I am so excited for this post! Shannon and Jon are the reason behind my trip to the East Coast this fall and I could not be more excited to re-introduce you to them and share their wedding day with you. I met these two in January for their engagement session on the sunny beaches of the west coast, where they both live. While we walked through Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach they told me about growing up on the east coast, Shannon in New Jersey and Jon in Chicago, and how they were planning a destination wedding on the east coast closer to their families. Not long after their engagement session Shannon emailed me asking if I would travel to her childhood hometown and be their wedding photographer, when I found out the wedding would be during fall I may have run down the driveway and jumped up and down ecstatically in Alexis’s living room. There also may have been happy tears. Maybe. ;]

The last few months Shannon and I have been talking about the weather, my love affair with the sun is no secret, but east coast weather can be unpredictable so Shannon and I were brainstorming for any number of possibilities although we were both hoping for a sunny crisp fall day. [The weekend of their wedding in 2012 was the weekend Hurricane Sandy met the coast and the weekend of 2011 was the years first snowstorm… any number of possibilities.] When the wedding was close enough for us to see the 10 day forecast and it predicted sunny skies all day we were both beyond excited, and then Shannon said, for the next 10 days she and Jon would be doing an anti-rain dance just in case. If you looked at their engagement session you saw that I mentioned these two just started dancing along the beach during sunset, they love to dance. The weekend before their wedding, while I was in Palm Springs I got an email from Jon and all it said was, “Get ready to capture these moves next week.” with a video attached. This video is a better introduction of this amazing couple than any words I could write. I adore them!

Here Comes the Sun from Stacee Lianna on Vimeo.

Their anti-rain dance worked wonders. October 26th was a gorgeous, sunny, crisp fall day. Shannon got ready at the home she grew up in, just down the road from the church.On our way to the Church of Christ the King we stopped along Sand Spring Lane for a few portraits.Beautiful bride.Is this not one of the most gorgeous churches you have ever seen!?Love this moment my second shooter, the oh-so-amazing Jennie Wiebe Photography captured. ♥The brand new Mr. & Mrs.! I love this picture of Shannon’s parents and her brand new nephew, Connor. You can see how filled with joy they are over their first grand baby.When the ceremony ended we made our way down the road to Spring Brook Country Club but before stopping there we snuck the couple away from their guests for a few portraits together along Sand Spring Lane. The fall colors and the sun behind them. It was just too gorgeous to pass up. ♥Going through these portraits is further confirming my need to relocate to the east coast for fall every year.These moments make my heart so full. &heart;The sun did not let us down even for a moment all day long. It was the most beautiful day.They had a live band, the Blaire Reinhard Band, get the party going at their reception. Honestly, they are one of the best I’ve ever heard… I wish Hoboken wasn’t so far from Los Angeles.
Shannon & Jon, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day. Every single moment was perfect and I loved being able to share in the moments with you. Congratulations, I know you will be dancing and laughing together for many many years to come.