On the heels of blogging one of the hottest weddings I’ve ever photographed, I’m happy to present one of the coldest weddings I’ve ever shot. Your point of view for this Catskills winter wedding…18 degrees, an outdoor ceremony, a very good boy (the dog) and a couple who didn’t care one bit about the temperature. Ashley & Mike’s Foxfire Mountain House wedding (mostly) went off like any other great day of celebration and marriage.
I say this time and time again, but I’m proud of my clients. When you shoot enough weddings, there’s very few elements you haven’t faced and when couples don’t let things like winter temperatures in the teens affect their mindset negatively, it’s a beautiful thing to document. Sure, the groom might be wearing thermal underwear and I almost lost use of my fingers, but can we give some appreciation to a bride in a sleeveless dress and a huge smile on her face? This was an all-time great bride performance at this Foxfire Mountain House wedding.
Documenting weddings is a pretty unique job in that mostly everything is out of your control on a wedding day. Lighting, environment, personalities, location restrictions and..weather. Especially capturing so many events at NY wedding venues like Caroline & Jake’s Lambs Hill wedding in Beacon. To start off, we had to navigate the hottest day of the year. It was so hot that we had to move family photos halfway through to an inside location with air conditioning. Then during the beginning of their outdoor reception, and insane monsoon rolled in and absolutely soaked the entire location.
The best part and what makes me proud to work with the couples I do, is if you take one look at their photos, you wouldn’t know any of that happened. It was pure joy for them, start to finish. And that is exactly what I want to facilitate. Roll with the punches and remember why we’re all here and make it look damn good at the same time.
Their intimate wedding was perfectly sized for a Lambs Hill wedding and the view from the venue was stunning. We may deal with some crazy weather as NY wedding photographers, but it’s definitely a beautiful place to work.
What I love most about shooting Hudson Valley weddings is the vast array of settings and locations that these beautiful wedding venues are situated on. Within a few miles, you can be married on a sprawling estate of glorious nature or have your wedding in a Brooklyn-esque warehouse like Mara & Mark did at Basilica Hudson. I’ve documented weddings here a number of times and the coolest part is no two weddings look alike. The space is truly a blank slate where couples can bring it to life with their own inspiration and style. Want a full-sized Airstream for your photo booth? See below.
It was a perfect Fall wedding day and my favorite time of year to capture Hudson Valley weddings. Hudson, New York is a super unique town, where Hudson Basilica is located. It’s truly like section of Brooklyn was transplanted upstate. There are textures and unique buildings galore. I love searching for pops of character, color and grit while walking the streets of Hudson. Each time I photograph a wedding up here, I find something new that catches my eye. It’s an inspiring place to shoot.
This is one of those blog posts where all I really want to say is “here, look at these wedding photos” because I don’t think words will add much to the story. From the absolute start to finish, Kim & Tom’s Arnold House wedding in Upstate New York, was jam-packed with moments. Moments that I feed off of as a documentary wedding photographer. There was a certain energy about their wedding that only elevated the beauty of their Catskills wedding venue. As you’ll see, these two are head over heels for each other, so I let their chemistry be front and center when we were shooting.
As far as the events that transpired, no one held back, not even Mother Nature. As cocktail hour was coming to a close, apocalyptic-type clouds rolled into the area super fast. We all knew it was about to go down, so I hurried Kim & Tom to the top of the hill and shot for as long as we could with an insanely dramatic sky behind them. As you’ll see below, we really did use every last second to grab those photos before literally running back inside The Arnold House.
Because their day needed any more special things to happen (#sarcasm), near the end of the reception, Tom escorted Kim from the dance floor for a surprise firework show that lit up the dark Upstate NY sky. It gave the Macy’s firework display a run for its money. Aside from the explosions, it was a blast (dad pun intended) to capture Kim’s expressions since she was not expecting this at all.
r
When I consider all of the Hudson Valley wedding venues I’ve photographed over the years, the ones I enjoy capturing the most have one major trait in common: diversity. Don’t get me wrong, I love barn venues that have endless forests or rustic venues set around a pond or farm, but when one location can deliver multiple settings, I thoroughly enjoy that. Enter Caitlin and Julio’s Arrow Park wedding in Monroe, New York.
Like so many places I get to photograph weddings, I honestly don’t know they exist until that inquiry comes through and I get to shoot them. New York has a seemingly endless supply of amazing wedding venues, so when I arrived for their Arrow Park wedding, I knew immediately I was into it and wanted to go back there often. Boat docks, beautiful forests, rocky landscapes, and an incredible old mansion atop the hill.
All of that sounds great, but without the moments, it doesn’t really amount to anything. Thankfully, Caitlin, Julio, and all of their guests delivered in a big way. From start to finish, I was inspired by all of these beautiful in-between moments. To end it all perfectly, I had the privilege to capture one of the wildest dance parties I’ve ever photographed at a wedding. Everyone left it all out on the dance floor, including Caitlin, who was my first crowd-surfing bride. Well done.
I mean no disrespect to any previous or future couples doing marriage, but Becky & Jordan are the cutest. They’re just cute. Look at them being all cute and stuff. Okay, okay that will be the last time I say cute in this blog post maybe. Even their wedding location was cute. Sorry, said it again. They decided to get married right in the town they both grew up and went to school at a park in Hastings-on-Hudson which was spot-on perfect for their Hudson Valley wedding photos. At the risk of oversimplifying what they conjured up, they found a park, put up a tent, and brought in the most crucial piece to any wedding…a pizza truck.
I just wrote an entire paragraph without mentioned DOGS. Oh yeah, lots and lots of dog moments which combined with pizza truck, might be the strongest wedding combination ever constructed. Take note, people. Bring your dogs, feed me pizza. Alright, back to these Hudson Valley wedding photos. Beyond the superficial stuff like food and tents, Becky & Jordan’s wedding truly was special to be a part of. It’s obvious these two are crazy about each other but so were their friends and families. I love witnessing these strong bonds at weddings and their day was no different. Pizza and dogs aside, that’s really why we’re here and that’s what it’s about.
An industrial wedding venue. Those words put together used to be a sentence that didn’t exist but thankfully the wedding industry as a whole has become so creative and spaces that were never used for weddings, now are. Brooklyn wedding venues and now even Long Island City has some of the best spots in that category to offer. Enter Sound River Studios. A beautiful yet blank canvas for couples to show their personalities and get creative. Sarah & Paul’s take on the space simply blew me away with the clean design, yet tons and tons of character. From the wall hanging greenery to earthy, textural table settings, the venue came alive.
Thankfully, it didn’t end there in terms of personality and energy. Sarah & Paul are a couple who have that obvious connection with each other so documenting their wedding at Sound River Studios was almost effortless. The good feels flowed all day but the best part wasn’t even them. It wasn’t even human. It was their doggo. Okay, I’m kind of kidding but not really. I think this entire blog post could have just been him and I’d be totally satisfied. If there’s one thing I pride myself in, it’s taking too many dog photos at weddings, which you’ll see below. Start scrolling.
Usually when you consider taking full advantage of Autumn light and colors for your Fall New York wedding, outdoor wedding venues in upstate New York like the Catskills or Hudson Valley come to mind. A city location like Brooklyn, most likely, isn’t where you think you could pull this off, but Emi & Shota’s showed that you very much can. Searching for Brooklyn restaurant wedding venues, they landed on Frankies 457 Spuntino, an incredible Italian restaurant (I didn’t want to leave and just eat all night while taking photos) with a beautifully Brooklyn courtyard for their ceremony. It was quintessential BK.
But, back to taking full advantage of the Fall in a city environment. First stop, Prospect Park. It’s always pretty amazing to me when a huge natural setting can be found in the middle of a bustling cityscape and Prospect Park has delivered for me time and time again. As you’ll see, the light, the trees, the everything was downright magical from Emi & Shota’s first look and beyond. There are so many nooks and crannies in this park that I feel like I see it anew every single time I shoot there. With an early sunset, we made our way to one of the finest Brooklyn restaurant wedding venues, Frankies 457. It was a glorious land of cured meats, cheeses and lots of Italian wine that as a responsible business owner, I simply observed from afar. It was a great evening so please start scrolling.
