Crystal Plaza Wedding : Marnie & Brandon : Livingston, NJ
Marnie & Brandon were married in April at Crystal Plaza: a converted turn-of-the-century mansion in Livingston, NJ — over thirty crystal chandeliers, a gold-detailed ceiling, a round marble dance floor. For a Jewish wedding with big families and a full evening of dancing, it's nearly impossible to beat.
The day started the evening before, at Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange for the rehearsal dinner. By the time wedding morning arrives, the families already know each other a little better, the nerves have been burned off, and everything runs warmer.
Planner Carrie Gold of Carrie Gold Events has been with Marnie's family for twenty-five years — she planned Marnie's bat mitzvah, and here she was again for the wedding. That kind of history is rare, and you feel it in how a day like this runs. Carrie brought me on board, and the day reflected her in every detail.
The morning began with Marnie's father David seeing her before anyone else. He came through the door and just stopped. Marnie reached out to steady him and he laughed, which made it worse, which made it better. Her mother was around the corner wiping her eyes before it was even over.
Ceremony was in The Atrium — Crystal Plaza's glass-skylighted upper space. Pedestals built a chuppah that ran wall to wall: hot pink, magenta, purple, coral — roses, orchids, ranunculus, cherry blossom. The aisle matched it all the way to the front. Steve Rimland performed live, Marnie processed in to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" on violin, and Rabbi Amar officiated. The ketubah signing was warm and surrounded — both families crowded close, hands held.
Portraits moved between the atrium and The Vault downstairs — low ceilings, dark paneling, a wall of wine bottles — which photographs completely differently than the ballroom and gives the set a nice range.
Pedestals scaled everything up for the reception: towering centerpieces, taper candles, rose petals, hot pink and deep red against all that gold and crystal. Unique Musique had the floor moving from the first song. Brandon dipped Marnie at the end of their first dance and the room erupted — flower girls front row, completely losing it. The hora ran long. David ended up in the air, arm raised, fully committed. After party until 1:30am.
The cake cutting: Marnie smashed it into Brandon's face with full conviction. His reaction said he probably had it coming.
Congratulations, Marnie and Brandon!
Liberty Warehouse Wedding : Allison & Seth : Brooklyn, NY
Allison & Seth | Liberty Warehouse Wedding | Brooklyn, NY
Allison and Seth got married on September 6th at Liberty Warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn — one of those venues that does everything well. The bridal suite alone is reason enough: massive, flooded with natural light, a genuinely luxurious place to start a wedding day. Liberty Warehouse handles both ceremony and reception under one roof, which makes for a seamless day and lets the whole thing build momentum from beginning to end.
Before the ceremony, Allison's father got a first look at his daughter. I don't always get to photograph that moment, but when I do it tends to be one of the most unguarded of the entire day. He turned around and just lost it — eyes closed, full smile, the kind of reaction you can't manufacture.
The ceremony was Jewish, officiated by a rabbi who led the ketubah signing beforehand. The chuppah, designed by Arcadia Floral Co., was one of the most lush I've seen — blush roses, white hydrangea, cascading burgundy amaranthus, and draping greenery filling the entire arch from floor to ceiling.
We kept an eye on the weather all day. A classic late-summer storm was building over New Jersey, moving toward Brooklyn — you could see it coming across the harbor from the venue. We got Allison and Seth outside for portraits on the pier and along the waterfront promenade, and the light was exactly what you want: soft, even, no harsh shadows. About five minutes after we headed back inside, it started to absolutely pour. That kind of timing is half skill, half luck, and entirely worth it.
Inside, the room was transformed. Thousands of fairy lights blanketed the ceiling above round tables dressed with low, garden-style centerpieces from Arcadia — anthurium, blush roses, floating candles. The arched windows looked out over the harbor, the Statue of Liberty visible in the distance even through the storm. The Jenna Wynne Band via Hank Lane Music had the floor packed all night — I'd seen them just weeks earlier at a wedding at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and they are flat-out excellent. Ally and Seth's crowd needed zero convincing.
The grand entrance said everything you need to know about this couple: Allison came in with both arms raised, full laugh, pure joy. Seth right behind her, beaming. The dance floor never really stopped after that.
Congratulations, Allison and Seth. It was a great day.
Vendor Credits:
Venue: Liberty Warehouse Coordinator: The Day Of Company Florals: Arcadia Floral Co. Band: Jenna Wynne Bandvia Hank Lane Music Hair & Makeup: Bridal Squad Pro | Styles by Susan | Rachel Anne Malkin Lighting/Production:74 Events Videography: Photography by Alfonso Photo Booth: Flux Photo Booth Cake: Wild Flour NYC Catering:Liberty Warehouse (in-house)
Buttermilk Falls Wedding : Alex & Erik : Milton, NY
Alex & Erik : Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa : Milton, NY
I photographed Alex and Erik's engagement session in Brooklyn last year — one of those fall afternoons where the light just cooperates from start to finish. So I wasn't entirely surprised when their wedding day turned out the same way. Some couples just have that kind of luck with weather. Late September, crystalline sunshine, and the drive up the Hudson River to Milton feeling exactly like it should this time of year.
Buttermilk Falls Inn sits on 75 acres on the Hudson River, dating back to 1680, and the grounds are immaculately kept — richly green in a way that photographs almost don't do justice. Exquisitely landscaped gardens, flowering terraces, winding brooks, a pond. It's the kind of property where you could wander for an hour and still find a new corner worth shooting.
The ceremony took place by the pond, quiet and intimate, the water catching the afternoon light behind them. For portraits we worked our way around the weeping tree — one of the most genuinely stunning natural features I've encountered at any venue — its long draped branches creating a canopy that felt almost cinematic. The light through those branches had a jewel-like quality I keep returning to when I look back at these images.
The reception tent overlooked the Hudson River, and the design of the day leaned into the blue and white palette with warm wood farm tables, blue glass stemware, and loose garden florals from Wild Blooms Bridal that felt perfectly at home in this setting. Catering by Henry's at the Farm — the inn's own farm-to-table restaurant — kept everything grounded and seasonal in the best way. As the sun went down and the tent began to glow against the river, it was one of those venues-at-dusk moments that I genuinely never get tired of.
Alex changed into a sleek second dress before the sparkler exit — a sharp contrast to the ballgown, and just right for running out into the night hand in hand.
A fantastic team made the day what it was. Planning and design by Virtually Perfect Events, florals by Wild Blooms Bridal, hair and makeup by CEO Beauty, Alex's gown by Wona Bridal, Erik's suit by Watson Ellis, cake by The Pastry Garden Bakery, rings by Sackowitz Jewelers and Jangmi Jewelry, music by Planet Mercury Band, and video by Orange Films.
Congratulations Alex and Erik.
F&F Restaurant Wedding : Carroll Gardens : Brooklyn, NY
There's a particular kind of wedding that gets everything right by keeping it simple. Long tables, good wine, excellent food, and the people who matter most — pressed in close, talking too loud, laughing at the right moments. F&F Restaurant in Carroll Gardens is built for exactly that kind of evening.
That's what F&F Restaurant in Carroll Gardens does. A sibling to the beloved Frankie's Spuntino just down the block, it carries the same unhurried soul: dark wood paneling, globe pendants casting pools of honey-colored light, the kind of place where you feel like you've been let in on a secret. For a small, intimate Brooklyn wedding reception, it is very nearly perfect.
Before guests arrived, the tables held charcuterie boards, hunks of bread still warm, olive oil in green glass bottles. The couple did family photos just outside on the Carroll Gardens sidewalk — the muted green of the façade making an unexpectedly lovely backdrop — before taking a quick walk through the neighborhood while their guests filtered down the street behind them, the way things happen when no one is rushing.
Inside, the room filled up gradually, then completely. There were toasts, the bride holding the microphone while the groom watched from his seat with the expression of someone being reminded of something he already knew. Later, wine deep into the evening, jackets off, ties loosened, they danced — not a choreographed first dance but the real kind, surrounded by family, everyone a little disheveled and entirely happy.
Shooting a wedding at F&F as a Brooklyn wedding photographer means working in low, directional ambient light in a space where you're often inches from your subjects. Flash would flatten everything — the shadows on the paneled walls, the warmth in someone's face as they laugh across the table. So I shot without it, and let the room do what it was already doing so well.
Vendors
Planning: Bridget Mary Weddings & Events
Venue: F&F Restaurant, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Metropolitan Club Wedding : Jade & Julian : New York, NY
Metropolitan Club Wedding : Jade & Julian : New York, NY
Jade & Julian were married in the summertime at The Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The Met Club is one of those places that makes you feel the weight of the city's history the second you walk in. J.P. Morgan founded it in 1891 — literally because he and a few friends got blackballed from another club and decided to build a better one to hang with his buddies the Vanderbilts and the Roosevelts. The interiors are jaw-dropping in the way that only Gilded Age excess can be. I've shot there a handful of times now and still spend the first few minutes just staring at the ceiling.
Julian wore his Navy dress whites for the ceremony and cocktail hour, switching to a sharp summer white tuxedo for the reception. There's something about that particular combination of venue and uniform that makes the whole thing feel like a different era, the good kind. Jade leaned hard into the glamour of it all and it showed — she was completely in her element in this space.
Jade is a film photography enthusiast and we planned ahead for that. Over the course of the day we went through more than ten rolls. It changes the energy on a wedding day when you're working with film — there's a deliberateness to it, a different kind of attention, and Jade felt that. You can see it in how she carries herself in those images. The overcast summer light was perfect for it, soft and even without being flat.
Jeannie Uyanik did the planning and kept everything running with the kind of smooth efficiency that lets everyone relax. The florals from Bastille Events were big, lush arrangements that held their own against the ornate gilded rooms without trying to compete with them — no small feat. Frank Simmons Band ran the reception floor while Art Strings handled ceremony and cocktails, and John Castillo was on video.
For portraits we crossed 5th Avenue straight into the park and worked our way down to the lake. Jade had a crimson red umbrella that was just perfect against all that green — one of those props that makes a lot of sense the second you see it in the frame. Back inside, the rest of the day was really about being present in the space itself. The gilded walls, the candlelight, the scale of those rooms — you let it do the work. We mixed in a touch of direct flash here and there, enough to give a few frames that modern edge without it taking over.
Vendors
Event Planning/Design: Jeannie Uyanik / C&G Weddings
Venue & Catering: The Metropolitan Club
Florals: Bastille Events
Band: Frank Simmons Band / Hank Lane Music
Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Music: Art Strings
Videography: John Castillo
Hair: Elena, Bridal Squad Pro
Makeup: Jasmyn, IVJ Beauty Services
Lighting: Fusion
