Alex and Bardo reached out right after getting engaged, and after telling me they were from Cincinnati, I remember thinking – okay, Midwestern couple, probably want something traditional, classic, safe.
I was so wrong (and I love being wrong like this). They wanted to get married in Italy. Then they also wanted a second wedding in New York City with their families. Because apparently, when you’re Alex and Bardo, one wedding isn’t enough to contain all that love.
Getting that call about photographing their New York City Hall wedding after they’d already said “I do” in Italy felt like being invited into something really intimate. Like, “hey, we already did the big romantic thing, but we want you here for the family celebration, for the New York version of our story.”
How do you say no to that?
Quick Links to the Good Stuff:
Gallery Highlights: The Stuff Nobody Puts in Wedding Blogs
Sometimes couples eat street cart hot dogs in full wedding attire and it becomes one of the best parts of your gallery. Sometimes they take the subway to their own ceremony because why would you do anything else? Sometimes a bride’s dress catches on literally everything at City Hall because the building wasn’t designed with wedding gowns in mind, and all of that is part of the charm.
The way other subway passengers’ faces lit up when they saw Alex and Bardo in wedding clothes on a random Tuesday afternoon. The street cart vendor who couldn’t stop smiling while serving them hot dogs. The Met security guard who quietly congratulated them as they wandered through the galleries.
That’s the thing about wedding photography that makes me keep doing this – it’s never just about the poses or the light or the locations (though those matter, trust me). It’s about the grandmother who wants her good side photographed. It’s about the way a couple from Cincinnati makes New York feel like home for a morning by doing exactly what New Yorkers do – eating street food, taking the train, living their lives but in fancier clothes. It’s about choosing each other, then choosing hot dogs, then choosing to ride the New York City subway in a wedding dress, because why else are you here but to have some fun?
I can teach someone camera settings. I can explain composition and light. But I can’t teach how to see these moments, how to recognize when something real is happening in front of you, how to honor a couple’s specific story instead of imposing what you think a wedding “should” look like.
Alex and Bardo didn’t need me to manufacture moments for them. They just needed me to pay attention while they lived their day. And truly, that’s my favorite kind of assignment.
Morning: Ralph’s Coffee
We met at Ralph’s, and as I arrived Alex and Bardo were already there, sitting at a tiny table. When I walked in, Bardo was making Alex laugh so hard she had to put down her matcha.
That’s the moment I knew the day was going to be special. Not because of anything Pinterest-worthy, but because they were genuinely enjoying being together at a time most people would be incredibly stressed about. There was no “okay we need to take photos now” energy. Just two people who somehow found each other and were about to celebrate that fact all over again in New York City.
The morning light was doing that thing it does sometimes – making everything look like a butter-soaked dream – and I caught Alex looking at Bardo with this expression that I can only describe as “I can’t believe I get to keep you.” You know that look. If you don’t know that look, I hope someday you do.
(Side note: if you’re planning a city hall elopement and wondering whether to do portraits before, the answer is yes. This quiet time before family arrives is the best way to soak it all in.)
Mid-Morning: The Met
After coffee, we headed to The Met to grab some portraits before City Hall because what’s more iconic than being surrounded by the world’s greatest works on your wedding day?
I love photographing couples at The Met, espeically when we have veils to play with and galleries to ourselves. But you still need a couple who understands how to exist in that space without trying too hard. Alex and Bardo got it immediately.
We wandered through gallery after gallery – them in full wedding attire, surrounded by priceless art and other museum-goers trying not to stare, sometimes smiling and offering congrats. I’d position them on the grand marble staircase, or in front of those soaring arched doorways, or sitting on a bench in a quiet gallery, and they’d just… exist there naturally. Bardo would lean in and whisper something about a painting. Alex would rest her head on his shoulder while they looked at a sculpture together.
And Then They Did The Most New York Thing Possible
Okay, so this is where the day went from “beautiful elegant wedding photos” to “I LOVE THESE PEOPLE.”
We left The Met, and I assumed we’d grab a cab to City Hall because, you know, wedding dress, timeline, normal wedding day logic. But Alex and Bardo had other plans.
I’m happy to report that they informed me we were taking the subway to City Hall.
The. Subway. In. Wedding. Attire.
Most people wouldn’t dream of it (except for real New Yorkers, of course) – the crowds, the potential for dress disasters, the sheer impracticality of navigating turnstiles in formal wear. But Alex and Bardo just… did it. We swiped our MetroCards and headed underground.
Afternoon: City Hall
Okay, so we get to City Hall, and their families are already there, and I need you to understand something: watching young Midwestern families experience New York for a wedding is its own special kind of beautiful.
I’ve photographed enough city hall elopements to know the rhythms, where to stand, how to make the most of those marble hallways and that specific City Hall light. But what I can never predict is how each couple’s energy will fill the space. Alex and Bardo brought this calm joy – not nervous-first-wedding energy, but this grounded “we’ve already done this, and we’re choosing to do it again, with you” energy that was somehow more powerful.
Why This Second Wedding Thing Gets Me
Can we talk about the concept of a second wedding for a minute? Because I think it’s revolutionary.
We have this cultural script that says: one wedding, one big day, get it right the first time, invite everyone you’ve ever met, go into debt if necessary because this is THE MOMENT. And look, I photograph those weddings too, and they’re beautiful. But there’s something about couples like Alex and Bardo who look at that script and go “…or we could do it our way, in the places that matter to us, with different people at different times.”
That’s not about doing it “again” because the first time didn’t count. It’s about understanding that love is big enough to celebrate in multiple ways, in multiple places, that committing to someone isn’t a one-time checkbox but an ongoing choice you get to keep making.
If You’re Thinking About a Second Wedding (Or a First One, Or Whatever Feels Right)
Listen, I’m not here to tell you how to get married. If you want one big wedding, great. If you want twelve small ones, I’m genuinely here for that too. What I’ve learned from photographing everyone from traditional church ceremonies to city hall elopements to second weddings like Alex and Bardo’s is this: the only rule is that it should feel true to you.
Are you planning a New York City Hall wedding because it’s quick and convenient? Valid.
Are you planning one because City Hall represents something meaningful to you? Also valid.
Are you having a second wedding because you already did the first one your way (or maybe your parents’ way, or tradition’s way) and now you want something different? So valid I might cry about it.
What I can tell you is that New York gives you options. Morning coffee at Ralph’s and portraits at The Met? We can do that. Quick ceremony with just two witnesses? We can do that too. Bringing your entire extended family to celebrate in those marble hallways? I’m absolutely here for it.
I don’t know your story yet, but I want to. Tell me what matters to you, and I’ll make sure we capture it – the real stuff, not just the pretty pictures (though we’ll get those too, don’t worry).
Because at the end of the day, wedding photography is about trust. You’re trusting me to see you, to understand what makes your relationship unique, to recognize and capture the moments that will matter in thirty years when you’re looking back on this specific chapter of your love story.
I can’t promise I won’t shed a tear or two. But I can promise I’ll show up, I’ll pay attention, and I’ll create images that transport you back to exactly how it felt to choose each other – in coffee shops and museums and marble hallways, in Italy and New York and wherever else your story takes you.
Ready to plan your New York City Hall wedding? Let’s start with coffee and chat.
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