Here is part two of Aditi and Mick’s wedding, featured on Maharani Weddings. Mick looked cool on the regal horse, provided by the fabulous Dream Horse Carriages. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the photos including the ones showing the stylish groomsmens’ outfits. 
Part II: Aditi and Mick’s wedding on Maharani Weddings.com
April 28th, 2011Aditi and Mick’s wedding on Maharani Weddings.com
April 26th, 2011Maharani Weddings is a fantastic blog for Indian brides. They did a beautiful job selecting photos from Aditi and Mick’s wedding at the Hyatt Morristown in New Jersey and showcased them in several posts last week. All the details of their wedding reflected the couple’s individual style. I hope you’ll check out the images on their blog.
Dorothy & Eoin, Fall wedding, Finger Lakes region, NY
December 12th, 2010As the winter temperatures drop and there seems to be snow on the way I thought it would be nice to share photos from one of those beautiful crisp late Autumn days when the light is beautiful and the Fall colors are still around us. It feels like a real gift in the Fall when we get those surprisingly warm days that let us pretend winter isn’t on its way.
Dorothy, an archaeologist in Binghamton, decided to look for her wedding photographer in the New York City area. Lucky for me that she and Eoin liked my work so I was given the opportunity to visit a part of New York State I’ve never had the chance to see.
It was a beautiful location with Glenora Wine Cellars sitting on the edge of Seneca Lake. The balconies of our rooms overlooked the vineyard and the lake with a fantastic view of sunrise. If you were feeling lazy enough you could just lie in bed and watch the sun come up, but I actually managed to get my tripod out on my balcony at the crack of dawn and it was worth the effort. If you’ve never been to the area I hope these photos will tempt you to visit (and of course do some wine tasting along the way).
Ceremony and Reception: The Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars, Dundee, NY
Meg and Drew, Yale Club, New York
October 19th, 2010I met Meg and Drew at the Brooklyn Wedding Crashers event early in the year. They seemed to like my low key approach to weddings and when it came time to start planning their wedding Meg contacted me. They made it very clear that they weren’t into posed photos and “forced groupings”. Though my emphasis is always on catching the natural, candid moments I’m very into doing great portraits as well and I think we had some lovely ones with such a beautiful setting at the Yale Club and Grand Central Station. I’ve shared a couple of them here. I think my favorite moment of the day was Drew serenading Meg at the reception…putting all his time with the Yale Whiffenpoofs to good use. My second favorite was Meg’s dance with her father that they took lessons for. I was told to make sure I had great photos of that moment.
Getting Ready: InterContinental, New York Barclay Hotel
Venue: Yale Club of New York
Portraits: Yale Club and Grand Central Station
Harika’s sari ceremony, NJ
October 19th, 2010Vijay called me two weeks before his daughter Harika’s sari ceremony to photograph the day for his family. I was intrigued since I’m a latecomer to wearing a sari and only did so for the first time a few years ago for my sister’s engagement party (with much help from an aunt). What would we do without the aunties helping to keep up the traditions? For a parent that first time their daughter wears a sari is a big coming of age moment. My favorite photos of the day are of Harika’s mother, Latha, and the aunties helping to dress her for her party. I’m sure Harika probably loved watching the Bollywood-style dancers and having all her friends around her.
Chhandasi and Amil, Melville, New York
October 7th, 2010I’ve never actually tried to explain what happens in an Indian wedding on this blog since I’ve grown up with them, but whenever I talk to friends who aren’t Indian I realize that many of the rituals could probably use some explanation. Each part of India has slightly different rituals or ways of performing the same rituals which is what makes photographing Indian wedding so interesting.
I remember that at one wedding the non-Indian groomsmen didn’t realize they were supposed to let the bridesmaids steal the groom’s shoes. One groomsman was holding onto them for dear life until a bridesmaid explained he was only supposed to put up token resistance so later on the groom could buy back his shoes from the bridesmaids.
There’s almost always a horse (though sometimes an elephant) with or without a carriage for the bharat. This is a procession of the groom’s family, traditionally, to the bride’s residence. Here it’s often once around the wedding venue and plenty of dancing by the groom’s family. As the photos below show getting put on someone’s shoulders can get a little tricky, but Amil took the whole thing in stride. I’m guessing he was much more comfortable, though, in the horse-drawn carriage.
Reshma & Ravi, Bronx Botanical Garden
September 3rd, 2010Not many couples would attempt to train for a major sporting event taking place the same week as their wedding, but that’s what Reshma and Ravi decided to do before their July 24th wedding this summer. They strike me as a couple who like challenges so it seemed in their nature to juggle to major events in their lives. Their wedding was probably the hottest day of the summer with the temperature hovering at 100 degrees. The great staff at the botanical garden discreetly put fans around the outdoor ceremony to keep the guests cool!
Ceremony & Reception: Bronx Botanical Garden
Aditi & Mick, Indian wedding, Morristown, NJ
August 2nd, 2010Aditi and Mick’s wedding was July 4th weekend. They had all the traditional elements of an Indian wedding and managed to have the wedding day reflect their personalities as well. I have countless photos of Aditi, in particular, laughing like crazy so I know they enjoyed the day thoroughly. There were plenty of people to share the happiness with too, with 8 bridesmaids and groomsmen and hundreds of guests. It was a long, long day…15 hours in total and lots of fun.
The couples I’ve worked with probably have a good idea that I’m a bit irreverent about things and like to look for the details that show the humorous and unique things about each wedding along with capturing the beauty and emotions of the day. A few of the photos below are perfect examples of that: Both Aditi and Mick had the same tattoo (below). Aditi came up with the ingenious idea of using suspenders to keep up her very heavy beaded skirt in place, which I thought was a brilliant idea. It’s the first time I’ve seen a plastic bag used to help slide bracelets onto a bride’s arm. And for some reason, I really liked the fact that the garlands were carefully laid to rest on the tv in the bridal suite at the end of the ceremony.
I can’t speak highly enough about the staff at the Hyatt Hotel in Morristown or the wonderful iced tea in the lobby which really helped with the heat!
I also had the pleasure of working with Anoli, her husband, and the rest of their crew from Shaadi Story for the first time. They were great about coordinating the video with my photography. I’m looking forward to seeing their video of the wedding.
Reception: Hyatt Hotel, Morristown, NJ
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Stacey & Adam, The Xchange, NY
August 2nd, 2010I’ve been neglecting the blog this summer and my only excuse is that it’s been busy between the weddings, editorial work…and squeezing in as much sailing as I can. I’m trying to make up for it now. I had a favorite photo I wanted to share of Stacey and Adam practicing their first dance at sunset on the roof of the Terminal Stores, a 19th century building in Chelsea housing the loft event space the Xchange, after our portrait session. It was a sweet, quiet time for them (except for my presence of course) just before the Katuba signing and ceremony. What a beautiful night sky.
Wedding & Reception: The Xchange
Raffle Winner – NY Magazine Weddings Event
April 14th, 2010The NY Magazine Weddings Event had a great turnout last Wednesday. It was fun to meet and talk with so many brides (and a few grooms!) and hear about their plans for their wedding. Carrie Schupper won the raffle which means she gets a free engagement photo session and photo book. I’m looking forward to a fun and creative portrait session with her and her fiance.