June Madison Hotel Wedding
Jen had the most exquisite details for me to photograph!
Jen & Patrick chose my favorite NJ wedding venue for their wedding day, The Madison Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey. The wedding ceremony was held in the stunning conservatory while their wedding reception was held in the grand ballroom. It was a nice change because I have never shot in the ballroom before. It was a really beautiful wedding and such an elegant affair! Patrick is actually a football coach in the NFL. Since he works for the Atlanta Falcons, they live in Georgia and had to plan their wedding from afar. So, they enlisted the help of their wedding planner, Joy from The Wedding Plan and Company to help them with the planning process and to execute their big day.
As you probably already know, The Madison Hotel is a beautiful venue with so many different stunning event spaces so they make it really easy to plan your dream wedding. Lots of people also book other wedding events there such as the rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, baby shower etc. When I got married there ten years ago, we did our rehearsal dinner there the night before.
Jennifer chose beautiful wedding colors of blush, nude and ivory which is such an elegant neutral color palette. After the first look, we took most of our portraits in the front of the hotel, which I love shooting on an angle to better capture the stately building and frame the couple with the beautiful arches. It really was such a perfect day!
The Wedding Morning
I arrived the morning of the special day and photographed the wedding party getting ready. The girls were getting read in The Madison Suite which I find is so convenient because it is so close to the front door of the hotel. Jen had them dressed in the cutest matching Juicy Couture valor zip ups with a custom wedding monogram on the back. The girls’ were black while hers was white. Then they all wore bike shorts which I thought was amazing! Of course we took a bunch of pictures in their matching outfits before the girls got changed. The bridesmaids went upstairs to get changed while Jen, her mom, sister, Joy (her wedding planner), and me and the videographer went up to Jen’s room to get ready. I’m sharing these details with you because this was a really great way to get the bride getting dressed shots without having to clean the room and squeeze too many people into a small space. Especially since the rooms (even the bridal suite) at the Madison Hotel are pretty small.
The First Look
Next, after the getting ready shots, it was time for the first look! Jen didn’t want to tap her groom on the shoulder and have him turn around. Instead, she requested that he be set up facing the building while she walked out the front door. The couple didn’t mind an audience, so we set up their friends and family on the patios to the side to watch. I focused my camera on Patrick’s reaction and Jenna, my second shooter, focused on the bride. It worked out perfectly and was the cutest first look!
Related Read: September Madison Hotel Wedding Photos
Bridal Party Photos
After the first look and a couple of quick bride and groom photos, we decided to jump right into bridal party photos so we could get them done and inside before focusing on the couple’s portraits. We began with photographing the full bridal party, then breaking out into just the girls, which I photographed while Jenna got shots of the guys. As we always do when we have time, we got singles of the bride with each bridesmaid and the groom with each of his guys.
Related Read : Stunning Madison Hotel Wedding
The Ceremony
You know I’m obsessed with the natural light in the conservatory room.
Jen requested this group shot of all of the guests at the wedding after she and pat walked back down the aisle as husband and wife. At first, I was a little nervous about getting this shot but I am obsessed with how it came out! Everyone looks so happy- you can literally see the joy on their faces and feel the energy in this photo! I will say- the key to getting this was knowing about it in advance so I could have the right lens on my camera (my 24 mm) as well as having enough light. This photo probably would not have come out as well in a darker ceremony setting. I will also note, because we took this photo, we did not get the traditional shots of the bridal party and parents coming back down the aisle because we needed to quickly back up and setup for this shot, but I think it was definitely worth it!
Couples’ Portraits
Related Read: More Madison Hotel Wedding Photos
After bridal party photos were done, it was time for bride and groom photos. Jen was smart and got the wedding rings from the best man so they would be wearing them in their wedding photos. I thought this was a great idea! Jen and Pat absolutely rocked their wedding photos. They seriously looked like models and were so fun to photograph! Jen had an additional skirt over her dress so we took that off for a few photos with a different look. The original dress was also stunning on its own and had my favorite thing, which is pockets! We took a few more photos with a little more of an editorial flair, instructing Pat to put on his sunglasses and I love how they came out!
Related Read: Springtime Madison Hotel Wedding
Cocktail Hour & Reception
It was interesting shooting this wedding with the conservatory ceremony and ballroom reception and was the first time I had this combination at the Madison Hotel. When your wedding is in the ballroom, you get a different room for your cocktail hour than when your reception is also in the conservatory. The nice thing is that we did not have to worry about the venue flipping the space. The ballroom was all set up and ready for me to photograph during cocktail hour!
Related Read: Mia’s Shabby Chic Madison Hotel Bridal Shower
Congratulations again to Jennifer & Patrick! It truly was such an extraordinary celebration.
If you love these Madison Hotel Wedding Photos as much as I do, Pin this image:
The Event Team
Wedding Date: June 25, 2022 / Photographer: Keri Calabrese / Venue: Madison Hotel / Video: NST Pictures / Planner: The Wedding Plan & Co / Flowers: Beethoven’s Veranda / Hair and Make Up: La Bella Visage / Jen’s Dress: Pronovias via Sweet Elegance Bridal / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu / Stationery: Little Black Dress Paperie
