Amanda & Jordan thank you for letting us know that your wedding story is featured in the Spring 2010 issue of Contemporary Bride magazine.  Thank you for the copy of the magazine, and most importantly, thank you for submitting your wedding story to Contemporary Bride.

After going through the magazine, I understand why Contemporary Bride registered the phrase, “The Engaged Girl’s Survival Guide“.  They just know what every engaged girl needs to know.  They cut down to the chase and list every wedding vendor and detail of the bride and groom, even how many buttons are on a groom’s tuxedo.  In this New Jersey issue of the magazine they have 17 couples share their wedding stories.  The following is 1 of the 17 stories.  It is the wedding story of Amanda & Jordan.

It was the first time I:

* was at The Prospect Park Audubon Center at the Boathouse (for a wedding or personal leisure)
* was at The River Café
* saw a handmade silk bouquet by Twigs & Honey
* met stylist Sissi Chan
* assisted on two weddings in one day (yes, TWO (2) weddings!)
* was in Dumbo for a wedding day photography session
* assisted Willi and associate photographer, Ben
* brought a mp3 player with a recorder with me to a wedding
* tasted a Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory ice cream
* ate black cod with miso
* and so much more that I’m not going to bore you with

When I first walked into Prospect Park; it seemed like dejavu. I couldn’t pinpoint it until I’ve reached the Boathouse. I felt as if I was on the movie set of  Somewhere in Time; when I saw Cynthia and Matt in their wedding attire. The Boathouse is such a romantic setting for a wedding.

I did not plan on using my mp3 recorder, but when I heard the harpist playing Pachelbel’s Canon I couldn’t resist pressing the record button. A few days after the wedding when I listened to the recording; I was surprised by the content. Unknowingly, I had left the recorder on for the entire wedding ceremony. It recorded Cynthia and Matt’s wedding vows.

Now, I understand why talkies were such a phenomenon in the 1920s. Adding sound and especially dialog to photographs enhances the emotional content.  With Willi’s photo storytelling skills and my mp3 recorder we may have just added a new a la carte service.  Do let us know what you think.

By the way pescetarians I highly recommend The River Café’s black cod with miso!

The River Café
1 Water Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 522-5200

Prospect Park Audubon Center at the Boathouse?
95 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY? 11215
(718) 287-3400?

Cynthia & Matt’s slideshow was first published on September 27, 2009.

Dumbo, Brooklyn  is a very beautiful setting for not just wedding photography sessions, but also engagement photo sessions.

Willi, theStoryteller, a Modern Lifestyle photographer, is still in the mist of post production and album making. Looks like he won’t be able to come up for air until the end of February; but in the mean time we would like to share an intimate wedding of a lovely, beautiful & fun couple from London, England.

Helen contacted us to photograph her intimate get away New York City destination wedding a month before their City Hall civil wedding ceremony. No contract was drawn; we promised to meet each other at 8 a.m. at the Hudson Hotel on one of the coldest day in December 2009.

They had a total party of three people: Helen, John, and Helen’s sister, Heather. Here are the challenges in a nut shell: Willi had to create a story of three people who comes to New York City’s City Clerk’s Office Marriage Bureau for a less than twenty second civil wedding ceremony to be pronounced husband and wife in 10°F (it sure did felt like it) weather and make it fill with fun, emotion, warmth, and NYC chicness, because that’s what the bride and groom came all the way to New York City from London to do. Thank goodness that the love was already there, because luckily for us Helen and John are so much in love that it shows.

We started the wedding photo shoot at the elegant Hudson Hotel Penthouse then we headed out to City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Station. Due to the inclement weather; we tried, but were not able to utilize the terrace with panoramic New York City views. I was surprised that we were able to shoot in bathroom, but then it was chic and luxuriously stylish.

Well, here are the results from the challenges given! Be sure to view the slideshow too!

Please click on the play button to see more of Helen & John’s gorgeous wedding pictures taken in the penthouse of the Hudson Hotel, New York City Hall, Brooklyn Brooklyn and Grand Central Station.

Hudson Hotel
356 West 58th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 554-6000

2,190,363 couples were wedded in the U.S. in 2008.

The world’s longest-married living couple, Zelmyra & Herbert Fisher of North Carolina, were, at press time, preparing to celebrate their 85th anniversary.

$707,051,028 worth of wedding cake and fondant frosting (more than 16 tons) was consumed last year in the U.S.

The average American wedding costs $28,704.

In frugal Mississippi the average drops to $18,562.

In spendthrift New Jersey that jumps to $36,113.

Behemoth David’s Bridal claims roughly 30% of the wedding-gown market, with dresses that start at $99.

Steel tycon Lakshmi Mittal spent an estimated $60 million on a five-day French wedding for his daughter, Vanisha, which included a 1,000 person engagement party at Versailles.

The discount chain Filene’s Basement has held its Running of the Brides event at dozens of stores each year since 1947.

At one store, shoppers cleared the racks of 3,000 marked-down dresses in a record 37 seconds.

In 1960, an American bride was typically 20 years old and a groom was 23. Today, they’re 27 and 29, respectively.

Six countries currently allow same-sex marriage: Belgium, Canada, Holland, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.

December is the most popular month to pop the question, accounting for one in five engagements.

pescatarian or pescetarian: one whose diet includes fish but no meat

Etymology: probably from Italian pesce fish (from Latin piscis) + English vegetarian

What do pescetarians eat on Thanksgiving? Tofurkey? No, not this year, this Thanksgiving it’ll be curry fish head for us.

Have many of you wonder how Willi capture his images?  He  shoots high, he shoots low and don’t forget the Asian squat!  Don’t believe me!? Scroll down to see Willi, theStoryteller, in action during a recent pre-wedding photo shoot.

The images were captured by the future bride, groom, a friend of ours and yours truly using a smart phone, iphone, Canon G11 and Canon Powershot SD40.

I used carry my professional camera with me whenever I walk out the door. It lasted only couple weeks before I stop, because it’s really heavy. One day when I went out during the middle of the day; I saw a construction worker cutting up the road with a huge radial saw. The sparks were flying, this huge saw was cutting away right in the middle of the road with cars backed up all the way. I reached for my camera and then realized that I didn’t bring it! What a missed opportunity for a great shot!

On a wedding day I carry 3 fully loaded cameras for over 10 hours without a complain, but on a off day, I somehow cannot even carry one professional camera.

Recently, I purchased a Canon G11, a portable point and shoot semi-pro camera and it goes with me whenever I go out. I love it! Now, I can record the changing of the season and all the nuisances of the day as I travel through time and places that are easily forgotten.

I’ve decided to share with you some images straight from my new carry around camera without any editing or processing whatsoever. The pros call these images SOOC  (straight out of camera). Here’s a collage of light and color of fall 2009 as I wandered through and captured it with my point and shoot camera.

]]> http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/24/new-york-city-fall-autumn-foliage/feed/ 0 http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/09/le-club-avenue-bungalow-hotel-wedding/ http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/09/le-club-avenue-bungalow-hotel-wedding/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:36:28 +0000 theStoryteller, a Modern Lifestyle Photographer http://williwongportraits.com/blog/?p=2587 Weddings are a once in a lifetime event that most, if not all brides dream about. When it comes to weddings, perfection is not an option but very much preferred. We are only human and can sometimes err in our choices and planning a wedding is nothing but making choices and hope that in the end it all comes out perfect.

On Melissa and Joe’s wedding day the entire bridal party cheered and chanted my name as I walked through the door of the bridal suite; because I was available to phatograph Melissa and Joe’s wedding. I was elated, surprised and humbled by the ovation; it showed me how important my photography services are to a bride, her friends and her family.

Bungalow Hotel
50 Laird Street
Long Branch, NJ 07740
phone: 732.229.3700
email: info@bungalowhotel.net

Avenue Restaurant
Le Club Beach Club
23 Ocean Avenue
Long Branch, NJ 07740
phone: 732.759.2900
email: info@leclubavenue.com

A few of weekends ago; we met a little girl while shooting a Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session.  By the end of the session Willi and the preschooler became buddies. 

Children are very observant and it’s amazing to see a child’s reaction to the new things and new events happening around them.  We told her to carry on as usual as if we were not in her home.  She was not at all shy with us nor was she shy in front of our cameras.

At the end of the session while we were putting away our cameras and equipment she quickly drew a picture of Willi.  She insisted on walking us out to the elevator.  When the elevator came she surprised us with the picture.

She drew a very handsome Willi with his camera on his hand.  She even noticed the way Willi has to wink his eye when he looks through the viewfinder.

I am very touched by the little girl and her drawing. It brings tears to my eyes each time I look at the beautiful hand-crafted Thank You note.  This is by far one of the best Thank You notes that Willi have received.

We want to take this opportunity to thank this little preschooler for making the Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session so special for us.   We were there to capture the moments in her life, but in the end she captured our hearts.  I am sure that she made a greater impression on us than we had on her.  

Click here for expert advice from a modern lifestyle portrait photographer on getting the best photos from your family portrait session.

I’ve been documenting weddings, engagements and other celebrations since the turn of the century and have not shot a wedding or engagement photography session on the Brooklyn Bridge itself, but always with the Brooklyn Bridge in the backdrop from afar.   Is it just like being a native New Yorker who has not been up to the Empire State building or the Statue of Liberty?

It’s easy to make things look beautiful from afar and always a challenge at close distance.  I faced that challenge when I met Mikaela.  The challenge, of course, is the Brooklyn Bridge and not Mikaela and Brian.

When I first met Mikaela in my studio she was coming straight from yoga class and was carrying her yoga mat. If I could have taken a photo of her then, I would say that she was enveloped in light!

Two weeks before their wedding, Mikaela and Brian wanted to do a pre-wedding (engagement) photo session on the Brooklyn Bridge and in Dumbo.  The best way to capture both locations is to start at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge and walked across the bridge to Dumbo.  And the best time to do this engagement photo session is in the morning, sunrise to be exact.

Some of you may already know that I am not an early riser, but I will wake up and will stay up any time and every time for a photo shoot.   Mikaela and Brian rewarded me handsomely with beautiful images and on their wedding day they received enthusiastic compliments on the sunrise engagement photos we did on the Brooklyn Bridge and in Dumbo.  Of course, my artistic skills count for the stunning results of the engagement photos; but a huge part was truly that of Mikaela and Brian.

It did not hit me until later into the shoot why they choose to have a photo session so darn early in the morning! If Mikaela is the light, then Brian is the Greek god Helios who chariots the sun across the sky.

When I finally met Brian that early morning, I saw why they are in each other’s life. They are both so happy and couldn’t stop smiling. I had to tone them down for some of the shots; so that we may have variety of expressions!

I later learned from a friend of Brian’s at the wedding that it’s a hobby of Brian’s to take sunrise photos every where he travels to. Well, they are a couple that brings the sun up every morning!