Liam and Nicole
Liam and Nicole’s wedding celebration set off sparks at Marcy Casino in Buffalo, NY and the photography followed suit. These joyful wedding days are the good stuff photographers dream of. Happy tears abound and my camera is happy too.
I started the day with Nicole at the beautiful Hotel Lafayette in their famed balcony room. Second shooter, Jenny, joined Liam in a separate room in the hotel. These rooms are just ideal for wedding preparation photography. They’re spacious, beautifully lit and stylishly appointed. Toss in a couple of fun wedding parties and you have the foundation for a perfect wedding day.
Nicole wore her grandmothers pearls, which frankly happens often at weddings. But adding in a box with an inscription reading, “favorite pearl necklace and earrings, 1985, Christine” really gives them that extra special personal touch.
A little heart to heart before putting the dress on, that’s what bridesmaids are for.
Enter your first Harry Potter nod!
Love free y’all.
Nicole wore an anklet from India to honor her two Indian bridesmaids. I love all the little tributes to the women Nicole holds close that adorned her bridal look. She even had a family ring woven in to her hair!
This first look on the balcony of the Hotel Lafayette was all time. Jenny waited across the street from the hotel to create some views from street level while I got the closeups from inside the balcony door. I love the way they combine together to tell the story!
From the Hotel Lafayette we ventured to Buffalo’s theater district for portraits!
This is the neighborhood where Liam and Nicole had gone on their first date. I love the way they honored their history in Buffalo!
A little more Harry Potter sorcery!
Off to Buffalo’s Marcy Casino for an emotional wedding ceremony in the Rose Garden!
Nicole’s dad rode her in to the rose garden on the back of his motorcycle! It was quite the entrance!
This wedding ceremony would not have been complete without the bride and grooms pups!
And of course no wedding ceremony for dog lovers would be complete without reading “falling in love is like owning a dog” with your actual dogs by your side!
What a scene! (Minus that videographer, we won’t talk about him…yikes). The Rose Garden at Marcy Casino is such a charming wedding ceremony spot, with the chairs woven between the rows of flowers and the trees of Delaware Park standing tall in the background. The trick to great looking photos here is to making sure your in all sun, or all shade. At different times of day and different times of year, light hits this area differently. It’s important to make sure you know where to stand so you don’t end up with half your face in sun and half in the shade! I’ve seen it, it looks weird! Check out an all shade version of a Marcy Casino wedding ceremony in this blog post.
Nicole planned a special surprise for Liam and invited some kids from Buffalo String Works to perform a song from Star Wars! Buffalo String Works is a music education program for refugee and immigrant children. With Nicole being a teacher, it made sense that she thought of these awesome kids and this wonderful program. Liam was in tears!
That right there folks, that’s what joy looks like.
Weddings at Marcy Casino in Buffalo provide for no shortage of great photo backdrops. From the Ivy Bridge to the steps of the Albright Knox, opportunities are endless. Liam and Nicole opted for Hoyt Lake as the backdrop of their family photos.
Inside Marcy Casino, the wedding reception was set and waiting, but first, cocktail hour on the patio!
As Harry Potter fans, of course they needed a Ravenclaw cake and a magician to entertain!
Liam and Nicole were introduced in to the Casino where they also had their speeches and first dances.
Hot tip for cake cuttings at Marcy Casino – ask for a small cake table on the dance floor or to the side of your sweet heart table. This allows for more guests to see and also makes it so I don’t have to smoosh myself against this wall to try and get a photo. (: Thanks in advance.
Back out to Marcy Casino’s patio to dance away this gorgeous summer night in Buffalo!
That’s it for this one! Many thanks to Nicole and Liam for having us create the photography for their beautiful wedding day at Marcy Casino in Buffalo. It was such an honor to witness all of this love and joy. And many thanks to the vendors and venues who made it what it was:
Preparation: Hotel Lafayette
Ceremony: Rose Garden in Delaware Park
Portraits: Main Street – Buffalo, NY
Reception: Marcy Casino
Catering: Marcy Casino
Ceremony Music: Buffalo String Works
DJ/Band: Boys of Summer
Bakery: Wheatberry Bake Shop
Photobooth: Me! (:
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Elle and Gray’s Sunday Brunch Wedding in Buffalo, NY
Easy like Sunday morning – that’s just what this wedding at The Terrace at Marcy Casino and Rose Garden was. Elle and Gray planned the most easy-breezy Sunday morning brunch wedding for their friends and family. Packed with emotion, a lot of laughs and only a touch of structure, it was a perfect celebration to honor this bride and groom.
Elle and Gray are a bit famous in my circle of followers as “the Erie County Fair couple.” I’ve had the blog post from their engagement session at the Erie County Fair pinned to the top of my blog since last summer. An all time favorite for its colorful, playful spirit, it really set the tone for their brunch wedding at the Terrace at Marcy Casino which was all that colorful, playful fun and so much more.
I started the wedding day preparations with Elle at the beautiful Curtis Hotel in downtown Buffalo, where a wedding beauty mission was underway. As a hairstylist herself, Elle had nothing but the best from her close stylist friend Ted Mcknight. This marked the first time I witnessed a bride and hairstylist cry over how perfect the hair was… and like… I get it. It was so, so good. One of Elle’s oldest friends and her maid of honor, Amy Rettig, did her gorgeous makeup.
Meanwhile, second shooter and world class savior Colin Gordon (who subbed in last minute for my scheduled assistant who had COVID!) met up with Gray and the groomsmen at the Terrace at Marcy Casino for some decorating and finishing touches.
Gray waited for Elle at the nearby Ivy Bridge where we would have a “reveal” for the ages.
The Ivy Bridge is such a perfect location for a mid-day reveal in June when lighting can be atrocious to work with. It provides a beautiful and cool shaded spot that’s fairly secluded from the rest of the park.
Time for a gorgeous outdoor wedding ceremony in Delaware Park’s Rose Garden, just outside The Terrace at Marcy Casino.
Gorgeous florals from Botan and a really unique vintage runner from Knotted Fox greeted the guests. My eyes were happy.
Time for Brunch! Right next to the Rose Garden, cocktails and brunch awaited the Guests at The Terrace at Marcy Casino. The formalities were kept loose (the first dance came last!) and a relaxed and super fun party was enjoyed by all.
That’s it for this wedding at The Terrace at Marcy Casino & Rose Garden!
Many thanks to Elle and Gray for having us document your day! And thank you to all these venues and vendors who helped make the day so great!
Preparation: Curtis Hotel
Reveal and Couples Portraits: Ivy Bridge in Delaware Park
Ceremony: Delaware Park Rose Garden
Reception: The Terrace at Marcy Casino in Delaware Park
Makeup: bride – Amy Rettig, bridesmaids – Grace Reedy
Hair: Ted Mcknight
Florist: Botan
Bakery: Blue Eyed Baker
Officiant: Margaret Murphey
Menswear: Bureau
DJ/Band: DJ Scott Baxter
Aisle Runner: Knotted Fox (vintage!)
“la vie en rose” pennant: Oxford Pennant
Second Photographer: Colin Gordon
– featuring “a friends garden” with Bobby and Chelsea
When an engaged couple tells me they already have a location in Buffalo picked out for their engagement photos, and it’s “a friends house,” the slightest pang of worry sets in. I love an adventure and a new challenge, but in those moments I can’t help but wonder if the location is really ideal. But do you know what happens every single time? The shoot is amazing.
In fact, several of my absolute favorite engagement photo session locations have been on private property!
So how are couples picking such amazing locations for engagement photos around the Buffalo area?
Well, they aren’t REALLY. Most couples don’t typically know what photographers look for in terms of the best light, composition, etc. But what they are doing is picking a place that is personal to them, a place they feel comfortable and feels like “them.” And THAT is the most important ingredient to a successful engagement photo shoot.
The entire purpose of an engagement photo session is to capture a special time in your lives, and so it should reflect your personalities! When a couple is in a location around Buffalo that they love, with the one they love, that energy SHOWS in the photos. A great photographer can make a parking lot look pretty. The location truly doesn’t make the shoot.
But… sometimes, a couple does NOT just pick a parking lot… they pick a place that’s straight magic. When Bobby and Chelsea wanted to go to their friends house with a, “nice garden” I got nervous. But, adventure! So, off we went! Well, this garden just south of Buffalo was an absolute stunner and HUGE! A massive field of flowers was waiting for us and this photographers eyes were VERY pleased. And the best part? It was a place where this engaged couple felt good, and it shows!
Check out the rest of the highlights from Bobby and Chelsea’s engagement photography session, at the best location for them, below!
Curious about a location I think actually IS one of the best spots for engagement photos in Buffalo? Check out this session at Tifft Nature Preserve!
For another couple who made it their own, check out these engagement photos from the Erie County Fair!
Last Halloween, Jen packed up Molly’s things for her, including her wedding dress…
She didn’t tell her a thing about where they were headed, just drove her from Burlington, VT all the way to Niagara Falls, NY for a surprise wedding vow renewal inspired by “The Office” TV show!
Jen and Molly had been married the year prior, and sadly, they didn’t have the best wedding day experience. For what it’s worth, I wasn’t the photographer… 😉 As huge fans of the television series “The Office,” these two had always wanted to come to Niagara Falls to ride the Maid of the Mist boat, just as Jim and Pam had in the wedding episode of the show. Needless to say, this surprise wedding vow renewal on the Maid of the Mist was a welcome surprise indeed.
Naturally, a photo shoot to document the event (and to makeup for their lackluster wedding pictures) was a must. <Enter me!> Jen’s plan was to show up in Niagara Falls, take out her neck tie and cut it in half just like Jim did on The Office. From there, Molly could guess what was next! They set out for the Maid of the Mist where I met them in line, along with their families who would join for the celebration!
But first, an obligatory “before” snap from the Maid of the Mist dock
Since it was Halloween, the ponchos issued by the Maid of the Mist were pumpkins! The couple was a little bummed since Jim and Pam had the signature blue ponchos on The Office. That was nothing Photoshop couldn’t fix for a couple photos afterwards though. And besides, pumpkins are adorable!
The Maid of the Mist ride starts gently enough, with gorgeous views of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls looms in the distance.
We took a couple photos to mimic scenes from The Office to start the trip. As we began to approach the Horseshoe portion of Niagara Falls, surprise! Jen’s mom stepped between them and began officiating a vow renewal ceremony! She even had LAMINATED copies of their vows at the ready!
The thing about the Maid of the Mist ride to Niagara Falls is that the closer you get to the Horseshoe, the more intense it gets. Wind picks up tremendously, it’s LOUD, and eventually you just get absolutely, comically drenched. The more intense it got, the more we were all just losing it with laughter.
And of course no trip to Niagara Falls is complete without seeing a rainbow rise from the fall’s mist. <3
That’s all for this Halloween “The Office” inspired wedding vow renewal in Niagara Falls! If you’d like to see more fun from Niagara Falls, check out this wedding engagement proposal from Whirlpool State Park!
My husband and I will have our 30th wedding anniversary on December 27. We spent our honeymoon in Niagara Falls and was feature on TV. We would like to know if this is available in December
My husband and I would like to know if we can renew our wedding vows on the Maid of the Mist in 2024.
Please provide details.
