I love to travel and explore equally as much as I love sipping iced lattes on my front porch. I’m a proud puppy mama to a little maltipoo with a big personality. I am a firm believer in hugging over handshakes, that a house is not a home without a pineapple (or twenty), and that you can never have too many throw pillows.

hey there,

I’M JEN LARSEN

I’M A SOUTHERN-AT-HEART WEDDING & ANNIVERSARY PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN NEW JERSEY, SERVING COUPLES WORLDWIDE.

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Hoboken, NJ Minimony | Kelly & Nick

Their Minimony Day

Kelly & Nick had originally planned to get married at a country club in Rhode Island with 200 of their closest family and friends- including family planning to travel from both France and Italy! Because of the pandemic the details of their plans pivoted. I was so grateful when Kelly & Nick reached out to have me photograph their new marriage day plan! They wanted to have a “micro-wedding” in Hoboken, and make their marriage official at their local church with their immediate family and local wedding party members. Then have their big celebration with all of their friends and family when it is safer to do so next year.

I loved Kelly’s perspective about all the changes in wedding plans. She said, “Despite not going according to our original plans, we’re actually thankful to have the opportunity to celebrate our wedding this way; which we see as the best of both worlds- our wedding ceremony in Hoboken, with NYC as our backdrop, and our big crazy party overlooking the water in Rhode Island.”

Their Love Story

When I asked these two to share one thing they love about each other, Kelly said, “Nick just gets me, sometimes he realizes how I’m feeling before I do! He is amazingly supportive and has a great sense of humor. He accepts my weird, goofy self and always laughs along with me.” Nick said, “Kelly is the most kind and generous person I’ve ever met. There’s not just one thing I love about her because I love everything about her.”

I can’t enough of these two and their story. They’re so perfect for each other, and their story is so special!

How they Met

Kelly told me all about how she first met Nick. She said, “We ended up meeting through mutual friends at a bar in lower east side, Manhattan. As soon as we started talking, we instantly connected (I felt butterflies!). Nick and I talked so much through the night that he lost his voice (which is the only time to date he has ever lost his voice). His phone also died when he was trying to get my number, but determined as ever to see me again, he had me call his phone and leave a voicemail with my number before we parted ways. He still has the voicemail saved on his phone, so we will always remember the exact date and time that we met! November 16, 2014 (technically November 15 which was the start of the night :)).”

How cute is that?! I love that Nick still has that voicemail saved! So sweet!

The Proposal

Their propsal story is just as cute! As Kelly tells it, “Christmas is our favorite holiday. I had a feeling that Nick would propose around that time of year, and we had talked about our future plans, but the moment it happened, I was completely caught off guard! It was December 21, 2018, we had just gotten our Christmas tree a few days earlier but between our busy work schedules, we hadn’t yet found an opportunity to decorate our tree. We had plans for later in the evening to get dinner with one of our best friends that live in Hoboken, but wanted to get our tree decorated before that since I was leaving to go home to my parents’ house in Rhode Island for Christmas that weekend. While we were decorating our tree, we were drinking wine and listening to Frank Sinatra. At some point, Nick hid the engagement ring box by the tree. It was probably one of our better Christmas trees so once all decorated, Nick suggested we take a photo in front of our fully decorated tree. He setup his phone on the other side of our apartment and switched it to the record setting, unbeknownst to me. To distract me, he asked me to pass him his glass of wine and when I turned back around he was on one knee and proposed. I was so surprised I immediately just started bawling (major ugly crying). I didn’t even realize I hadn’t said yes until after a few minutes of me sobbing when Nick asked, “so, is that a yes?” YES !!! 🙂 :)”

Okay, I don’t know about you, but I already have chills, and that’s not even the whole story…

“As if we thought our moment couldn’t be more amazing, 2 incredible things happened when we told our families our news. First, Nick’s mom revealed that Nick’s father had proposed to his mom the same way, around Christmas time by the tree. Nick had no idea; He lost his father to a heart attack when he was 18, so it felt like we were getting his father’s blessing. Secondly, the song that was playing when Nick proposed was “the way you look tonight” by Frank Sinatra. When I spoke to my mom, she revealed that was my grandparent’s first dance song when they married. Both sets of my grandparents are no longer with us, so again felt like a sign :).”

I love that so much! Such an incredible proposal and love story!

To the Newlyweds

Kelly & Nick, thank you so much for having me be a part of your marriage day! It was a joy to capture you two exchanging vows and becoming husband and wife! I know you guys will be celebrating big next year, but in the meantime soak in this special season of being newlyweds!! xoxo