Oct 09 2015

Fabiola & Paras: Brooklyn Wedding at Prospect Park Boathouse

Fabiola & Paras were married at the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn, NY on a beautiful late September afternoon, right across the pond from where Paras had proposed! They envisioned a romantic garden-party celebration that incorporated aspects from both their cultures: Indian & Dominican. We started the day capturing the sweetness of anticipation as the beautiful bride and her bridesmaids prepared at a nearby townhouse they had rented for the occasion… Fabiola put on her gown and Paras was led upstairs to a terrace where they would have their first look. After a trolley ride to Prospect Park with the wedding party we shot their list of group portraits with family and friends, finishing just in time for a joyful surprise performance by a band that his sweet groomsmen had hired for the occasion! I loved getting to capture the elation as this unexpected performance (of hip hop tunes, Paras’ favorite, no less) unfolded outside the boathouse— As guests and family arrived for the ceremony, they were swept into the dancing! Meanwhile Fabiola was moved to see swans in the pond– something she’d hoped for privately. Finally we headed down to the gorgeous deck of the boathouse and captured a very moving ceremony that included special touches such as a garland exchange, an Indian Mandap, a Unity candle lighting, and Paras’ parents sang beautiful prayers, nd she walked down the aisle to one of his favorites,”My One and Only Love” by John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman. Following the ceremony I took the happy couple for a few quick ‘just married’ portraits of them on the bridge overlooking the pond, and under a big beautiful tree nearby. After one last shot of them in front of the beautiful venue after nightfall we went in and began shooting the reception. Guests danced to a fusion of hip-hop, Indian, and Latin music expertly woven together by the DJ, and were invited to step into a fun photobooth upstairs over the reception, where they contributed prints to a guestbook. As favors to the guests there was a table full of copies of the very same book of love poems (by Pablo Neruda) that Paras had given to Fabiola after dating her for a year– so romantic! Highlights of the evening included an unforgettable series of heartfelt toasts, a wonderful speech by Paras himself, a hired cigar-roller outside by the water (in a nod to Fabiola’s Doninican heritage), and a sparkler exit followed by a spontaneous serenade to the bride by Paras & his groomsmen. This was such a joyful day full of love and I was so honored to capture the celebration! Congratulations to Fabiola & Paras!