What can I say about these two amazing souls? We hit it off from the first moment they contacted me about their wedding elopement. It was an instant connection over our opinions on what a wedding truly is: two people making a promise to each other, with witnesses or not, and then a celebration. They were not into the idea of a big party and instead opted for a smaller wedding comprised of just the closest of their close friends and family. They told me their tentative plans of just walking down to a nearby park, having an informal ceremony by someone with the-power-vested-in-them to officiate, followed by brunch at a nearby neighborhood restaurant. Their passion and authenticity had me like “I’m all in!”
And the wedding day was just that! Intimate and close, chill and fun. We started in the 8 am hour at their Brooklyn apartment where they were getting ready together. When I arrived, Layne had just got back from picking up their specialty doughnuts for the reception, so the apartment smelled of sweet freshly fried dough…yum!
It was quiet in the apartment as they got ready. No music, you could hear peaceful morning sounds of an urban neighborhood yet to have fully woken up. We discussed the plans of the day and mostly talked Star Wars the entire time. We had a difference of opinion The Last Jedi and I couldn’t believe they hadn’t watched The Clone Wars nor Rebels lol.
Once finished, we grabbed our bags, donut boxes and called a Lyft. We arrived at the restaurant shortly before 10am where we met up with what would be their wedding ceremony guests. After dropping off our stuff and a rollcall of whose supposed to be there, we all started walking down to Grand Ferry Park.
We arrived and luckily it was not too crowded for a typical Williamsburg Saturday morning. We found a cute spot for everyone to gather around and began the ceremony officiated by a good friend of theirs. It was short and sweet, and in a few minutes, they were married!
After a lot of cheering and hugging, we took family pictures, did portraits near the water overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge, and then we all walked back together to the restaurant to continue with the festivities.
When we arrived, there were even more friends and family there waiting on us, only a select few witnessed the ceremony. Everyone was so happy, the entire room was filled with cheers, congratulations, and well wishes. Everyone took their seats followed by toasts as the food was being brought out.
A quick side note I have to mention…this is probably the best vendor meal I’ve ever had! Thank you Aurora! They treated me to the same three-course brunch that the guests were enjoying and it was fantastic. There was the delicious bread which to be honest it’s so good, it’s worth going back there just for the bread! No lie. With the bread came an egg dish with vegetables and oatmeal; each with their own unique flavorful twist. I was stuffed and so happy!
The rest of the afternoon consisted of Lauren and Layne mingling with their loved ones, catching up and discussing future plans with friends, and me also minging like a guest taking sneaky candid pictures. This is where my years spent as a hobbyist street photography really pay off. This is my element, documentary photography. 😀
Ceremony: Grand Ferry Park
Reception: Aurora BK
Flowers: Sweet Talk Floral
Donuts: Dough
