Masterpiece Video

I LOVE the Castellanes!  One of my favorite couples of all time, Billy and Megan referred me to Billy’s brother Nick and his beautiful girl April for their May 30th wedding.  I am so glad that they did!  I had forgotten how much this family LOVES to have a good time!

First of all, it was an absolutely perfect Spring day for a wedding in the city.  Blue skies and no traffic greeted us as we arrived at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan for the ceremony. What an awesome sight! The Cathedral is huge, cavernous and breathtaking!  I think it took April 5 minutes just to walk down the lengthy aisle! But it was worth the walk as she spotted Nick in his crisp Army Green uniform waiting for her alongside his dad the Deacon, and Father Bill Scafidi from St. Mary’s in Newburgh. (who goes to more wedding receptions that I do, I think!)  April was stunning in her lace gown and mantilla veil- so classic. 

The best part of the ceremony had to be when April and Nick were walking back down the aisle and the massive doors to the church opened, pouring in the sunlight from outside and the cheers from people on the downtown streets! What a sight. We got some incredible shots of the two of them in Rockefeller Plaza, where Nick proposed, and also right in the middle of traffic! Only in NY!

We were then off to West Point for more pictures with the very cool Andie Whyland;  Followed by  cocktails overlooking the Hudson River at the historic Thayer Hotel.

Did I mention that the Castellanes can party? The groom’s dad wore an Ozzy Osbourne long black wig for the cocktail hour….DJ Patrick from Partytime Productions introduced the bride and groom to their guests as Mr. and Mrs. Fabulous!

No one left the dance floor for the entire evening and by the end, I think that some clothing was lost….OK …Misplaced. 

Lots of family, lots of love and lots of good times are definitely in store for the new Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Castellane!

Party on!

-love,

Jen

My May 29th bride, Jen, was determined to not have it rain on her wedding day. Although rain was forecast, we were able get some  photos done on her mom’s beautiful covered front porch while it sprinkled rain outside.

Now it was off to the Eagle’s Nest for (hopefully) an outside ceremony on the deck. Well I think that Jen willed it not to rain so hard that it actually worked!  She walked down the aisle to her groom Chris, among the oohs and ahhs and tears of all who were present. She was flawless!  The sky started to cloud over and spit a few drops right at the end of the ceremony, but stopped by the time Chris kissed his bride.

We had a great time working with Elissa Davidson and her crew capturing the fun bridal party and family shots overlooking the most fabulous view in Orange County!  Once inside, the guests were greeted by the always fabulous MC Fish. Fish is the only DJ that I have ever worked with who uses a black light and white gloves for a truly unique party experience!  You have to see it to believe it and I’ll try to post some video soon.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Jen surprised her grandfather with a special dance to the delight of all of her mom’s sisters (I think there are 7 of them?)  The group partied well into the night and was only briefly tempted off of the dance floor by all of the fabulous pastries on the Eagle’s Nest Viennese table!

To the brand new Mr. and Mrs. Casillas….may you always have sunshine…never rain!

love-jen

My May 23rd couple was the triple threat…..both photogenic, both in love and ready to show it off! Seriously, they were up for anything! Which is great when you’re working alongside the incomperable Catherine Leonard and her team of photographers.
Following the lovely Catholic mass at St. John’s in Goshen, we travelled to Rockland County to the NY Country Club for the afore-mentioned photography adventure.
We had Christopher lifting Cheryl up, dipping her down, driving out on the golf course, running….you name it! We gave Christopher and Cheryl quite a work out, but the moments we captured were well worth the effort!
It is always a blast working with a husband and wife photography team because it is always competitive – each tries to out-do the other and get the perfect shot. I had to laugh when Catherine and Alistair tried to get their assistant to choose who got the best photo – but ultimately, it was Cheryl and Christopher who were the beneficiaries of these two awesome photographers and their talents.
Once inside, the bride and groom kicked off the night with a spectacular choreographed first dance, complete with Christopher picking Cheryl up and spinning her for the big finish! (Is there a theme here?)
The always-rockin’ party MC Larry Mulligan was spinning the tunes, so you KNOW the dance floor was packed the whole night! Come to think of it, I don’t think that the bride and groom ever left the dance floor.
Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Kleister!
-jen