Private Club Wedding in Manhattan
Who? : Kendall + Jesse
What? : Preparations in a NYC hotel, ceremony and reception at a private club, portraits after the reception in Central Park
Where? Private club, Manhattan
When? : November 2018
The first time I talked to Kendall on the phone it was like chatting with an old friend. We hit it off immediately, running through a million topics with the rapid patter of people who had known each other for years. That explosion of joy continued when I met Kendall and Jesse in Brooklyn Bridge Park a few weeks later for their sunrise engagement session, my most vivid memory of that session being so much laughter. (And we met a puppy that looked like a piglet, oh it was the best morning.)
I have all of my wedding clients fill out a worksheet in the months leading up to their actual event date. Some of the questions are expected ones, like what time do you want your coverage to begin? and how many people will be giving toasts at your reception? You know, those crucial logistics that help me get to know a wedding inside and out. When asked about her vision for their wedding photography, Kendall said:
110% I was drawn to your work because of what you can do with light; its literally magic. Also, I KNOW you were at our engagement photos because I have looked (okay gawked) at the images 100 times, but it seems like you were only there with us for a sliver of a moment! I don’t know how, but you were able to document that morning while still allowing Jesse and I to be entirely in our own world. The way you were able to capture something so intimate without crowding and staging us was, again, genuinely magic. I am so at ease about the wedding day photos.
Here are a few of my favorite images from their wedding:
Kendall and Jesse got ready separately, but close by. Once they were ready, they chose to see each other in the magnificent library of the club they were married at. It was a quiet moment, and so sweet to see them get a little time together before the hustle and bustle of family photographs began!
How do you even begin to describe someone like Kendall? She’s gorgeous – that’s obvious just by looking at her. She’s also gorgeous inside. When she looks at you, it’s with the blazing joy of the sun. Everything about her just RADIATES. She’s a huge hug in human form, and she and Jesse are magnetic together.
What to say about this sunny sweet ceremony? I could go on for days about the light, the space itself, the crystal-clear sweetness of their vows, the charming openness of their tears, but what is that they say? A picture says a thousand words? If it does, these pictures scream JOY from the top of the tallest Manhattan building, straight into the sky.
After the ceremony, there were a few more family portraits, and then it was off to their brunch. I LOVE the way that Kendall and Jesse celebrated their day : wholly them. The ceremony was in the morning, and the “reception” was an intimate brunch that was over by midafternoon.
After brunch, it was time for pictures of the two of them together – I know, what a fun timeline, right? The ceremony and reception behind them, we hopped into a vintage cab and headed over to Central Park to chase the sunset together.
I LOVED seeing how this timeline unfolded. They had an incredible day, followed by time alone together. Moving the portraits to after the entire reception freed up much of the earlier part of the day, while still allowing lots of time in the park later!
Frozen fingers, frozen toes, and one of my favorite spots in the entire city. The first place I ever took portraits in New York was at Bethesda Terrace, and every time I go back my heart expands just a little bit more.
After this last image, the sun fully set over the park and we realized that I was the only one with a phone and the ability to call an Uber. Kendall and Jesse and I carpooled back over to their hotel, where they informed me they were taking a very long nap and then having a bunch of their friends over for a nighttime party in their suite. The perfect end to a perfect day? I think so.
Kendall and Jesse, y’all have my heart.
