Jul 04 2013

Gena & Josh’s wedding at The Hyatt Regency on the Hudson, Jersey City

Gena and Josh currently live in Boston, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to shoot their engagement portraits here in New York City at Lincoln Center last fall. As the wedding approached we were worried about the weather looking dicey and it wasn’t until earlier that afternoon that we were sure the ceremony would indeed be outside on the pier with The Hyatt’s amazing view across the Hudson. We arrived early so as to make sure there was time to shoot all the special details before Gena got into her dress, and we picked out a nice spot along the walk out to the pier for the couple’s first look. Gena looked incredible and Josh was blown away. I made some quick portraits of the couple and then we met the family out by the railing so as to capture their family groups with the skyline as a backdrop, and then got ourselves out of the sun and wind for a break with the wedding party groups. After signing their Ketubah we went out to the pier and prepared for their ceremony– we had a blue sky and though it was a little windy I am so thrilled they went for doing it outside! This spot was a perfect place for a summer ceremony, and the cocktail hour on the terrace was delightful. We all went upstairs to find the Manhattan Ballroom decked out with a baby blue color scheme and lots of lovely hydrangeas. Guests danced the night away to the sounds of the Russell Bennett Band, one of Hank Lane’s always-excellent outfits. We set up my open-air photo booth in the adjoining space outside the Ballroom and guests enjoyed taking their own pictures with the fun props Gena & Josh had picked out as well as a few of my dry-erase ‘speech bubbles’… Though this reception was jam-packed with activity we did manage to find time to take the happy couple out on the balcony for some quick portraits both towards the end of magic hour and again at the end of our coverage to capture them with the beautiful Manhattan skyline at night. A special thanks goes to my awesome assistants Ryan & Nick for their excellent work at this wedding.