A Milestone Summer in Ocean Grove: Celebrating One Year and Fifty Years

Generational Family Photo on the Steps of our Ocean Grove Rental

As a Scotch Plains, NJ family photographer, I spend my days capturing the stories of other families. But recently, I had the privilege of documenting my own family’s most significant milestones during a summer getaway to Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

This wasn’t just any vacation. We gathered from across the country—including my brother’s family visiting from Austin, Texas—to celebrate two incredible milestones: my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary and my nephew’s 1st Birthday.

Golden Years and First Steps

There is something poetic about celebrating 50 years of marriage alongside a first birthday. One represents a lifetime of built legacy, and the other represents the exciting beginning of a new chapter.

Between the anniversary toasts and the beach walks, we carved out a special morning for my nephew’s indoor cake smash. Using my lighting equipment to professionally light the basement of our Ocean Grove rental, we set up a simple, timeless space for him to dive into his first taste of birthday cake.

The Indoor Cake Smash: Coastal & Calm

While the beach was just steps away, we opted for an indoor session to keep things comfortable for the guest of honor. As any parent knows, a one-year-old and salt air can be a wildcard! By staying inside, we captured those classic, gummy-smile shots without the distraction of sand or wind.

He might have been the one covered in frosting, but the joy on my parents’ faces as they watched their grandson celebrate his first year—during the same week they celebrated their fiftieth—was the real magic of the day.

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” — Winnie the Pooh

Fifty Years Later: A Vow Renewal on the Ocean Grove Shoreline

The highlight of our week wasn’t just the cake or the beach days however, it was standing on the sand as my parents renewed their vows. Fifty years of marriage is a monumental achievement, and seeing them look at each other with the Atlantic Ocean as their witness was a moment I’ll never forget.

While I usually have my head behind the lens, I made sure to capture the quiet, profound moments of this ceremony. From the way my brother (visiting from Austin!) looked at our parents, to my nephew playing in the sand at their feet, it was a beautiful testament to the family they’ve built.

I may be a Scotch Plains NJ Family Photographer, but capturing a beach vow renewal in Ocean Grove requires a different eye than a cake smash—it’s about the wide shots of the landscape and the tight, emotional shots of joined hands and teary eyes. It was an honor to document this chapter of our family history.

Documenting Your Family Legacy

Whether it’s a 1st birthday in Scotch Plains or a multi-generational reunion down the shore, these are the moments that deserve to be more than just a memory on a smartphone. This trip reminded me that photography is about preserving the legacy of the people we love most.

If your family is gathering to celebrate a milestone—big or small—I would love to help you tell your story. Contact me today!

Military Portrait | Carlos and Luz

I had the absolute honor of doing Luz and her husband Carlos’s couple’s military portraits this December, right before Christmas. It is such a heart warming story on so many levels that I just have to share!

A woman in town contacted me via Instagram looking for a photographer to do couples portraits for her sister and her husband, an army veteran. He served in the military for 25 years and they never had a formal military portrait taken of the 2 of them with him in his uniform. She got my name from a really AWESOME man that also lives in town and is an amazing photographer himself! Honestly, as I am writing this, I am realizing that I really don’t know if his name is Herb or Scott. LOL!!! If you read this you’re going to have to clear that up for me HERB-SCOTT! But he felt that portraiture is more my thing and recommended ME! How nice is that??

It’s for the birds!!!

He loves bird photography and is REALLY great at it. Check out some of his bird photography on his instagram here! I really love looking at other people’s work and really appreciate what Herb-Scott does because I also love to take pictures of birds! You can see some of my bird photography here. I’m also realizing that it has been a long time since I have taken any bird photos or even uploaded any! I will have to get on that right away! The sudden urge to photograph the beautiful and curious little creatures that are right there in our own yard. That reminds me, I also have some bird seed to put out! Tell me, is this a creative thing, an ADHD thing or a Gemini thing? Oh, lucky me that I have all of those things going on! LOL

Follow your heart…

I chatted with Rosa, her sister, on “the gram” for a bit about pricing and package options and what would work best for them to get their military portraits. They were coming to visit from Maryland and needed to book a weekend date. I don’t normally shoot on weekends because I try to reserve them for time with my sons. But I was really so touched by this on so many levels that I was able to make an exception. That’s one of the really GREAT THINGS about owning your own business and making your own schedule. When your heart moves you, you can follow it <3

When they arrived at my studio, they were a sight to see! Carlos looked so regal and handsome and Luz looked absolutely STUNNING! They told me a bit about their lives and how they had lived in Germany for awhile and how they never got portraits of the two of them before. Do you know how honored I feel to be able to do this for them?!

ROSA!!

And ROSA! Luz’s sister is an absolute SWEETHEART! I swear, I love this job so much. It gives me so many opportunities to meet amazing people who have so much love and kindness and gratitude and it just absolutely fills up my heart! I feel like Rosa is my friend now. And she was so thoughtful and happy for her sister to be doing this and getting military portraits done. She helped her with her hair and makeup and really was just all too much for my little heart to handle.

Carlos I appreciate and thank you for your service and I wish you and Luz a wonderful retirement and future together. I hope you love and cherish these military portraits forever and that they can be passed on to your family for generations to come. I can’t wait to get you your prints!

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