Marianna & Tom’s Chic Housing Works Wedding

In this week’s blog post, I have a très chic Housing Works wedding to share with you. I had the pleasure of photographing Marianna and Tom’s 2021 nuptials, but never shared the photos. As such, I am going to be making up for lost time in this week’s blog post. Marianna and Tom’s wedding featured gold platform heels, a neon cake, and lots of confetti thrown in the air. So come on, get happy…let’s enjoy the memories.

Getting Ready at the Frederick Hotel

The day started at the Frederick Hotel in TriBeCa. The hotel has a very modern ambience and was the perfect fit for this wedding party. Marianna and Tom were getting ready in separate rooms at the same hotel. Both the bride and groom were surrounded by a room full of friends, and the whole mood was festive.

While the bride was finishing her makeup, I took Marianna’s sheath dress and fabulous, gold shoes downstairs for a few staged shots in the lobby. Marianna‘s elegant dress is one of my all-time favorite wedding dresses. First, the dress looks effortless, and secondly, it looked amazing attractive on Marianna. This dress would be a stunner no matter the occasion, but it made a special statement at the wedding. Even better, Marianna found it at Nordstrom’s!

By the way, the staff at the Frederick Hotel was outstanding. They were so kind to put up with me taking photos of the dress and bridal party in the lobby.

Housing Works Wedding — The Portraits

Marianna and Tom are a laid-back couple. While they wanted great photos from their wedding, they aren’t stiff and ‘posey’ people who like taking a lot of pictures. I kept her session low-key and we started off with a fun, first look right in front of the hotel at the Bogardus Plaza park. And since the bridal party was dressed and ready to go, we decided to take care of their family and bridal party portraits right then and there.

I should note that Marianna is a friend of Sarah and Dave. I had the pleasure of photographing their wedding at Bathhouse Studios a few years ago. The editorial-style photo I took of the bridal party in the lobby of the hotel was a huge hit from Sarah and Dave’s wedding. So, of course, we had to re-create this photo in the Frederick Hotel lobby.

With main portraits out of the way, the bride and groom and I hopped in a car and headed over to Housing Works. Here we took some portraits on the street in front of venue. We finished the portrait session upstairs on the mezzanine level of Housing Works. This level is always great for photos, and is a particularly perfect location in case of inclement weather. No one needs to get their hair wet for the sake of photos.

Housing Works Wedding — The Ceremony

The portraits were done, and it was time for the ceremony to begin. As usual with a Housing Works wedding, the ceremony was held right in the middle of the bookstore. The highlight of the ceremony had to be the bridal party striding in and throwing confetti just before the bride made her triumphant entrance. It was an epic start to the ceremony, and the ending was just as joyous. Surrounded by cheering friends and family on two levels, the couple had their first kiss is man and wife. Those family members who couldn’t make it to the ceremony from as far away as Brazil were still part of the moment via laptop streaming.

Housing Works Wedding — Cocktail Hour & Reception

Cocktail hour segued into a fantastic reception party. Of note, the couples fun, first dance, some very heartfelt speeches, and the couple’s avant-garde wedding cake. The cake was made by Cakes For No Occasion and the blaze of color really stood out.

I photographed this wedding truly from start to finish. While I am not a huge advocate of taking after party photos, this wedding was the exception. In general, photos taken during an after party turn into evidence, not great masterpieces of photographic art. But Marianna and Tom had a very fun night planned. I mean, how can you not photograph an event for which the means to get to the location is an old fashion school bus? The photo of Tom holding Marianna on the dance floor was one of my highlight photos of the night.

Meet Marianna and Tom

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer you a full introduction to the couple. Marianna and Tom met rather romantically on Valentine’s Day in 2013 in a bar in Chelsea. Here’s the story from Marianna: ‘We were there with a big group of mutual friends, though we had never met before. The bar was pouring free cocktails to anyone with pictures of an ex to shred at the bar. We stood next to one another while waiting to shred pictures of our exes and started talking. While we both agreed the shredding felt mean, but not mean enough to skip a free drink. That night we talked until the wee hours and felt at home with each other right away. We made plans to see each other again two days later at a party, exchanged kissy face emojis, and spent most days together after that.’

So how did the proposal take place? More from Marianna, ‘In August 2019, we decided that we wanted to get married so that we could officially be each other’s family. So, we procured beautiful rings, celebrated over sushi and beer, and called our parents to share the news.’

Marianna and Tom mesh so well together, and I truly wish them the best. Enjoy the images, and I will have more photo adventures for you next week!

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Are you trying the knot at Housing Works? Drop me a line and let’s chat about your photography needs.

Housing Works is one of my favorite wedding venues. For more photos from past events, check out my blogs, here, here, and here. Better yet, check out my wedding photo journalism portfolio — KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com.

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