Francesca & Michael have a long history together. Starting out by meeting in middle school as children and they did not begin dating until they were in college. They absolutely love the outdoors which includes hiking and camping. Spirit their Native American Indian dog is also a huge part of their lives and their very big baby. They even had Spirit come into the church for formal photographs with the family.
Before the rest of the story, the venue deserves a proper introduction. Stone Terrace by John Henry’s sits on Kuser Road in Hamilton, a stone manor house run by the family behind John Henry’s, the seafood restaurant that built its name in Trenton decades ago. The restaurant roots show. Couples book it as much for the food as for the look of the place, and the manor itself, with its fireplaces and old stonework, feels built for a winter wedding. On a night when the snow kept falling outside the windows, there was no warmer room in Mercer County.
The wedding day came shortly after a series of small snow storms we had been blasted within New Jersey this past winter. Saint Gregory the Great was the location of the ceremony in Hamilton, NJ.
Francesca & Michael walked outside the church in the snow with their dog Spirit for some portraits. Shortly after the ceremony, Francesca had planned to drive to Princeton University for her photographs. On the way to the university, we started getting blizzard-like conditions that did not stop. They put their boots on and Francesca grabbed her fur coat and ventured onto the campus. After bearing the cold they went to their reception at the Stone Terrace in Hamilton.
Princeton was worth every frozen minute. The campus has been collecting history since before the Revolution, and Nassau Hall even served as the home of the Continental Congress for a few months in 1783. All of that collegiate Gothic stone wrapped in a whiteout made the portraits feel like they came from another century. Francesca’s fur coat did some heavy lifting too.
Ceremony: Saint Gregory the Great
Reception: Stone Terrace
DJ/ Band: John Rossi – TNT
It was already snowing before the ceremony started!
Their dog Spirit joined us for the formals..
Francesca’s students attended the mass.
Their videographer was no joke dealing with the conditions!
The blizzard!!!
This is one of my favorite photographs from their wedding. They have a beautiful canvas wall art piece of this photograph.
Intro chugging and a little breezy for one of the guests.
It is all about the fur!
This guy does not have super powers but he did see Dirty Dancing hence “the lift”…
It was a long emotional journey and I was happy to share it with Francesca and Michael…
If you are in the middle of planning and still comparing venues, my guide to the best Philadelphia wedding venues is a good place to keep researching.