Allison + Zachary : Brookmill Farm Wedding :: NJ Cinematography
On Sunday October 11, 2015, I made my way to Brookmill Farm to shoot Allison & Zachary’s wedding. It was sunny, 58 degrees and not a single cloud in the sky. As I drove down this hilly, curvy wooded driveway, I arrived at the estate and was overwhelmed with the picture perfect scenery. To my right was a creek with a bridge leading to a lawn where the ceremony took place. The sound of a rooster was the first thing I heard when I got out of the truck. There was light dew on the ground and the sun was just starting to rise. Across the stream I saw Faye & Renee decorating the hand made chapel with flowers. Before I investigated any further, I had to get the drone up. It was pretty amazing to see the views from four hundred meters in the air, the multi colored trees, and the farm from above.
As I was mid flight, two little children came up to me asking me what I was doing. Shortly after I answered them, I was being questioned even deeper, feeling as if I was being interrogated by the FAA. It was very cute. A voice emerged from behind them and said, “do not touch anything, that is a drone and he uses that to shoot video in the sky.” That was the first time I met Zak in person. I had spoken to him on the phone, but in no way did I expect to see what appeared to be a worker on the farm. Zak was in a typical farmers plaid shirt, dirty pants, and gloves, as he was off to mow the lawn. He had informed me that Allison was busy setting up the tent because their vendor did not show up to decorate. I was impressed with how hands on the bride, groom and everyone else in the wedding party were. In-fact, I had to interrupt Zak from weed whacking to jump in the shower so I could shoot the groom prep.
After Zak and I spoke about the details of the day, I started to go explore the property. I was amazed at the amount of detail that went into this place. When you book the farm, you get to stay the whole weekend. That is pretty cool, especially if you have a family from out of town. The main house has four bedrooms and four baths capable of sleeping twelve. The cottage, next to the main house, has three bedrooms, two full baths, and a bonus room with a sleeper that can sleep eight total. There is an Olympic size swimming pool and a BBQ station that would make Bobby Flay jealous. It also features a life size chessboard, a raised screen room, and lounge area with a fire pit. Don’t forget the Bob Ross style stream going through the property, “it’s a happy place”. This is a home run to book your wedding, a destination feel, with only a little over an hour travel time from New York City.
Allison’s make-up was done by Mobile Makeover and her hair was done by Something Blew. This took place in the master bedroom, which has a fully windowed back room that overlooks a multi-tiered garden in the backyard. The food was delicious and catered by AG Catering. Jeff and Joelle from All My Love Photography did a fantastic job (you can see their photos here). They were so easy to work with throughout the day. We were feeding off each other’s creativity which ultimately led to a better final product for Allison & Zak.
All in all, it was an amazing day for an amazing couple and I wish Allison and Zak nothing but love, happiness, and success!
Here is the wedding film from their special day.