple jump roping on their wedding day!Tommy’s friends from growing up use their beers as a microphone. Good thing too, one of them is practicing… keep reading!Not sure what’s happening here but I like it!‘Call Me Maybe’Tommy does a little dance with some of his favorite ladies!Limbo time!!! This husband was being pulled under the limbo by his wife…. she seemd a little embarrassed when he couldn’t make it under and stepped over! He is super tall though so I think he deserves a pass!Mr. Wade made it under with no problems!And so did the new Mr. & Mrs. Wade!!!Tommy and the Jersey boys went crazy as only Jersey boys know how to do!It seemed as if Katie and Tommy had thought of everything to make sure their guests had a great time. They also were thoughtful enough to think of those sharing their wedding day with their birthday!Katie’s little brother… awesome!The night was coming to an end but this incredibly fun and cooperative bridal party came together one more time for one more picture! Everyone jumped up on the bar, even the 40 weeks pregnant bridesmaid! What a great group of wonderful people!Then we had a chance to grab one just of Katie and Tommy, I love this picture of them!The dance floor was packed the whole night from the very first song!Remember that beer microphone? Well a guy needs to warm up before he leads the band in a Bruce Springsteen song! He did an incredible job (for real) and had everyone going crazy!!!As the night came to an end, the guests were greeted in the main lobby with pizza, french fries, sliders and grilled cheese! After all that dancing, jump roping and such they deserved it! What I loved and thought was such a brilliant idea was the parting gift of chocolate covered strawberries and champagne!Katie and Tommy, you two are amazing and your wedding was one for the record books! We wish you a lifetime of big smiles, cool shades, wild dancing and love!