If you’re looking for a New Jersey wedding venue that’s elegant without losing that inviting feeling that’s key to a good wedding, check out the Historic Smithville Inn. Dana and Mike held their stunning wedding ceremony beneath the flowering trees. Everything about this gorgeous springtime celebration was rooted in Mike and Dana’s relationship with each other and their guests. Their mix of candid and gently posed wedding photos show the range of emotions they felt on this amazing day.

A Historic Smithville Inn Wedding

The Historic Smithville Inn is a historic New Jersey wedding venue with lots of charm and places for elegant portraits. Vintage style furniture decorates the interior. Wide windows let in natural light. The gardens are beautiful. If it rains, though, you’re in luck. The inn’s Absegami Room offers a simple but pretty option for an indoor wedding ceremony.

As lovely as the interiors are, the jaw dropping moment of any spring wedding is bound to be the courtyard ceremony. Pillowy pink flowering trees stretch around the pergola in an explosion of color. They’re so bold that you really don’t need much ceremony decor at all. Dana and Mike kept it simple with two white and pink floral arrangements, and that worked perfectly.

This New Jersey wedding venue can host small and large weddings. They have banquet halls of various sizes, but their largest, the Great Bay Ballroom, is the most popular. It has capacity for up to 170 guests. Since the venue is a full-time restaurant, your catering will be arranged through them. Wedding packages for 100 guests average around $14,500. 

The Historic Smithville Inn has a quintessentially East Coast history. It was built shortly after the American Revolution as a one-room building on a popular stagecoach route. It became a popular destination but was eventually abandoned in the early 1900s. In 1952, a couple gave the inn a new life as a restaurant. Since then, it has expanded with restored historic buildings. Despite its designation as a historic site, the inn remains as welcoming as it must have been to those first eighteenth-century travelers. 

Stunning Spring Wedding Photos

The day of Dana and Mike’s wedding at the Historic Smithville Inn was slightly overcast, but everything worked out beautifully. Dana and Mike got ready in suites painted shades of green that matched Dana’s wedding party’s dresses almost perfectly. The elegant space worked with Dana’s classic style. The light from the windows brought out the shimmer in her veil when she put it on. 

From the getting ready location, Dana and Mike walked separately to their first look in the gardens of the Historic Smithville Inn. Mike waited on a petal-strewn path for Dana. His reaction to her was absolutely priceless. I love that we caught these tender, candid moments beneath the vibrant flowering trees. Dana and Mike chose to read their private vows there, as well. 

Even on an overcast day, the gardens were on full display. We explored together and took portraits in front of all the flowering shrubs and trees. Dana’s iridescent veil added an ethereal quality to the images. While we wandered the gardens, I photographed wedding party portraits too. Everyone felt so much genuine joy that it really shines through in the candid images. With such a gorgeous backdrop, it was fun to do some more editorial posing too. 

A Connection-Filled Wedding Day

Since many guests saw Dana and Mike for the first time in the breathtaking courtyard of the Historic Smithville Inn, they got overwhelmed. People burst into happy tears throughout the ceremony. Dana and Mike spent so much of the ceremony smiling just as hard.

At cocktail hour, guests enjoyed champagne. A boisterous energy carried through to the reception where Dana and Mike wowed everyone with a choreographed first dance. In the historic ballroom with the gardens in bloom out the windows, the moment felt timeless.

After all the formal reception events were over, everyone hit the dance floor. Dana and Mike spent the rest of the night surrounded by family and friends cheering them on. 

Would you like to see more New Jersey wedding photography like this? I’ve photographed weddings at lots of amazing New Jersey wedding venues! Check out this colorful wedding at the Estate at Eagle Lake and this funky Asbury Hotel wedding.