This wedding, where do I begin. Kelly & Mina’s wedding was a lightning bolt of creativity, culture and color (and class, may I add). I’ve been sitting on this for far too long and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

After starting the day in one of New York City’s oldest churches with a Coptic ceremony honoring Mina’s heritage, guests were invited to witness an intimate vow ceremony on the grand Library staircase of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens— the first time the setting had ever been used for a wedding in the 110 years of the garden. A stringed band serenaded guests at cocktail hour amongst the reflection pools, as the bride and groom held a stage shoot with friends and family set against the backdrop of the garden’s orchards. One outfit change later, the guests were shuffled into the breath-taking atrium, filled with unique florals and candles paired with colorful rugs set as wall hangings, making the entire night feel magical.

But my favorite part? The third outfit change for both bride and groom transforming the dance floor of the greenhouse into hours of karaoke that carried the party into the night. K & M, you know how to party. Let’s get at it.

Donica, Riley, & their Love is a Thing celebration on Donica’s home island, Kauai. This wedding is LONG overdue in being shared. If I could sum up this day (from an outsiders perspective) it was that these two wanted the most chill wedding of all time, BUT did not overlook the details in making this day about their connection, their favorite people & things, & tradition. The ceremony was one of my favorite witnessed because there were so many moments that just spoke to their connection to one another + the land (using a shell full of water from different parts of their lives — from oceans to lakes to bathroom sinks — that they then washed their hands with), but also informal in that people stood around and you could palpably feel the energy around them. Dinner was of course a beautiful spread of Hawaiian favorites as well as shave ice to top off the night. I won’t blab on, go enjoy their day. :)

Nicole & Jon. I’ve been meaning to share this wedding since the moment I shot it, and of course, time passes way too quickly. The silver lining to all this stay at home business is it has opened up a few opportunities to get caught up on things I’ve truthfully wanted to do for far too long.

I personally love learning about the tiny details and touches from a wedding. It’s actually gotta be my favorite part other than toasts (what can I say, I love learning about my couples). Nicole & Jon’s wedding was no exception…keep reading.

One of their cocktails was called the Karoshi High Ball because 1) it was made with a Japanese whisky, in line with the Whisky & Ramen bar that they’re currently building, and 2) Karoshi in Japanese means “death by overwork”, a reference to their shared little problem of constantly working (note: they’re both awesome & talented at what they do- a lawyer and a dentist!) The best part? Those little paper airplanes are from recycled deposition transcripts of a particularly miserable case that Nicole worked on. I mean, if that’s not the best way to use those, I’m not sure what is! .

What an awesome vendor team as well.
PLANNING: Kindle & Gather
VENUE: The Contemporary Austin + Laguna Gloria (also owned by TCA)
FLORALS: Clementine Botanical Art
RENTALS:  Moontown Rentals