Coastal & Classic Bonnet Island Estate Wedding | Rishi & Jill

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I'm Alexa - a wedding & portrait photographer based in New Jersey. View my work and get inspiration right here on my blog.

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A Bonnet Island Estate Wedding on LBI

Rishi & Jill said “I do” at the beautiful Bonnet Island Estate on Long Beach Island on a perfect October day. This is the second part to their wedding, which began the day before with traditional Indian ceremonies, and continued into the weekend with an American one. I had the honor of capturing their engagement session in Asbury Park, which was extremely fun (we grabbed Porta pizza together afterwards!) not to mention resulted in stunning photographs, so I had no doubt their wedding would not disappoint.

Their Love Story

R & J met at Lafayette college in 2011 where they played on the same ultimate frisbee team and became friends pretty quickly… (or so Jill thought). The two shared a lot of the same friends and interests, although Rishi believes they didn’t become “real friends” until sophomore year. In Jill’s words, “essentially blocking out our entire fire year of friendship!”. Their friendship grew with every year and it wasn’t until two years after college that they accepted their fate and began dating!

Jill describes their relationship as being much stronger having been friends for so many years first (even though they definitely had feelings for each other in college!). After attending approximately 25 weddings together in the last two years, Jill couldn’t help but wonder when it would be their turn! She says, “I probably nagged Rishi every few days for a whole year about the commitment. In fact, the morning before we got engaged, I was annoyed about something and literally said ‘it doesn’t matter, I’ll never be a bride anyway!’” Sure enough 12 hours later, Jill’s whole family was in the backyard celebrating their engagement!

Their Wedding

Their coastal LBI wedding included special details like intricate stationery and signage designed by the talented bride herself, and the bookshelf escort card display made by the groom! The pair had four total “first looks” with the second being Jill actually “icing” Rishi’s groomsmen with Smirnoff Ices by telling them she wanted to have a first look with them. The black bridesmaids dresses added a touch of elegance and the blush & white florals were a nice neutral complement to the previous day’s vibrant colors. After a heartfelt ceremony where the groom shed a tear when his bride walked down the aisle (her goal!), guests partied the night away and received custom art paintings of themselves as a one-of-a-kind favor!