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Rachel and David had a beautiful Jewish Orthodox wedding in New Rochelle.

The Tisch (Hebrew for table) is the first large ceremony of the day. The bride and groom each have a separate Tisch where they sit at a table with family and friends and sing, pray, sign various official forms, and make a siyum, a celebration of completion.

After the Tisch, the bride is led into a room where she sits on a chair surrounded by loved ones and waits for the groom to enter for the celebration of the Bedeken.

Bedeken, which translates as “veiling,” is when the groom puts the veil over his bride before the ceremony. The custom is based upon a Biblical story in which Jacob, intending to marry Rachel, accidentally marries her older sister Leah, who wore a veil.

This moment is also really special because it is the first time the bride and groom see each other. Rachel shares, “David and I didn’t see each other for the week before the wedding so all the excitement leading up to the wedding culminated in this one moment where I sat surrounded by my mother, mother-in-law, sisters and grandmothers, and David was brought in by my father, his father and our grandfathers. All our friends surrounded us singing traditional Jewish wedding songs. It was an incredibly emotional moment.”

Rachel and David both agreed their favorite part of the day was the Chuppah. Although it was raining, it made for a very memorable wedding ceremony.

David shares, “We had originally counted on the weather being clear and sunny, and so were obviously disappointed when it started raining. The circumstance was made funnier by my mom and Rachel’s grandmothers, who did a brief rendition of Singing in the Rain before proceeding to walk down. But we worked to capitalize on the inclement weather (since it would have taken over an hour to move the ceremony inside). All of our friends and family not only made the best of the situation, but really made it into something unique and fun and beautiful. We never would have counted on our friends applauding Rachel as she walked down the aisle in a white dress and poncho, or dancing with us while providing shelter with a cabana umbrella. We couldn’t have been happier.”

David continues, “The love, support and humor of our friends and family was what really made the ceremony beautiful, no matter the weather.”

The evening was full of joyful and exuberant dancing!

Sara and Eric had a beautiful, colorful, traditional Cambodian wedding. The celebration began at the Hong Family home.

Amazing things happen when a group of talented people come together to share a vision.

Throughout the year I get to work with wonderful couples to help them carryout the vision for their wedding day. But, with a styled shoot the vision is ours–the coordinator’s, the florist’s, the team’s. Rarely do I get to be a part of such a collaborative effort. It makes me super excited and so honored to work with some of NYC finest wedding pros.

Yesterday I photographed a styled wedding shoot at the gorgeous garden-restaurant, Acqua Santa, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Designer and planner, Jove Meyer Events, created a style that combined the Italian garden with a fun hipster Brooklyn vibe. The Wild Ivy brought in florals with bursts of color and unique dramatic pieces including an arch of blooms and an ombre petal aisle.

This is just a sneak peek, but I am so, so, SO excited to share more of the amazing work from the whole team including, stationery by Fourteen-Forty, wedding cake by Sugar Flower Cake Shop, cake cups by Alana Jones-Mann, cinematography by Valerie Barnes, hair styling by Once Upon A Bride, make-up by Sally Duvall, and fashions from Brooklyn Tailors, Hushed Commotion, Catbird, Chromatic Gallerie, and Comfy Clothing. Also, a big thanks to our models, real couple, Lilian and Kayden. You guys are awesome!

You may be wondering, What is a styled shoot? Styled wedding shoots have become very popular as a way for professionals to showcase their work, try new and interesting things that they want to share with their clients, update their portfolio, get press, and network. The team comes together with the plan to trade their services and products for photos and press. This is not a real wedding, but we hope it give couples inspiration. It is a lot of hard work, but it is very rewarding and a lot of fun. The last styled shoot I did had a whimsical retro theme. Check it out here!

I’m looking forward to sharing many more photos from this garden shoot soon!

I am so excited to announce that my photographs from Caitlin and Timothy’s wedding at Bluemont Vineyard have been published on a blog. Check out the full post at Wedding Chicks!

Check out my original post of wedding photography at Bluemont Vineyard here.

Nicole and Jeremy had a beautiful New York City loft rooftop wedding.

Jeremy and Nicole met on January 5th in 2012 on a cold dry winter evening in Washington, DC. He was sitting on a stool at Dickson Wine Bar, looking out a window waiting for a woman whose full name he did not yet know.  They had “met” a week prior on match.com, exchanged a few messages, and then decided it would be a good idea to meet in person. Needless to say… the date went well!

Before the ceremony we had lots of time to go around to some favorite spots in the city for pictures. We began in Greenwich Village and then went to the High Line.

New York City is an awesome place to get married. You never know what you might stumble upon walking down the street in Chelsea–like graffiti that says “MARRY ME?”

The ceremony took place at the Prince Street Lofts.

The rooftop ceremony had gorgeous sweeping views of the city skyline with the Freedom Tower on one end and the Empire State Building on the other.

Pretty pink details popped up everywhere including pink lemonade with whimsical straws.

The lights of the city lit up the rooftop.

Congratulations Nicole and Jeremy!

For more photos check out the slideshow:

Event Space: The Lofts at Prince
Caterer: Jamie Poole

Photography by Jessica Schmitt

Slideshow song: Make you Feel My Love, Adele