Hae Won and John love fireworks so what better day to get married than July 4th. And what better place to have your reception than the tip of Manhattan where you’re practically surrounded by them.
The Ritz Carlton sculpture garden has these really cool white cast metal trees that were a perfect counterpoint to the flow of Hae Won’s dress.
The wind picked up as the skies got a bit more threatening but the veil seemed to be enjoying itself.
This is why I think every wedding should have kids in it. They are so unpredictable.
Here the ringbearer felt that carrying a pillow with a couple of rings tied to it was nothing compared to carrying a basket and getting to toss flower petals on the floor. So he helped himself to the petals too. All the way down the aisle…
Sure it may have rained and sure the cops had barricaded lower manhattan for the fireworks and prevented us from driving to the reception site but that didn’t put a damper on this crew.
Sparks flew as the evening drew on.
And ended in fireworks (once the bride and groom got back to their hotel room).
Allison and Martin’s wedding was amazingly cross cultural. Most of Martin’s family and friends flew in from Germany (and many didn’t speak English) and the entire ceremony as well as the toasts were done in English and German.
Allison waiting in the ready room of Riverside Church.
Allison gets approval from the Minister after doing her vows in German.
And a tradition from Allison’s side – the jumping of the broom.
The wedding party looked like a Benetton Ad.
The guys asked if they could pick Allison up. I said it was all right with me as long as the ring bearer could help.
And I had to give him his moment in the sun…
This group REALLY knew how to get their groove on.
Below Allison and her Mom rock the house.
Jennifer and Alan were such fun to work with. Jennifer has this smile that just doesn’t quit and when combined with the background at the Glen Island Harbor Club – we really had a winning combination for images.
Don’t know if you’ve noticed this but I’ve got a lot of shots with birds in flight in them. My studio manager, Kim actually pointed it out to me last week. (What she doesn’t realize is that I’ve got some serious connections…)
I still love the effect of my Tilt-Shift lens. It makes everything magical.
The next cover of New York Weddings?
Or a Saks catalog?
When I set out with Kimberly and Aaron to do their engagement session they had asked where I found the inspiration for my images and how I kept them so natural looking. I was sharing with them my thoughts on spontaneity and how I get such a charge out of just keeping my eyes open and my senses keyed to opportunity. I had just finished saying how there is opportunity everywhere for great images everywhere if you just keep an eye out for them and an attitude of willingness to explore and embrace them when we came across this young Tribeca entrepreneur.
So of course we had to stop and buy some Peach Tea from her. Where else in Tribeca can you get a glass of Peach Tea for $0.50?
It was a great start to a fun session in the neighborhood and I can’t wait for their wedding day.
Kim and John are creative types. These guys really went all out on coming up with new and clever ways to do things at their wedding to make it really personalized.
First of all, John is a designer at Marc Ecko and he designed his suit and those of his groomsmen himself. Now THAT’s a first for me.
Below, a last minute tweak…
Were they stylin’ or what?
They wanted to create what I guess I would call a chandelier theme. There was a chandelier on their invitation and the chuppa and fixtures were all dressed in crystals.
John awaits the walk down the aisle…
For the reception, they had set long tables at Angel Orensanz which made for a really striking space.
Their “cupcake cake” was topped by Kim’s parents’ wedding cake topper and each cupcake had it’s own little bride and groom on it.
On the way out, guests were treated to a candy bar where everyone could fill bags with their favorite goodies. I was partial to the salt water taffy but Kim liked the LEGO block candies.
new york weddings, uncategorized | tags: angel orensanz, candy bar, crystals, cupcakes, designer, hatch creative, jewels, marc ecko, suit, veil
Everybody likes to have fun.
But some people are really good at it.
Cara Lynn and Mike are those kind of people. If you remember from the engagement session that we blogged awhile back, these guys are avid sailors and we got some awesome portraits of them at the South Street Seaport from which we put together a very cool signing album.
Mike and the boys wanted to work in the nautical theme into the day so they decided to take a ferry over to Manhattan for the wedding – DRESSED AS PIRATES! Ahoy Mateys!
Now, traffic usually stops for my brides and we can pretty much do anything we please in the city. In this case, these three park rangers OFFERED to hold traffic for us at the southeast corner of central park to let Cara and Mike grab a quick kiss. And when the hack honked the horn (we had been there all of 4 seconds) the rangers started yelling at the guy, “Now you just hold it there, mister – don’t you be honkin’ at me!” Nobody messes with a bride on her wedding day!
Want a big family shot with the Manhattan skyline on a 6 foot deck? No problem.
And here’s that signing book after guests have signed it.
Adding to the fun at their reception was our “Self-Portrait Studio” which allowed guests to set up and take their own pictures throughout the evening. It rocked and everyone had a great time with it. And the best part is, that unlike a traditional photobooth, these images were taken in high-resolution and the bride and groom get to keep the negatives and make whatever size prints they or their guests want. Check out some of the guests’ creativity.
And at the end of the night, Chris, Kim, Celeste and I couldn’t help but take one of ourselves too.
new york weddings, uncategorized | tags: album, ferry, fisheye, groupshot, guestbook, pirate, pirates, self-portrait studio, signature book, signing book, skyline
We recently had the pleasure of working again with The Brearley School during their annual Brearley Benefit.
It’s a great cause – raising money to support and train the staff -and it contributes to retaining the great teachers there.
The event was held in the massive Cipriani Wall Street Ballroom.
Families were greeted at the door….
Some of the families arriving…
Such a great school and a great group of kids.
Ahh Central Park. Our little oasis in the metropolis.
