Full Weddings

Garden City Hotel Wedding by Ryan Brenizer

We feel truly lucky to have been a part of Julie and Marc's incredible wedding at the Garden City Hotel. The sun was shining brilliantly, setting the stage for a beautiful celebration.

We've had the pleasure of photographing two of Julie's cousins' weddings, so seeing so many familiar faces made the day even more special. The wedding party was filled with vibrant energy throughout the event.

The most unforgettable moment was when Julie, a talented trombone player, surprised everyone (including Marc!) by joining the fantastic Hank Lane band for a set.

The dance floor was electric, with Julie fully embracing the moment and dancing with as many friends and family as possible. We're genuinely grateful to have shared this unforgettable day with Julie, Marc, and their loved ones, capturing memories that will last a lifetime.

Tribeca Rooftop wedding: Salisha and Andrew by Ryan Brenizer

Salisha and Andew smile with their whole bodies. On a typical day, it’s a pleasure to be around their cheer and energy … but on their wedding day, their joy and personalities were busting down the walls of the fantastic Tribeca Rooftop.

The wedding was filled with talented performers bringing energy, bringing song, bringing emotion, and frankly bringing it, but the deep emotion of the day was anything but a performance.

Thank you for making the world a better place with your laughter and love, Salisha and Andrew!

Harvard Club wedding by Ryan Brenizer

Neither rain nor more rain nor … even more rain … could keep Kelly and John from a marvelous wedding day. The grandeur of the reception at the Harvard Club and ceremony at Church of St. Vincent Ferrer didn’t hurt, but their deep connection to each other and family was truly what defined the day.

Legacy Castle wedding by Ryan Brenizer

Right from the start we knew Suzette and Andres had a tight bond — so tight that they introduced themselves to us as “SuDre.” We also knew that a giant (for 2021) Hindu/Dominican wedding featuring a couple as fun as they are would be raucous , joyous, and just an amazing experience throughout. Few venues could properly hold all of this energy — the pre-2020 plan was to essentially take over the city of Montreal — but The Legacy Castle served perfectly.

Le Chateau South Salem wedding by Ryan Brenizer

Usually our highest compliment for a wedding is “Boy, I wish I’d been a guest!” But our assistant Brendan did us one better in his assessment of Lauren and Taylor’s wedding. As we packed up, he said “Well, I don’t need to plan a wedding now — this was perfect in every way, I’ll just do this one.” There are, of course, a few more stages in wedding planning than just saying “Give me the Lauren and Taylor!” but it shows what a fantastic experience this day was, partially due to the fine work of Le Chateau but also because of the great spirit and kindness of their friends and family (which are probably not part of the package.)

New York Botanic Garden wedding at The Garden Terrace by Ryan Brenizer

The New York Botanic Garden is a magical place, and Amma and Jesse’s wedding made the most of it. From the incredible greenery — enhanced with the wonderful asymmetric designs of WYLD — to an absolutely crazy dance floor featuring Jesse’s hilarious and unique dance moves, every part of this day reminded us that part of the fun of this job is that we get to go back and re-live the stories ourselves.

Mansion at Oyster Bay wedding by Ryan Brenizer

Here it comes, 2021! I don’t think we’ve ever been so excited to document or even just be at weddings again, tied only with last June when our job and passion became legal again. Every wedding has felt deeper and more meaningful than ever, as every guest had to be deeply conscious and *work* just to be there, and we are vaccinated as of the end of March (but still careful) and ready to mix with that wonderful energy again.

And what a fantastic way to start 2021 than with Alli and Alex. A little FYI: We were once slated to star in our own reality show — but it turns out that you’re not the perfect reality show subject when your job is to be an oasis of calm at all times. Still, it was a fun experience to make and we got to meet amazing people like Alli. And since then, she met the amazing Alex, and they make beautiful music together … literally. They met when they joined the same band.

They were originally slated to have a big party at the Mansion at Oyster Bay. That didn’t happen, but we are so thankful that the Mansion opened itself to us to do portraits with them.

George Peabody Library Baltimore wedding by Ryan Brenizer

Probably the greatest honor we feel as wedding photographers is doing a wedding for another wedding photographer. After all, these people spend each day looking at this stuff, and know exactly what they like. But it was an even greater pleasure when that photographer is someone like Michael Stravinos, who is not just talented, but has been a friend, a workshop student, and collaborator.

And then you add that the wedding would be at the fantastic George Peabody Library in Baltimore, a place I’ve wanted to shoot in ever since I first saw it? We jumped at the chance. It didn’t matter that we also had to be in New York and Pennsylvania that weekend … we were going to make this happen.

It was amazing start to finish, filled with tears, laughter, Greek dancing, beautiful details, a solemn church ceremony … dripping with meaning and emotion throughout.

For the photographers out there, this was our first wedding with the Sony A9, and apart from the more technical aspects it was incredible to be able to shoot all of the events of the day completely silently, getting angles during prayers and at moments of peak emotion while intruding as little as possible. We always want to capture the real emotions so that you can look back and feel what it was like to be there in the midst of it, and this has been a helpful tool for us.

Ashford Castle, Ireland wedding by Ryan Brenizer

It's hard to overstate the beauty of Ashford Castle: It was something so profound that Casey knew she had to share it with her friends and family, even though absolutely none of them, Casey and Ford included, live in Ireland. But maybe, for a second, let's not put it center-stage. Let's focus on the bonds that made Casey and Ford plan a complicated multi-day celebration in an Irish castle just to show their friends and family a good time, and the bonds that made so many of these friends and family show up that they completely sold out the castle.

And it's not a small castle.

Ireland is an incredibly gorgeous country -- the cliches are true. There are colors of green that don't exist anywhere else, times when you have to turn down the saturation in your camera just so reality doesn't look fake. But, of course, it comes with a lot of what the Irish call "soft" weather: Rain, and a lot of it.

So yes, it rained on this wedding, but … well, all you need to know about the mood is that, after days of carousing together, there was enough joyful energy left that festivities were still going strong by sunrise.

Thank you to Olivia Buckley for her fantastic planning work, making a wet, complicated event come out perfectly, and to Casey and Ford for kindly planning their Ireland wedding just at the right time for our "working honeymoon" in the best place we could imagine.

Hudson Loft wedding by Ryan Brenizer

We knew we were in for something special with this day since we had seen Alexis and Danny's energy and passion for each other at her sister Taylor's wedding, but they surpassed even our high expectations. As soon as Alexis wrote to us, we did a little happy dance to be able to spend time with her family again … and now we got to meet Danny's fantastic family including his daughters. There is a special place in our hearts for weddings where the bride, groom, or both have children because it makes so clear what weddings are: the forging of a new family.

It doesn't hurt that Alexis and Danny both hit you in the face with their charisma, too. These are people ready to smile, laugh, and dance at any moment. They had an entirely new emotional spin on a first look. There was such a huge pent-up release of energy when they saw each other, and a culmination of countless in-jokes during their planning process, that they burst into uproarious, can't-catch-your-breath laughter.

This was matched only by the tears from Danny's daughters eager to make Alexis their step-mom, heartfelt testimonials in private moments before the ceremony, and exuberance from family and friends ready to party.

It gave us joy to document this story, and more joy to re-live it through the photos, and we hope it does the same for you.

Planner: Kerry Gittle at Awe by Kerry
Hair: Olivia Halpin Hair
Makeup: Elizabeth Lerman
Chuppah: Your Chuppah NY
Officiant: Weddings by Bettina
Caterers: On the Marc Events
DJ: DJ Vik Events
Videographers: Intrigue Wedding Films


Villa Sheherezade Dubrovnik wedding by Ryan Brenizer

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When Lynn inquired with us, we thought for sure we were being scammed. What would you think if your phone chimed and you read a text message from a strange number: “Quick question. Are you available for our destination wedding in Dubrovnik, Croatia this year? We live in London. I’m from Taiwan and he is from Belgium :-)” And the date happened to be fast approaching and the only weekend that month we were free? It all sounded too good to be true: She might as well have said that she’s a Nigerian prince.

But it turns out that not only are Lynn and Kristof very real, they are also an amazing couple who match each other in zeal for life and each other, if not in height. And so we were on our way to Dubrovnik, an area long known for its beauty and now exploding in fame as the site of much of the otherworldly beauty of Game of Thrones.

Under the planning guidance of Matthew and Bertie at Matthew Oliver Weddings and local coordinator Marcela at Dubrovnik Wedding Inspiration, their wedding took advantage of all the amazingness the area has to offer. The rehearsal dinner was set on Lokrum Island, where Lynn was overjoyed by the preponderance of peacocks and bunnies that have overtaken the island.

The ceremony was a gorgeous affair in the five-century-old Sponza Palace, officiated by a dear friend and mentor, who ensured it was touching and deeply personal. Afterward, Lynn and Kristof headed to the reception on their own boat, speeding down the harbor to the fantastic Villa Sheherezade.

The reception was filled with surprises. Kristof’s best man is a rare combination of entrepreneur and professionally trained clown, and he gave a lion dance performance before revealing himself to the crowd … by taking off the head and blowing a giant fireball.

But nothing could top what Kristof had for Lynn. To begin the dancing, he took her over to the cake-cutting and said “Lynn, I promise I will never stop surprising you.”

And then the sky exploded into fireworks.

That’s the sort of energy and love we’re talking about, and we are so excited that we were able to tell this story.

Stylist: Christine from CC Wedding Studio in Taiwan
DJ: Jordi Ruz from Ibiza
Venue and staff: Anamarija and Lindita Adriatic Luxury Hotels
Video: Justina from HDmoments (their video teaser from the wedding here!)

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden wedding by Ryan Brenizer

We know we will vividly remember Sarah and Joseph’s wedding for the rest of our lives. It wasn’t just that Sarah and Jospeh leave an indelible mark on every person they meet. But this wedding stood on the brink of a precipice larger than any of us knew at the time, as our last wedding before the full effect of the Coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.

This wedding exemplified everything that we have missed so much about large weddings — the energy, the hilarity, the multitudes contained in a day that has both incredibly intimate love and commitment and loud, intense, hysterical celebration.

In a year where most of us have been separated from so many loved ones, it was a blessing to be a part of an awesome celebration like this. Special thanks to Masi Events who somehow amplified one of the most already gorgeous places in America - the Fairchild Botanic Gardens.