So this was my very first paid wedding, waaaay back in the day on June 26, 2004. At that time I was living in Manhattan and knew nothing about weddings at Office Ops or anything else, for that matter, about Brooklyn. Since then, my philosophy about weddings has changed very little. This wedding, like every other, is a grand and glorious story to be told with art and sensitivity.
Brooklyn Wedding at Office Ops
After getting dressed at the iconic Lotte New York Palace hotel, we took a livery SUV ride into Brooklyn. I was in for such a lovely surprise. Jessi and Cesar hadn’t quite prepared me for how cool this place would be. The surrounding neighborhood had all the Brooklyn feels for 2004 including graffiti and a raw edge which I love. Then the ceremony was upstairs on the rooftop. And Office Ops doesn’t have your ordinary rooftop wedding vibe. No. They have a screen and show movies up there and have parties. And it just looked more like an artist’s workspace and less like the typical manicured, perfectly polished wedding venue.
Wendy G Photography Style Portraits
I love the old and raw and rustic and unfinished and edgy for portraits. It was SO easy to photograph Jessi and Cesar at Office Ops! They had some cool little studios where we took some photos, we went downstairs and outside where there was a beautiful graffiti mural wall, and even little nooks and crannies inside the building were interesting. We then came back upstairs to the rooftop to photograph their families.
(and for all you film buffs out there, I used normal 35mm film for this entire wedding. And I used cross processed film to really accentuate the colors in the mural)
Handmade Wedding for Artists in Brooklyn
Jessi and Cesar originally met because they both were working in theater. And most of their friends are also involved in theater or some of the other arts. As you can imagine, this rooftop wedding at Office Ops had many handmade, unique elements. Jessi found her perfect dress and her mom, an amazing seamstress, did all the alterations. And Jessi’s dad supplied all the flowers from his organic farm. And of course their wedding cake was not gonna be generic either. Jessi’s mom created their wedding cake. Wow!
And if that’s not enough, some friends of the couple would regularly sing and play jazz together. So boom! They had their very own Jazz band made up of close friends who love them. And another friend performed a spoken word piece just for them. As I’d said before, this was no ordinary, typical, catering hall wedding. No. This wedding was made for Office Ops and Brooklyn.
Office Ops and Brooklyn After Sunset
Those who know me know how much I love watching the evening sunset melt into the night. And Office Ops’ rooftop at night gives such a gorgeous view over Brooklyn on 35mm film. At some point an old Hollywood film was projected onto the screen, lending a light sophistication to the wedding celebration.
Do you like what you see? Are you planning an edgy, Brooklyn style wedding? Contact me and let’s chat!
Here are some other interesting posts which show off New York City:
Brooklyn Elopement (a style shoot)