Are you ready to go back to the Future and fall in love?
I am beyond excited to share with you the first installment Nick and Julia's TWA Wedding in New York City at FJK's Terminal 5.
When couples reach out to me for wedding photos, I make sure they know they will be receiving a gambit of styles, edits, and approaches because first and foremost, we are creating art. When searching for a wedding photographer, I hope you'll consider both their experience and their approach to making art. I always like to make sure we are all on the same page about my artistic approach.
I'm definitely going to get you all those classic wedding photos you dreamed of-- but I'm also going to jazz up your wedding album with Old Hollywood style vintage film looking photos. The short little videos I take will look like Super 8 films. I'll approach with both candid/documentary moments and intentional editorial posing. And when I tell you this wedding was a good mix of candid and editorial posing--- I mean it. We set aside dedicated time for couples' portraits, but we also approached so many moments with everyone candidly.
Your wedding is an opportunity to make art out of your story, your venue, your community, and most importantly, your joy. As your photographer all I can think is-- Why not pull out all the stops to make this art amazing?
When Nick and Julia reached out about their TWA wedding, they immediately told me they liked the vintage vibes to my photos. I'm so so glad I was able to deliver to them, not only a vintage film-inspired amount of photos, but also timeless photos that will be just as beautiful to look at ten years from now and fifty years from now.
This wasn't just any TWA wedding, this was a huge moment for these two. Not only did Julia's family immigrate to America through JFK, Nick's grandfather worked at the TWA for a handful of years. To honor the history of The Beatles landing at TWA, Nick and Julia chose Beatles songs for their ceremony which just about made me lose it. Intentional inclusion of nostalgia into your ceremony gets me every time.
I'd also love to highlight how wonderfully non-traditional these two were. In a very New York City Wedding Couple fashion, they decided to get ready together in the same hotel room. I absolutely loved watching Julia walk out of the bathroom in her wedding dress so Nick could help her with the buttons in the back. These moments they had together were so special. Their awareness of me or my camera was never felt-- they really leaned into having these pre-wedding moments together. There were several times Nick would just stop Julia in her tracks to hold her, dance with her, or kiss her. It was really so so sweet. By the end of the night we were all hugging and having the best time (when you hire a professional photographer you want us to care for you, make art out of you, and be a good time....don't you?)
Not only did these two get married in the TWA Terminal, they also had a giant live-band reception and an after party on the TWA plane (I love the photos from their reception and plane! There's nothing like a fun flash to vintage-i-fy your photos!).
I had already walked through the TWA a few months prior when hanging out with my girl friends, so when I showed up for their wedding day, I had an idea of what to expect. BUT just to be sure, I made sure to show up a few hours early to 1) Enjoy some Intelligentsia Coffee and some lunch and 2) Walk around, get an idea of what kind of light I would be working with, and plan out a few areas for family photos and couples portraits. Like most weddings I photograph, I came to have a good time as their photographer and guest (how could you not enjoy taking photos in this incredible vintage space they filmed Mrs. Maisel at?), but mostly I came to create timeless art for Nick and Julia.
And it all came together. I'm just showing you the highlights here, but my goodness, there are so many photos I want to share! I'll have to make a separate post for the receptioni and plan photos.
If you want to check out their full wedding, from top to bottom, you can find their entire gallery here.
Wedding Location(s): Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport; The TWA is an old airport that has now been converted into a Hotel with many of the original designs still in place.
My Favorite Photo: I love the photo of Julia and Nick exiting the Pope's Lounge, both of their backs are turned away from the camera and they both just happen to be taking a step in different directions.
Weather: Sunny! Figuring out their outdoor portraits and family photos with the sun was both fun and had me leaning toward artistic.
Editing Vibes: For the getting ready moments, ceremony, family, and portraits, I used natural light. Their photos are edited to both look like film and digital. I typically add grain to my photos and dim the highlights. Plus, I edit warmer to give it a more vintage feel. You'll find with some of the reception photos, I took photos directly through a clear shower cap to really give a film look.
How Long Was the Wedding: 8 Hours (the perfect amount of time to really photograph Nick and Julia before guests arrived, get in some family photos, give them time to chill before the ceremony, give me time to candidly photograph their guests arriving, take photos of the entire reception, and even a little bit of the after party)
Vendors:
Florist: Patrick Martinez at CityIris
Day of Coordination: Jose from Mostest (could not recommend Jose enough!)
Dress: Jenny Yoo
Venue: TWA Hotel
Band: AffinitiNYC (Literally so great and had the best time)
Check out the Reception and plane after party here!
Comments