Housing Works Bookstore Wedding- Courtney and Brian

Since I now live in California and Courtney and Brian live in D.C. but were having a NYC wedding, the first time I met them was on their wedding day.  I walked into The Jade Hotel to find this tall auburn beauty in her stunning Nicole Miller wedding dress!Mom was adorable as she rushed about making sure every last detail on Courtney was perfect before she saw Brian!The ladies did a toast before the big moment!  Which I should add now, Courtney and Brian decided to have a private first look… so just close your eyes and imagine lots of love and happiness……when they opened the door this is what greeted me! Pure joy!Their room at the Jade Hotel was stunning and had a little balcony that offered incredible views of the city sky line, including the Empire State building.  With their big smiles and contagious happiness it was easy to take tons of pictures of the soon to be newlyweds!The interesting decor of the Jade Hotel’s lobby added more visual inspiration!  You would never know from Courtney looking so elegant and lovely in her dress but it was FREEZING out!  She was a real trooper for the photographs and she kept herself warm between photographs by wrapping herself up in her childhood blanket! Courtney’s mother was a teacher and her first class ever made this blanket for her!  Ahhh all eyes on the bride and groom!!  Love NYC street wedding moments!  So in a city full of photography opportunity from the gorgeous Central Park to the graffiti-lined Meat Packing district I was pleasantly surprised when Courtney and Brian told me where they want to take portraits. She said it was nothing really special to anyone else but REALLY special to them…Her old stoop down on the lower east side… surrounded by lots of brick and a blaring security light, this is the spot where Courtney and Brian shared their first kiss and then later he proposed to her! I couldn’t imagine a better place to go! Sentimental value always wins in my book!What to do with that light?! Use it to get creative!And as if it couldn’t get any sweeter he dropped to his knee again!  Such a romantic!Ask any photographer and they probably have a bucket list of photographs they always hope to take one day. Someone get me a pen because I have something to cross off my bucket list! The wedding day diner photograph complete with locked up bike and the florescent open sign!Lots of comedy I could not hear but it looked funny!  These two were joking around all day between all the love and romance!Time to get to the main event! We made it down to Soho with enough time to do some street pictures in the dark using all the lights that this great city provides!LOVEEEE!One last photograph outside their wedding venue, The Housing Works Bookstore Cafe!  This place is not only beautiful on the eyes but has a HUGE heart.  Everything in this store is donated and all the workers are 100% volunteer!  All profits go to Housing Works who is helping those with AIDS.

When you first walked in you were greeted by some adorableness!  Courtney and Brian had set up a table displaying the escort cards, a MadLibs form to fill out (awesome) and a poster from Courtney’s class! I provided close-up of the advice so you can read and see how smart these kids are!“Take care of each other’s hearts”, how endearing is that?!The back room provided the space for the tables and the food.Courtney and Brian with the help of their friends and family brought everything together so perfectly to fit the bookstore theme.Each table was named after one of their favorite authors.  Children’s authors too since both Courtney and Brian are teachers!The beautiful flowers were created by Whole Foods!!!Yummy cupcakes replaced a wedding cake and if that wasn’t enough they set up a table of candy for goody bags!As the beautiful music of their close friend, Mike filled the air, it was time to begin the wedding ceremony.I love this look on Brians’ face as he sees Courtney!Courtney was given away by her father.Surrounded by their loved one and books, Courtney and Brian’s’ dear friend Ashlyn, officiated the wedding so eloquently.The bookstore had a balcony that offered a really unique perspective on the wedding. I was so grateful to Brian Leong who assisted me with this wedding and was able to capture the birds eye view!Courtney and Brian read letters that they wrote to each other. I loved how much they smiled all day, their cheeks must’ve hurt from all that happiness the next day!“You may now kiss the bride!”Married!!!!Cocktail hour!  I’m swooning over the zig zagging cafe lights set up!Brian is congratulated by his mother!Did you notice the adorable strung paper hearts?! Courtney’s Mom made those!!!!Brian and Courtney welcome and thank their family and friends!Courtney’s dad took the stage followed by their friends.  The toasts were filled with stories of love and adventure and had everyone laughing and tearing up!  Love wedding toasts!Courtney and Brian have their first dance as married couple!Courtney’s dad and Brian’s mom are then welcomed onto the dance floor!It was now time to celebrate and celebrate this group did!  Only 53 people in total, this little wedding knew how to have fun!Cupcake cutting time…. Brian making Courtney laugh… as usual!One of Brian’s groomsmen was hysterical, every time I saw him he was up to some kind of shenanigans!  This picture cracks me up, my two year old makes a similar face over Thomas stories!Goofing around… these two have the laughter part of their marriage down pat already!The wedding rings……and a kiss to end this blog post! Courtney and Brian, thank you so much for inviting us to be part of your unique and heartfelt wedding day!

A BIG thank you to Brian Leong for helping me out with this wedding!!!

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