Brooklyn Wedding Photographer | Susan Stripling Photography

Brooklyn Isn’t Just Where I Work. It Was Home.

I lived in Brooklyn for fifteen years. Park Slope first, then Windsor Terrace. I raised my kids there. I bought my first apartment there and sold it. During the pandemic, when the world went quiet and strange, I walked Greenwood Cemetery and Prospect Park because they were the only places that still felt like themselves.

I know this borough the way you know a place you’ve loved and left — with a particular ache and a lot of specificity. I know which light in Prospect Park goes gold at 5pm in October and which corner in DUMBO catches the last sun before it drops behind the Manhattan Bridge. I know Red Hook in the way only someone who has stood on that waterfront in March knows it — cold, wide, extraordinary.

When I photograph weddings in Brooklyn, I’m not consulting a location guide. I’m going home.

 

Why Brooklyn Weddings Are Unlike Anywhere Else

Brooklyn doesn’t have one aesthetic. That’s the thing people who haven’t shot here don’t fully understand. The borough contains multitudes — industrial Red Hook, landmarked Park Slope, the cobblestone romance of DUMBO, the wild overgrown beauty of Greenwood Cemetery, the grand lawns of Prospect Park. A Brooklyn wedding can feel like a film noir or a garden party or a warehouse rave, sometimes all three in the same day.

That range is what makes it endlessly interesting to photograph, and endlessly demanding. You have to know where you are and what the light does there, because Brooklyn will not do that work for you.

The Brooklyn Neighborhoods I Know Best

Red Hook and the Waterfront

This is where I keep coming back. Liberty Warehouse on Conover Street sits right on the harbor with views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, and it photographs beautifully at almost every hour. The industrial architecture, the brick, the water light — it’s one of my favorite venues in the entire city. I’ve also shot elopements along the Red Hook waterfront itself, where the neighborhood opens up to the harbor and everything goes quiet in a way that doesn’t feel like New York at all. It feels like something older.

DUMBO

Everyone shoots DUMBO and for good reason — the Manhattan Bridge framing on Washington Street is one of the most recognizable backdrops in New York wedding photography. But the reason to hire someone who knows DUMBO isn’t the famous shot. It’s knowing when to leave it. The cobblestone streets away from the bridge, the Empire Stores, the piers at Brooklyn Bridge Park — there’s a whole borough of images here that don’t look like every other DUMBO wedding photo. I know where they are.

Park Slope and Prospect Park

I lived a block from Prospect Park for years. I know exactly when the Boathouse light goes warm, which meadow handles a crowd without looking crowded, and where to take a couple when the Nethermead is too muddy in March. The park is enormous and most photographers use about 10% of it. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden next door is another favorite — the Cherry Esplanade in spring is obvious and stunning, but the rest of the garden has quieter, more intimate spaces that photograph beautifully year-round.

Bushwick and Williamsburg

For couples who want something with an edge — the street murals, the industrial lofts, the light that bounces off corrugated metal in the afternoon — Bushwick and Williamsburg deliver. House of Yes in Bushwick is one of the most visually extraordinary wedding venues I’ve ever shot. The light there is theatrical by design. It rewards someone who is willing to work with darkness and color rather than fight it.

Greenwood Cemetery

I know this sounds unexpected. Stay with me. Greenwood is a National Historic Landmark, 478 acres of Victorian landscape on a hill above Brooklyn with views of the harbor and lower Manhattan. It’s quiet and dramatic and full of extraordinary light through the tree canopy. For elopements and intimate portraits, it’s one of the most underused locations in Brooklyn. I walked it almost every day during the pandemic. I know every corner of it.

What to Look for in a Brooklyn Wedding Photographer

Brooklyn rewards photographers who can read a space, adapt fast, and work without a net. The borough is loud and crowded and constantly changing, and the best images come from someone who knows when to lean into the chaos and when to find the pocket of quiet inside it.

Twenty-five years of shooting weddings in New York City, fifteen of them spent living in Brooklyn, means I’m not figuring it out on the day. I already know which side of the street the light is on, which venue has a staircase worth using, and which supposedly famous location actually photographs better from around the corner.

You can see more of my Brooklyn work in my wedding galleries, and I’ve written detailed guides to specific venues including Liberty Warehouse, House of Yes, and venues across Brooklyn by neighborhood.

Frequently Asked Questions: Brooklyn Wedding Photography

Do you shoot weddings all over Brooklyn or just specific areas?

All over. I’ve shot in Red Hook, DUMBO, Park Slope, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Carroll Gardens, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights, and Sunset Park. Different neighborhoods, different light, different energy. I’m comfortable in all of it.

What are the best Brooklyn wedding venues right now?

Liberty Warehouse in Red Hook is consistently one of my favorites for its architecture, light, and waterfront location. House of Yes in Bushwick is extraordinary for couples who want something theatrical and unexpected. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 501 Union, and the River Café round out the venues I return to most. I’ve written detailed guides to most of them if you want to go deep on any specific venue.

Do you need permits to shoot wedding portraits in Brooklyn?

It depends on the location. Brooklyn Bridge Park requires permits for commercial photography. Prospect Park has its own permit requirements for larger groups. DUMBO’s most famous spots are on public streets and generally don’t require permits, though that can change. I handle the research so you don’t have to.

What’s the best time of year to get married in Brooklyn?

Fall is stunning — the light goes warm and golden, the crowds thin out in October and November, and the foliage in Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery is extraordinary. Spring is beautiful but unpredictable. Summer works if you plan around the heat and the crowds. Winter in Brooklyn has a dramatic quality that photographs remarkably well if you’re willing to be cold for twenty minutes.

How far in advance should I book a Brooklyn wedding photographer?

Popular Brooklyn venues book eighteen months to two years out, and photographers who know those venues book at the same pace. If you have a date at Liberty Warehouse, House of Yes, or Brooklyn Botanic Garden, reach out as soon as you have it.

You mentioned living in Brooklyn — do you still shoot there regularly?

Yes, constantly. The borough is where a significant part of my work is rooted, and that connection to the place shows up in the photographs. Brooklyn isn’t a location I visit. It’s somewhere I know.

If your wedding is in Brooklyn — or you want it to be — I’d love to hear about it.