Michaela and Paul live in San Diego. Almost everyone they love lives here.

That is the whole reason this wedding looked the way it did. Two families who had never actually met in person, flying in from opposite coasts to a beach in Avalon. Paul told me on our first call that outside of a FaceTime, that was about it. Michaela said she was excited about getting everyone together in one place, and that ended up being the thing the whole day was built around.

They picked the second weekend in October, which on that stretch of beach is about the best gamble you can make. I have shot ICONA Avalon plenty of times and that week is usually the sweet spot. The dunes still have those little yellow flowers on them for a couple of weeks in the fall, the crowds are gone, and the light stays soft all afternoon. It was warm the whole day.

Getting Ready

Paul got ready at an Airbnb with his family. Michaela got ready in the bridal suite at ICONA, and then he drove over for the first look.

On our consult call, months before any of this, Paul asked me about a dark green tux. He liked it but he was not sure it would work on a beach. I told him it would look great. He wore it, and it ended up setting the color of the entire day. The ring bearers had green bow ties. Even the dog had a green velvet harness.

The gold ram's head pin on his lapel came from his family. His grandmother gave it to him and it was his great grandfather's.

Then Michaela's dad put her shoes on. I have been photographing weddings for 21 years and I had never seen a dad do that. Not once. Tim just knelt down and did it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

One more thing from that call. Michaela described her dress before she had even bought one. She said it would be white in the beginning and not so much at the end. She was right, and there are photographs of both.

Paul fastening a cuff on his white shirt, the dark green vest of his tux catching window light in the getting ready room

Paul buttoning the jacket of his dark green three piece tux in front of a shuttered window

Paul in his dark green tux and cream bow tie leaning on a white porch rail a block from the ICONA Avalon beachfront

Close view of Paul's white garden rose boutonniere and the small gold ram's head pin on his green lapel

Flat lay of the Michaela Tighe and Paul Westermeyer invitation suite with both wedding bands, tortoiseshell sunglasses and floral print heels

Michaela's strapless crepe gown hanging against a navy shingled wall with its train spilling across a wicker sofa

Floral print pumps on a glass table between two arrangements of white ranunculus, roses and trailing green amaranthus

Four generations of family wedding rings laid in a row on woven linen, a pear cut blue stone in a diamond halo, a yellow gold chevron band, a multi band diamond stack and a slim vintage solitaire

Michaela smiling in her gown while a helping hand holds the long train out behind her

The covered button back of Michaela's gown and her long train laid out across the pale wood floor of the suite

A woman in a navy gown fastening a gold bracelet on Michaela's wrist, both of them laughing

Michaela laughing while a woman in navy clasps a fine pendant necklace at the back of her neck

Michaela sitting on the end of the bed with one foot out while a man in a navy suit kneels and clowns with a champagne bottle

Michaela seated on the edge of the bed, her train fanned across the floor, looking toward the window light

Michaela holding her all white bouquet of ranunculus, calla lilies and stock with long trails of green amaranthus

Michaela with her cathedral veil draped forward, looking down at her bouquet in the quiet of the bridal suite

Michaela on an oceanfront balcony with her veil and train fanned in a circle behind her, arms raised in a flex

Michaela laughing over her shoulder in heart shaped sunglasses with her veil pulled around her face

The First Look on the Dune Path

The first look happened on the sand path between the dune fences.

She walked up barefoot, holding her dress in both hands, with Paul standing at the top with his back turned. The little yellow flowers were out on the dunes, which only happens for a few weeks in the fall. I shot it long so that it is just the two of them and the path.

Michaela and Paul alone on the dune path for their first look, photographed long from the top of the dune with the surf behind them

Paul grinning as he turns to see Michaela for the first time, the couple's welcome sign standing in the sand beside them

Portraits on the Beach

It was overcast most of the afternoon. Warm, no rain, and enough wind to lift a cathedral veil straight out.

Flat light like that is honestly some of the best light you can get on a beach. Nobody squints, nothing is blown out, and the color of that green tux against the sand does all the work.

Michaela and Paul together against a weathered split rail fence in the Avalon dunes, her veil spread down the sand

Michaela and Paul facing each other on the sand at ICONA Avalon, her cathedral veil blown straight out in the wind and goldenrod blooming in the dunes behind them

Wide frame of Michaela and Paul holding hands on wet sand, the two of them mirrored in the shallow water at the tide line

Close portrait of Michaela and Paul cheek to cheek, his white rose boutonniere and gold ram's head lapel pin sharp in the foreground

Black and white frame of Michaela resting her cheek on Paul's shoulder with her engagement ring in focus against his jacket

Black and white close frame of Michaela and Paul nose to nose under her blown veil, both of them smiling

Black and white portrait of Michaela with her eyes closed against Paul's chest, his chin resting on her hair

Michaela and Paul walking hand in hand up the beach, his jacket hooked over one shoulder and her bouquet swinging at her side

Paul spinning Michaela on the sand, her cathedral veil lifting almost horizontal in the sea wind

Michaela laughing with her head back as Paul turns her under his arm on the empty Avalon beach

Michaela alone in the dunes with her veil streaming behind her, barefoot on wind carved sand

Michaela in front of the large sailing painting inside ICONA Avalon, her train laid out across the pale stone floor

Both Families, in One Frame

This is the photograph Michaela asked for on our very first call.

Both families, together, in one frame. The first time most of them had ever been in the same place. It took about four minutes and nobody had to be talked into it.

Both families together in one frame for the first time, eleven of them lined up beside Michaela and Paul in front of the sailing painting

Michaela with the three ring bearers in white shirts, brown leather suspenders, green bow ties and tan sneakers

The Ceremony on the Sand

175 people on the sand, chairs set out, plank runner down the middle.

The Flower Company built something I had genuinely not seen before. Not an arch. An inverted arch, hung heavy with flowers. Against an overcast sky and pale sand it absolutely popped.

ICONA does something smart here too. They put the entrance sign right on the dune walkway coming in, so the first thing every guest sees on their way to the beach is the couple's name. It is a small thing and it works every time.

The ceremony welcome sign reading Michaela and Paul, Avalon NJ, 10 10 25, set in the sand beside a low white floral arrangement

Guests seated in white folding chairs on the sand under heavy October cloud, waiting for the beach ceremony to begin

Bruce the French bulldog trotting up the plank aisle in a green velvet harness, flown in from San Diego for the day

One of the ring bearers walking the aisle in aviator sunglasses and a green bow tie, wearing a badge that reads Ring Security

Wide view from the back of the aisle as Michaela walks toward the floral arch, guests on their feet and the ocean straight ahead

Michaela walking the plank aisle on her father's arm, holding her white bouquet with its trailing green amaranthus

Ground level frame down the plank aisle scattered with petals, Michaela and Paul standing at the floral arch with the officiant

Bruce watching the ceremony from a guest's lap in the front row, still wearing his green harness

Michaela and Paul kissing under the white and green floral arch on the sand, the surf breaking behind them

Michaela and Paul walking back up the plank aisle as a married couple, guests clapping on both sides and the Atlantic behind them

Bruce Flew In For This

Bruce is a French bulldog and he flew in from San Diego for this.

He was about a year old. Green velvet harness to match the tux. Paul promised me on our consult call that the dog would be there, and the dog was there.

Michaela and Paul leaning in for a kiss on the sand with Bruce standing at Paul's feet on his leash

Michaela kissing the top of Bruce's head while Paul holds him against his green tux

Cocktail Hour

Cocktail hour on the deck while the light dropped.

Michaela told me early on that cocktail hour was her favorite part of any wedding, which is a good thing to know as a photographer, because it means you stay out there and work it instead of ducking inside to eat.

Black and white frame of cocktail hour packed wall to wall in the glass sided Veranda, Michaela in the middle of it

Grilled and raw vegetable platter laid out in rows on a wooden board at cocktail hour

Round charcuterie board of cured meats, cheeses, blueberries and dips set out for guests

Framed signature drinks sign with painted portraits of the couple's two French bulldogs, one drink named for Bruce and one for Elvis

A white crate of paint brushes on the cocktail terrace lettered brush off the sand and get a drink in your hand

A single white rose in a glass bud vase surrounded by pillar and floating candles on a reception table

Reception tables set with chiavari chairs, low candles and white linen, ready for 175 guests

The card table with a wooden keepsake box, white roses in bud vases and a bank of candles beneath a framed beach print

Acrylic memory sign reading this candle burns, in loving memory of those who are not here today

The reception room at ICONA Avalon under two chandeliers, round tables dressed in white and sea green uplighting on the columns

Aerial view of ICONA Avalon with the beach and the Atlantic beyond the dunes on the afternoon of the wedding

Aerial frame looking west across Avalon toward the back bays as the sun drops, the beach in the foreground

Four tier buttercream cake with a cascade of white roses and orchids down one side and a small figurine topper

Sunset on the Bay

Right as the reception started, I stole them.

In Avalon the sun sets over the bay, not behind the ceremony, so the best light of the entire day happens away from the party. I put them in my car and drove them to the bayside. Nobody noticed they were gone.

The sun finally broke through after being hidden all afternoon. We had about fifteen minutes.

Paul is very strong, and at some point he decided to pretend to throw her over the rail. It genuinely freaked her out. It is also one of the funniest photographs I have ever taken.

Michaela and Paul on the bay bulkhead at ICONA Avalon, Paul lifting her as they kiss, the empty dock and open bay stretching away to the left, black and white

Black and white portrait of Michaela and Paul on the dock at golden hour, her hand resting on his lapel

Michaela and Paul laughing as they hold their hands up in a joke pose to show off their new wedding rings

Silhouette of Michaela and Paul framed through the curved rails of a boat ramp, the bay glowing behind them

Michaela and Paul on a wooden dock with the marina and the bay bridge behind them, both looking out over the water

Michaela and Paul in silhouette nose to nose with the sun setting on the bay between them

Paul carrying Michaela in both arms for a kiss against the bulkhead, the bay lit gold behind them

Michaela laughing wide as Paul carries her along the timber bulkhead, her floral print heels kicked out

Inside for the Reception

Their monogram was projected as a gobo, and I asked the DJ to move it.

Almost everybody puts those on the dance floor, where people stand on it and nobody can read it. I asked if they could put it on the wall above the cake instead. It looked incredible. That is now the first thing I ask at every wedding that has one.

The cake topper came off Michaela's grandparents' cake, about 66 years earlier. Paul's aunt Molly baked the cookie table herself.

And Michaela kept the father daughter song a secret from her dad until the second it started.

The wedding cake on a wood slab beneath the couple's monogram projected on the wall, reading Avalon NJ, Michaela and Paul, 10 10 25

Michaela and Paul entering the reception hand in hand, their names projected large on the wall behind them

First dance beneath the chandelier, the two of them alone on the dark wood floor with guests watching from the edges

Paul turning Michaela out under his arm during their first dance, her gown swinging with her

Close black and white frame of the first dance, Michaela's arms around Paul's neck and both of them laughing

Michaela and Paul cutting the cake together in front of a hedge wall and a tall white floral arrangement

Close view of their hands together on the cake knife, her manicure and his wedding band in focus

Late Night

The last five minutes of the night were my favorite five minutes of the night.

We walked out to the beach bar, just the four of us. Me, my second photographer, Michaela and Paul. Fire pits going, string lights overhead, nobody else around. Five minutes out of a ten hour day to end their story properly.

Then they went back in and nobody ever knew they had left.