Taryn & Dave's Orange Lawn Tennis Club Wedding

If this wedding is any indication of our 2018 season, we are in for one exciting and adventurous year ahead - just the way we like it!

Taryn & Dave’s wedding week started with a few heart-pumping days early in the week. Geoff and I were to travel from a sunny Southern California across the country, and right into a Nor’easter winter storm in New York.  We absolutely love the snow and were over-the-moon to shoot a true winter wedding. That excitement turned to a brief heart-sink when we woke up to calls from our airline saying not only our flight was CANCELED, but all flights leaving Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week were being canceled as a precaution for the winter storm.

Now, this isn’t the first time we have run into flight issues trying to get to a wedding, so thankfully, we were both pretty calm. Nothing was going to stop us from getting there. It was Tuesday, so Geoff and I doubled-teamed our phone lines to get a flight out of LAX as soon as possible. We ended up getting the next flight out, packed our bags at warp speed, dropped our pup off at our in-laws, and flew out of California a day and a half early.

We later found out that we got the very last flight into NYC before all flights were canceled until Friday night. WHEW! We landed at snowy JFK at 3am to quarter sized snowflakes and the dreamy NYC skyline covered in white. Thankfully, we have some of the greatest friends, who graciously put us up for the additional days leading up to Taryn and Dave’s wedding. Love you, Erin & Dennis!

As with most trials and tribulations of life, the weather and our flight situation ended up being a huge blessing for Geoff and I. Because we were in New York a few days early, we had lots of spare time before the wedding to soak up the magic of the city, spend time with dear friends, and do some solo-adventuring just the two of us. This was much needed and allowed us to really sink into the environment, work out our jetlag, and have some quality time to connect before working our first wedding of the year. We were in such a great, fun headspace leading up to Saturday; not to mention stuffed with more bagels, pasta and pizza than we’ve eaten in the past few months combined!

When Taryn & Dave’s day arrived, there was still tons of snow on the ground and a calm stillness that only comes in winter. Geoff and I arrived at the venue way ahead of time – a trick we have learned over the years that allows us to explore every corner of the venue and scout where we will be shooting. The gorgeous Orange Lawn Tennis Club is the sole tennis-only club in the United States and has housed some of the greatest tennis players in history. It has since been transformed into a lovely wedding venue. The building remains unchanged, immaculate, and many of the art pieces and murals have gone untouched since the 1800’s. We had so much fun capturing the rich history of the space.

This wedding was filled with meaningful tradition around every corner. Many of Taryn’s family members were married here, thus adding depth and great sentiment to the day. Taryn also wore her mom’s wedding gown (with very little alterations!). She looked flawless and her mom was beaming with pride.

Taryn & Dave did their wedding day exactly as they wanted (as everyone should!). They choose to have an intimate ceremony with just 15 of their closest family and friends in a corner of the club’s sun room, a photographer’s dream indoor space! Almost everyone in attendance played a role in their ceremony, making it heart-felt, full of love and lots of tears.

Following the ceremony, we spent an hour shooting family, bridal party and portraits, out in the snowy 25 degree temperatures. Taryn & Dave were the BIGGEST troopers and didn’t blink an eye when asked to put on snow boots for bridal portraits. With the hazy sun about to set in the distance, Taryn & Dave seemed un-phased by the cold and were completely in-the-moment together. It makes my heart so happy looking back at this special moment, knowing that this quiet time in the snow was just for them, with Geoff and I as witnesses. Moments like these are our favorite part of a wedding day.

Just as the sun set, the sky turned dark blue, the fireplaces were lit, and the party began. Taryn changed into her second wedding dress as the rest of the guests began to arrive. Their reception was a big party where 200 of their family and friends joined to celebrate the newlyweds. The ballroom at the venue lit up with gorgeous floral arrangements by Bloomflora, and an all-star meal prepped by Krug Catering. The festivities and drinks continued well in to the night, with speeches, cake cutting and dancing. Geoff and I even got a shout-out during the speeches, which made us both so proud and happy to be doing what we do and working with such an amazing couple.

This unforgettable wedding will certainly go down in the history books, not just because of our travel hiccups, but because of the A+ treatment received by Taryn, Dave and their wonderful family. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Perkins! 

Taryn wore two beautiful gowns on her wedding day. The one the right is her mom's wedding dress, perfectly redesigned with only slight modifications! The one on the left, Taryn wore during her reception to dance the night away.