H&H Weddings

From the photographer...

Lindsay & Courtnie were married at Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We started the day with them getting ready at the amazing Wythe Hotel. I arrived early to scout for some good portraits spots between the hotel and the venue and found several wonderful murals and spots I knew would photograph beautifully – check out their portraits! After getting all dressed up in their finery for the big day we headed over towards the venue and met up with family members for some group pictures in the space before the guests started arriving.

Lindsay & Courtnie’s ceremony in the beautiful rustic wood-walled main room of Brooklyn Winery was very moving– their vows were so personal and sweet, there was not a dry eye in the house! Guests enjoyed cocktail hour in the entry room with the bar and hit the photobooth upstairs (with a view of the ‘barrel room’) while the wonderful staff at Brooklyn Winery expertly transformed the ceremony space into a dining room complete with gorgeous long banquet tables. Activity books and “cootie catchers” with trivia about the couple provided a fun complement to the rustic industrial romance of the decor. After dinner everyone enjoyed dancing the rest of the night away– Lindsay & Courtnie were no exception!

I was so honored to shoot this special day for them – congratulations, Lindsay & Courtnie!  

As a potential venue inspiration for the same sex couples looking to wed, A Monique Affair assembled a team of fabulous creative partners and headed for Napa Valley. With the mission of highlighting the beauty and elegance of the Northern Bay area, A Monique Affair chose to the showcase the majestic grounds of the Solage Resort and Spa located at Silverado Trail deep in the heart of Calistoga.

Featuring the gorgeous couple, native to the Bay Area, A Monique Affair made this photo shoot a personal experience for both the models and the creative team who came together to create an amazing experience and some beautiful images.

The creative mind of Chanda Eddens-Daniels helped direct the team and it was her creative eye that brought it all together in the end. Using subtle bases and stylish textures combined with bold colors and the bright California sunshine, A Monique Affair brought this pretty photo shoot to life. Continuous encouragement to each partner to pull out all of the stops when creating their look for this event allowed the photographers, Rachel and Chloe to capture the whole experience of the day. Sheela, of Sarah’s Garden, introduced a beautiful selection of arrangements in both bold colors and traditional touches to make the tablescapes and vignettes stand out and inspire. The floral arrangements combined with vintage and contemporary props rented from both Pleasanton Rentals and Bright Event Rentals, provided the perfect polish to tie the entire look together.

Once the wedding stationery, created by Carrie and Nikki at Creative DNA, was incorporated into the tables, we were ready to shoot. The models were styled in a combination of looks provided by Cirkl, with Santa Rosa’s Wine Country Bride. The models were topped off with creative hair and make-up styling by Oakland’s own Angela Womack for a classic look. And of course we can’t forget the decadent wedding cake, created by Oakland’s own Marla Erojo, owner of Cakes Made by ME, it brought the entire photo shoot together!

Tell us your love story!

We met when I (Charles)was visiting New York for the weekend, back in 2007. I was living in San Francisco at the time. My friends and I had tickets to see Margaret Cho at the Zipper Theater, but dinner finished early, so my friend suggested going to a nearby bar, Barrage, to have a drink. It was pretty early for a bar, so there weren’t too many people. We needed an extra chair and there happened to be one at the table where Gary was sitting with a friend. I went up, asked if it was OK if we took it, he said yes. When I sat back down with my friends, I happened to look his way, saw him looking at me, and I thought, he’s cute! I remember his smile. After a minute of us looking at each other and not really doing anything about it, my friend Kevin, a little exasperated, said, “Would you just go over and say hi already? He’s been looking at you since we walked in.” (Gary contends that the eye contact was mutual) So I did, and when I got to his table, Gary looked at me with this playful/wry look and said, “So, here to steal another chair?” I said, no, I wanted to see if I could join them. He eagerly said yes, please do, and then we (including his friend Jason) talked for an hour or so. A very fast hour. My other friend came up to us, told me we needed to make our way to the theater, so we exchanged phone numbers. And that commenced a series of non-stop texting that led to our meeting--just the two of us--a few nights later and then more texting and calling once I returned to SF. I was back in NY to visit and stay with Gary within three weeks. We spent the next 6 months traveling back and forth between SF and NYC. We saw each other every 2-3 weeks (racking up a lot of frequent flyer miles) and Skyped each other almost every day.

Tell us about the proposal!

It was June 26, 2014. The day that the Supreme Court was giving its verdict on the Windsor case. Gary is a political nut, so he follows MSNBC, all the blogs, knows everything about the House, the Senate, governors, etc. I can never follow politics, I can never remember names or offices. But this particular week, and on that particular day, I was following the news very closely, and when the news came out that the Supreme Court favored Windsor--clearing the way for federal recognition of gay marriage--we were obviously thrilled. At home from work, we watched the news programs on MSNBC. We rarely do that; usually, over dinner, we watch something like “Top Chef” or “Project Runway”, something light we’ve DVR’d earlier in the week. Tonight was different. After eating, we made our way to the couch and were watching Rachel Maddow. And suddenly, it hit me: I wanted us to be engaged on this historic day. Never mind I hadn’t done anything to prepare (like a ring, or a speech), or that we hadn’t talked about marriage in years. We’d talked about it before as something we wanted to do but not until it was legal on a federal level. Now it was, and I felt convinced we had to do it now. So I asked Gary if he would marry me. I think he thought I was being theoretical, he answered “yes” in a such an unemotional way. So I said to him something to the effect of, “I mean, I am asking you to marry me.  Will you marry me?” And he said yes again. He was really taken aback.   Something to know about Gary: he’s impossible to surprise. I am easily surprised, which is why he’s been able to plan surprises for me for birthdays and things like that, because I’m gullible and suspect nothing. Gary is always thinking several steps ahead. When we watch mysteries or thrillers, he knows who did it within minutes, whereas I haven’t even thought about it. The only way I can surprise him is if I don’t know what’s about to happen either.

When did you know that you were meant to be with each other?

Charles: We did long-distance--SF/NY--for six months, and by that point, we knew we wanted to live together. We would have been happy living in either one, but it was a lot easier for me to move and find a job in NY than it would have been for him to come to SF. So it took another six months before I could make all my arrangements to move. I drove in my car across the country, with Gary meeting me in Omaha, to drive together the rest of the way. I can’t think of a specific day or moment when I knew we were meant to be together, but by the time I left my SF apartment, I knew this was going to be it. Gary and I weren’t old, but we weren’t young kids. We’d been around, so we knew what felt serious. And this did.

Gary: I can’t pinpoint an exact moment that “I knew” but I have a general idea.  After a couple of years in my apartment, we decided to look for more space. We ultimately bought a house that turned out to be a gut renovation. It was a very stressful and time consuming project. At any point during the three year process, one of us would be freaking out about some aspect of the renovation, while the other would be a calming and grounding force. At some point during those three years I realized how wonderfully suited we are for each other, with enough in common to connect us, but with enough difference to balance the other. It is not something I think I would have recognized at a younger age. It also helped that all of my friends absolutely adore him.

Tell us about your big day…

Magic. It was the culmination of a weekend of festivity. It was a Sunday late afternoon wedding, so starting the middle of the week leading up to it, our families and out of town friends began to arrive. On Friday, Gary and I had dinner separately with our extended families; Saturday morning we hosted anyone who wanted to come for coffee and light brunch, and Saturday night we had the rehearsal dinner where our parents met for the first time. It was a big build-up. Sunday morning, Gary and I just relaxed and went to a local restaurant that we go to every weekend for brunch. It’s like “Cheers”; everyone knows our name there, we have the same waiter every time. We had a normal brunch, just the two of us, then came home, and started getting ready for Jacqueline to arrive at 2pm. I felt nerves, but good nerves, the sense of something exciting to come. Jacqueline was great; she spent an hour with us in our home, taking pictures of our house and of us getting ready, and looking back, I think it helped us get in the “wedding mode” and ready for the attention we were about to receive. And did we. We got to the site about an hour before the ceremony, did some family photos as the guests began to arrive. Melissa, our planner, had us go to a little room with family members who were going to be in the ceremony. Then, she had us get into our ready positions just outside the courtyard entrance to the Green Building. Once the music cue for the ceremony went on, things took off. Everyone always told us that the wedding goes by so fast you don’t have time to eat or think, and it’s true! Once Gary and I made our vows, things accelerated. It wasn’t a blur, because I felt like I was present at every moment. But it was non-stop and exhilerating. Everything was amazing from the flowers, to the music, to the Koolhaus ice cream truck that pulled up late in the evening. t was a perfect party and a great reflection of our personalities. We had arranged for a Photo Booth for a four hour period, and Melissa came by us toward the end and made sure Gary and I got a picture in there. We were the last people to take pictures, and it made me realize just how fast things had gone. I couldn’t believe it was already 10pm, which was the time we’d told the caterer and the DJ things would be done by. (Melissa asked our DJ, Duane, and Jacqueline if they wouldn’t mind staying an extra half hour, and they were so generous about it.)

Going into the wedding planning, what did you definitely know?

We always joke that Gary is a planner at heart. He likes a plan. Not even 24 hours of engagement bliss had elapsed after the proposal that he said to me he’d already researched places to have a ceremony and we had to act fast because those places were booking up!   We knew we wanted to have the wedding in Brooklyn, and we knew we wanted the Mister Sunday (afternoon dance parties thrown by Mister Saturday Night) crew to be the DJs. Everything else, we were open to. We knew nothing about catering, about flowers, about decorations. Gary quickly found out about the Green Building, which appealed right away because it’s close to our house and close the Mr. Sunday parties which (until that summer) had been just a few blocks away, on an abandoned lot on the Gowanus. So, we had booked the music and the venue before we even had our wedding planner. Everything else was a bit of a mystery for us. 

What surprised you during planning? What was easy, what was difficult?

When we got engaged, we’d just three months earlier moved into our house, which had been a gut renovation and took three years. It had been a nightmare of logistics but also decisions: what kind of light fixtures, how many, what color paint (there are hundreds of shades of white, I learned). Gary is far better than I am at filtering through and making a few selections. I need to have 3-4 options at most given to me, and then I can tell you which I like the best. We had the help of Melissa to guide us through it, but since we wanted this wedding to reflect on our lifestyles and personalities, she wasn’t in a position to make every decision for us as we wanted to be involved. So if you have the same problem I do, just be prepared: there are decisions to make. I took the advice of another friend who was also planning a wedding (but six months in advance of ours), someone prone to over-planning and getting neurotic about it. She warned me against feeling I had to meet lots of vendors in a specific category; she said it was OK if I only met one and went with it, if I felt good. So Jacqueline at Readyluck was a good example. We had looked at the websites of various photographers that Melissa suggested, and Melissa had reached out to arrange meetings with a few. We met Jacqueline first after another one had to cancel and reschedule. There was a particular album of Jacqueline on her webpage that I loved, so for me I just wanted to meet her and see if we got along.  Gary pretty much deferred to me on picking the photographer.) We met, liked her a lot, and so I told Melissa we were going with her, so we could cancel all the other meetings. And she did great! I think the month prior to our wedding--late April/early May--we’d hit wedding planning fatigue. Even though all the vendors were pretty much in place, there were still some things to change (like one vendor not having the specific table/chair or something like that). We were frankly tired of it all.

Is there anything you wish you knew while you were planning your wedding that you know now?

Well, there are some people who probably don’t have this problem, but our wedding was not dissimilar from our house in this respect: it cost a lot more than we originally planned!

Any advice for couples planning weddings now? Anything you would have done differently?

Just some random thoughts:

• As I mention above, you don’t have to meet a ton of people in every category (catering, flowers, etc). Most of the vendors we went with, we only met one in person. All of them were fantastic.

• On that same note: there is no one perfect wedding option that is out there you should be straining for. There are lots of great options out there, and if you don’t stress out too much, it will end up becoming perfect.  

• Don’t feel locked into convention or what everybody else has done. There are truly no rules. For example, we didn’t want a first dance, so we just turned it over to the DJ after we thanked everyone and let the party begin. Likewise, neither of us are wild about cake, so we had lots of little desserts passed on the dance floor and to the tables and then had an ice cream truck show up late in the evening and everyone piled out into the street.  

• Photobooth for people to take playful photos: WORTH IT. Do it!!!! And pay for the option to have an album made on the spot for guests to sign. Those pictures are priceless, and it was great having an album right away that we could look at.

• Having Melissa get everything together for us and handle it all seamlessly on the day of: so worth it. I know some people don’t hire a planner and have friends/family do it. It’s a serious responsibility with a lot of stress for that person (and I would imagine possibly for the couple, if that person doesn’t handle stress well). Our wedding site was the kind of place where you have to arrange everything, so this was much more of a big deal than a wedding venue where all the catering and supplies are handled in-house.

• For people who are worried about having a Sunday afternoon/evening ceremony (we were worried about it) because the next day is a workday: relax. The people you care about most will definitely fly in and come for it.

What was your favorite part of the day?

Hard to pick favorites, but the toasts given to us--by three friends and one unexpected by Charles’ father--were lovely. That was the one point I wish someone had videorecorded the event. We also loved the few minutes that our planner carved out for us alone in a side room with a cocktail and some of the appetizers just to absorb the moment together before we reemerged as a married couple.        

This wedding is definitely something special! The brides energy comes through in every image! You can tell how much love & support they are surrounded by! 

From the photographer, Khaki Bedford...

Martha and Suzy are two of the most fun people you’ll ever meet and their wedding really reflected their passion for life and each other! The couple started off the day with a first look at McGolrick Park in Greenpoint.  Both brides decided to wear a wedding dress and didn’t see each other until the wedding day, which made for a touching and emotional first look. 

This was followed by family portraits along the Brooklyn waterfront. Both brides have a lot of family and friends, so there was a big wedding party and the Manhattan skyline was the perfect backdrop. The ceremony and reception at Greenpoint Loft was filled with super cute DIY details and colorful floral arrangements. 

The reception kicked off with a New Orleans style brass band and the party went on for the rest of the night. Some special highlights were a duet by one of the brides and her sister, and delicious hibiscus and dulce de leche doughnuts in lieu of cake. 

The night ended with a huge "Hora Loca" celebration -  a traditional Venezuelan dance party, where the guests donned wigs, hats, sunglasses and carried blown up microphones and guitars.  

Perfect spring & summer inspiration seems simple enough, right? Pastels paired with light, lush blooms and bubbly cocktails tend to set the tone for the thawing season. When we started to think about producing a spring inspired shoot at the Kings County Distillery with two grooms-to-be, we realized how many stereotypes we’d have to bend (or break all together).  

Of course, when you think, traditionally, about men in a whiskey distillery, it brings up images of rich mahogany, rocks glasses, plaid, tweed; typical elements of fall décor. So what were we to do? We settled on throwing all of those ideas out the window.  

Starting with watercolor as the basis for this shoot, we sought to incorporate the light pattern into as many facets of this shoot as possible. The unbearably talented Gina Paola Design created a watercolor pattern that we used for a backdrop, bottle bands, as an accent on the Octavia & Brown bar cart, and in the tablescape.  These hues lightened up the distillery immensely.  

From there, we chose bright blooms and spring-ready place settings, accented with gold. Though this could have felt overly feminine, we used a sturdy table and whisky bottles to add masculine elements.  

We wanted to play with attire, as this was an engagement brunch of sorts, so formal wear was unnecessary. The floral blazer is a statement piece for sure. Vito donned it perfectly with a lavender button down and slim grey chinos. Jeff’s ensemble was meant to compliment Vito’s, so we used coral and leaf green for his outfit. Jewelry was kept to a minimum, as was hair & makeup, though Holly & Justine knocked the hair out of the park.  

Our scrumptious food was provided by the lovely ladies of Atelier Roquette. Yes, the food tasted just as beautiful as it looks!  

As a dessert element, we wanted to stray away from the macaron scene. When the idea of watercolor cookies came up, we couldn’t resist! April Preston Design won our hearts over with these stunning pieces of art! We almost didn’t want to eat them. Almost.  

The barrel room and seating vignette really brought light to how stunning the Kings County Distillery is. We were lucky to be able to showcase it’s versatility!    

These sweethearts had such a beautiful engagement session in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Now, they are telling us about planning their nuptials! De Nueva Photography was there to capture all the love!

From Ross...

Once the Minnesota marriage law changed in 2012, we knew we needed to put the planning in full throttle for a summer wedding in Minneapolis the following year.  

As for our big day, the most important thing for us both was food, drinks, and friends/family. We shared a belief that our wedding day is the opportunity to throw the most extravagant party of our lifetime, so we focused on making it just that. Jeremy was an amazing planner throughout the whole thing, thinking of every detail, making huge lists and timelines, and keeping us both on track. We divided and conquered the small stuff, and did all of the important things together.

One of easiest decisions for us during the planning process was deciding on two aisles instead of a center aisle. We didn't know the “gay-wedding” norms, but knew that with traditional weddings and one spouse at a time down the aisle, we wouldn't fit into a typical gender order. The other decision that was incredibly easy for us was choosing our groomsmaids. They each represent such a big part of our lives and we knew immediately that they would all be huge parts our big day. Fortunately, Jeremy and I both had the same number!  

The most fun part of the whole process was deciding on the different readings. Since neither of us is religious, we wanted something that reflected a more worldly and spiritual theme. We chose a Buddhist poem, an Irish blessing, a Christian passage, a Jewish Prayer and a Native American verse.  

Most people probably find picking a theme or venue to be one of the hardest parts of planning a wedding. For us, we found that creating a seating chart was one of the hardest. We had two very different families and groups of friends coming together from all over the country, representing a guest list as diverse as our selection of readings. We wanted to make sure that we had a real joining of “sides,” so we spent a lot of time talking through the seating arrangement.  

With so many resources available online, like Pinterest, and the abundance of wisdom in books and from friends, we didn't have anything come up unexpectedly (at least that we know about!). Our day-of planner, Jennifer Hagerman was absolutely fantastic and took all of the stress out of our big day. If there was anything that we overlooked, she definitely took care of it for us.  

In the weeks and months after our wedding, a lot of people have and continue to ask us, “how is married life?” We did get to fill out one customs form coming back into the US from our honeymoon instead of two separate ones – so that was a change. But I think Jeremy and I can both agree – there have been no surprises to married life. I guess when you boil it down, we had committed to spending the rest of our lives together years and years ago. The wedding just put it in writing. And hell, it was also a pretty good reason to throw the best party of our life!

Emily and Victoria met while studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario – Victoria was in her final year, and Emily in her first, when Victoria hired Emily to be her theatre manager on a musical production she was producing. By the time the show had finished, they both knew that something very special had only just begun...  

After falling in love, persevering through years of long distance and creating a home and life together, on the eve of their six-year anniversary they proposed to one another on a December afternoon - during an unexpected, but beautiful and romantic snowstorm -  and both said “YES!” Custom rings had been hand-created in advance, and the location was chosen as the place where, years ago, they had both told each other that they were in love with one another.   Emily and Victoria are now excitingly planning for their dream “I dos” to take place in September 2015 in Muskoka, Ontario (where Victoria is from), and are truly blessed and ecstatic to spend the rest of their lives with their best friend, soul mate and true love!  

Laura & Julie are the epitome of cool. We love that they opted for a cocktail tour of Brooklyn to celebrate their nuptials! They are laid back, effortless & totally chic.  

From the brides....

Everyone says that it's impossible to meet someone at a bar, not in Julie & Laura's case.

Julie & Laura met at the Jukebox at Cubbyhole Bar in the West Village. Laura was picking out songs that she liked when she saw someone's hand come over and start tapping the screen. She turned around and it was Julie. Laura asked Julie what she wanted to hear, when Julie promptly responded, "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus. Laura thought she was cute and Julie thought Laura was cute, too. The two went to another bar with Laura's friends. Julie had ended up missing her last train back to Long Island, and Laura waited with her at a diner until the next train came. While at the diner, where it was brighter than the bars the two had been at, Julie commented,"Oh you have freckles" while she said it she smiled, which made Laura smile too.

For their first date, Julie bought a brand new pair of sunglasses. When Laura saw her walking up the street, she was a little intimidated by how cute Julie looked. On the date, Julie swears that Laura spoke less than 200 words and thought that, when she went to the bathroom, Laura was going to leave. Laura swears that she was quiet because she just wanted to listen to all of Julie's stories and wanted to spend nothing but more time with her.

Five and a half years later, there was no formal engagement or proposal, it was just a discussion and a decision. A decision to throw a kick ass dance party wedding with their friends to celebrate getting to this place and starting their life together. So in six weeks they planned their Night-Out-In-Brooklyn wedding and asked a good friend to officiate. The ceremony was held close to their home at Transmitter Park in Greenpoint. It's a special place for the two of them because they both love the water, not to mention it has a pretty amazing view of the city. 

Five and a half years later, Laura talks a lot more, but still likes to listen to Julie's stories.

Two cultures blending can make such a beautiful wedding ceremony. Ngoc & Jamie combined their backgrounds and the result was a simple, stunning mix of American & Vietnamese traditions! Can we talk about that Vietnamese wedding dress that Ngoc wore? Stunning! And, Jamie's ring is a family heirloom, passed down from about 1918. 

From the grooms...

We met on a night out, both celebrating new jobs. At the time, we lived and worked in New York City; Jamie lived in Brooklyn and I lived in Queens. We bonded over our passion for travel and through our relationships. We organize our lives around traveling. Our wedding had essences important to us: low-key, love of nature and the outdoors, and essentially we just love having friends and family over for barbecue. We do not like being the center of attention, so the space and the setup of our wedding helped us blend into the crowd so we could just talk and catch up with our guests. Our wedding was as much ours to enjoy as it was for our close friends and families.  

We're rarely left speechless, but Jeffrey Lewis Bennett Wedding Photography sure wowed us with this gorgeous wedding at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The venue is beyond stunning! It's the perfect space for modern nuptials. 

The grooms look so chic in their suits with matching Lanvin sneakers. We love the play on formal & casual combined. 

Their 80-foot tablescape was pristine with palm leaves, clean lines and navy blue everywhere! The opulence of the venue is perfectly matched by the exquisite design of this fête!

This is the perfect way to kick off a new year of weddings! 

And we adore the love story...

"Vaughan and Van Thomas met in 2005 at a conference in Miami. For the next seven years they lived in different parts of the country and built a friendship over the phone. When Vaughan moved to Hong Kong in 2010 they took the opportunity of increased inconvenience to see if their relationship could go to the next level. Two years later Van Thomas joined Vaughan in Hong Kong which they used as a base to travel throughout Asia. While on a trip to the Philippines the couple got engaged.

The first wedding €œ"brainstorming PDF" followed almost immediately. During a trip to Van Thomas'€™s hometown in Michigan, his sister recommended visiting the recently renovated Kresge Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Both Vaughan and Van Thomas fell in love with the venue's architecture, history, and impressive collection. Over the next six months they planned their wedding and relocated to New York. One week prior to their big day, the couple exchanged intimate yet casual vows and were legally wed in Manhattan.

July 19th started with a morning run along the Detroit waterfront promenade, light lunch, and a photo session with the incredible photographer Jeffrey Lewis Bennett. At six in the evening, guests arrived at the Museum greeted with cocktails, heavy hors d'€™oeuvres, and the Horizon String Quartet playing their favorite popular music selections. Once everyone mingled and relaxed the couple invited their four siblings to the top of the gothic staircase to share meaningful readings focused on love with their guests. 

Vaughan and Van Thomas then recited emotional vows to each other and toasted to their union. After guests toured the private museum they were sat. The five course candlelight meal was served on an eighty foot table designed by Jen House Design centered in the Great Hall surrounded by fresco ceilings, antique armor, and notably one of Diego Rivera'€™s greatest works. The evening ended with music, dancing, and an abundance of indulgent comfort food. "