NYC Wedding Photography Blog

Luda and Leo were married at the Manhattan Marriage Hall. Every now and then, I feel compelled to book a City Hall wedding. They are so simple and pure and it refreshes my soul to capture what can appear to be a hurried and mundane signing of papers, but is in fact, incredibly rich and transformative. As a photographer intent on capturing the details, I instinctually watch my couples- how they interact on a fundamental level, their eyes, their glances, the ways they touch each other without thought. In Luda and Leo, I could sense and observe a truly deep passion of two people, incredibly appreciative of having found that elusive missing element in each other.

All the little moments throughout the day were so tender and evocative. Luda exudes an aura of romance and I was moved to see her call her Father back in the Ukraine immediately after the ceremony. It reminded me how I called my own Father long distance in Israel right after my engagement. Later I was also touched when Leo’s Mom told me how much she adored Luda, how she respected Luda’s values, and how delighted she is that her son has reached a stage in life filled with such happiness.

We were originally going to take the newlywed pictures right after the ceremony by Brooklyn Bridge, but had a change of plans and decided to head over to Staple Street. (I will be showing some shots from there and their vintage taxi in another post.) By fortuitous coincidence, this was also right next to Bouley’s Restaurant, where they had a celebratory meal with friends and family.

Bouley’s is a beautiful restaurant and everybody made me feel incredibly welcome, asking me to sit at the table with them during part of the meal. But it was not the only meal that I shared, as I just recently met Luda for dinner, where she gave me a copy of her amazing wedding playlist. That is one of the beautiful things about photography- it is immediately intimate and emotional, and lasting friendships can come out of a day’s shoot.