The Funico Studios Blog

Funico Studios - New York Wedding Photographers & Videographers. Sharing Our Thoughts With You...

WELCOME!

Thanks for visiting our blog. Who is Funico you might ask? In short, we are:

Husband-and-wife led team. Award-winning New York wedding photographers and videographers. Creative. Reliable. Trusted.

Our names are actually Alice & James Thompson, not Alice & James Funico (though we've gotten mail addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Funico!) We invented the word "funico" because we wanted a name that you would remember and something with the word "fun" in it. Your wedding is a celebration and all parts of it should be FUN!

We started photographing weddings in 2004 and have loved it ever since. As demand for our services grew, we built a small team of photographers and videographers who share our passion. As photographers, we will capture the essence of your wedding with candid photojournalism, fine art portraits and our unique style of "fine art photojournalism." At the same time, our videographers will provide a cinematic video for you to enjoy and relive for years to come.

Our goal is to anticipate and capture the smiles from the heart, the spontaneous gestures of love, and the rhythm of your celebration.

To see more of our work or to chat about photography or video for your wedding, contact us at (646) 234-8927 or team@funicostudios.com. Look forward to chatting with you!

Or, visit our website at: www.funicostudios.com

2.27.14

2013…A Funico Year in Review

What happened in 2013? Our daughter turned 4 (though she speaks like she’s 14!), we added another Cinematographer to our team, and I gained a few pounds. I decided to take action though, so I’m happy to report that I’m back to my 2012 weight (at least for the next few days!)

For those of you who haven’t seen our daughter since she was a baby, this is what Lauren looks like now.

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In 2013, we photographed & filmed some amazing couples. Here are some of our favorite photos. As all of our happy couples know though, we capture hundreds of images at each wedding, so this is by no means a complete list.

First, the anticipation & fun of getting ready….

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Then, off to become husband-and-wife.

Now, some portraits of the bride & groom, family & wedding party.

And then, off to celebrate & party!

Hope you all enjoyed looking at our 2013 Funico year in review. We look forward to capturing our 2014 happy couple-to-be’s!

by Alice-James Thompson

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12.10.13

Wedding Videography & Wedding Cinematography at the Stone House, Warren, NJ

We usually just talk about our wedding photography, so thought it was high time that we shared one of our wedding videos. Our filmmakers specialize in unobtrusive wedding cinematography. There won’t be 4 people walking around with big lights, just 1 or 2 cinematographers capturing the story of your wedding day in an artistic manner!

Meet Amy & AJ. Amy with the beautiful smile that lights up the room at Stone House at Stirling Ridge and AJ with the fantastic “race car driver” name AJ Stone! Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Stone!

by Alice-James Thompson

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12.3.13

Katy & Brian’s Wedding Photos at the Ryland Inn, NJ

Our first wedding at the newly reopened Ryland Inn – a little bit of country with a lot of Rock ‘n Roll!

There are a few reasons why we were excited to photograph Katy and Brian’s wedding at the Ryland Inn. All of them have to do with things that bring back pleasant memories from our past. The venue itself has a past with some noteworthy bragging rights – it was one of the best restaurants in New Jersey! Due to a water main break, the Ryland had been closed for 5 years until it was resurrected by Landmark Hospitality. Restoring a 200-year-old building and returning a restaurant to its award-winning status is not an easy task. Based on reviews and our own personal experience, the Ryland is back and better than ever! While we cannot capture the incredible attention to service and amazing food in photos, we can show you its “modern rustic” chic. We know, we know, you’re probably thinking how can a place be both modern & rustic? Read on and you will see.

Enough about the Ryland. Katy & Brian are awesome. Not only for selecting such a fantastic venue, but also because they had one of our favorite party bands, The Nerds, play at their wedding. A band that is synonymous with fun times on the Jersey shore, something I know a lot about. You see, my parents met on the Jersey shore and we Thompsons have been fans of the Jersey Shore ever since. My parents actually met in the same town that Katy and Brian met (Manasquan, NJ). I can attest that my parents are nothing like Snooky and the other characters on the Jersey Shore TV show. And, as you will see, neither are Katy and Brian.

As the bride got ready in the Ryland Inn…

the groom and his groomsmen enjoyed the amenities offered by one of the Ryland’s cottages.

Katy looked stunning!

It was a beautiful day for an outside wedding ceremony.

Many congrats to Katy & Brian!

We had to take advantage of the rustic charm offered by the beautiful grounds.

The inn also offers some spots worthy of a Ralph Lauren photo shoot. One of our favorites is the Polo Room where a crystal chandelier adds some sparkle to the cathedral ceiling. It took us a little bit of effort to get this photo. Suffice it to say that it required both of us and a gigantic umbrella. The umbrella looked like it was bigger than Alice! But then again, Alice is only 5′ tall.

The newlyweds wowed us with their first dance moves in their beautifully-decorated room,

the Nerds rocked,

and impromptu horas were started.

When your college friends bring helmets to a wedding, you know they are ready to party.

Katy and Brian – it was so much fun to capture your festive wedding celebration. May your life together be as wonderful as that of my parents, another fun-loving couple who also met many years ago in Manasquan, NJ!

by Alice-James Thompson

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9.30.13

Clara & Danny’s NYC Wedding Photography at Loeb Boathouse, Central Park

Central Park is one Clara and Danny’s favorite places in the world. Being fellow residents of the Upper East Side, NYC, we understand their affection for this grand oasis in the middle of the city. The happy couple chose the perfect spot for their wedding ceremony, Central Park, and the perfect spot for their reception, Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.

Clara started her day getting made up and enjoying the sun radiating from her window. The combination of marrying Danny and seeing clear skies for her outside wedding ceremony made for a very happy and relaxed bride.

Unfortunately, her grandmother & her uncle weren’t able to make the wedding. So the first thing she had to do when she put on her dress was to show it to Grandma & Uncle via Skype. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Meanwhile, Danny, who got ready at the Hudson Hotel, headed out to Central Park for their “first glance” at Belvedere Castle.

Little did he know that Clara had brought one of his many toys to use for the photos.

Good thing she did because it made for one heck of a wedding photo prop!

Planning an outside wedding ceremony in the Spring can be a bit stressful. Having a day without rain while the flowers are peaking is like hitting the lottery. The morning of their wedding, rain was still predicted, but the decision to stick with an outside ceremony was made. As you can see, the day could not have been more perfect!

Their Central Park wedding ceremony was on Cherry Hill, between cherry blossoms that were bursting with colors. Their close friend Matia married them under the cherry blossom trees. When we photographed Matia’s wedding a year ago, he was very quiet and reserved. Little did we know that Matia the officiant was going to be very different from Matia the groom. Matia the officiant was so eloquent & funny – he had the perfect words for Clara & Danny’s perfect day!

After the ceremony, everyone walked over to the Central Park Boathouse to celebrate. And what a fun party they had!

Towards the end of the night, we had to get a photo with the bride’s 2 friends whose weddings we also photographed.

One of the best things about having couples refer us to their friends is being able to catch up with them to find out what’s going on in their lives. Even better is witnessing one of our former grooms (who, by the way, is Italian and whose first language is not English) perform such a heartfelt and witty wedding ceremony.

Clara & Danny, you could not have had a wedding more befitting your style – casual and elegant! May your lives together be as radiant and colorful as the Spring day on which you got married!

6.14.13

Our NJ Wedding Photos are Featured in Manhattan Bride!

We are so excited to announce that one of our weddings was selected to be featured in Manhattan Bride! Karina & Ryan met in San Diego, fell in love in Germany and got married in front of the fantabulous NYC skyline at the Waterside Restaurant in NJ. While we already know a lot about the happy couple, we didn’t know their whole story, so it was fun to read it all in the magazine. How they met and how Ryan moved to Germany for Karina was all very interesting & touching. It was like reading a novel, I couldn’t put it down!

This is our favorite image of the day. Look at that gorgeous sky – love, love! We actually took several photos and stitched them together to create a panoramic composite that better depicts the dramatic sky. The colors are so vibrant because of our unique lighting technique. Our portable flashes are strong enough to light Karina, Ryan & their wedding party from the sides. Without the flashes, they would have looked like black specks against a white sky (white sky that would not do justice to the beautiful day they had!)

Silhouettes can make for dramatic photos, like this shot of the bride’s preparation.

A bride’s preparation usually involves family and friends.

Groom’s preparation is much easier and requires less people!

We love this shot of the bride making her entrance with her Dad. Such a great moment for them to share. One we think neither will forget.

There are also moments the bride and groom will never forget.

Most of their guests were from out of town, so having such great views of the Manhattan skyline was a real treat!

The views inside the reception were just as impressive.

Karina & Ryan also did a “day after wedding” photo shoot with us. We walked around with them and had a great time taking photos in different iconic New York spots!

We started among New Yorkers relaxing in Bryant Park…

…then, stopped for shots between the hustle and bustle of Grand Central Terminal…

and finally finished in the tranquility of Central Park!

Karina & Ryan, your love has brought you far and wide. We are so happy you decided to celebrate your wedding in New York so we were able to capture it. May you enjoy many more years of journeys together!

by Alice-James Thompson

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