Isabel & Patrick’s City Hall Wedding – The Day the Stars Aligned
Anyone familiar with weddings at the Manhattan or Brooklyn Marriage Bureaus (aka City Hall) knows that, since the COVID pandemic, there is a restriction of 6 people total for any wedding group. This includes the couple, so if there are two sets of parents and the couple, they can’t bring a photographer in. Which is super inconvenient (Hey NYC, how about raising that number by one and making the limit 7 people? Just a suggestion), but “them’s the rules,” as they say.
Unless…
Maybe it was because it was Good Friday and not many people were getting married that day. Maybe it was because Grizzly, Isabel & Patrick’s adorable dog, charmed the security guards at the entrance. Or maybe it was just one of those moments where the stars aligned and sprinkled a bit of stardust on everyone present. Whatever the reason, on that day, at that moment, all 11 of us, including parents, siblings, the photographer, the couple, plus Grizzly, were welcomed into the courthouse and the City Clerk’s office for Isabel and Patrick’s wedding.
How could it not be fantastic?
As everyone knows, I love City Hall weddings, and I especially love City Hall weddings with families who are there for all the best reasons to laugh, celebrate, and spend the day with each other, full stop. That kind of joy is magic and contagious, and probably the real reason the security guards couldn’t say no when everyone walked in.
Afterward, we took a stroll through their Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, and almost everyone we passed called out their congratulations, including two construction workers up on some scaffolding. It was a perfect, classic NYC wedding.
I always tell people that the great thing about photographing weddings is that, though each one follows a similar script, they are all 100% unique. Every time I think I know what to expect, I am surprised in the best way. That is why I encourage couples to have the wedding they really want, forget the trends, the suggestions, or the “you HAVE to do this!” comments. It’s your wedding day and no one else’s.
The most joyous photos, the ones that really radiate what a wedding day should be about, always happen when the couple is totally in their moment and surrounded by the people they want to have with them. It’s simply magic.
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If this approach to documentary wedding photography resonates with you, you can learn more or begin a conversation with Amy Milstein Photography.
