Jun 30 2016

Chen & Ethan’s Wedding at Red Maple Vineyard

Chen & Ethan had a warm and relaxed yet romantic and elegant wedding outdoors at Red Maple Vineyard in New York’s lush Hudson Valley. I fell in love with their venue immediately upon arrival– what a fantastic location they found! The view from the hillside where their ceremony was could not have been prettier, and the gardens and old stone masonry surrounding the main building provided ample backdrops for beautiful portraits. The interior of the main space itself was charmingly outfitted with rustic antiques and decor perfectly suited to a winery, and of course who doesn’t love shooting a reception in a beautiful white tent with a big wooden dance floor and the summer breeze enhancing the mood. I started the day shooting Chen’s preparation and details, and my what a gorgeous gown she had– I also loved what she did with the bridesmaid dresses–each one was different but all were in similar shades of pink and they looked marvelous together. My assistant was with the fellas and took the groom out to our pre-selected first look location and Chen and I followed so she could walk up from behind him– he was very dapper in this light grey suit! I shot the couple in some spots I had my eye on for portraits, including this amazing tree swing that sits just up the hill from the tent, which was so much fun! After some group portraits with their wedding party the summer sun was getting to be a bit much so we did the family group shots under the shade of the tent and then went indoors for their marriage license signing. Meanwhile guests were arriving and being escorted to the ceremony site just uphill, where they were treated to fresh iced tea and a view of the valley below. After a very sweet ceremony we all headed down to an indoor-outdoor cocktail hour followed by a wonderful reception and delicious dinner. Bud Maltin Metropolitan Music did a fabulous job of entertaining the crowd and they danced the night away under a beautiful full moon! Congratulations to Chen & Ethan, they are off to an incredible start!