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Elizabeth & Sean | Lawrence Beach Club, New York Wedding

Elizabeth and Sean were married at the Lawrence Beach Club on Atlantic beach. I always love shooting on the barrier islands, as the setting is so natural and relaxing, and as an escape from Manhattan, it makes me feel like I am going on a holiday. Albeit, the milder than expected hurricane Irene still took quite a toll on the Club, and Elizabeth and I had traded a few emails back and forth about the uncertainty of whether the Club would would be up and running as her big day approached. Hurricanes often provide a jarring reminder to appreciate our good fortune and live life to its fullest. This was one of those days, with the club and beach thankfully open, on which Sean and Elizabeth would fully embrace life and love.

The simplicity of the setting was a reflection of their characters and taste. Elizabeth even asked me beforehand to suggest ways in which she could avoid the sometimes heavy make-up reasonably suggested to brides- as it just didn’t make her feel like her usual self. And Sean wanted to marry someone he recognized. ;) That genuineness was apparent from the moment we arrived. It was an intimate and just beautiful ceremony, with Elizabeth’s brother as the officiant, and Elizabeth and Sean were a truly captivating couple.

The beach was a beautiful setting for portraits and my interest in shooting amidst the bushes won over my fear of possible tick bites. When I pointed towards the dunes, always sensitive to a bride’s concerns of dirtying her dress or having her hair too windswept, Elizabeth exclaimed without hesitation: “YES! We’ll do anything for good photos ! Just tell us what you want us to do!” I immediately envisioned shots with my tilt-shift lens. The shoot was very enjoyable as they were both cooperative, and most importantly, excited. I love brides and grooms who are excited about the art of photography and are willing to do whatever it takes to get the shot.

I was so happy as well to learn from speaking to Elizabeth’s mother and Elizabeth, that they knew several of my previous couples including Gabrielle and Anthony, Renata and Paul, and Katherine and Michael, who actually referred me. They even passed on my name before I shot their wedding to Anna and Geoffrey, who I look forward to shooting at the Union League Club in November, and who I was so happy to see again at Elizabeth and Sean’s wedding

Vendor List:
Make up: PerfectFaceNYC
Hair: Hair Machine
Dress: Bali by Amsale
Shoes: Reef Stargazer and Liz Claibourne Massey Sandel
Flowers: Wicks Florist
Band: Jim Neale Band
Groom’s Suit: Charm’s Tailor
Shirt: Brooks Brothers
Tie: Ralph Lauren
Shoes: Cole Haan

Update: I just received a very touching email from Elizabeth and Sean after they watched their slideshow. It makes me so happy and really makes all the hard work worth it:

“Honestly…we have no words. Your photos are just so insanely beautiful. So much more than we ever imagined. We sat here in Mexico and cried through the whole slideshow…in a good way :)

They are perfect. Exactly what we were going for in every way. You captured so many aspects of our ceremony that we didn’t even realize were happening! Plus, you captured exactly what we wanted our ceremony to be filled with…love and laughter. That’s what we hoped it would be…it’s what it felt when we were standing up there…and your photos reflect that. It’s just amazing.

Personally, I have no idea how you got so many amazing shots out of that Marriott hotel room. When I arrived on Thursday night I thought “oh no, poor Shira…this room stinks,” and yet you managed to make all of the getting ready shots incredible. How did you do that?!?! They are AMAZING!

Shira, honestly, I don’t know what to say. They are perfect. You were the very first wedding decision we made and so clearly the best. Thank you SO much.

Sean and I both agree that our number one piece of advice for brides and grooms would be to hire you! I’m embarrassed to admit to the number of times we watched our slideshow while in Mexico…thank goodness our resort had wi-fi! We still can’t get over your photos and have been bombarded with compliments about them all week. We just keep telling our guests the same thing…it was all Shira…she was our first choice and we are so happy with the outcome :)

xoxo,
Elizabeth and Sean”

I also received this very touching message from Elizabeth’s mother:

Your slide show of Elizabeth and Sean is just unbelievable. You have captured my daughter (and wonderful new son-in-law)’s personalities so perfectly. And your vision of our dear Lawrence Beach Club was perfect. You are making it possible for us to relive what was a perfect day over and over. I told every single person I know to look at your website. They too are amazed. I will never be able to thank you enough for all you have done. I look forward to giving you a big hug at my nephew’s wedding in November.

I decided to surprise the happy couple, now on their honeymoon in Mexico, with a sneak peak of some photo set to their
favorite song: Taj Mahal’s Loving in My Baby’s Eyes.

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