Category Archives: Great Reception Locations

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David & Danny’s Wedding at The Manor, West Orange, NJ

Same sex marriage is now legal in New York – many congrats to the gay & lesbian community!  Before the law passed though, we had actually already photographed a few lesbian and gay weddings.   David & Danny was our most recent happy couple.

And what a memorable couple they are.  Not only are they unbelievably handsome, they’re 2 of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

Of course, this wonderful couple would also have a fun wedding party to match.  We know this wedding party better than most since we also photographed the weddings of 2 of the people in the pictures below.  You know what they say – birds of a feather flock together and this is certainly true here since all 3 couples have been so great.

Danny & David’s ceremony was one of the most touching we’ve seen.  Beautiful and with straight-from-the-heart vows that caused a lot of tears to fall.

Their wedding reception at the Manor in New Jersey started off with a bang.  David used to be a choreographer, so their first dance was full of eye-popping moves.

The couple’s friends & family were also not shy about using the dance floor.  We did “dancing group portraits” with them so that they could get a few posed shots with their friends in a fun way.

Some lovely toasts to honor and to entertain…

…and then back to more flipping, jumping and floor-thumping dancing.  The Manor actually raised the room’s chandelier to accommodate the rockin’ party!

Many congrats again to David & Danny.  Here’s to a lifetime of loving & laughing! See you in September at Danny’s nephew’s wedding (and many thanks for recommending us)!

Mahati & Rahul’s Engagement Shoot at Snug Harbor and Brooklyn Promenade, NYC

In April, we hosted an engagement shoot giveaway with our friends, Landmark Hospitality, Celebrate at Snug Harbor and Mari Milani. Mahati & Rahul won the giveaway and we recently did the shoot with them at Snug Harbor and the Brooklyn Promenade. Below is a sneak peek of the pics. Gorgeous couple, gorgeous venue and gorgeous photos (in our humble opinion and hopefully, you will all agree!) Stay tuned…more images to come.

Michelle & Steve’s Wedding at Round Hill, NY

Here’s a sneak peek of Michelle & Steve’s wedding at Round Hill.  Weather was a bit rainy and unpredictable, so they had to move their ceremony indoors.  As you can see, the happy couple didn’t let that get them down though!  Many congrats to the newlyweds & the Philips & the Ankrom families!

Felicia & Andrew’s Wedding at Cipriani Wall Street, NYC, NY

Felicia & Andrew had a “Downtown NY” wedding with all the festivities located by the Financial District.  The day started off at the Millenium Hilton hotel where Felicia and the ladies (“ladies” also include adorable flower girls) got ready.

bride gets ready at millenium hilton hotel before wedding reception at cipriani wall street

Then, off to St. Andrew’s Church to get married.  The church is on federal property and by the federal courts, so security was very high.  The limo bus actually couldn’t get through and Felicia had to walk part of the way!

couple gets married at st. andrew's church nyc

After the ceremony, we went to Tribeca for some shots with the urban cityscape.  What do you get when you mix a fantastically fun wedding party with a cool graffiti wall?  Some very edgy “posed portraits”!

wedding party before cipriani wall street wedding reception

After some fun on the bus (where Alice danced with the wedding party), we all arrived at Cipriani Wall Street.  And, what a breathtaking venue Felicia & Andrew chose for their reception!  This is definitely an occasion where a picture is worth a thousand words.  Look at that jaw-dropping architecture and those beautiful lighting enhancements…WOW!  Perfect setting for fun and dancing through the night.  We’re going to be photographing Monica & Rick at Cipriani 42nd Street in September and can’t wait to shoot at another Cipriani location.

cipriani wall street wedding reception

Andrew’s brother, Max, made a great best man’s speech.  He seemed so quiet the whole day, we had no clue that his words were going to be so heartwarming, poetic & funny. Kudos to Max!

funny best man speech

We really enjoyed our time with Felicia & Andrew and we were glad to hear that they were happy with us as well. According to Felicia, “the pictures are fabulous!!! They are absolutely beautiful! We are so happy we chose you two as our photographers!”

To see more photos from the happy couple’s wedding, click on the following image:

We actually used a new slide show program for this wedding. Aren’t the effects great? You can now even watch our slide shows in full screen! In the above, click on the icon that looks like the below image to see the slide show in full screen. Hit the “Esc” key to exit full screen and come back to this page.

Janna & Kevin’s Wedding at The Manor, West Orange, NJ

Janna & Kevin got married at the chapel at Seton Hall University and had their wedding reception at the Manor in West Orange, NJ.

To see other images of festivities at the Manor, call us at 646 234 8927 or CLICK HERE to contact us.

First things first, gorgeous Janna needed just a little primping to become “Janna the Bride.”

bride getting ready for wedding

Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Lillis!

The groom really cracked us up during the family photos.  He used to model, so was definitely not shy in front of the camera.  Love that face, Mr. Lillis.

groom and family at the manor west orange nj

This is one of our favorite images of Janna & Kevin.  Sweet love & tenderness all wrapped up in one photo – beautiful!

bride and groom at the manor west orange nj

It’s funny.  Before you get married, you think of your wedding as just your special day.  When you find that someone special and start planning your wedding, however, you realize that this day is just as important for your families.  For your Dad….

…and your Mom and your sister and it’s nice to have little traditions like the father-daughter dance to commemorate your relationships with them.

One of the last dances of the evening.  It was touching for us to see Janna & Kevin so caught up in each other and in the moment.  Romance was alive and well that night.

bride and groom dancing at the manor west orange nj

To see highlights from the wedding, click on the following image:

We always find it very sweet when we meet a romantic groom and Kevin is definitely up there as far as romance is concerned.  He recently told us that he wanted a copy of the above slide show because in his words, “the pictures look amazing!!!…I love the slide show so much that I still watch it once/week or so to remind me of our day!” Well, Kevin, we’re very happy that you like the photos and Janna is one lucky woman to have such a sweet husband!

Chris & Danielle’s Wedding at the W Hotel Union Square, NYC

Danielle & Chris got married at the W Hotel Union Square a few months ago.  We actually photographed Chris’ physical therapist’s wedding a few years ago and as always, we are honored when one of our past brides refers us.  Thanks again, Melissa!

To see other images of festivities at the W Hotel, call us at 646 234 8927 or CLICK HERE to contact us.

We love this shot of Dad seeing Danielle for the first time all made up.   As parents ourselves now, we can definitely understand the range of emotions that Dad must be feeling, from pride to sadness that his little girl is all grown up.

father of the bride sees bride for the first time in lobby of w hotel union square

While Danielle was getting ready,  her soon-to-be hubby was also finishing up his final preparations.  Don’t know how to tie a bow tie, guys?  There’s an app for that!

After the ceremony at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church…

bride gets into limo at fifth avenue presbyterian church

…we headed to some nearby landmarks to take pictures.  This is Madison Square Park – home of the original Shake Shack and skateboarders who can fill in as extras for your wedding photos!

wedding party at madison square park nyc

The W Hotel at Union Square is a great building – a fantastic blend of old and new.   Check out these beautiful high ceilings and wonderful columns on the side.  Combine them with low mood light and a great band and you have the perfect setting for a great party.

bride and groom dancing at reception in w hotel union square

W Hotel Wedding

We always hear feedback from our couples, but this time, we were also pleasantly surprised by an e-mail from Danielle’s Dad.  According to Mr. DeMasi, “there are many beautiful photos. Thought you did a great job.”  To the Chattin & DeMasi families – many thanks for inviting us to be part of your celebration!

To see more photos from Danielle & Chris’ wedding, click on the image below.

NYC Destination Wedding at the Essex House

Callan and Bryan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin wanted to have a small NYC destination wedding with some close friends and family. They chose the Jumeirah Essex House hotel since it could accommodate their small intimate wedding ceremony and dinner reception. Plus the hotel has a great midtown Manhattan location! It’s across the street from Central Park and only a few blocks up from Times Square.

They had an intimate ceremony performed by Reverend Will in the hotel’s Petite Salon. Afterward, we took a quick ride to get some photos in Times Square.

Times Square Wedding Photo

We hit a couple of more spots near the hotel and made it back in time for the newlyweds to join the fun at their cocktail hour. We were just in time to catch the impromptu sing-along with the pianist.

Essex House wedding

The Essexs House is a NYC landmark. We had to get photos of Callan & Bryan in the hotel’s beautiful art deco lobby and hallways.

NYC Destination Wedding
Jason Kwintner from the Essex House was on hand to make sure everything went smoothly. He even arranged for the town car to take us on our quick photo shoot. If you want more information about their destination wedding packages you should call Jason at 212-484-5140.

Our Surf Club Wedding Will Be on TV

One of our recent weddings will be on a TV show called Four Weddings.  What is Four Weddings?  It’s a reality show that features four brides who go to each other’s  weddings to determine who had the best wedding. The brides compete against each other for the honeymoon of their dreams. Personally, we think our couple’s wedding was awesome and should easily win the prize.

Kally & George had their wedding reception at the Surf Club in New Rochelle.  To chat about photography for your wedding, call us at 646 234 8927 or CLICK HERE to contact us.

Meet beautiful Kally, the bride.

The Greek Orthodox ceremony was in an incredible church.

wedding in greek orthodox church

The wedding reception was at the Surf Club in New Rochelle. Kally made the party favors by hand and had the table numbers lit by candle light.

Their DJ’s lighting helped set the scene from their romantic first dance…

bride and groom's first dance at surf club

…to a rockin’ party.  The blonde in the background is one of the brides that will be rating Kally & George’s wedding.  Looks like she was having a great time.

bride and groom kiss while dancing at surf club

Their reception had lots of dancing with tons of money being thrown around. Literally, because that’s a tradition at Greek weddings.

greek wedding dance

Greeks consider throwing money at dancers to be good luck.  There was a lot of luck in the air that night.

greek wedding dance with money

To see more from this wedding click on the image below to see highlights.

Now that you have seen how we captured the wedding, you can watch the show to see how a reality TV depicts it and see how the other brides felt about the wedding.  The episode featuring Kally and George will be airing on TLC on January 14 at 7:00 pm and on January 15 at 2:00 am EST.  Even though we captured about 2,000 images from their wedding, don’t be surprised if we were not caught on camera.  One of our grooms (and a mother of another groom) compared us to ninjas who lurk in the in shadows and miraculously appear when there is an important moment to be captured.

Adding the Stone House to Our Extended Family

We’re honored to have been chosen to be a preferred photographer for the Stone House in New Jersey.  We actually photographed one of the first weddings at the Stone House, Sandra & Craig’s celebration in October 2008.

bride and groom at the stone house nj

Sandra & Craig had a very touching ceremony.  Very personal with lots of stories about how they had met and the important people in their lives.  We didn’t know until that day that Sandra’s brother had been extremely ill. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the wedding because of his illness and Sandra wanted to share a bit about him. It was a very sweet story and brought tears to Sandra’s sisters’ eyes.

touching wedding ceremony at the stone house

The Stone House is charming and full of character. Look at how beautiful it looks all lit up!

portrait of bride and groom outside the stone house

We love the fire pit they have outside (great for toasting marshmallows to end the evening!)…

bride and groom toasting marshmallows at stone house reception

and their fantastic little wine cellar.

groom in wine cellar at the stone house

According to Sandra, “we are so excited about the photos – They are AWESOME!!”  To Sandra & Craig – glad you guys like your photos and many thanks again for referring Rebecca to us.  Congrats again and here’s to many years of happiness together with adorable little Riley!  To see more of the happy couple’s wedding pictures, click below.

Our New Partner – The Liberty House

We’ve been working with Landmark Hospitality caterers at Celebrate at Snug Harbor for awhile now and we’re excited to announce that we are now also a preferred photographer for their other facilities, the Liberty House and the Stone House. Many thanks to our friends at Landmark Hospitality for their trust in us.  We’ve photographed many weddings at the Liberty House and are a big fan, particularly of its spectacular view of New York City.  Look at this – breathtaking, isn’t it?

bride and groom kiss at the liberty house

wedding ceremony at the liberty house

Kayla and Zachary celebrated with their bridesmaids and groomsmen a bit before the ceremony.  This is how women laugh and share together…

bridesmaids preparing for wedding at liberty house

and this is how men express their joy.  Funny contrast, huh?

groomsmen celebrate at the liberty house

After much dancing and festivities, the happy couple exited the Liberty House to the cheers of their friends and family and amid a sea of sparklers.  What  a fun way to end the night!

bride and groom leaving the liberty house

According to Kayla, ” the pictures look amazing!!  I couldn’t be happier with them!”  To see more of Kayla and Zachary’s pictures, click on the image below.