The next day I was sore all over, which I thought was strange since I’d only really overworked my legs the day before. But it was so nice out that I couldn’t resist a frolic through Central Park. The whole time I felt like I was forcing myself to wander around while my back ached and all I really wanted to do was lay down. But I NEVER want to lay down! I never want to sit and relax – I’m the girl who always has to keep busy. And honest to god, I’ve never had a single problem with my back (which I am SO so thankful for), so this was all pretty weird.

And then I spent the next 3 days bed-ridden and unable to function. I don’t know what happened, but I went through a whole gamut of non cold-like symptoms in a span of about 24 hours. The kind that really knock you down and prevent you from doing ANYTHING, really. And for someone like me, that is pure torture. Not only was I unable to lift my head for 3 days, but I also missed *2* live tv show tapings and 3 glorious sunny 60-degree days. If that’s not FML-worthy, I don’t know what is!

But anyway, at least I was able to enjoy the weekend before my body decided to take the next 3 days off from life. On Saturday I did some shooting around my favorite wedding venue (Bubby’s), and on Sunday I snapped some shots around Central Park and the Upper East Side:

But when I met Mae and Teddy and they immediately mentioned that they had access to a rooftop nearby, I knew we’d be in for a fantastic afternoon. +1 for that! (Boys, take note: my [arguably stone] heart can be won with the provision of rooftop views, bridge crossings, and kitty cats :D). We had an unobstructed view of Williamsburg and the Manhattan skyline across the river. Oh what I wouldn’t give to live in a building with this kind of view!

 

From there, we headed down to the waterfront to Grand Ferry Park, a spot Mae and Teddy had picked out beforehand for our shoot. We had it all to ourselves for the first half of our time there. They thought it’d be cute to try to get some photos of them blowing bubbles with gum, which it totally was! :)



On the way back from the park, we passed by so much cool street art and graffiti that I had to stop and have them pose for me. Mae and Teddy were more than willing to oblige, and I love them for this! :D
 

We had a bit of time to kill before the restaurant opened (this was the 2nd location they had picked out), so they asked me if I liked coffee. Do I! Not only do I like coffee, but I’m a proud coffee snob and refuse to drink it from chains like Starbucks (gross!). So I was thrilled when they took me to Oslo, an independent coffee shop in the neighborhood that I hadn’t been to in ages. They totally get points for that! And of course, we’ve gotta have the latte/engagement ring shot:



We hung out at Teddy’s store, Boundless, for a bit with our drinks before heading off to dinner at Sui Ren, their favorite Japanese restaurant. We were able to do a quick shoot inside before people started showing up to eat. Gosh, what a cute place! Definitely a great place for a date, that’s for sure.

And then… a remarkable thing happened. I have this weird thing about me, where I have irrational aversions to certain things. Case in point: I refuse to watch Star Wars. Absolutely refuse. People have tried to convince me otherwise (sometimes even by coercion) but to no avail. See, I KNOW it’s irrational – and believe me, I am typically a VERY rational person… just not with a few select things, I guess. Well, I also refuse(d) to eat Japanese food. There’s just something about the noodles and the sushi, I don’t know… it just doesn’t appeal. So I stay far, far away from Japanese restaurants.

But obviously I couldn’t turn down dinner with Mae and Teddy, so I took a deep breath and hoped there’d be something I wouldn’t mind eating. I let them order for me, and we all ended up splitting a bunch of platters. Green tea, ok. Edamame, check. Steamed pork bun, well I’ve had that at dim sum (amazing!). I had all sorts of things on skewers, some shrimp, some veggies, I don’t even know what anything was called. And bite by bite, my irrational hatred for Japanese food diminished. I’ve never felt so full and satisfied after a meal in my life! I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this for all this time (this always happens after I get over my stupid aversions).

So Mae and Teddy will forever have a place in my life as the ones who taught me to like Japanese food. If I was actually still keeping track of how many points they won from me, they’d be off the chart at this point. I had such a blast hanging out with them all afternoon, tagging along with them on a “day in their life” in the neighborhood where they met and now live in. They’re going to be on a tv show called ‘Get Married’ on WE TV, so they’re gonna be busy filming that, not to mention planning for their upcoming wedding :) Check out their story at the Ultimate Wedding Contest and vote for them!

Thanks, guys! And congrats again! :D

 
Bubby’s also knows how to put on a great event! They set up tables around both floors and selected some of Brooklyn’s most talented wedding vendors to come and display their work. It was so inspiring to talk to them all and see their fantastic products. Check them out!:

Artesanal Sweets | Natascha had the most beautiful cupcake display I’ve ever seen! I must have taken at least 100 photos of her table. Her PB&J cupcakes are to die for! And her cookies are decorated with edible glitter!

Bona Angela Design | table runners, hanging lanterns, vases, and votives

Root Stock & Quade | plants, flowers, gardens

 
This is the view of the Manhattan Bridge from Bubby’s:

Fine & Raw | their mission is to “save the world through silliness and chocolate” – raw chocolate, that is!

NY Ceremony Music | a cello and guitar duo

Four Strokes of Brooklyn | Michelle makes gorgeous invitations, save the date cards, place cards, seating charts, and other paper designs for events.

Our Ketubah | Elyse creates “custom-designed, hand-painted artwork and limited-edition prints for marriage contracts, wedding vows, and other special day commemoratives”.

EmersonMade | They believe in “celebrating the uniqueness of the individual, the joy of being alive and all the smallness that makes up the Big Beautiful” and make hand dyed/stitched accessories such as flowers to wear at weddings.

Lion in the Sun | specializes in invitations

Brooklyn Rehab | Alyssa had the cutest display of crafts based on a four-season theme. She’s all about taking old, vintage, abandoned and found objects and giving new life and meaning to them. It definitely makes for some super creative wedding decorations!

You’re probably not supposed to be down beneath the walkway, but I’m all about going the extra mile for a good photo – even if it means rule-bending or getting dirty. And I love it when I get to work with people of a similar mindset. You can’t tell, but those rocks were so slippery! And it was a wee bit chilly down by the water too, but they gladly pranced around in front of my camera without their jackets. Such troopers!

And just when I thought they couldn’t possibly get any awesomer… they broke into an impromptu snowball fight! I swear, I never ask my subjects to start such shenanigans – they’re just that awesome that they do it on their own!

But oh wait, they get even more awesome! Nicole and Vish like making faces and being goofy! Being the self-proclaimed Queen of Faces, I appreciated this immensely! Nicole did her Lady GaGa face (not pictured in this post, sadly) and Vish did the ‘Blue Steel’ (Zoolander) pose. I had to try to control my laughter so I could work my camera, but man were they funny.

 
I spotted a little modeling going on in one of the side streets as the parade was passing by in the background. The whole scene looked like this:

But oh boy was it a cold day! I felt so bad having them cross the Brooklyn Bridge in less-than-optimal weather conditions, but they were such troopers and didn’t even seem to mind.

Of all the times I’ve traversed NYC bridges, this was my first time doing it in snow. And how much do I love when my subjects start an impromptu snowball fight? So fun! :)

Once we got off the bridge, the cold was a bit more bearable. We had a bit more fun at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, with the ground completely covered in snow. And what better way to follow up their first traverse of the Brooklyn Bridge than by experiencing the famous Grimaldi’s pizza? Sounds like a pretty perfect day to me! :)

Ah, I felt really bad for having them hold this pose for so long, but while I was up on the stairs taking pictures, this guy comes up to me and starts babbling about how there’s this huge hawk nearby and how if I just took this one path there, I’d be able to see it and take pictures. I didn’t want to be rude and ignore him, but I was obviously preoccupied with my subjects at hand!