New York City is a beautiful city. I’m not just saying that because I have been doing New York Wedding Photography for over a decade now. This city has a lot of beautiful venues and scenery that will almost surely win you over to the urban life. As a New York wedding photographer, I particularly enjoy all the great spots that make for some magical backgrounds in photographs.
For me, wedding photography will always remain an indisputable darling. There’s something about capturing the spark between two love birds that I can’t find elsewhere. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. For me, wedding photography allows me to describe the essence of love in thousand-word bursts without ever picking up a pen or a keyboard.
New York certainly has an air of romance about it that makes it ideal as a background for most couples. There are a lot of great venues where you can go to hold your wedding and have excellent pictures taken. Here are some of them:
Nested in the middle of Battery Park City, Conrad New York is a little like something out of some faraway fantasy about glamorous city life. The square footage in this venue is quite ample, allowing you to invite as many guests as you would like. At the ground floor is the Atrio, a restaurant that focuses on Mediterranean-influenced meals. This would be perfect if you’re looking for a city wedding that still maintains an exotic vibe to it.
The meals are served from an open kitchen and the restaurant has a great modern lobby with a large Sol LeWitt mural spanning 14 feet. The mural would be perfect as a background for some of your photographs, giving the picture a certain futuristic edge to it. Up in the rooftop is a spacious bar with unrivaled views of the nearby Hudson River Park. You can host your guests here for a cocktail as you take breathtaking pictures in the twilight with the breeze blowing the bride’s hair and wedding gown. The hotel also includes a movie theater, giving you the opportunity to do a different kind of reception for your guests.
One World Observatory’s bold claim is that it will give you the opportunity to “see forever”. This isn’t an unfounded claim. Sitting atop the new One World Trade Center, this deck is one of the highest in the world. The building in which it is located happens to be the tallest in the western hemisphere and the fourth tallest in the world.
The One World Observatory offers beautiful sweeping views of New York with enough spots for taking some beautiful pictures. It does feel like you can see forever as you look out across the New York skyline and beyond. It acts as a powerful metaphor for the endless possibilities that lie before you as a married couple, and will certainly add some depth to your photographs.
Oheka Castle isn’t exactly in New York. It’s located on the Gold Coast, on the highest point of Long Island, somewhere between The Hamptons and New York. However, I have no qualms about claiming this beautiful wedding venue for New York City.
This magnificent castle came into existence in 1919, when Otto Hermann, a man who loved to throw extravagant parties, commissioned two great architects to give design him a house after the castles of Europe. The architects didn’t fail. One certainly feels like they are walking into a distinguished French chateau as they enter the gates of Oheka; the landscaping alone looks like something out of a fairy tale.
Oheka Castle has a lot to offer. The landscaping is beautiful and the grounds are large enough for however many guests you might want to invite to the wedding. The cuisine is international and the service is not unlike the kind dignitaries and celebrities enjoyed during the castle’s initial occupation in the twenties. The backdrops will certainly make for incredible pictures if you’re looking for a European themed wedding without having to go to Europe. To top it all off, Oheka’s management only allows for one wedding to be held per day, allowing you the luxury of savoring every moment of your special day at this wonderful venue.
Other great venues around New York that would be perfect for weddings include the following:
This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many other great venues that I haven’t mentioned. They aren’t, by any means, any less ideal than the ones above. These just happen to be my favorites. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you’re looking for and how that venue turns it into a reality.
A Photo on the Marina Del Rey
New York Wedding Photography is often characterized by breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline. This photo, however, offers exquisite views of a different sort. A venue in the Bronx, the Marina Del Rey, gives couples the best of both worlds. The location is set on the Hudson River, and gives guests the sense that they will walk out of the venue and find themselves in a charming European village, not New York City. It also gives wedding attendees impeccable views of the city skyline and the bridges that span the river.
This image shows the bride and groom standing together with the sky spread wide behind them. I was intentional in taking this portrait and kept the scenery of the ground out of the image to give the impression the couple are alone and surrounded only by sky and clouds. It is a heavenly image, one that makes it seem that the bride and groom could float off into the clouds from the joy that flows through them.
The sun has almost fully set behind the couple, giving the sky a golden glow that makes the scene especially captivating. The couple hold one another, foreheads touching. Their wide smiles and the love that shines from their eyes are telling of the magical day that they have experienced.
