It is one thing when the temperature on your NYC wedding day drops from 72 midweek to 42 (and jumps back to 70 a few days later), but when you also have the annual NYC Marathon fall on your date, you may get nervous.
This cold NYC wedding, however, offered me a cool opportunity to put my couple into a “wind tunnel”– a huge arch under the Municipal Building which happened to be neatly aligned with the Arctic winds on that day. I know for the fact that not any couple would bear such a torture. An open area outdoor portraiture was challenging enough in a sleeveless open-back gown, let alone posing with a piercing sensation. That is what I called determination, and that is my type of a couple!
The preparation took place at the Gramercy Park Hotel where I photographed several commercial and fine art sessions already. Not weddings, and as it turns out, shooting in areas other than your room and corridors is off limits. The hotel is one of the protective of their interior decor. I went on to erase this disappointing hiccup from the memory by spending a couple of hours walking with the couple in downtown Manhattan which was unusually free of tourists because of the marathon closures and the weather.
The culmination was a spectacular show at the Romanoff Restaurant, where the unique ring arrangement, magnificent lights, mesmerizing voices of three singers accompanied by dazzling dancers, warmed everyone up and brought a fun and entertaining celebration. Father’s singing was one of the most touching and tearful moments, while their friends’ improvisation of the popular Russian/Azerbaijani/Talysh jingle that went viral in 2011 “Davai, Do Svidaniya” had everyone bending and almost peeing.
It was also an honor to meet one of my favorite painters whom I featured in my studio’s carefully curated “Masters of Fine Art” album about a year ago. Anna Razumovskaya of ANNA ART Publishing is a contemporary artist who lives in Canada. Imagine my “culture shock” when during the booking process I learned that she is a relative of the bride and that Anna is going to attend the wedding! I also heard rumors that she was among the endorsing family members during the photographer selection process. What a fine touch to a booking it was! See more of Anna’s eternally poetic work here.
Wishing you an eternal warmth in hearts to comfort each other in any tunnels, dear Vlada and Alex!
