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Sam & Zig: Whimsical Campground Wedding | New Jersey Wedding Photographer

September 15, 2016

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Holy Moly weekend of awesomeness. My best friend (and ex roomie) got married this past Saturday and it was just absolutely gorgeous and filling with overwhelming love and lots of happy tears.

Where do I even start with this wedding??? With how Awesome Sam & Zig are together? With how crazy this whole thing was since I ended up helping do the Coordinating, Photography, and being Matron of Honor? Or how Sam changed her date last minute to this weekend (From February 2018) and she got this whole thing together for under $5,000 in a few months?

I probably should start at the beginning. I thought Zig was going to be the perfect guy after I got to know him during Dave and I’s wedding last year. He kept our day running smooth from behind the scenes and I couldn’t imagine it going anywhere near as well without him. He is super nice and he and Sam just seemed so darn happy together. I knew I had to photograph their wedding the moment I saw the status change on Facebook.

Sam told me they weren’t planning on getting married until February 2018 and planned on having a destination wedding in Florida. She asked me if I could help her find some vendors since I work in the industry to set everything up. That she wanted me to “enjoy myself” and asked to just do some couples portraits. Of course that wasn’t going to happen. Finally Sam tells me it’s because she wants me to be in the Bridal party. (Yayyyy!!!!)

Yup. Still photographing it. Challenge Accepted.

From then on it was game on planning the wedding with Sam. We spent forever scavenging around pinterest trying to come up ideas that fit her and Zig’s non-traditional approach. Not long after we started planning, I had posted up a styled shoot that I did for advertising purposes. Sam messages me, asking me when in September this year I had free of work. I figured she wanted to hang out or something. Next thing I know she says, “That’s my new wedding date.” ….O_O. The best part? She wanted to try and do the whole thing for $3,500 (not including rings) using the styled shoot as the inspiration.

Dave and I arrived super early to meet the florist and set up their “reception” table. The Wedding day had a heat index of 105, but that didn’t change a single thing. Everything was just absolutely gorgeous! Once we got done capturing their details, the day ran as a huge blur! Sam was busy having her makeup done by Mariluz West in the Cabin they stayed the night at. We grabbed Zig and took him outside to do his final getting ready photos and also read the beautiful letter that Sam wrote to him. Once that was done, we headed back inside and captured the bridal party opening gifts and putting them on. Then it was Sam’s turn! I was so excited to photograph Sam’s dress. I loved the fact she chose a short dress and it looked fantastic on her, showing off her kick ass yellow shoes that she had also worn for their engagement session. 

The moment was real as Sam took a deep breath before heading down to meet Zig for the first look. After that we started couples portraits, Bridal Party, and then the guests started arriving! Sam and Zig didn’t want to hide as the guests arrived and chose instead to spend their time mingling with their friends and family before the Ceremony. Cody, one of the groomsmen turned on the music from a phone to speakers out in the ceremony site and it was time to get married!

Sam loved the simplicity of the Arch and being outdoors. The color palette blending into a whimsical woodland feel. They said their vows and within 15 minutes they were married! I ran back to the cabin and started putting cup cakes out for the guests. Sam danced with her flower girl and Zig joined in for their First Dance. Then they cut their cake together!

We packed up our stuff and it was Party time. Dave and I packed light on gear as we head to Philly. We took a couple more photos at the first bar we stopped at for dinner before packing our cameras away and drinking the night away!

Somehow we did it, planning this whole thing and getting it done over the past few months. The biggest expense she cut was by not having a large reception. Sam and Zig are huge Beer fans and like to try different places and breweries together, so it only fit them to Pub Crawl their way through their Philadelphia “reception”. Sam cut the guest list small to closest friends and family and we rented a campground space at a sister campground to the one we got married at which was closer to Philadelphia. Sam budgeted to have all the normal stuff, Bouquet, Bout, Arch, and one gorgeous statement table setup. Friends helped make favors and signs, My mom made her hair flower & Flower girl skirt, Another friend of hers Officiated and covered their marriage license, someone else made cake and cupcakes for her super inexpensive, and my hubby, Dave made her that awesome birch cake stand out of leftover wood from our wedding. We brought all the China, Decorations and such so she didn’t have to buy anything and of course Dave and I did photo and Video as their wedding gift. Sam and Zig bought the Bridal party gifts that fit the theme of their wedding and brought everything together. She also did an incredible job picking the outfits for everyone to wear from the color palette to the shoes and details that really made the finishing touches!

PS: The Jedi Knighting that Sam Surprised Zig with is sort of an inside joke. It was pretty awesome and it’s at the end of the blog. Yes, Sam blinded Zig and dragged him out in the dark. Video footage to follow.

 

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Venue: Camp Kettle Run   $320 + $220 insurance

Flowers: Leigh Florist $1284

Makeup Artist/Hair: Mariluz West $225

Cake: Kate’s Cake $89

Rings: Kay Jewelers $1035

Bride’s Dress: Davids Bridal $450

Groom & Groomsmen Outfits: Express $180

Socks: Express $25

Chucks: Journeys $115

Bridesmaids: Here there and everywhere, lol

Flower Girl Skirt & Bride’s Hair Piece: Scarlet Fairy $0

Starting Bar for the Pub Crawl: Fette Sau $100 altogether crawling

Necklaces: Charming Charlie’s $42

Bridesmaids Bracelets: Queen Bee Artisan Market $60

Flower Girl Necklace Charms: Michaels $12

Suspenders & Bow Ties: Sweet n Swag $81

Knives: General Store in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin  $21

Transportation: Just4Wheels  $250

Chair Rental TNT Rental $90.42

Invitations Designed & Made by: Serena Star Photography $50

Wedding Photographer & Cinematographer: Serena Star Photography 2 Bottles of Whisky gifted and Getting to hang out with the most awesome people ever = Priceless.

Total Wedding Cost: $4,650 (Yeah. That is a real number. It happened.)

 

  1. […] We’re so excited to share the video from Sam and Zig’s woodland wedding at Camp Kettle Run in Medford, New Jersey! This is our first venture into wedding cinematography and we’re so happy about how it turned out. Dave and I have been working together on and off for years so it was really easy to collaborate on the storytelling of the day. To learn more about their wedding day and to see all of the photos, click here! […]

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