Roosevelt Island wedding first look--on an NYC tram!
Updated: Sep 24
Like all crazy plans, this one started with my bride T saying, "So I have this idea..."
This might take the cake for my favorite first look ever.
Roosevelt Island, NYC is a tiny island in between Manhattan and Queens, very easily reachable by subway or tram. I personally love taking friends visiting the city on the tram--for the cost of a subway ride, you can get a fabulous view of the city, and Roosevelt Island is always worth a visit at any time of day. Right at the top of the island is The Sanctuary, a small waterfront wedding venue with a stone church.
Longtime New Yorkers T and E wanted to pay homage to the beautiful chaos of NYC by setting their wedding first look up on the tram. I had this perfect image in my mind of T stepping off the tram as the other commuters flooded out in front of her. But we only had one shot to get it right, I didn't have a second shooter, and with T getting ready at the venue and E coming from Manhattan, everything had to be perfectly executed in one go.
Both the bride and groom's family and loved ones were so on board with the idea. We made a plan. Step 1: I would go with T and her posse from the venue to the tram. Step 2: I'd take a tram ahead of her and meet E on the Manhattan side. Step 3: I'd set E up in front of T's tram so he'd be waiting for her at the end.
(Meanwhile, on the Roosevelt Island side, one of T's party ran back to the venue to grab the bouquet and the boutonniere. He made it on the tram in the nick of time, and I love the shots my impromptu second shooter got.)
In the 5-minute car ride from the venue to the tram, I had given the groom's uncle a crash course on my camera so that he could ride with the bride and capture the groom's reaction. I took the tram to the Manhattan side, texting with T's friend to make sure all parties were in place. E was running late--so I told T's friend to stall. E showed up with his friends, I gave them the rundown, I set up the shot by standing behind the groom...and we waited.
There wasn't a ton of room on the exit platform, but I tried to make space for the couple to have their moment. (Scroll to the end for some un-Photoshopped evidence of me RUNNING to get out of the shot.) And as if it wasn't picture-perfect enough, all of the commuters started cheering and applauding for the happy couple. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
I couldn't be happier with how this first look turned out. And even after nearly a decade of living and photographing in this city, I'm still astonished at how supportive and enthusiastic other New Yorkers are about the little moments. All these strangers, connected by their love of love and what they thought was an ordinary commute, will forever be a tiny part of T and E's perfect day. I'm so grateful to capture memories like this in the making.
I'll be doing a separate post on the rest of this gorgeous wedding--stay tuned!
(My internal dialogue: get the shot get the shot OKAY NOW GTFO GET OUT OF THEIR WAY)
Comments