Brian Hatton 7/10/24 Brian Hatton 7/10/24

River Cafe Wedding : Brooklyn, NY

Clara & Aaron were married at The River Cafe in Brooklyn, NY on the waterfront.

More and more, couples have been opting to bring me to the rehearsal dinner to capture the day-before festivities. I always love this as it gives me some time to get to know and document very close family and friends. The next day at the wedding, the jitters of being in front of the camera have all but dissipated.

Clara & Aaron held their rehearsal dinner at Hana Makgeolli in Greenpoint and took the opportunity to hold a Korean paebaek ceremony. This serves as the perfect ice breaker for the two sides of family to relax and get to know each other. Wearing traditional hanbok, they honored their parents and family before the fun hazing rituals of throwing chestnuts to determine how many kids they’d have and carrying the bride around the room on the groom’s back. Fun stuff.

The next day I started right at the first look outside 1Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. We meandered our way through Brooklyn Bridge Park taking photos before meeting up with family at The River Cafe. The weather decided to pull a fast one on us so we began with cocktail hour before the ceremony was underway. I kinda loved that - guests arrived leisurely and had a chance to grab a drink and mingle before heading to the garden for the vows. After that 30 minute break from refreshments everyone went inside for the reception. This somehow had a “modern” wedding vibe as the guests all saw Clara before the actual ceremony. Shockingly, no one turned into pumpkins.

Photography: Brian Hatton
Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Hana Makgeolli
Wedding Venue: The River Cafe

8/23/17 8/23/17

Restaurant Daniel Wedding : JoAnn and Tim : New York City

Christ Church New York City Wedding Brian Hatton Photography

JoAnn and Tim were married on July 22^nd, with a ceremony at Christ Church and a reception at Daniel.

JoAnn and Tim got ready at Le Parker Meridien on 56^th Street in Manhattan. They had a beautiful room overlooking Central Park, which was only 3 blocks away. That made it for us to have a first look in the hotel and then walk over to the park for some portraits.

The wedding itself was in the morning, and while it was an early start to the day, I fully enjoyed the chance to get out around Central Park in the early hours. The park was almost completely empty, which was such a luxury. It was so much easier to choose spots for pictures without having to work around a crowd.

The ceremony was held in the chapel at Christ Church, which is one of the few United Methodist churches in NYC. The sanctuary here was beautiful, with rich hues echoing some of the more ornate Greek Orthodox churches in New York. Add to that the flowers and ceremony décor provided by Designs by Ahn, and it was simply stunning. The flowers perfectly complemented the clean, airy, classic feeling of the day.

I really enjoyed the intimacy of their ceremony, with JoAnn’s brother singing—to the great delight of their nieces and nephews. I think you can tell they were enjoying themselves by the pictures.

After some family photos at the church, we made our way to the renowned restaurant, Daniel, which closed down just for the reception. The benefits of holding a wedding at a Michelin-starred restaurant are numerous, with the exceptional service and delectable cuisine at the top of the list. The same servers setting out slices of wedding cake would be pouring 30-year-old bottles of rare champagne at the next dinner service. And with its beautiful décor and elegant ambiance, Daniel is a perfect choice for a reception.

JoAnn & Tim, I loved photographing your beautiful ceremony and reception, and I wish you the best!

Christ Church New York City Wedding Brian Hatton Photography