While traveling in Spain, I met a Spanish girl named Marina. She is beautiful and full of life and possibly the most photogenic person I’ve ever met. She’ll be coming to the US this fall to study, so I’m sure this won’t be the last you’ll see of her on this blog :)

Samantha and Brett had a super special wedding, followed by a super fun shoot at Grand Central Terminal. I am super stoked to share the rest of the images from their wedding day – coming soon, I promise!

(by the way, if you’d like to wrap your cat too, check out this amazing video… or if you’d like a good laugh, watch our parody of it! :)

It’s worth noting that the main impetus for that Europe trip was Jasmin’s 30th birthday party, to be held in mid-September in Denmark. I got the invite earlier this year and I don’t think anyone really expected me to make the trek over there. But it’s exactly the sort of thing I would do – something that may seem a little crazy, but that I’ve rationalized and justified in my mind. I first met Jasmin two years ago on a Switzerland camping trip with two of my Swiss friends, who were also invited to her party. When would be the next time we’d all be able to get together like this? Plus, I was also due for a reunion with my Dutch friend (who will also make an appearance on this blog in due time). Everything fell into place, I found a cheap flight (I’m telling you, I’m freakishly good at this), and come September 10 I found myself across the pond in Europe.

While visiting Jasmin in Denmark, I also had the pleasure of meeting her boyfriend, Kenneth. I didn’t get to do a full-blown photoshoot with them, but I did snap a few pictures of them during the time I spent in Denmark. They are so great together that I can’t help but smile about it :) Kenneth provides the balance to Jasmin’s crazy, goofy side – if nothing else, I think these photos show that perfectly.

After the ceremony, all wedding participants and guests headed up to Central Park for pictures. I got to lead a group of 40 people through Central Park! The newlyweds got so many congratulations from passers-by, it was unbelievable.

Without further ado, here are the photos from Rute and Peter’s wedding, straight from Sweden (where I’m currently traveling – I couldn’t wait to post them, I was too excited!):

And if you’d like to book a New York senior portrait session, you can read more about it and contact me for more information! :)

We started the day bright and early with portraits at the Anderson House in Washington D.C. Jill and Esrael decided to have a ‘first look’ and got to see each other before the ceremony. I could write a whole blog post dedicated to why couples should always try to do this on their wedding day – it’s an excellent, excellent idea. Getting portraits taken at the start of the day meant that they were free to enjoy the rest of their wedding day without having to leave any part of it to go get pictures taken. A couple should not have to miss any part of their own party!

But oh, what a gorgeous venue the Anderson House is. We could have spent the entire day exploring it and taking pictures!

One of the many reasons why this wedding was so awesome was that they had TWO receptions! Two VERY different receptions, at that. Jill has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I have ever known. It’s not unheard of her to replace entire meals with some sort of dessert, or incorporate a bakery trip into every city visit. So, not surprisingly, Jill had a dessert reception at her wedding. I have never seen so many different sweets in one room! Cookies, cupcakes, babka, fondue, chocolate, candy, and pretty much any other dessert you can think of… you name it, she had it. And at the end, all the guests got to fill up a bag with treats to take home.

 
Kelsey took the shot below of Jill and I on stage. We thought it’d be funny if I took Jill’s “throne” and she had to stand next to me :)
 

Reception #2 was the Eritrean reception, with hundreds of Esrael’s friends & family members in attendance. Lots of music, dancing, and most importantly – FOOD. Eritrean food is so flavorful and veggie-friendly, and meant to be eaten with your hands rather than with utensils. More specifically, you typically cover a thin, spongey bread with servings of food, and then rip off pieces of the bread to pick up the food with and then eat. It’s pretty fantastic.

Look at the gorgeous jewelry adorning her hand!

Congrats again, you guys! :)

But oh man, I can’t even tell you how excited I was for Jill and Esrael’s wedding. I even had two engagement shoots with them in the months leading up to their big day (which you can see here). I wanted nothing more than to spend their wedding day doing what I love, for people I love, who are so very in love (how’s that for an overdose of love?).

And that’s precisely what I did :)

Here is the first part of their wedding photos, from getting ready through the ceremony (which took place at Mosaic Church in Washington D.C.). Part 2: portraits & receptions (coming soon!).

There was a red carpet!! Had to incorporate that into some shots, obviously:

What I really loved about their wedding day was how it was a celebration of two cultures coming together. Esrael’s family is from Eritrea, so they had Eritrean prayers and songs incorporated into the ceremony.

Congrats, Jill & Esrael! I am so, so happy for you guys and hope you come up to visit me again soon!

Also – special thanks to my friend and second shooter, Kelsey Fain, for roadtripping with me from NYC to DC and shooting their wedding with me :D

Their shoot took place at the National Mall, the site of their first date. We went from the Lincoln Memorial, past the Reflecting Pool, to the WWII Memorial, and ending up at the Jefferson Memorial. I had a blast on our whirlwind tour of the Mall, and Sarah and Ali were so much fun to photograph! I’m SO excited for their wedding this fall – and this time we’ll be closer to my home turf, as they’re getting married in North Jersey :)

Whoops – what’s wrong with this picture?

Where’s the Washington Monument?! I swear it was there, haha… :D

 
 
In case you were wondering, I’m based in the NYC area but I LOVE to travel! Love love love it. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are – if you want me to photograph your wedding, I’m there! :) So please do contact me!

Here’s a sneak peek of their wedding day – and trust me, many many more photos to come! :D