A Gallow Green Wedding | All the Details Plus Photos & Tips

High atop the McKittrick Hotel, the site of the popular ‘Sleep No More’ play, sits the Gallow Green restaurant. It was here that Stephanie and Shane hosted a fabulous wedding full of love, laughter, friends, and family. Take a walk on the chic side with Stephanie and Shane — from the High Line Hotel where the couple got ready for their big day, to the Heath night club where they had their after hours party – and find out all the details of their Gallow Green wedding in today’s blog.

Gallow Green Wedding – Getting Ready

Let’s start our adventure at the High Line Hotel, where Stephanie and Shane got ready in separate rooms. This was my first time at the hotel and the urban hunting lodge elegance of the space was perfectly fitting for the forest theme of the couple’s wedding. Wisely, there was plenty of time packed into the schedule for all the special ‘getting ready’ moments to be caught on camera: Stephanie’s mother helping her put on her dress, her father seeing her in her wedding dress for the first time, and Stephanie and Shane opening gifts from one to another. Seeing Stephanie tear up as she read Shane’s letter left not a dry eye in the bridal suite.

Stephanie and Shane’s wedding yielded several great tips for all brides out there. First, if your wedding dress has intricate buttons and hooks, then make sure you have a crochet needle on hand to help with the task (I always have mine with me!). Second, if you would like to add a little extra ambiance to your jewelry shots and you are in possession of a beautiful mirror, then by all means bring it with you on your wedding day! Stephanie brought with her an elegant hand mirror and a platter mirror, both of which I used in her getting ready shots. Finally, when planning your schedule, don’t forget to allow extra time to take photos of your family helping you get ready. The images of Stephanie with her mother and father are priceless memories.

Gallow Green Wedding – Portraits

Next up on the Gallow Green wedding adventure was the bride and groom portraits. Chelsea has a wealth of unique photo opportunities, but Stephanie and Shane are simply not posed portrait kind of people. They wanted a more private portrait experience, so we staged their first look at Gallow Green on the railroad tracks. From here we walked one block to her mother’s apartment and took photos as we walked. If you are getting married in the area, you might also check out the Hudson River waterfront park area, walk along a few of the more industrial-looking neighborhood streets, or try your patience with the High Line. One heavy word of caution with the High Line: it is always heaving with tourists. The park itself is quite narrow, and there is virtually no way to avoid the crowds except starting your photo shoot at the break of dawn. The photo sessions I have done at the High Line (Anna & Andrew and Aimee & Colin) have all been done at around 8:00 a.m., so you have been warned.

Gallow Green Wedding – Ceremony

Salt pouring ceremony at a Gallow Green wedding — The salt pouring ceremony

After the family portraits were taken on the roof, everyone walked over to Gallow Green where Stephanie and Shane signed their marriage license making them officially man and wife. The only thing left was the show! And with that, the ceremony began. The nuptials started on a hilarious note with the two precious little flower girls, Willow and Ela, walking down the aisle. They both walked marvelously, but didn’t actually disperse any of the petals. All was well until one the bridesmaids helpfully dumped out all of the rose petals. Then chaos ensued. Willow unsuccessfully tried to put her petals back in the basket, and then burst into tears. Ela, meanwhile, was having a hard time with her flower crown falling into her eyes.

The mood changed when Stephanie walked down the aisle and locked eyes with Shane. As the sun set over the rooftop deck, the couple said their vows. They included a salt pouring ceremony where they both poured salt into a container to symbolize the coming together of two into one.

Stephanie & Shane’s Love Story

Seems like a good time to tell you how Stephanie and Shane met: Stephanie had just moved into a 6-person apartment in Brooklyn when one of her roommates left for a month-long trip and decided to sub-let her room. That sub-letter turned out to be Shane! One night, a bunch of the roommates went out together and Stephanie and Shane started talking over picklebacks and Big Buck Hunter. Picklebacks that led to love – only in Brooklyn. On the third anniversary of their first date, Stephanie and Shane decided to take the train to Cold Spring, NY for a hike, and when they got to a beautiful lookout point, Shane got down on one knee and asked, “Do you want to do this forever?” Stephanie said yes.

Gallow Green Wedding – Reception

After a romantic kiss, the party began. There are several points to note about the wedding. First, music was a priority with the couple. Kishi Bashi played the cello and sang during the ceremony. If you are not familiar with his music, you should be. His song, ‘Can’t Let Go, Juno,’ is now one of my favorites. You can find his music on his website and you should also see his Ted Talk (!). Other musicians performing that evening included the jazz band, 74 Events, which played during the cocktail hour, and DJ 74 Events, who kept everyone dancing at the reception.

I mentioned the forest theme, which could be found throughout the wedding from the invitations to the cake topper. The theme matched perfectly with the natural decorations studded around the Gallow Green treetop-lined roof deck. Speaking of which, the roof offered guests a spectacular view of the Chelsea area, and in particular, you could see the Empire State Building shining red and white.

Dinner was fried chicken with all the fixings, and the beverages of choice that night included a very woozy punch and Hoo Boy! IPA beer – brewed by none other than the groom himself. The beautiful wedding cake was sliced up for dessert, but not till after the bride and groom had to find other silverware. The knife chosen for the cutting, unfortunately, broke at the handle mid-slice. All’s well that ends well with a great photo opportunity!

The evening ended with an after party down in the bottom floor of the McKittrick Hotel at the Heath nightclub. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive because I knew the Heath would be incredibly dark. Indeed it was, but the colored lights and fog machine resulted in ethereal, moody photos that I really like. What do you think?

Enjoy the Gallow Green wedding photos, and I’ll have more news next week including photos from a wedding at the William Vale Hotel and a sunset engagement session along the Hudson River. Also, make sure you take a look at Stephanie and Shane’s rehearsal dinner photos and their Brooklyn engagement photos.

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