First of all, I loved Ella & Josh. They were fun, creative, madly in love, and wanted to create a wedding that reflected who they were as a couple. They are both artists and live in Brooklyn and had fallen in love with Smack Mellon Gallery, but wanted to to warm it up a bit.  They also wanted to find ways to incorporate their Nicaraguan-Asian-British-Jamaican backgrounds. This sounded like something right up my alley!

I am in love with the photos that Heather Waraksa was able to capture of the day. LOVE!

Couples are sometimes torn about seeing each other before the ceremony. While I admit that the romantic in me loves the moment when I open the door and the bride and groom see each other for the first time, the practical Mayra doesn’t like to waste any part of the day! If you choose to see each other before the ceremony, you can make it special. Here are the fantastic photos that Heather was able to capture of the lovely couple.

Now, many times we try to limit the photo locations used on a wedding day. Even though we want to get different photo backgrounds, we don’t want to have our couple spend too much time in a car. Luckily for people using Smack Mellon as a venue, the area is filled with breathtaking venues and interesting spaces that give you a plethora of backdrop options. Below are Bridal Party shots taken under the Manhattan Bridge.

A few steps down are these gorgeous black and white photos of the couple.

Stay tuned for more details of their ceremony and reception!

A few months ago I got a call from a lovely bride to be, Diane. She lived in Ireland and wanted to elope, but wanted to make sure that the wedding was special, and didn’t trust the internet when making decisions for such an important day. She wanted to have someone who she could talk to, who would guide her a help them create a wonderful wedding day from start to finish. I had worked on something similar before and LOVED it, so I was happy to come on board.

First, in order to set the tone for this wonderful vacation, we booked a suite at The Standard Hotel. Since we were essentially working on a wedding and honeymoon in one, we knew that the backdrop to this occasion should be special. The selling point? This freestanding tub overlooking the Hudson.

I wanted her “getting ready” experience to be special. Isn’t that part of being a bride? So we hired hair and make-up artist Maira Ortiz to glam her up. To ensure that she would love it on her wedding day, we also set up a trial as soon as she arrived in town. Maira (first name spelled different, but pronounced just like mine:) went all out on the wedding day and brought in her special chair and some upbeat music that made the process feel festive.

Next, we had to choose a setting for the actual wedding. After some back and forth, we opted for the Brooklyn Bridge. We hired Rev. Fleenor before the couple arrived in town, and they worked with him over email and with a few phone calls to create a ceremony that was unique to them. Even though it had rained all week, the skies cleared up for their picture perfect ceremony!

After the ceremony, a town car whisked them away to continue their photo session around the city with our photographer, Robert Wagner.We made sure to include the usual (Central Park) but also stopped at some places that had special meaning for them as a couple (Pastis, where they had been having every meal on their trip:).

After the photosession with Robert, we arranged for a private dinner for the happy couple at a fabulous restaurant in the city. Isn’t this a great way to get married? A day truly dedicated to each other. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Attention Brides and Grooms-to-be … have you booked your photographer yet? Are you thinking about an engagement shoot but have yet to pull the trigger? If not, this might be just what you need.

On Saturday May 15th in NYC’s historic Central Park, 10 couples will experience an Engagement Photo Day with photographer Christopher Duggan of Threshold Visions. This is a perfect opportunity to meet with Christopher and “sample the goods”. Photography is such an intimate and vital element of your wedding day and to be able to work with your prospective photographer and get a sense of his talent, style and your chemistry is a rarity.

If you are chosen to participate in this special experience, you will receive…

• A 30 minute experience with Christopher creating natural, lifestyle portraits of the two of you. The perfect sampling of his signature style.

• Professional hair & make-up artist on site to help keep you looking fresh and camera ready.

• A chance to win a custom design Lovebook made of images from your Engagement Day (for sample CLICK HERE)

• Digital Negatives of images to use on Facebook, your wedding website or other on-line social media

Officially, the deadline for entries is tomorrow May 7th but Christopher is extending the closing date until Monday the 10th – EXCLUSIVELY for Blogsmaid readers. This is a wonderful and fun opportunity for those of you on the photog hunt and honestly it’s way to easy not to enter! Plus iit will give you an opportunity to practice those camera ready romantic gazes ;-).

To enter to win your Engagement Day, simply email Christopher @ studio@thresholdvisions.com with your:

– wedding date
– wedding location & venue
– a current fun photo of the two of you
– a few brief words about your story or your wedding plans

Visit Christopher’s blog for more details on the 4th Annual Engagement Photo Day. Tell him you heard about the Engagement Day at the Blogsmaid to be considered under this special extension.

Make sure to let us know if you are among the 10 lucky couples selected!!

xx
Sal

I am still a romantic about weddings. So when clients ask me if they should see each other before the ceremony I am always torn. One the one hand, the look on the brides face of  happiness when I open the doors and they start to walk down the aisle is priceless. It still literally gives me goosebumps. On the one hand, they lose tons of time for great photos together! These photos that Anthony Vasquez sent over to us of Erin and Jon’s wedding are a perfect example of how awesome it is to have some extra time built in to be with each other for a relaxed photo shoot. Check out these great photos Erin getting ready and heading over to meet Jon!

Unless you have a large chunk of time between ceremony and reception, then there is no way to get shots like this. I love that it looks like they took their car (and what a cool car!) to the middle of nowhere for these photos. Love the drama of this photo session!

Thanks to Anthony for sending over these gorgeous photos!

The Q: I got married last year and have all of my digital files from my photographer.  To save money, we didn’t get an album, and, actually they are still really expensive.   I enlarged a couple, but they are just sitting on a disk on my desk. Any ideas?

The A: I’ve been holding this question until the site was ready, but we are really excited to fill you in on this FABULOUS new site called The Album Boutique. The site was inspired by brides just like you (and so many others out there!) and it’s a fantastic way to create fabulous albums ONLINE.  The albums are STUNNING  and options like leather bound, parent “companion” options and more are there for you as well as a variety of creative layouts like those some of the best photography studios might offer to you.

Maybe you never bought an album, or you wish you’d created a parent album or you want to make an album of your engagement shots in lieu of a guest book.  Whatever it is, there are options for you here.

To celebrate the launch, for the first 10 readers who comment, I’ll give you a code for 35% off if you place an order by November 21st!  (AAB clients and past clients, email me and I’ll send you your own code!)