Une Idee Folle (A Crazy Idea)

Marie and Marc decided to fly all the way from France to get married in Central Park. They found me, and booked me, completely over the internet. I was a bit nervous about possible language barriers (I was never an exemplary student of the French language), but all fell into place, and I remembered enough French and the couple knew enough English that we all got by just fine.

Marie got ready in the Belvedere Hotel in midtown Manhattan

Marie & Marc's wedding announcements

Marie is a stunningly beautiful bride

Wouldn't you know it - record rainfall in Central Park on their wedding day. I can't even imagine how much good luck that means for their marriage!

The Lady's Pavilion in Central Park is a beautiful place to hold an intimate wedding ceremony

Despite the rain, Marie literally smiled the entire day

With this ring....

...I thee wed!

The rain paused long enough for us to take a few portraits in Central Park

We then took a limo ride around NYC, ending up in Times Square, where the rain had finally stopped all together

M & M - Marie & Marc!

This group of schoolgirls broke into applause when they saw the newlyweds!

My favorite - luckily the cab didn't honk at us after the light turned green :) I told Marie you can get away with pretty much anything when wearing a wedding dress - even in NYC.

Quick, casual portrait of the lovely newlyweds

Thank you Marie and Marc, for having faith in my photography without meeting me beforehand! I had a lovely time at your wedding and wish you both all the luck and love in the world!

Six Days Old...

Recently, I had a very sweet portrait session with a family who just welcomed their second daughter. Big sister "Gi-Gi" was very proud of her six-day-old sister, and was a natural in front of the camera. Thanks so much Angela & Ray for having me over to photograph you and your beautiful family. Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

You can only take photographs like this with a newborn who is under ten days old. They are so still, such deep sleepers, so perfectly pliable at this stage. (Don't worry, mom is just out of the frame to the right, just in case.)

In daddy's big hands, you get a sense of how small little "S" really is!

Some photographs of the proud big sister....

Watch out mom & dad! You have a future heartbreaker on your hands! :)

Matt, Lynn & James (Cotton too!)

I recently had a really nice portrait session in the city with a fun young family who lives right near Central Park. It was a great day to visit the park and take some fun pictures of the family interacting. Jimmy was just about to turn a year old a few days after the session - hope you had a great birthday little buddy! Matt & Lynn, I had a great time, hope to see you again soon!

Here are some of my absolute favorites from the session:

Jay & Amanda - Married!

Jay and Amanda were the first couple I met with in my new office back in June of last year. I instantly thought they were a fantastic couple and was really really hoping they would choose me to be their wedding photographer. Jay and Amanda are not just gorgeous, funny, generous, sweet people, but they are also members of the military. Jay is a Marine and Amanda is an Army Soldier. I have such great respect for what they do to protect our freedom, and I was honored to photograph their special day - my first military wedding!

Amanda waits in the limo in front of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in White Plains.

We then headed off to the Rowsley Estate, (also known as Scarsdale Women's Club) for the reception.  Jay looked incredibly handsome in his Marine Corps Blue-White Dress uniform, and Amanda was a goddess in her beautiful white wedding gown. 

A few formals of the new Mr. & Mrs.

This image just makes my heart melt! 

Amanda and her maid of honor (also Amanda) toast to finally being done with the formals - let's party! :)

The Rowsley Estate is such a beautiful place to hold a wedding reception. The maroon and gold damask wallpaper is so elegant. I love the flowers they chose from Mamaroneck Flowers - the white hydrangea and red/orange roses look perfect.

The couple, lit up by the videographer's light. They come in handy now and again ;)

This has to be one of my favorite cake feeding pictures of all time - I love how Amanda is taking charge and getting Jay by the neck!

One last one, in the elegant foyer of the Rowsley Estate.

Jay and Amanda - I can't thank you enough for your generous service to our country. You are both in my prayers, as are your families and your friends. Ro and I had such a wonderful time photographing your wedding. I wish you all the luck and love in the world!

Sneak Peek - Jay & Amanda

Another Saturday in May, another great couple, another fantastic wedding! Stay tuned for more images, but this one was by far my favorite capture of the day...

Christine & Brendan - Married!

This is going to be a long one...

Christine and Brendan were married at Highlands Country Club in Garrison. As soon as I walked into the room and saw the beautiful space and the breathtaking flowers, even before I took a single picture, I knew this wedding was going to be one of my favorites. I was not disappointed!

Ned Kelly and Company, in Piermont, provided the gorgeous bouquets and centerpieces for the wedding. Ned and Angela did a phenomenal job and were so nice to work with. I highly recommend checking them out if you are getting married in the area.

The wind was catching Christine's beautiful cathedral-length veil, as was the early evening sunlight.

As you can tell, Brendan had a hard time taking his eyes off of his beautiful bride.

This picture sums up Christine & Brendan perfectly: fun & funky, stylish & creative, down-to-earth & mellow...my absolute favorite kind of couple! :)

Christine has a number of beautiful tattoos adorning her body. I had taken a picture of the wasp on the peony bud earlier in the day, before I had even seen her artwork of the bee on the flowers on her back. The two are so beautiful together.

My favorite wedding band, ETA (they played at my own wedding), rocked the house, as usual. They are incredible! ETA is always professional, always keeps the party moving, and knows how to make any event a memorable one.

Christine had mentioned to me that it was important for her and Brendan to have some photographs of them dancing together. These turned out to be some of my favorite images from the wedding:

Christine's maid of honor and Brendan's best man gave beautiful and moving toasts.

I love the lighting on this bouquet toss shot.

Christine dances with her dad, who was quite talented on the dance floor!

Another thing I liked so much about Highlands Country Club was the fact that there were so many places for the guests to mingle - there was the main dining room with the band playing, and then there were porches on the front and the back of the building for people to catch a bit of fresh air. There was a big lawn with a fire pit, and a separate bar in the cozy tavern off the main room as well. Christine & Brendan's wedding had such a nice, relaxed, mellow feel to it, just like the couple themselves.

One more shot of the lawn at the Highlands Country Club. Did I mention in this gigantic post how fantastic the entire staff was? The food was delicious and the staff was so friendly. Christine and Brendan did an amazing job selecting all of the right vendors to come together and produce one of my favorite weddings ever.

Congratulations Christine & Brendan - it was my distinct honor to be a part of your beautiful wedding day! I wish you all the luck and love in the world and can't wait to catch up with you soon. Big thanks to Ro Rappa for coming along with me to shoot this wedding - we had a blast :)

Debbie & Staicy's Wedding

My first wedding of the 2009 season was also my first Indian wedding. Debbie and Staicy had a beautiful ceremony in Hartsdale, followed by an elaborate reception at the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown, with 550 of their closest friends and family. The very talented DJ Sharad mixed contemporary songs with traditional Indian beats - it was an amazing sound experience. The room had beautiful lighting, alternating from pink to aqua, red, purple and green, which was also designed by DJ Sharad and his team at DJs Unlimited South Asia. The theme of the wedding was Bollywood, complete with amazing dances and beautiful costume changes. Flowers were provided by Odyssey Floral Design in New Rochelle, and the exotic food was catered by Cafe Spice. Many thanks go out to the talented and enthusiastic Karen Schlink who did a great job assisting me at the wedding.

The bridal party was big, bright and colorful. Is there nothing more stunning than a hot pink sari?

Beautiful henna designs on Debbie's hands

Overlooking the Tappan Zee Bridge at Matthiessen Park in Irvington

Once we were in the Grand Ballroom at the Doubletree for the reception, I was blown away by the details. Dramatic lighting makes all the difference in the world!

My favorite photograph of the whole wedding. Debbie and Staicy were being introduced into the reception for the first time as husband and wife. As they made their way through the crowd, I tried to keep up their quick pace. This is all in-camera. I am panning and dragging the shutter with Debbie, making her in tack-sharp focus, the guests behind her in a motion blur.

Our gorgeous couple, on their platform sweetheart table

Okay, this is my favorite too ;)

Debbie dances with her dad in dress #2...

...before making a costume change again into this amazing sari to dance with her charming husband Staicy.

Debbie's guy friends performed an impressive dance, and she even got up with them for a minute - very very cool!

I love this shot of giving one of the many toasts

More details - this time in hot pink/magenta...

I can't stress enough what a great job DJ Sharad did at Debbie & Staicy's wedding! There were people of all ages crowding the dance floor. The beats were amazing and DJ Sharad kept the large crowd going all night. (I love shooting close-up on the dance floor with my fisheye lens.)

Thanks again Debbie and Staicy for letting me be part of your beautiful wedding! It was an experience I will never forget!