Stonewall Estates wedding

New York State has a neat trick in the fall: time travel. Go north or south up I-87, or head up into the mountains, and you can go back and forth weeks on fall foliage. So there are few more beautiful places to get married in early October than in a gorgeous pastoral Catskills venue like the Stonewall Estates, and everything came together perfectly for Nigam and Bryant’s wedding, with crisp blue skies and blazing orange leaves complementing all of the gorgeous colors of the Hindu elements of the wedding. The amazing team at Tanari Events Not only seamlessly combined South Asian and Western elements, but seemingly disparate overtones — the decor was both highly elegant and extremely comfortable, something that could accommodate both board games in the woods with your family and Nigam and Bryant’s dashing couture tuxedos.

Since the Haldi and mendhi were the day before and every one of the guests was traveling to the area, that atmosphere made for a feeling of a family reunion or a country retreat, a weekend where you can find your comfort and fun whether you just want to sit around a fire or go wild on the dance floor. Nigam and Bryant are so warm and kind that you feel like your day is a bit better just being in the same room as them, so we loved seeing how much joy they had with their friends and family.

Tribeca Rooftop wedding

We love so much about weddings that we would enjoy them wherever we are, but man is there something special about weddings in NYC, with their tremendous variety. Where else can you attend an event with posh fashion, heartbreaking emotion, and drag performers? Only at a wedding like Charlie and Max’s.

They lucked out with a gorgeous fall day, perfect for walking around the West Village and hopping on the 1 train down to TriBeCa to meet their massive, boisterous wedding party and on to TriBeca Rooftop, decorated to perfection by The Wild Bunch. In a nod to Charlie’s British heritage, half the wedding party were decked out in elaborate fascinators. Charlie and Max heightened the fashion themselves, with custom suitcoats and wedding bands and shoes they designed themselves.

The fantastic weather allowed for a touching ceremony on the rooftop and cocktail hour mingling, followed by a parade of heartfelt and hilarious speeches from friends and family. Then the party began, the energy brought by The Sugar Lane Band and even more toward the end of the night with drag performers joining the guests on the dance floor. An amazing day all over.

Metropolitan Building wedding

Any time we see an inquiry for the Metropolitan Building come into our e-mail, we do a little happy dance and cross our fingers that we are available for the date. It is a playground for photographers, more or less literally … home not just to wonderful smaller weddings but countless editorial shoots and even music videos. It somehow combines a quaint Victorian aesthetic with a feeling that you are stumbling on the private property of a propmaster gone mad, and we love every bit of it.

But venues are just the backdrop, and weddings are about the people. Luckily our excitement grew and grew as we met and learned more about Hans and Scott. Frankly, it’s hard not to catch a bit of Hans’ ever-present excitement, which translated into his hands-on guidance in an East-meets-West theme that infused both the decor and the (amazing) catering, overseen by the fantastic work of Claire Stitzer at WeWedWell.

Things like this is why we can call weddings amazing after so long and really mean it. What else is there to say about a groom who would secretly learn to sing a song in Mandarin, and hide lyrics under the dinner plates so guests could join him in serenading his partner? Or about an evening where surprise Chinese Dragon performers start the proceedings? Or best yet, just getting to be close to people who love each other so much that they burst into tears?

Yeah, that’s amazing.

Planning: WeWedWell
Officiant: Sharon Simon
Catering: bonbite
Flowers: Gatherings Floral Design
DJ: Lindsey
Stylist: Styles on B
Tea Ceremony: Tea Drunk

Metropolitan Building wedding photo

There’s so much in this moment at Hans and Scott’s Tea ceremony… and so much more to come.

Newport, RI wedding at the Rosecliff Mansion: Emilie and Nicole

Nicole and Emilie’s Rosecliff Mansion wedding celebrated Independence Day on many levels — there were countless couture nods, from the red, white and blue clothes they wore to the oh-so-Northeastern rehearsal dinner at Kempenaar’s Clambake Club to the custom color worn by their Instagram-famous dog, Charlie. There were all the trappings of a Newport summer weekend, from casual fun over seafood and fireworks, to impossibly ornate settings like the Rosecliff and The Elms. But it was given a deeper, sweeter meaning when, shortly before the wedding day, the Supreme Court invalidated any laws keeping same-sex couples from marrying in any of the United States

When I started shooting weddings, only one state allowed same-sex couples to marry, and though it was right next door, it wasn’t recognized in Rhode Island until 2013. So not only could Nicole and Emilie show what a smart, driven, devoted couple they are, this can be recognized in every inch of their country. It was a good reason to wave the flag even harder that day.

But there’s a lot more to them, and to the unbelievably gorgeous wedding. They drip intelligence; you feel a bit smarter being near them. They’re the sort of people who use “alacrity” in common conversation, but also the sort to turn into emotive puddles when their dog is nearby. It was such a great feeling to share this day with them, and to share the coverage with my own love, Tatiana Breslow. I’m smiling just looking at these photos again, so I’m going to get out of the way and share them:

Stage 6 at Steiner Studios Wedding: Miranda and Vanessa

At least three of the 10 funniest speeches I’d heard at weddings all year were at Miranda and Vanessa’s reception, and during the third I couldn’t hold back both a shocked laugh at some strange synchronicity: When Vanessa first met her future roommate (and speech-giver), she’d asked her: “Are you the bestat anything?”

I am fascinated by people who are among the best at things, the weirder the better. What drives them, how to their brains work, what are their daily lives like … these questions itch at me. I have an ongoing photography project devoted to it, but it’s been put on hold for … well … the entirety of my wedding photography career. Oops.

But life has a way of coming full circle, and this same career brought me to document the glorious wedding of Miranda and Vanessa. At the time, Vanessa had been alluding to her apparently masterful Minesweeper record, but in most circles she’s better known for poker. Suffice to say I made sure to never bet anything with anyone at the wedding.

And for at least this day, my questions were answered — what drives them forward is an incredible bond of love and joy, and deep commitment to friends from all circles of their live. It was as calm and beautiful a day as I’d ever had at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, because for someone who has mastered a sport famous for steely intensity, it was simply … chill (for a wedding).

Miranda’s kindness and warmth kept things throughout the day, right to asking me whether I could teach them how to Dougie. Sadly it never played, but we shared a gorgeous night on the Steiner Rooftop. Thank you, Miranda and Vanessa, for having me document this day; you’re the best.