Honu Kitchen Wedding in Huntington, Long Island

Apollo Fields | Long Island Wedding Photographers | Outdoor wedding photography | Huntington Weddings | Honu Kitchen Wedding | Candid wedding Photos

Selecting the location(s) for your wedding ceremony and reception isn’t always a straight-forward conversation. You have to consider: accessibility, cost, capacity, chair and table rentals, logistics, weather, vendor lists, and even things you don’t think about like bathrooms. In this selection process you’re forced to prioritize what is most important to you and your significant other. Sage and John kept it simple—good food, good booze, and a good community—in two very familiar locations: John’s family’s church for the ceremony and the restaurant they had their first date for the reception.

The sanctuary of the church was a mix of beautiful wooden arches and pews and recently renovated clean white granite. The family pastor who led the service spoke honestly and jovially, weaving in biblical quotes as seamlessly as the architecture of the room blended together. These walls have seen John’s family through good times and bad, and it’s ironically the tragic and celebratory moments that remind us of the supportive communities we have in our lives. From opposite sides of the emotional spectrum we constantly find ourselves drifting back to the center where we feel safe, where we feel loved. What more appropriate place for John and Sage’s wedding ceremony than the embracing arms of this powerful community.

The reception shifted gears into the heart of one of Huntington’s busiest restaurants, Honu. A modern, dimly lit multi-level expansive space with large white pillars, a dance floor, and contemporary Asian cuisine. Just a few years back, John and Sage were first laughing with one another over one of the cocktail tables. Now they were holding their sides as their best man and maid of honor spoke straight from their hearts and funny bones. Rather than have a quintessential “sweethearts table” they had what I would call a “sweetheart’s nook” where they could have a bit of privacy and probably steal a nap if they really wanted to. Rest assured they partied like the best of them and waited until much later to call it a wedding day.

Shortly after dinner we pulled them out onto the streets of Huntington to snap a few romantics for posterity. We stumbled across an antique green chair on the sidewalk that perfectly complemented their classic, clean, almost timeless appearance. We kept laughing and walking when we suddenly stopped upon a narrow alleyway that you wouldn’t trust at night but glowed in all of it’s golden hour glory. Without hesitation John and Sage jumped in their and we snapped this absolute gem.

Whether locations happen upon (like this alley) you or you know your priorities (family church, first date spot), know that your wedding day will be amazing no matter what. Adversities are inevitable but logistics will be worked out. “Where there is a will there is a way,” or perhaps more accurately, “where there is love, there will be a wedding.”