City Hall Wedding in NYC Photography Clerks Office
Sietse and Megan's Wedding | NYC City Hall Elopement | International Couples | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
Elopements have such a special place in my heart. There are a million different reasons couples choose to elope and endless possibilities for how their day can go.
Dialing down the formalities opens up a lot of possibilities: Less pressure, less vendors, more adventure, more spontaneity. Megan and Sietse did NYC City Hall right. Sietse is Dutch and his close family was able to travel to New York along with Megan’s immediate family to help them celebrate.
It poured all morning and it actually made me a bit nostalgic— our own wedding was on a damp October day, so rainy weddings always bring me back. We got so lucky though, because the weather actually let up after their ceremony for portraits and one of the best parts was that the streets were so much less crowded!
One of the “quirks” of City Hall is that you don’t get to choose your time for your ceremony. After you have checked in and signed some paperwork, your number will get called and you’ll get your own chapel for the wedding to be officiated. (Pro tip: choosing a weekday around off-peak hours is SO much better for your wait time and cuts WAY down on the chaos!! It also means that your fave photogs *wink wink* are much more likely to have availability & flexibility on their calendars!)
The New York City location is beautiful and iconic, with gorgeous architecture down by the Brooklyn Bridge and lots of vintage details. It truly is an experience and something about our CRAZY rainy morning added to the romanticism of Megan & Sietse’s day. The train downtown was quiet and gave me time to get into a good head space before the day, but as soon as I got back up to street level, the skies had opened up and it felt SO NEW YORK— people in suits and heels and briefcases doing that walk/run where the hustle is real but they somehow never stride more than 10 inches at a time.
The streets were a sea of umbrellas but my eyes were glued to the streets because of the dreaded walkway puddle (you know the one… at the edge of the curb that only looks like it is 3 centimeters deep but if you step in it you are soaked up to your thighs). Pulling my equipment suitcase down the street, I popped into a bodega for a hot coffee and then over to City Hall. I met up with Megan and Sietse and got the warmest introduction to their families. The energy was buzzing with anticipation and that universal hum of family.
Our number was quickly called and before long, we were all huddled in a quirky pink room swapping “I do’s” and “Me too’s”. Short, sweet, and to the point— City Hall is a well oiled machine but in no way a cop-out. The antiquated notion that eloping is only for shotgun weddings and young, flighty lovebirds is long gone. Couples today are able to CHOOSE to elope in order to honor their relationships in a way that serves them and the innermost nucleus of their friends and family.
Cheers to Megan and Sietse! Enjoy these sneak peeks:
Photography | Apollo Fields
Venue | NYC City Clerk
Elopements are dope!
And I looooove to capture them. Let’s chat about your plans!!
Danish Wedding Tradition Ideas
Don & Aliyah | Danish Wedding Traditions | Denver, Colorado Wedding Photographer | Wedgewood Brittany Hill | Apollo Fields Wedding Photographers
Don and Aliyah have such a great vibe with one another and their wedding day was such a perfect representation of them! I met Don a few years ago at School House in Arvada and when they got engaged, we immediately began chatting about doing engagement and wedding photos. I’m so glad that I got to work with these guys because we just had the best time shooting their wedding.
It was our last wedding before hitting the road (the next day!) for the east coast and our own wedding so we were both giddy with excitement already! We arrived at Wedgwood Brittany Hill and the guys and gals were already halfway ready for the big day. The energy was so good that I immediately fell into my routine. Don and Aliyah wanted to do a first look (which I love) so we had picked out a great outdoor spot where they would be out of sight of arriving guests. Their first look was so sweet that I rolled with their energy and got lots of great shots out back.
They decided to do the ceremony on the patio out back which boasts great views of both the rocky mountains as well as the Denver city skylines. It’s the best of both worlds! One fun thing that they did in their ceremony was the officiant told them to turn their backs together as a representation of the last time that they would turn their backs on one another. It was such a sentimental ceremony against the setting sun. I knew we wouldn’t have too much more sunlight left so we immediately jumped into cocktail hour and when golden hour hit, I brought them back out behind the venue to do some awesome romantics.
I just loved the energy that they brought to the whole day! They both have Danish backgrounds and it was really fun to see how their traditions were incorporated into their wedding reception. They had a little song/poem that Don’s mother did with a fun little paper mâché home and everyone sang it out together and clapped and laughed! Another fun tradition that they have is when they clink their glass, not only does the couple have to kiss, they have to stand on top of their chairs to do it! If the guests stop their feet, the bride and groom have to climb underneath the table to kiss. Such a fun and quirky tradition!
Another great Danish tradition is during the dancing, the groomsmen surprise-attack the groom, rip his shoe off and cut the tip off of his sock! I was happy that someone tipped me off on this one because I would have had NO idea otherwise what was going on. It is a fun old tradition that represents how now the groom can’t run away anymore ;)
The whole day was full of sentimental touches and fun traditions! I loved being a part of this day and just think the world of this great couple.
Photography: Apollo Fields
Wedding Venue: Wedgewood Brittany Hill, Thornton Colorado
Flowers: Flintwood Floral & Design