About a month ago, I packed up my warmest coat and headed back home to New York. It was a wedding shoot, as per usual, but the unusual part was the client–an old friend I haven’t seen in years! I first met Becky in 1986 when we played soccer together, and later we attended the same tiny, all-girls high school together back in Buffalo. Life happened, and we went our separate ways for awhile, but thanks to the miracle of facebook we recently reconnected, and Becky asked me to photograph her wedding to Mike. What a wonderful honor, being a part of the wedding of a woman I first met as a young girl over twenty years ago! Seeing familiar faces at the wedding and knowing the whole family long before the day just enriches my work as a documentary photographer.

The wedding was a traditional Catholic ceremony at the lovely Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, followed by a wonderfully fun and festive reception filled with dancing (thanks to a great band!) and laughter and love. Being in the winter, the whole occasion had a holiday mood right off the bat, but the seasonal-inspired decor by Janelle Hart of the Genesee Grande Hotel really pulled it all together with bells, hanging candles, and delicate glass ornaments. Flowers were done by The Backyard Garden–how great are the feathers in that bouquet?!–and invitations by our next door neighbors, The Green Kangaroo.

There were so many great pictures from this wedding I had a hard time whittling them down, but here are a few of my faves!