All of the couples I photograph are special to me. I’m so blessed by the lifelong friendships that are formed as a result of this job. Rachel and Mario conference called me on the way home from their post-wedding brunch, just to rehash all the fun of the day’s events. That phone call was the icing on the cake of this event. I love getting that call or that text message the day after!!! Dishing about the party with your girlfriends the next day is almost just as fun as the actual party!  A big celebration should supply you with smiles for year’s to come…and clearly Rachel and Mario’s event will do exactly that!

I talked a bit about the event location: Tara Circle in a previous post…the pictures should speak for all of it’s haunted charm. But the venue wasn’t the only thing that made this wedding a complete original.  I love that the couple made a space designated as the ‘Man Cave’ … a dark room off the main dining area where the guys could hang out, drink whiskey and smoke cigars. Some girls managed to elbow their way in as well…but it was a space that was geared specifically with the Men in mind. The candle-lit ambiance in the library of the giant distressed mansion, made for a perfect intimate dinner party for 200 of the couple’s closest friends. And the ceremony on the grounds of the eerie courtyard at sundown was something out of a old world mystery novel. This wedding was nothing short of Pure Magic, what an honor it was to have captured it ….

Floral / Event Design & Production: Nicky Balestrieri
Dress: Vera Wang
Shoes: Valentino
Jewelry: Judith Ripkah
Hair: John Mendola
Make-up: Valerie Gug
Venue: Tara Circle at Alder Manor – Yonkers, NY
Catering: Chef’s at Work – Westchester, NY‘
Band: Jay Nash
DJ: JT Kendal

Capturing a wedding in Central Park is a bit like pulling off a performance art installation. Your bride and groom LITERALLY become one of the city’s exciting tourist attractions for that day. I suppose it’s that way anytime you’re photographing a wedding within a public space – but Central Park? Come On!!! It’s only like, THE most famous public space around… it was like a dream come true for Tony and I to photograph Erin and Chris get married at the Boathouse – just steps from the very spot where we got engaged. I know I always talk about this – but my fantasy had always been to get married there.  Next best thing? Watching Erin and Chris get married there … congrats you guys. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together, overlooking the park….

I just HAD to post this sneak peak from Rachel and Mario’s wedding in Yonkers. The venue has only recently opened for events – I’m told we were one of the very first weddings on the premesis. All you brides out there getting married in NY, you HAVE to check out this location. This 3 story mansion was once home to nuns and then went abandon for years. Inside the enormous haunted house, most of the rooms are empty and unfinished: think paint pealing off the walls to reveal interesting colors underneath. Also, they say there is a ghost of a small girl who plays the violin in the basement at night. I went down into that basement and there is only one word for it: SPOOKY! Tony and I took 3 steps in and retreated out of there SO FAST. Can’t wait to show the whole wedding in the coming weeks.