Mark and Lyn – NYC Destination Wedding

I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and Lyn twice before their wedding, which was a real treat for me since I don’t normally get that much time with my UK couples beforehand.  Earlier in the year Mark and Lyn came over to sort some wedding details and to have some photos taken by me around the city.  This really gave us an opportunity to get to know one another a little better, and it was at that time that it became clear how fun their wedding would be!!!

They got married at the Kitano Hotel on a very beautiful early fall day.  Julie Laudicina, a wonderful officiant in the city, married them atop the terrace at the hotel.   It was rather warm and bright during the day which made the ceremony shots a bit tough, but the nighttime was absolutely magical.  This hotel is situated perfectly for views of The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and many others.  I took advantage of the light coming off the side of the hotel at night to light the subject so that the background would would really show the beauty of the NYC skyline.  That was a real treat for me and I’m so glad I was able to make those kinds of photos for Mark and Lyn.  After the ceremony and dinner, I took them out on a fairly quick photo run of Grand Central Station, finally up to their part at.  They insisted I stay for a bit, which I of course did 🙂 and took the last two photos seen here in very very low light conditions; at ISO 6400 (for those of you wondering what that is, it’s a setting on the camera that mimics film speed and thus controls the sensitivity of the sensor in a digital camera)…

I’m really looking forward to seeing them and their families and friends when I visit next year!

Coming from the UK we were concerned about finding the right photographer for our wedding in New York. We had meetings with quite a few wedding photographers in Manhattan but as soon as we met Brian, there was only one choice in our minds!
From start to finish, we had the utmost confidence in Brian’s work and found him so incredibly easy to get along with. Nothing was too much of a problem; he listened to what we wanted and always had interesting ideas for how our pictures should be taken.
Although we had been engaged for nearly 12 years (!), we decided to have an ‘engagement’ shoot with Brian in the April prior to our wedding. This was a really fun day and we were photographed in Brooklyn, Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District. We would really recommend doing this as it got us used to being in front of the camera and also get tuned into working with Brian (not difficult!).
The wedding day itself started with our ceremony and meal at The Kitano Hotel on Park Avenue and Brian captured the atmosphere and our guests perfectly. Brian was so discreet – you would have never known that there was a photographer there, so the candid shots of our day are amazing! We did not want a very formal day and even the few family ‘formals’ that we asked for have a fun element to them.
Brian was also very flexible, moving from place to place at our request to photograph the preparation of both the Bride, and the Groom. Moreover, after we had beautified ourselves (!) the day was split in two – our ceremony and meal was at the hotel and was followed by another party on the Upper East Side at the Havana Room which Brian also photographed and had a well earned cocktail or two!!
In between the 2 parties we headed out for a private shoot with Brian in and around Grand Central Terminal & the 42nd Street area. This was an amazing experience and again Brian captured it perfectly.
Brian was with us from noon on our wedding day though to about 11pm. There wasn’t a single snag and he accomplished everything we wanted and more. Although Brian was our photographer, it was more like having a friend at our wedding who just happened to be an amazing artist with a camera!
Lyn (the Bride) was particularly nervous about the photographs of the “the Big Day” but absolutely loves them – as do all our friends and family (even the normally very critical “photographers”).
Being Scottish, we had to carry on the party! The next day we invited all of our guests across to a restaurant on Long Island; it was only natural that Brian should come along too as he had become a friend. We all had a fantastic time – Brian had got to know some of our guests during our wedding day and it was great to see him ‘off duty’!
Brian also did something that we thought was incredibly kind and thoughtful. He had prepared a small digital frame with selected images from our wedding day as a gift for us. This gave us and everyone else a chance to see some pictures from our wedding the very next day – we were so touched by this gesture. As we passed the frame from table to table for our guests to view the pictures, the response was unanimous: Brian’s work was amazing!!! There was nothing but compliments about how he had captured the most important day of our lives. We took the frame on Honeymoon and wore the batteries out showing people we met our wedding in NYC and re-living the moments for ourselves.
All we can say is a huge ‘thank you’ to Brian. We would definitely recommend that anyone use him for their wedding – you will not be disappointed. Brian made perfect memories for us and our families and friends and we have no doubt that he will do the same for you. A massive “thank you” Brian!
Lyn and Mark – Kingston upon Thames (hope to see you early 2011!)