I love Brooklyn, this day, these venues, and this couple— oh and that dress!  It just doesn’t get much better than this. Thank you Ashley and Dan for having me along. It was an honor, a pleasure, and a blast.

Congrats!!!

The Dress ~ Jenny Packham

The Suit ~ Brooklyn Tailors

Catering ~ Real Food

Flowers ~ Rose Red & Lavender

Prep Location ~ The Wythe Hotel

Wedding Venue ~ The Green Building

Event & Graphic design ~ Ashley Westrich (aka the bride)

Music / DJ ~ Gary Hoffman from 74Events

Videography ~ Kiss the Bride Films

Makeup ~ Shara Strand

Hair ~ Anna Nuet

http://katieosgood.com

Way back in the early 2000’s I was in college. I was in what I like to call— ”real college”, before my days at Art Center.  I was living on campus, going to fraternity parties (or doing my best to avoid them whenever possible), working at Starbucks, doing darkroom printing for extra cash, and I even interned for a… wait for it— a wedding photographer. I was 19 and life was packed full of unknowns, experiments, $100 1GB CF cards, crappy beer, The Postal Service, darkroom all-nighters, and (how could I forget?), flared jeans. Those were good times indeed.

I was working in my college’s photo equipment room one semester when I met a guy named Gregg who was to be my lab partner. Without much work, a friendship formed. Soon Monday mornings and several afternoons a week consisted of Mexican food, laptops, cameras, and learning how to make stop-motion videos with Gregg. Gregg taught me everything I needed to know about Adobe Premiere and when he wasn’t around, Keay, my digital photo teacher and the photo lab tech, would supplement by teaching me AfterEffects. To this day I am indebted to the both of them for all they taught me. (Side note, you might remember Gregg from his freakin’ awesome Palm Springs wedding I shot last year.)

Being that it was early 2004 and I was shooting digital, at least in my personal life, I was shooting far more frames than I would with film. I figured, what better way to look back on hundreds of digital files than to string them together with a little music? So for no other reason than to document my life I started making little stop actions of my own.

A couple years later, after ditching real college for Art Center I made a few more stop-action videos. This time using a scanner in place of a camera and old sequential frames shot on chrome from the 80’s. Thank you dad ;) The work was classic 22-year-old stuff and yes, it’s still scary to show, but here you go if you’re interested. (I’ll just close my eyes and plug my ears while you watch it.)

Fast forward to 2013— enter Dan and Eric. When I met with them over the phone, (they live in LA), they told me all about their day and what they had planned. They told me about their AirBNB rental in Williamsburg, (aka my home and favorite ‘hood), and how they were planning to take the East River Ferry to Wall Street, then cab it to City Hall and from there walk around and eventually end up at the Library Hotel for lunch. The day they described seemed so organic and Eric and Dan had an attitude of “…and then we’ll just see what happens”. Needless to say I was stoked when they decided to book me as their photographer.

When Dan and Eric got into NYC a few days before the wedding I wanted to meet them in real life, so we met up for some beers. It was then that I told them about my idea to shoot a few scenes for a potential stop-action movie. Nothing too crazy, but I wanted see how a wedding day would translate through a quirky stop-action sequence. They were down and better yet, they totally trusted me.

So why all of a sudden did I want to try this out after so long? I’ll tell you— I’ve been shooting weddings since 2006, the last 3 years of which have been full-time. When it all started I thought I had to take ‘wedding style’ photographs. What does even that mean?! At the time, to me, it meant I had to shoot brides and grooms dip kissing each other and couples arbitrarily walking through a park in clothes that were way too fancy for the occasion. In short, I felt like there was my ‘wedding work’ which was mildly fake and contrived and then this other stuff I did. I’ll save the story on my creative trials and tribulations of the last couple years for another post, so for now I’ll just say this…

I’m at a place in my career where I love what I am doing and for the first time I am seeing that there is no such thing as wedding photography. There is good photography and not good photography. There are those who create new ideas and those that follow in their footsteps and imitate. There are photographers and there are people who have cameras. Who am I? I’m a photographer, I’m a creative, and I shoot weddings. I don’t shoot one way for a wedding and another for a commercial job. I don’t change the way I shoot; the only thing that changes is what I’m shooting and perhaps, who I’m shooting for. Whether I’m shooting portraits for myself, a client, or shooting a wedding, the images I make take a great amount of thought and skill and technology to create. At the end of the day I want to give my clients something that’s special and entirely personalized. I want to give them a product that is not only easy to share with their friends and family but that’s fun too. I want to give them an experience.

What I get to do for a living is a gift and an incredible honor. It’s not lost on me how insanely lucky I am to live the life I do. Creating something that allows people to relive their happiest day over and over again in a way that will not only remind them what it looked but also of what they felt isn’t easy, but when I succeed at doing that, there is no greater feeling of satisfaction and joy. There’s nothing quite like creating images that mean so much to a single person. As cheesy as this sounds, it’s so rewarding because in that I find my purpose. What could be better?

For Dan and Eric— the two of you are far more than a couple who got married, you’re a little sign to everyone that love, is love, is love. Congratulations to you both. I’m so glad to know you and call you my new friends. <3

One last thing, the video you’ll find below is simple. It’s not technically perfect but that wasn’t so much the intent here. Hopefully it’ll throw a little more light on Dan and Eric’s wedding day than the images alone and hopefully it’s fun to watch too.

Video music ~ The Light by The Album Leaf 

http://katieosgood.com

Albums are designed by Katie and crafted by Vision Art and Finao

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…and just in case you need some extra convincing that I’m right, check out their engagement session here.

 Floral and Event Design – Rebecca Shepherd

Venue – Liberty Warehouse

Videography – Kiss the Bride Films

Cake – The bride’s sister (cake flowers by Rebecca Shepherd)

http://katieosgood.com

In all seriousness though, this year has been one of the best in recent memory. I’ve met a crap ton of super cool people, some of whom I’m lucky to call good friends, I got a dog (Henri, he’s awesome), I sang Call Me Maybe at least 20 times while shooting a wedding, (major highlight, don’t even act like you don’t love it), I joined the cult of iPad owners, I started Instagramming, I made my apartment look more like a home than a dorm room, I had my logo redesigned, and of course I shot weddings— over 30 of them. I think that might be the best thing of all. Why? Because this is not just my job, it’s my life and I’m so incredibly grateful to all the wonderful couples who I have gotten to know and who have trusted me with the task of capturing one of the few turning points in their lives. You all are the reason I am able to do what I love everyday. THANK YOU! It really has been a year to remember.

So here’s to buying fewer files on iTunes and to all of us always being better than we were yesterday!

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham

Here’s to 2013!

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“Finally heading home to reality… I couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon with my wife who has been and continues to be my rock through this tough time. The outpouring of love and support we have gotten from the greatest bunch of friends and family a guy could ask for. We can’t thank you all enough for offering us shelter and clothes and whatever we might need when we get back. Love you guys and see you soon” – Ernie

The above are Facebook status’ posted by Becky and Ernie who’s wedding is posted below. Several days after Hurricane Sandy hit NYC I saw these posts on my Facebook feed and my heart sank. I instantly remembered that Becky + Ernie’s home was in Broad Channel, a small island in-between the Rockaways and Long Island. They knew they were coming back from their honeymoon in Hawaii to a disaster zone and I’m sure they feared the worst. Their fears were confirmed when they returned home to find everything they owned submerged in five feet of water and what was left of their house unsalvageable.

Becky and Ernie were one of my favorite couples before all this, but in the last month they have been an inspiration.  They were hit harder by Sandy than anyone I know and they have been nothing but positive about their whole situation. When Becky Instagramed a photo of everything she and Ernie owned in a pile outside their home she said “out with the old and in the new.” Really?! I would have probably said something like “wow this is gonna be expensive, I wanna cry.” Not Becky, she’s looking on the bright side. Becky and Ernie are no doubt going through something no one should ever have to go through and it’s only making them stronger as individuals and as a couple.

Last week was Becky and Ernie’s one month anniversary. Tears nearly came to my eyes when I saw what Becky wrote on Facebook, hell, I’ve got a lump in my throat just writing about it:

“It’s only been a month but with all the ups & downs, highs & lows, I know with all my heart that I have the BEST HUSBAND in the UNIVERSE!! Who knew we could get stronger than we already were!!! Happy One Month Boo… I can’t wait for our One Millionth Month!! …Love you! xx - Becky

Originally this post was going to be about how much fun their wedding was, how we ignored the rain and just got wet, and how this awesome couple are the reason I met them. Instead I feel like this is more important to acknowledge—  It’s people like Ernie and Becky who remind me to keep perspective and remind me that keeping a positive attitude isn’t only good for me, it’s good for other people too. It’s contagious. I’m easily caught up complaining about first world problems, but when I see people like Becky and Ernie pushed to the limit, I’m reminded of what really matters— love and family and friends. So this post is for Becky and Ernie, I’m so inspired by the love they have for each other and the way they choose to live their lives. I’m overwhelmingly lucky to know them both.

Becky + Ernie— Thank you for trusting me, for going in the water, for playing in the rain, and for letting me quote your mushy Facebook posts.  I know you will make it through this as you’ll make it through whatever else life throws at you and you’ll be better people and a better couple for it. Oh and you know how to throw a sweet party! Congrats you guys! <3

Friends of Becky + Ernie have setup a fund for them if you’d like to help go here.

Vendor info on Pinterest

Venue ~ The Crescent Beach Club

http://katieosgood.com

Wedding Coordination by Kate O’Donnell of Green Apple Weddings

All the festivities were held at the Metropolitan Building

Florals by Bunch

  Vendor info also on Pinterest

http://katieosgood.com

This job is a way of life; It’s what I do, it’s become part of me. Every time “I go to work” I am there. Like there there, mind + body there. Even the guests make their mark on me. Think of it this way, I spend hours with a couple on their big day. In some cases I spend more time with a couple than anyone else at the wedding and when it’s all over, I spend countless hours editing images building a story for the couple to share and look back on forever. I know their faces, their family’s faces, their friends faces. Sometimes I recognize wedding guests from weddings months past on the streets of NYC, but just walk by because I know that I know their face even though they aren’t likely to remember mine. After all, I’ve stared at it on a screen for hours and hours after the festivities have come to an end. So trust me when I say, I will always remember. That is of course, barring any unforeseen head injuries (crossing fingers).  In all seriousness, each wedding offers up it’s own set of events or people or places or all of those combined which can’t help but add up to an unforgettable day.

With that, I present Andie + Pete’s story. And to make a point, one such reason I will never forget their wedding— it marks first time I’ve been pulled onto the dance floor, forced into a chair, and been subjected to a lap dance. Ever.

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About a month before their big day, I made the trip up to their farm to meet and shoot them for the first time. I learned all about their farm and to say the least, I fell in love with it.  Jen + Topher are hands down, two of the coolest people ever.  I’m so glad to know them and, in case it’s not evident from the images below, it was a joy and a treat to visit Cricket Creek Farm again to shoot their wedding.

Congrats Jen + Topher!!

http://katieosgood.com