New York Times Wedding Photography by Apollo Fields
Ron and Sunil's New York Times Wedding | Apollo Fields | New York Wedding Photography | Intimate Weddings in NYC
Ron & Sunil
2020
For a suburban family, a house is a home--but for a New York City family--home is their entire neighborhood. Despite being in one of the biggest cities in the world, all you have to do is live in a NYC neighborhood for one year to know what I’m talking about: how you start to recognize the same faces on the subway, the same delivery trucks blocking the same traffic as they’re double-parked, and how you begin to see the same people rotate from neighborhood bar to neighborhood bar while you sit there wondering how you think you know them. So the fact that Ron and Sunil live in the Upper West Side, one block away from where Heather and I first met, technically makes us New York family.
I first met Ron while serving him and his late husband at a restaurant at 105th and Broadway in Morningside Heights. I was new to bartending and they would playfully give me pointers as I trudged through shift-after-shift. Funny enough, this happened to be the same bar that Heather and I first met. To take this NYC serendipity even further, Ron and Sunil held their small reception at the restaurant across the street in the same building where Heather used to bartend! Talk about that neighborhood love!
Just a couple of blocks west, after you cross Riverside Drive, you come up on Riverside Park, which runs four miles up and down Manhattan’s west coastline. It’s too far a trek for most tourists and is a great place to do yoga, go for a run, have a picnic, or in Ron and Sunil’s Covid-contingency-case, have a wonderfully intimate and beautiful wedding ceremony. In true New York fashion, between all the congratulations from the passersby, there was a token heckler. Unsure what to do, we followed Ron and Sunil’s lead and we let their love speak for itself, ignoring this unhinged man for the pest that he was.
We’re so grateful to have been part of their celebration and we aren’t the only ones! Their wedding was featured in the New York Times this past weekend and they look just as good in their stylishly complementary outfits as they did the day of. Ron calls his jacket a ‘dusty pink’ and it might’ve been a literal description if Sunil dropped him when they danced and dipped on 106th street, but lucky for Ron, Sunil is an adept dancer. Shortly thereafter they embraced and the emotions of the day caught up with them. Ron cried. I cried. We live for these moments.
Ron and Sunil plan to renew their vows next year on the same date, inviting the same minister (Ben) who was actually at the church the night they got engaged! We love the idea of using their anniversary to celebrate their love even bigger and better. They plan to hold their reception at the India House and we can’t wait! Who knows, they might even invite their whole neighborhood!
vendors:
Apollo Fields | Photography
Serafina UWS | Reception
Riverside Park | Ceremony Site
Banana Republic | Ron’s Suit
Middle Collegiate Church (East Village, NYC) | Revs. Ashley DeTar Birt, Benjamin Perry / 2021 Ceremony Location
media:
New York Times
Family Photographer in Northport, NY
Sweet & Sassy | Leila’s Portraits at Crab Meadow Beach | Northport, NY | Long Island Photographer | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
I just never get sick of photographing this cutie! I have been doing her pics since before she was born, and ever since then. I’ve done Nikki and Leila'’s maternity, fresh 48, 6mo, 1yr, and so on every chance I get! Even though we specialize in weddings, I love taking on the occasional family and kiddo. Leila is such a bright light, a sassy and sweet little girl who I just adore.
It was cold and windy at Crab Meadow Beach, but the light cloud coverage was great for photos. Leila only had about five minutes threshold for the chilliness (I couldn’t blame her, I wouldn’t have wanted to pull my jacket off either) so it was up to us to get as much of her personality out in just a few minutes). Leave it to this little girl though, because she gave us the whole spectrum — her curiosity, playfulness, quick witted little personality just beamed.
My favorite was when I was trying to keep her attention and get her engaged, and I said, “Leila can you give us a smile” and she just goes, “RAWR! I’m a monster!” Hahahaa she gave us the biggest smile right after doing a playful monster and then threw her hand on her hip and posed her pants off. What a ham!
Leila’s mom, Nicole, is a dietician and works at Memorial Sloan Kettering as well as managing her own brand, Worksite Wellness. She just published her own cookbook, The Truly Healthy Pescatarian and we were lucky enough to snag our own copy when she came out for the session! We love chatting about all healthy eating and nutrition and of course, doing anything with Leila!
Photography: Apollo Fields
Location: Crab Meadow Beach, Northport NY