Christine and Shawn celebrated their Indian wedding in a backyard in Shoreham, a hamlet on the North Shore of Long Island, New York, photographed by Acromatico. Originally planned for 700 guests on May 30, 2020, the couple moved their day home during COVID to stay close to their nearest family and friends.
Acromatico met Christine and Shawn at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and photographed their engagement session at the Brooklyn Bridge, expecting to shoot their wedding just a couple of months later. When plans changed, the couple pushed their dates and brought the venue of their dreams into their own backyard in Shoreham, New York. The college sweethearts are loved by many, and their family and friends performed a Bollywood dance telling their love story with their own twist.
Wedding planner Joann Varghese and the team at M4U Events transformed a tent into a full reception with lights, fog machines, a DJ and a lively MC. The day brought popped champagne bottles, confetti explosions, color, tears, bubbles and laughter, with a crowd so lively it felt like there were hundreds of people there. Heather and Geo shot alongside the lead photographer to capture it all.
“It almost felt like there were hundreds of people with all the good energy in there.”
Good to know
Shoreham is a small hamlet and incorporated village in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. It sits along the Long Island Sound, roughly 60 miles east of New York City and within easy reach of the wineries and beaches of the North Fork, making it a quiet, scenic setting for a private estate or backyard wedding.
As Christine and Shawn's day proved, a Shoreham backyard can become a full wedding venue with the right team. For tented receptions in this part of Long Island, plan early for a weatherproof tent, on-site power and lighting, and parking, since residential properties here have more space but fewer of the built-in amenities of a traditional hall.
A backyard celebration keeps the day close to home and to the people who matter most, something many Long Island couples leaned into during the pandemic. With planning and a strong vendor team, an intimate setting can carry the same energy and color as a large-scale Indian wedding.