Princeton University Wedding
Since I always post so many pictures of my brides, I figured I’ve got to give the groom a little love!
Marta and David got married this Sunday, July 3rd in the stunning Princeton University Chapel in Princeton, New Jersey. While this wasn’t exactly their reception venue, it is such a beautiful location I feel like it warrants its own post. It was a special day with an intimate ceremony, proceeding the couple’s large wedding which is happening this coming weekend at a stunning wedding venue in the South of France. And this smaller, more intimate wedding was also a destination for the couple who currently live in Boston, Massachusetts. I can only imagine what the planning process must have been like to coordinate not one, but two destination weddings! One being outside of the United States!
David actually graduated from Princeton so this location was actually an extra special event for this couple. I often recommend the Princeton campus to my couples for their engagement photos because of its unmatched beauty. I have shot at so many beautiful east coast wedding venues and engagement session locations. Initially, I didn’t realize when Marta told me they were getting married in the Princeton University Chapel that it was the same building I had been photographing from the outside as an engagement session background for years. Its one of those locations that I have been longing to shoot inside for years! So to have the opportunity to photograph a wedding ceremony inside for the first time was a dream come true!
An Intimate Affair
Marta’s bouquet was so classic and beautiful.
There were only about 20 people total at this intimate affair and no first look. After the beautiful and romantic ceremony, we did family and bridal party photos on the steps of the chapel. After that, Marta, David and I took husband and wife photos at the beautiful buildings and locations all around the campus of Princeton University.
It was a beautiful wedding day with perfect weather and Princeton University has always been one of my favorite locations for photos. It truly is the perfect place for a wedding.
Related Read: Gorgeous Princeton University Engagement Photos
The buildings on this campus are so beautiful! Every where we went was perfect for a photo. It was so hard to narrow it down. It was also a pretty busy day on the campus. Even though it was July, and school was not in session, there were lots of people touring the campus. It was a little tricky to shoot in locations like the one above because someone was always walking through. But, there is something about walking around with a bride on her wedding day which gets people moving out of your way really fast! So thank you to all of those super gracious people who moved out of our way and sent well wishes and congratulations to my couple!
Classic Black and White Photographs
This close up shot above is one I have been working on for so long! Its shot with a 50 mm lens at a 1.8 aperture. I place the focus on the bride’s engagement ring and shoot at a slightly upward angle at the couple’s mouths. I warn them that this pose feels super awkward but comes out pretty cute if they just trust me and they did! This shot is one I have added to my shot list for wedding days. I love how classic it is in black and white but it looks great in color too! I’m trying to share more black and white photos on the blog because I do deliver quite a few black and white photos in couple’s wedding galleries and I just love how classic they look. Especially when the groom is wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie.
Princeton University Chapel
How gorgeous is Marta’s wedding dress?!
When Marta told me they were getting married at the Princeton University Chapel, at first I didn’t realize it was this building on the Princeton Campus. Its one of my favorite buildings to photograph couples in front of for a few reasons. First, The building itself is so stately and beautiful. It has stairs all around and the pavement is lightly colored which perfectly reflects the sun so the lighting is almost always good on at least one side of the building. I have always wanted to shoot inside this beautiful building and I am happy to report that it is just as pretty on the inside as it is on the out. It truly felt like the royal wedding with its high ceilings and stunning arches.
Nassau Hall was the perfect setting for these bride and groom photos and one of David’s favorite buildings on campus. This was another popular building that visitors flocked to! There were lots of people taking there taking their own photos in front of this classic, ivy covered building at this iconic, ivy league school! And don’t get me wrong, I can see why people love it so much!
Related Read: Springtime Engagement Portrait Session at Princeton University
A funny story- there is a beautiful building on the Princeton campus that is extremely popular with wedding photographers. Basically, it is a hallway that leads to a dining hall, however it is the most beautiful hallway I have ever seen with the dreamiest arches. Marta kept calling it the Hogwarts building and she was absolutely right! Anyway, they were unfortunately, doing construction on this building making it very difficult to shoot there. We did get a few photos I will try to photoshop and get on here, but it was pretty torn up! It was so sad because I have brought so many couples there to shoot during their engagement session but to have a real life bride and groom to photograph here was a dream come true. Oh well, next time for sure! So if you are getting married at Princeton University or plan to have your photos take here, I am your girl!
Congratulations again to Marta and David! It was truly a dream wedding and David’s alma mater was the perfect backdrop for elegant, fine art wedding portraits. Good luck with your big day this weekend!
If you loved this Princeton University Wedding, here’s a picture to pin-
Photographer: Keri Calabrese Photography / Location: Princeton University Campus & Chapel / Flowers: Poppy Rose Posie / Dress: Caroline Castigliano / Hair and Make up: Ashley Marie Hair and Make Up
