Alex + Ray | A Musical, Magical Asbury Park Wedding | Asbury Park, NJ | Photography by Brea

October 18, 2019 Alex + Ray | A Musical, Magical Asbury Park Wedding | Asbury Park, NJ

Alex and Ray’s Asbury Park wedding was filled with love, music and magic.

The Couple

Ray and Alex met like most modern couples do – online. The first messages were about music and cheese, of course. Their first date was at a Manhattan speakeasy called Little Branch.

From the groom: “We lived in Harlem and Asbury Park respectively at the time, but with our staggered work schedules we managed to be together nearly every day. 6 months later I found a tiny apartment for rent two blocks from my work in Red Bank, Alex trusted my quick description over the phone on her lunch break and we soon moved in.

“I surprised her last year with her first trip abroad to Salzburg and Vienna, Austria. A few months before I secretly drove up to Boston to ask her parents’ & grandmother’s blessing, and received family heirloom diamonds from them and my own family, which I had put together in one ring with a third new matching stone from me. I proposed in a tiny cable car coming down the side of a mountain out in the Salzkammergut (think the opening shots of the Sound of Music). Then we explored the Salzkammergut and visited Mozart’s birthplace!”

A Little Back Story :)

To say that we’ve been looking forward to Alex and Ray’s wedding would be quite the understatement. Last year, one of the best weddings was the wedding of Steve and Jessi. Jessi and Steve are wonderful people and have become friends of ours, and so I knew we were in for a good day. But what I didn’t know was that their families were so amazing, and that they would make us feel like family too.

Fast forward a few months, and I hear from Alex and Ray (Steve’s twin brother) about photographing their wedding in New Jersey. They loved the photos we got at Steve and Jessi’s wedding and wanted us to be a part of their big day too. When we FaceTimed, we got along so well, and their chemistry was so apparent, even through a video call, that I couldn’t wait to get them in front of my camera.

The Wedding

Alex and Ray have the type of connection that most people dream of (and I’m sure many don’t even realize is possible). They are deeply connected, truly in love, and each other’s best friend and biggest cheerleader. They’re both artists and musicians and not only understand and support each other, but also can create together – which is the coolest thing to witness. Their wedding was a celebration of all of these things and more.

The friends that make up their chosen family adore them. Their ability to love deeply doesn’t just stay within the bubble of their relationship, but branches out to the love they show their friends and family as well. I often say that I love to be able to show people how they love and how they are loved through photos, and it absolutely felt like that was my mission on Sunday. There was so much love surrounding this entire gathering, we didn’t want to leave.