Wedding Photography at The Wintergarden by Monroe's in Rochester, NY
Nadia and Usman - Nikkah day
Our wedding season started with a spectacular Indian wedding in a castle in Toronto back in April. The second wedding of 2017 was just as colorful and beautiful as the first one. Nadia and Usman’s Pakistani wedding at the Wintergarden in Rochester, NY happened to be my fourth Pakistani wedding. South asian weddings can be overwhelming and crowded, but that is what makes them fun. By now I am feeling used to the similar but different traditions compared to a standard American or European wedding. And it is so refreshing to work at another kind of wedding and learn more about another culture every time.
How to work with couples from out of town
Since Nadia and Usman both don’t live in the Buffalo area, we met via Facetime. A video call is my favorite way to start the conversation with out of town couples. Of course nothing beats a meeting in person, for example I was able to meet with a bride from Los Angeles last weekend in my new Buffalo downtown studio. But at least meeting via Skype or Facetime gives you an option to get a better feel for each others personalities than a phone call. Also, I can give you a better idea of what my albums look like for example.
Back to Nadia and Usman. These two were simply amazing to work with. Not only did Nadia recommend me to her cousin Rimsha before I shot her wedding. Expect to see photos of Rimsha’s wedding in August. Nadia was also incredibly chill on the Henna night and Nikkah day. The only time I saw her a little nervous was during the first look. And working with Usman couldn’t have been any easier. He was even able to keep a smile on his face for every group photo we shot on both days. Quite the task if you ask me. I had a rough time to keep smiling for photos during my own wedding day.
I also couldn’t have been any happier to see Samreen again for the getting ready. This was the third time I worked with her and I have recommended her ever since. She always does exceptional Hair and Make-Up and is a pleasure to work with!
How to arrange group photos
On both days my biggest help were Nadia’s brothers Faraz and Taha. They did a phenomenal job of always keeping me up to date on what’s going on. More importantly, they helped me create all the group photos that are so important at South asian weddings. I always recommend to assigning somebody as a key helper for family photos. It makes it much more fluent and an enjoyable experience for everybody involved compared to me screaming out names of people that I don’t know.
Vendors:
Venue: The Wintergarden by Monroe’s
Make-Up: Samreen’s Vanity
Videography: The One Recordings
Getting Ready Location: Woodcliff Hotel & Spa
Anisa and Faizal's wedding at Casa Loma in Toronto, Canada
Finally, it's here. Wedding season 2017 started for Stefan Ludwig Photography. Just as last year around the same time as I was with Kai from Germany in Mexico to cover a destination wedding, there was something special for the kick off again.
Kai flew in to Toronto so we could meet with the bride and groom, Anisa and Faizal. Right from the airport we took the train to go to their downtown apartment where the wedding day would start a few days later.
The way we both met Anisa and Faizal the first time was kind of random. We spend a few days in Toronto in August 2016 before we covered two weddings in Rochester and Buffalo. I asked the Air BnB host if he knew anyone who would be interested in a couple shoot. You guessed it by now, these two were Anisa and Faizal. They invited us for dinner after the shoot and asked us if we would like to cover their wedding together.
We started the day in the early morning to capture how they prepared themselves for the Nikka ceremony. Also we did a short interview with Faizal to add some more of their story to their video. Kai focused on video, I shot photos most of the day. The ceremony took place at the Ismaili Centre, the reception was at Casa Loma.
