Remember Danielle and Eric’s real wedding and the hurricane that took them by storm? Well, we simply could not pass up sharing their engagement session too … this time taking New York City by storm. This mega metropolis impromptu location couldn’t have played out more perfectly for documenting Danielle and Eric’s love story. Lights, camera, action–so much excitement and  loads of visual interest. Here’s Danielle to tell us about their session in the city that never sleeps, their fearless photographer and the rest of their unforgettable weekend.

Locations: Times Square, New York City … Morgan Park in Glen Cove, NY … Long Island, NY.
Photographer: Zac Thomas

“Our engagement shoot was so amazing!! After almost two years of going back and forth with Zac Thomas {who I initially found via a Facebook ad} about how amazing his photographs were and how different his work was from traditional engagement shoots, Eric finally popped the question. Zac was one of the first people I contacted upon being proposed to. I knew, even years prior, that I wanted him to capture our day. The engagement shoot was included as part of his package, as he uses it as a way to get to know the couple prior to the big day and get a feel for the kind of photos they are looking for at their actual wedding. He flew into New York and decided to stay in the city for the weekend–this was his first time.

The original plan was just to find a park or a beach that we could go to and get some shots that Saturday for our engagement shoot, but Zac emailed me as he landed in NY, “What are you guys up to after work? Why don’t you come meet me in the city and we’ll get some city shots tonight and do the park stuff tomorrow?” Well, we raced out of our 9-5’s and met him by 7PM, casually dressed, no frills, just out to take some pics in the city and get a feel for Zac’s photography. Needless to say, we all became fast friends.

Zac was literally laying down in the middle of Times Square, stopping traffic, just to get the shots he wanted. There wasn’t a cab driver in the city that was a fan of Zac that night!

We expected to have traditional city shots in front of notable buildings, since Zac was a tourist of New York–but we wound up in random staircases of restaurants, outside parking garages, and in front of random candy trucks.  Zac made it a point to go past a few barriers in Rockefeller Center to get a couple shots he wanted to! I have a theater background, so we stopped to take a few pics in front of one of the theaters I had worked in and used the parking garage attached to it as a “theater space” for photos–which wound up coming out amazing- so amazing. I actually used a few of them as head shots, eventually.

We also took a few shots in a random subway hallway, which to this day, I recognize every time we pass it in the city- it was a little grimy and disgusting, but the shots came out gorgeous!

We went back to the parking garage and he decided to take a bunch of shots of Eric and I in the elevator, as it was closing and got an amazing stream of shots of the doors closing.

As we drove Zac back to his hotel, he decided to take a shot of my ring in the back of Eric’s car … going full speed down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and it managed to come out like he did it in a perfectly still room!

The next day, we did our shoot as planned, going to Morgan Park in Glen Cove, NY–which was always a special place for me to take photos as it has so much variety–as far as backgrounds go.

We finished up in Long Beach, New York and Zac even managed to get us to “go a little crazy” getting soaking wet in the ocean for some amazing shots!! We finished up by taking a picture on the very bench that we shared our first date, and that Eric eventually proposed to me on …

It really was an amazing experience and I really can’t say enough about Zac Thomas’ work!

Amazing indeed! Courageous, audacious … we love every urban and beach-y detail of this weekend-long engagement session! Congratulations to you all three of you on your fun, adventurous session! Interested in learning more about Zac Thomas? Well by all means, learn more about his fearless photography style here…

Congratulations Danielle & Eric!

xo

A whirlwind wedding … literally.

As if their lovely Long Island venue setting wasn’t spectacular enough, a hurricane developed on Eric and Danielle’s New York wedding too. Perhaps a photographer’s dream, and a bride’s worst nightmare … Eric and Danielle did not let a mere hurricane threaten the joy, peace and happiness of their big day. And there’s incredible photography to prove it! A beautiful adventure for a beautiful couple. Enjoy …

“We literally got married through a hurricane! We had to switch the entire day up and couldn’t even see driving out to our hall! My husband and I decided during cocktail hour that we were going to make the most of it and most of our photos were in the pouring rain- I even went ankle-high in mud just to “get the shot!” To this day, my dress wears the residue of our wedding–from grass stains to mud!” Danielle

Wedding Style Our wedding style was fun and casual but classy!
Wedding Colors Sapphire Blue
Ceremony & Reception Windows on the Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
Photographer Zac Thomas
Save the Date & Thank You Card MagnetStreet Weddings

“First Look” Pictures!

Best part of the whole wedding day Becoming Mrs. Eric Levine!

Advice you’d like to give

Remember what this day is about–you can’t make every single person happy, but you are marrying the love of your life . . .  and really, that’s all that matters in the end, so treat it that way!

About Zac Thomas

Zac Thomas was amazing! We scouted him online and flew him in all the way from Utah because his work just stunned us! He immediately became one of our best friends and the day would’ve never been the same without him!

Save the Date: “Made for Each Other”

Thank You Card: “Classic Kiss”

Thanks for sharing Eric & Danielle–your wedding photos are spectacular–severe weather and all! Although your “Plan B” didn’t involve storm-chasing–you handled it so gracefully! Congratulations! We’re glad everything turned out so well!

xo

We have a very lovely wedding with a very gorgeous couple from across the pond today. Irene and Aaron got married in the United Kingdom and their ceremony and reception were held in a romantic wine vault that dates back to the 14th century! And if that isn’t rich enough in history for you–Irene and Aaron had their pictures taken outside of Rochester Cathedral and Castle–England’s second oldest cathedral–founded in 604 AD. So cool. But, here’s beautiful Irene to tell us more about their day and their relationship.

Wedding Style: Blending British and Nigerian influences
Colours: Purple and White
Ceremony & Reception: a 14th century bar called The George Vaults.
Photographer: Mamun Humayun of m24instudio
Thank You Cards: MagnetStreet Weddings

Traveling alone, Aaron and I met in the Philippines in 2009. Since then we have traveled to many countries together and maintained a long distance relationship before getting married 14 August 2011. It was an intimate wedding of about 50 people. I’m British and my family is Nigerian so this had a lot of influence on the theme of the wedding, as most of my family wore native Nigerian clothing. However it also had a traditional English influence as it took place in Kent, UK.

The wedding took place in a bar called the George Vaults which has as a 14th-century vault in the basement. There was a very romantic atmosphere as it was small and intimate and lit up with candles. The ceremony and reception were in the same place. They just rearranged the tables and chairs.

The best part of the day …

was when we were announced husband and wife and I walked out of there with my new husband. Taking pictures was also a lovely experience. We were able to take pictures outside Rochester Cathedral and Castle as the venue is opposite those two sites. The reception was also a lot of fun as we love to dance.

Highlights of the day:

The speeches from my brother-in-law, father and my 11 year-old sister were all amazing. My little sister surprised everyone and did a toast for us. The ceremony itself was also very beautiful and went really well.

The venue took care of the catering and decorations and it was so much easier having the ceremony and reception in the same place. Most of my family came down from London so they didn’t know the area. It would have been a lot of hassle having the reception in a different location. I’m glad we didn’t have to worry about finding a separate caterer and decorator. It was very straightforward doing it that way.

Advice I wish I had taken:

Check and double-check bookings over and over to ensure people who say they were going to do something don’t let you down at the last minute. Relying on family and friends helps to cut costs but sometimes it can cause more stress than it’s worth.

Advice I would give:

Compromise as much as you are willing to–in order to keep family members happy–but once you have reached that point don’t budge, or you will end up having the type of wedding you never wanted. Keep it simple and don’t let people pressure you into doing what you don’t want. People are still shocked that we managed to have a small intimate wedding considering my Nigerian background. Weddings in Nigeria are usually like carnivals!

Don’t lose sight of what the day is really about and remember, it’s yours and your spouse’s day. You can’t please everyone, so just stick to what you want as a couple.

Also, ask for money instead of gifts. You can request contributions towards your honeymoon for example. It’s much better than getting random gifts that you may not need or may not go with anything in your house. We had to move to a new country so we didn’t want a lot of stuff.

Irene & Aaron personalized “Wall of Love” Thank You Cards.

Vendor Shout Outs:

Photographer: Mamun Humayun

Their prices were so reasonable and they also did a 1 hour video with all the highlights of the day and behind the scenes footage.

MagnetStreet Weddings

MagnetStreet has a good selection of designs for our thank you cards. We sent the original invitations via email. We used Smilebox so it was a selection of pictures of us on our various travels together and it was accompanied with our song – Stevie Wonder for your love. However, as we sent the invitations via email, we wanted to send real thank you cards with some nice photos as a keepsake. I was impressed with how easy the website was to use and the range of designs available to choose from.

Thank you Irene and Aaron for sharing your spectacular day! We wish you every bit of happiness as you *journey* through life together!

xo

Reminiscent of “Casablanca” or “An Affair to Remember” we have a classic love story of our own to share with you today! It’s the story of how Lydia and Willie–after 20 years of separation–reconnected their relationship and rekindled their love. Now married, here’s their reunion story and real wedding that will surely tug on your heart strings. For Lydia and Willie, it’s their journey of love, patience and contentment. It’s their happily ever after and we couldn’t be happier for them!

And I have to say, that Lydia is probably the sweetest person on the planet. Just saying. Enjoy.

Wedding Colors: Ivory, Wisteria, Champagne with a touch of Silver
Theme: Two hearts led by love. 20 years later, two lives joined forever.
Wedding Style: Traditional-Christian

Highlight of the Day:

Willie: Seeing the joy and happiness on Lydia’s face. Watching Lydia say “I do” and giving me our wedding kiss.
Lydia: Seeing Willie at the altar waiting for me.

from Lydia …

“Our story begins with my very best childhood girl friend, Lorita. We had gone to a local club one Friday evening and while sitting at the table talking, this very handsome man came up and spoke to her … well, we ended up talking, laughing and dancing all evening, and by the last dance we had exchanged information.We started dating and our relationship grew.

Willie was in the Army Reserve–a Staff Sergeant and moving up the ranks. It was 1990. We didn’t know then–that when Willie left for his two-week annual training, he would be leaving again for a lot longer … Willie was mobilized for Desert Shield {which later became Desert Storm}. We lost contact with each other and that time–turned into years.

Many years later and on my way into the court building where I worked, I asked a friend who I knew was in the Army Reserve, if he knew a person named Willie Conley. He said “yes, he’s my best friend (brother) why do you ask?” My reply to him was the next time he talked to Willie–to tell him that I said “hello”. Well Al Baylor did one better, he called Willie and handed me the telephone.

We talked for a few minutes and exchanged numbers again. Willie came over Christmas evening, 2010. When I opened the door, our journey began … ”

The wedding: August 20, 2011

Lydia being walked down the aisle by her brother.

Advice we’d like to give:
Take your contract and go over it several times–even have someone else read it–to make sure you are getting exactly what you and your fiance’ want.

Best Part of the Day:
Watching our family and friends have a good time at our reception. My husband and I danced all night.

Advice I’m glad I took:
My florist had me use silk flowers instead of real flowers–since it was so hot in August.

*Willie and Lydia honored 4 of their deceased loved ones through the ivory flowers in Lydia’s bouquet: 2 representing Lydia’s daughter and father and 2 representing Willie’s parents.

The funniest part of the day …
was when I had to repeat my vows after my minister. Instead of saying “I, Lydia”  I said,  “I, Willie” Everyone broke out laughing! So, that is our private joke among our close church friends.

Vendor List

Ceremony: AME Zion Church, Southfield, MI Reception: Mother of God Church
Officiant: Rev. Al C. Hamilton
Photographer: Harold Harris, H.J.H Enterprise
Florist: Yvette Noble, City Mertro Florist
Limo Service:Alston Limo
Coordinator: Bridget Irby of Pretty Pink Petals
Save the Dates, Invitation Suite, Thank Yous: MagnetStreet Weddings

Lydia and Willie personalized Timeless Love Save the Date Magnet, Flower Flourish Wedding Invitation, and Green Hue Thank You Card.

Congratulations Lydia and Willie! We’re so glad you found each other again. Thank you for sharing your sweet story with the world. May joy, peace and blessings be yours–always!

xo