Love on Super8: Engagement Session in Jersey City

For their engagement session, Arianna and Jack explored their neighborhood, stopping at all of their favorite spots along the way. We started with coffee at their favorite coffeeshop before heading up the hill to their favorite overlook of the Hudson (and where they got engaged) and ended at an adorable flower shop. We documented their love on both film and Super8!

When Sickness Strikes: A Bittersweet Story of Love

Jasmine & Sam invited me to document one of the most special moments of my career so far. Sam’s dad had been diagnosed with cancer so they threw together a backyard celebration in two weeks. As I knocked on the front door of Sam’s childhood home, I was keenly aware of how this profession has me immediately participating in some of the most intimate moments of strangers lives. Only this time, as they welcomed me in, they didn’t feel like strangers.

Upstairs in a childhood bedroom Jasmine slipped into her Zimmermann dress while both families waited downstairs in sweet anticipation of the moments to come.

The groom’s family gardener of 20+ years created a beautiful chuppah for two judges (long time family friends and one a former boss of the bride) to marry the couple under. The ceremony was drenched in love, laughter and even a few tears as jokes were made and memories recalled. Afterwards, the family gathered on the porch for portraits and drinks.

As I photographed these moments I was keenly aware of my responsibility to memorialize the emotions and events unfolding before me, so that when their loved one leaves them far too soon, there’s something tangible to cling to, to help them return to this moment in time when everyone was together under one roof, celebrating love and life.

It was an honor of a lifetime to be entrusted with this, thank you for having me Jasmine and Sam.

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Bridal Designers You Should Know: Danielle Frankel

Danielle Frankel has risen in popularity recently, and it’s not hard to see why! The designer focuses on simple yet intricate techniques and construction, resulting in gowns that are whimsical and vulnerable, modern yet nostalgic. Her dresses are known for their unique fabric pairings, playful accents, and perfect tailoring. Here are a few of our favorites (but truthfully, we really love them all!)

Danielle Frankel Wedding Dresses

If you’re looking for something fresh, fashion forward and modern, run, don’t walk, to their studio on West 39th Street in the Garment District, where all their dresses are proudly made.

The Best NYC Wedding Venues by Borough

So you want to get married in NYC? I’ve rounded up the best wedding venues in New York City and sorted them by borough. From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, NYC has some of the most diverse wedding venues to offer. But where you get married will determine things like your timeline, the flow of your event and even impact your budget (some venues will take more to decorate), so consult your planner before signing any contracts.

The best wedding venues in Manhattan

New York Public Library

The NYPL is a quintessential icon of NYC. The gorgeous marble and grande stone columns offer a beautiful neutral background to decorate. Keep it minimal or add in color, NYPL is perfect for a variety of wedding aesthetics.

The Carlyle Hotel

I love the Carlyle for it’s romance and old world charm. It’s also within walking distance to Central Park for photos!

620 Loft and Garden

For a rooftop wedding with a breathtaking view in the heart of the city, look no further!  620 Loft & Garden provides stunning views of Fifth Ave and St. Paul’s Cathedral, plus all the charm of a manicured garden. Getting married in the colder months? They also offer a tented area!

Tribeca Rooftop

This chic, industrial wedding venue offers stunning rooktop views, cobblestone streets for portraits and a stunning expansive glass atrium for your reception.

632 on Hudson

632 Hudson is a hidden gem. This artfully renovated townhouse is full of quirky and extravagant details, from the Italian renaissance style ceiling to its Art Deco style lounge. each room is full of unique art from all around the world.

For more photos, check out Nick & Mitali’s engagement party at 632 Hudson!

American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History is such a fun and unique NYC wedding venue. Host your first dance under a 94 ft long blue whale or amidst the most dynamic dinosaur display in the world.

The Plaza Hotel

If extravagant and prestigious is what you’re looking for, look no further. The Plaza has hosted presidents, world leaders and famous people, and is one of the most iconic venues in NYC.

The High Line Hotel

The High Line Hotel is bursting with natural light, muted colors and one of a kind local furniture. The rooms are stunning for getting ready photos, and it features a 60s Citroen coffee truck and Parisian-syle garden.

Mandarin Oriental

Mandarin Oriental offers a striking setting for your NYC wedding. I love the stylish details all through out the hotel and it’s proximity to Central Park is a plus!

The Best Wedding Venues in Brooklyn

King’s Theater

If you loved Ivy Getty’s wedding aesthetic, King’s Theatre is the perfect wedding venue to host your celebration.

Purslane at the Boathouse

Purslane at the Boathouse is an iconic wedding venue located in the heart of Prospect Park. I love the Beaux-Arts style, white terra-cotta façade, and French doors opening out to a terrace. They’re also committed to zero-waste and carbon neutral events!!

501 Union

If industrial chic and modern glamour is more your vibe, 501 Union is your place. Located in Brooklyn, this classic car restoration shop turned luxury venue is delightfully moody.

For more photos, check out Pooja & Tom’s wedding at 501 Union!

Brooklyn Winery

Chic and sophisticated, the Brooklyn Winery offers a fully functioning winery as the backdrop for your special day.

Wythe Hotel

Historic and industrial chic, Wythe Hotel offers both large and small spaces to accommodate your wedding. I love the garden terrace, marble topped bar and large windows!

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the perfect for a garden aesthetic wedding. I love that couples can take wedding photos all throughout the park before heading to the terrace for a cocktail hour by the reflection pond and then inside the glass atrium for dreamy reception.

For more photos, check out Suzanna & Stelio’s wedding at Brooklyn Botanic!

William Vale

The William Vale is architecturally gorgeous inside and outside. Host your wedding outside on their garden terrace for a dazzling view of the city skyline all night long!

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

1 Hotel Brooklyn offers a beautiful intimate setting for your wedding. I love the floor to ceiling windows, rooftop view of Manhattan and their use of local and fresh ingredients!

The Best Wedding Venues in Queens

The Foundry

Don’t tell the others, but this venue just may be my favorite on this list! It’s understated elegance is beautiful without being extravagant, and I absolutely adore the ivy covered terrace!

The Best Wedding Venues in the Bronx

Wave Hill

Wave Hill offers a romantic escape from the city, without actually leaving the city! This estate boasts spectacular views, lush gardens and a historic home. They also have an onsite permanent tent for a rain plan that allows you to stay outdoors!

New York Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden is perfect for a venue that looks stunning regardless of the season and offers a wide variety of backdrops for your wedding!

The Best Newport Wedding Venues

With it’s breathtaking mansions, stunning coasts and quintessential little towns, Newport, RI is the perfect location for a destination wedding! Wedding venues in Newport, RI range from grand castles to charming seaside resorts with so many options in between! As a Newport, RI wedding photographer, I’ve also included a few of my favorite restaurants and locations for an engagement session! Keep reading for the 14 best Newport, RI wedding venues!

The Best Wedding Venues in Newport, RI

Castle Hill Inn

Castle Hill Inn is a historic estate nestled on Narragansett Bay. Stay with your bridal party in the charming beachfront houses, and have an intimate affair with your closest friends and family in their dining room or throw a grand celebration in their tent! Portrait spots are endless — I particularly love the gardens, lighthouse, and Grace Kelly Beach!

The Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt is an iconic mansion in downtown Newport that offers “gilded age glamour.” I love their Garden Terrace for an outdoor ceremony that will fit up to 125 of your closest people! Guests can stay onsite in one of 33 rooms or nearby at one of the several hotels in downtown!

Belle Mer

Belle Mer offers oceanfront glamour that’s both contemporary and exquisite. If your wedding philosophy is “the more the merrier!” you have to consider Belle Mer, as it’s capable of hosting up to 500 guests for a seated dinner!! There’s so many amazing spots at this venue for your ceremony and reception it truly is hard to choose a favorite!

Rosecliff Mansion

Rosecliff is one of the Gilded Age Mansions of Newport. If you’re inspired by manicured gardens and intricate architecture, you have to check out this amazing Newport wedding venue! Fun fact, Rosecliff Mansion was featured in The Great Gatsby and 27 Dresses!

The Bohlin

The Bohlin is nestled among Newport’s iconic wharfs. If you’re looking for a Newport wedding venue with amazing views of the ocean and in the heart of downtown, The Bohlin is a beautiful option to host up to 400 of your favorite guests!

Glen Manor House

Glen Manor House is teeming with old world charm and impeccable details like their manicured formal gardens! While their ballroom is beautiful, I absolutely adore this venue for an outdoor garden reception too!

Fort Adams

Fort Adams is the perfect wedding venue if you’re looking for something rich in history. This massive fortress once stood guard at the entrance of the Narragansett Bay dating back to pre-revolutionary war times! Today it offers ample space to host your wedding, my favorite being a waterfront ceremony and tented reception on their great lawn with the fort in the background!

Aldrich mansion

Aldrich Mansion is a beautiful sprawling chateau that offers breathtaking waterfront views and intricately detailed architecture. With 7000sqft and 70 acres, Aldrich Mansion offers plenty of locations and space including an on-site chapel for your ceremony!

The Chanler at Cliff Walk

The Chanler at Cliff Walk is one of Newport’s Gilded Age Mansions and wow! Wait until you see it!! It’s a private oasis offering immaculate gardens, sweeping ocean vistas, and luxury accommodations for your friends and family. It has numerous options for your ceremony and reception as well!

The Breakers | The Best Wedding venues in newport

The Breakers is Newport’s grandest mansion and was designed by an international team of craftsmen and artists inspired by the 16th-century palaces of Genoa and Turin. If you love the intricate architectural details and old world romance of places like Rome, you have to look at The Breakers for your wedding!!

Ocean cliff

Ocean Cliff sets on ten acres of spectacular waterfront views and rolling lawns! If you’re looking for a wedding venue that’s gorgeous but more laid back than some of Newport’s Gilded Age Mansions, Ocean Cliff is an amazing option and their food is mouthwatering!!

Blithewold

Last, but certainly not least, Blithewold would be absolutely spectacular for a spring or summer wedding. With 7 differnt gardens, 2 different groves, and an arboretum, Blithewold’s 33 acres will leave you feeling inspired and peaceful. It’s the perfect wedding venue for the outdoorsy couple that still want to experience quintessential Newport in a slightly more laid back fashion!

The Best Restaurants in Newport, Rhode Island

Stoneacre Brasserie — for a french influenced menu with locally sourced ingredients!

Corner Cafe — for breakfast or wood-grilled pizzas! BYOB!

White Horse Tavern — for upscale farm-to-table that dates back to 1673!

Buskers Pub and Restaurant — for Irish specialties and live music!

Diego’s — for West Coast Mexican food and specialty drinks!

Let’s chat! I’d love to hear what you’re dreaming up for your Newport Wedding!

Top 7 NY Wedding Venues That Will Make You Feel Like You’re in Europe

The breath-taking, intricately designed Gothic-inspired cathedrals, the cobblestone streets and old-world charm and the manicured geometric hedges of places like Italy and France have us all dreaming of Europe. These top 7 wedding venues in New York will make you and your guests feel like you stepped into Europe without actually having to catch a flight!

1. Oheka Castle - Huntington, NY

Oheka Castle is located in Huntington, NY, less than an hour outside of the city! Oheka has all the elegant refinement of a French Chateau complete with 32 luxurious guest rooms and suites for your family and friends, award-winning cuisine and many gorgeous rooms and lawns to choose from! They can accommodate up to 400 guests for a sit-down affair!

For more photos, check out Jennifer & George’s wedding at Oheka

2. Angel Orensanz Foundation - Manhatten, NYC

The Angel Orensanz Foundation feels a bit like stepping off the streets of Rome into one of their many gorgeous cathedrals, except it’s right here in New York City! It was originally built as a synagogue in 1849 and the cathedral was designed to resemble the Sistine Chapel. Today it’s used for art exhibits, fashion shows and wedidngs. It seats 250 guests for a sit down dinner, and can host both your ceremony and reception.

3. Morningside Castle - Manhatten, NY

Morningside Castle is also located in New York City in the Upper West side of Manhattan. It’s gorgeous gothic chapel is the perfect setting for your ceremony, or take everything outside to their 2 block courtyard and use the gorgeous chapel as the backdrop for your ceremony!

4. Lyndhurst Mansion - Tarrytown, NY

Lyndhurst Mansion is the perfect setting to make all your European wedding dreams come true. Set on sixty-seven acres on the Hudson River, it feels as if it’s in a world of it’s own while still being just 35 minutes outside of the city.

5. Wave Hill - Bronx, NY

Wave Hill is 28 acres of pure splendor nestled in the Bronx along the Hudson River with beautiful views of The Palisades. The House dates back to 1843 and has housed guests such as Theodore Roosevelt and  Arturo Toscanini. It has numerous stunning gardens and lawns to host an outside ceremony or reception, and can seat up to 160 guests for an indoor reception. It requires a $10,000 membership fee and $6,000 rental fee.

6. Weylin1875 - Brooklyn, NY

Truthfully, no one describes thie breath-taking venue like the New York Times: “As sumptuous as a jewel box suspended 110 feet over the mosaic marble floor, and as radiant as a peacock’s plumage, the great dome of the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank headquarters at Broadway and Driggs Avenue once again inspires awe.” It was built in 1875 by renowned architect George B. Post and was recently restored to it’s current spectacular glory. Stepping into Weylin feels like being transportated to another world entirely, with intricate architecture and details at every turn. Weylin hosts both large and small weddings and can accommodate both your ceremony and reception.

7. Bourne Mansion - Oakdale, NY

This historic Vanderbilt mansion is the perfect New York setting for your black tie wedding. Bourne Mansion is located 90 minutes outside of New York City but feels worlds away! This turn-of-the-century work of art sits on 205 acres filled with manicured gardens, a jaw-dropping lawn and Grand Ballroom that has 40-foot vaulted ceilings, a decorative glass dome, crystal lighting sconces, and gilded plasterwork. They have capacity for 300 people for a formal dinner. Included in the rental fee is a personal maitre d’, an attendant, and an event captain to make sure your wedding flows smoothly, and tables, chairs, linens, china, glassware, and flatware.

Any of these stunning New York wedding venues are sure to make you and your guests feel like you’re in Europe. Which one is your favorite?

Let’s chat! I’d love to hear what you’re dreaming up for your New York Wedding!