Manhattan Wedding at 632 On Hudson

Apr 24

When Camille and Valerio first reached out to me about photographing their Manhattan wedding they said they wanted soulful images that had a filmy, artistic, timeless feel to match their venue, as well as the feeling of the day. Nestled in the city on Hudson Street we brought those dreams to life beginning with their engagement photos on the rooftop garden 632 On Hudson offers all the way to their wedding day filled with champagne, many happy tears, and a lot of impressive dance moves. I can just begin to imagine them telling their kids about how much fun their wedding was as they hand them a slightly worn wedding album that transports them all back to the big day.

I think one of my favorite parts of the day was the intention that went into keeping it true to their relationships and cultures. Camille started off the day by doing her own hair and makeup with her wedding party and had some sweet moments with her mom before the ceremony who had flown in from Korea a few days prior. Valerio spent his morning with his wedding party getting ready and was able to greet has family, who had flown in from Italy, and spend time with all of them to soak in all of the excitement and anticipation before saying “I do”.

In one of the less tearful moments at the beginning of the Ceremony, Camille’s Dad went to pass her off into Valerio’s arms and he made him do 10 pushups before he would allow them to get married. I can definitively say that he rose to the occasion, in a full suit, and the guests absolutely loved it.

During the ceremony they both said vows to one another in the other’s original language, and later for their thank you speech they address both of their family for a personal message in their respective languages. I feel safe to say that at this point the tears were flowing freely and very openly by all.

After the ceremony wrapped up we headed up to the rooftop garden for some family formals, wedding party photos and couples pictures. I’m still mesmerized with the golden light of the evening bouncing off of the surrounding buildings of Manhattan to give us the perfect cocoon of light to capture so many amazing moments for all of them. The greenery and florals in the garden combined with the overwhelming feelings of officially tying the knot made this portion of the day seem infinitely magical and provided the perfect opportunity to shoot some film on my 35mm camera.

Tears seems to be cascading down everyone’s faces as the Best Man and Maid of Honor gave their speeches and even more so when Camille and Valerio where took the opportunity to talk to their families in their first languages to thank them for everything. It’s not too often I see couples address their guests and families in a thank you speech at the wedding but when I do have the opportunity to document it, it’s always a highly charged emotional moment for everyone. It’s as if the room takes a collective break and there is nothing to distract from the words and sentiment being shared by the couple. In a day filled with bustling activity, emotion and celebrating it’s a beautiful moment of pause that holds the weight of everything the day has encompassed.

They had planned everything to a T right down to a change of attire for Camille to be able to dance the night away in the cutest reception dress from Bronx & Banco so she could easily dance the night away with everyone. We ended the night by surprising the remaining guests with an afterparty on the basement level of the venue with a private speakeasy fully decked out with a gorgeous bar and piano. It felt absolutely perfect to be nestled in the speakeasy in the West Village in the early morning hours as New York City began to truly wake up and be charged with the activity of a hot July Summer’s night.

This day was comprised of so much hard work and intentionality and would not have been possible

without all of these amazing vendors:

Venue: 632 on Hudson

Rentals: Smith Party Rentals

Day-of Coordinator: Valerie Leung

Cake: Big Cake Mom

Sound Equipment: Rock & Soul

Caterer: Marcey Brownstein Catering

Florist: WMF Events

DJ: Francesco Lopez

Photographer: Kirsten Hartzell Photography

Jazz Quartet: The Gallants