Blog >> Kelly Guenther Wedding Photojournalist

Melissa and Michael at The Foundry

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:37:34 +0000

Melissa was the picture of old Hollywood glamor in her dress. It fit her beautifully and when she walked it’s like she was gliding on air. So graceful. The Foundry is one of my favorite venues in Brooklyn because you can get married outside rain or shine thanks to their clear top tent! The lights strung between the railings gave the wedding a kind of night time in Paris vibe (I’ve never been but I’m sticking with my description because I have a vivid imagination and watch lots of movies;). Tip of the Tongue did the food….OMG! Soooo crazy good. My favorite were the passed desserts at the end of the night. They were festive and delicious and refreshing, especially the mini ice cream cones. Guests pounced on them! I hardly had time to take a photo! After the wedding when Michael and Melissa picked up their photos Michael thanked me for making them go outside during the sunset. Those were their favorite photos of the evening. It’s always a delicate situation for me to pull a bride and groom away from their guests. But I also know that this light and these photos will only take 5 min. to shoot and they’ll cherish them for a lifetime. Thanks for indulging my creative whims and congratulations!

Photos by Kelly Guenther with Assist by David Filipponi

New York Weddings Event Tickets on sale!

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:47:27 +0000

We’re psyched to be a featured vendor at the New York Magazine Weddings event again this year. It’s the best bridal show in NYC. Mark your calendars for March 28th. Click here to purchase tickets.

Tae and Jade at Aureole

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:00:03 +0000

Tae and Jade hired us about a week before their wedding. They live in L.A. and were having the big wedding in London (where Jade is originally from). They had to get married in the states to make things legal over here before they headed across the pond and figured, why not have a party for all of our friends and family who can’t make the trip to London? It was a cozy affair at Aureole with all of NYC watching through the big windows as the couple said “I do”. I love the photo of the guy giving them the thumbs up in the reflection of the window! So New York. After lunch the couple went to DUMBO for portraits. As luck would have it the DUMBO Arts Festival was in full swing. What follows are some of the most original wedding portraits I’ve ever seen! My favorite is the image of Tae and Jade framed with the ropes and all the action from the blind wrestling match. That’s right BLIND WRESTLING! It’s just all so surreal, and so Brooklyn.

Photos by Michael Nagle for Kelly Guenther Studio

Ben and Brooke at The Stone Mill at the NY Botanic Gardens

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:17:08 +0000

I’m not big into astrology, but all the stars, planets what have you must have been in alignment on Ben and Booke’s wedding night. Everyone was in the best mood! I know that’s kind of a given at weddings but this was something different….I don’t know what it was or how to explain it really. Maybe it’s the fact that half of the guests were from Texas. Have you ever hung out with Texans? They are just always up for a good time and full of positive energy. Ben and Brooke and their friends are also super-smarty-pants kind of people (yes, that’s a technical term) and their toasts were honestly the funniest I have ever heard! I had a hard time keeping my focus I was laughing so hard behind the camera! It was just truly one of the most joyful nights I’ve been a part of. Things just clicked that night. I was reflecting on this wedding afterwards and was kind of amazed really. I’ve been shooting weddings for 10 years now, that’s well over 250 weddings and I can honestly say that I’m enjoying this job more and more. It’s just getting better. Maybe it has something to do with age and confidence. I’m not as stressed out as I used to be…I’m still working as hard as ever but I’m able to relax into the evening and absorb some of those good vibes around me. I’m truly a very lucky woman to be able to be around so much happiness. Documenting all the smiles for Ben and Brooke to enjoy for years to come….not a bad way to make a living;)

Congratulations Ben and Brooke and thank you so much for such a joyous evening!

Photography by Kelly Guenther, Assist by Tanya Salazar, Photo Studio by Drew Anthony Smith

Lauren and Alex’s Full Moon Wedding

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:27:03 +0000

This wedding was just a blast from beginning to end. First, Lauren and her mother Ronnie are a treasure and a true joy to work with. The wedding took place on Ronnie’s estate in Long Island-the entire place is like one big art instillation. It has such a positive energy, it’s no wonder Lauren and Alex wanted to get married there. The first look took place under this enormous old tree. I’m a sucker for old trees, they just ooze wisdom and I find them very soothing and calming. It felt to me like the tree was blessing them and wrapping them up in its branches….ever read The Giving Tree? It was like that but w/o the sad ending…anyway. Everything about the wedding just felt so much like Lauren and Alex, so fun and genuine and a tad bit quirky;) The table settings were the most original I have seen in my 10 years of shooting. Ronnie mixed in some of her antiques with rentals. Everything was mix and match bric-a-brac yet it somehow came off very polished. Kind of like fashion models with perfectly tousled bed head; you know it took a heck of a lot of work to look oh so casual. It just made you smile, so much to look at and a surprise around every corner. I mean, a table called “Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta”?! Genius. We did the videography, photography and set up a side tent just for the on site photo studio. DJ Shakey (Julie Covello) had the most booming sound system! It was like being at an NYC night club. The only time the guests left the dance floor was to visit the photo studio or to bask in the full moon light. It was one of those nights where the moon was so bright you could see your shadow by it. I had to take Lauren and Alex down to the dock for a quick portrait session. I love shooting in low light, so dramatic and romantic. A truly magical night for a magical couple. Congratulations Lauren&Alex!

Photos by Kelly Guenther, Assist by David Filipponi, On Site Photo Studio by Jordan Gomez, Videography by Mike Canzoniero coming soon!

Naomi and Rob at the New York Botanic Gardens

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:39:14 +0000

I’ve known Naomi and her lovely family since I first moved to the city almost 14 years ago. I even traveled to London for her brother’s wedding many moons ago. I was so touched when Naomi wanted to hire us to document her wedding day. I felt like an honorary member of their family all day, it was such a lovely shoot. The little ones almost upstaged Naomi and Rob during the ceremony. They were running around, clapping & giggling, it was really sweet. The littlest flower girl took a shine to me and stood right in front of me while I was sitting in the aisle just when Naomi and Rob were getting ready to say “I do.” She just stood there and kept saying “Hi! Hi! Hi!” She was not going to be ignored. I finally said a hushed “Hi there!”, patted her on the head and off she went on her merry way. We all had a little giggle over it. The portrait studio was a huge hit! It was non-stop from the time the booth opened. Guests had a blast and we were hustling to instantly get everyone prints. As usual the staff at the Botanic Gardens were wonderful and the food was just delicious. Congratulations Naomi and Rob!

Photos by Kelly Guenther, Photo Studio by Drew Anthony Smith, Assist by Tanya Salazar

WeDoNYC Launch Party

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:01:24 +0000

About six months ago I teamed up with Ara Farnam (Rock Paper Scissor Events) to form WeDo; A professional wedding industry networking group connecting the best vendors in NYC. It all started because my couples are always asking me for referrals and over the years I’ve referred some of the best in the biz. I love making the referrals, it makes the planning process so much easier for my couples and I get to work with professionals I know will do an amazing job. So much of my business comes from word of mouth referrals that last year I decided to throw a wedding industry networking party. It was such a success that all my industry friends were asking me when I was going to throw another one. I realized that we were all hungry to network with each other and there is nothing consistent in NYC that brings all of us together on a regular basis. WeDo will do just that and so much more. WeDo is a curated group of wedding professionals. We’ll hold monthly networking events where we will showcase our member talents ie. a different venue, caterer, DJ every month. Think of it like a monthly business to business bridal show with the feel of a mini reception. We will also offer educational workshops and the WeDo website will help keep the connections going online.

The WeDo launch party was a great success and we plan to begin our monthly members only networking parties in January. It’s the beginning of something big, something the wedding industry has needed in this town for a long time. Thrilled to have co-founded this dynamic group with so much potential. Below is the blog about the party.

To learn more about WeDo visit our temporary website here.

WeDo can throw a party!

This was the event the wedding industry was waiting for. We’ve been telling people about WeDo for months and the industry insiders came out in droves to see what we’re all about. Ramscale looked amazing decked out in a wash of pink and orange light (thanks NiceUplights) with flowers by Rountree Flowers and rentals by Taylor Creative. Guests were encouraged to play WeDo Connect Four (created by Melangerie) all night, a little ice breaker to help everyone mingle and make the most of the people around them. The game card encouraged everyone to, “Meet a new Planner X, Meet a new Makeup Artist X, Visit the WeDo Lounge X, Make an Introduction X.” People loved it! And besides the obvious business benefits to playing the game, there were prizes! See the list below for our winners. So many told me after the party that they made the most connections at our party than any other networking event they’d attended. That’s been our big goal all along! WeDo is not only fun, but will help you connect with a curated group of NYC wedding professionals that in turn will grow your business. And if you happen to have fun, oh say visiting the GoFlipYourself photo booth or dancing to music by Jarrell Entertainment, well then all the better. (I’m still irritated at myself that I didn’t get to make a flipbook, I’ll just have to make sure one of my clients book them in the future so I’ll have another opportunity;) Did I mention all the yummy food? Naturally Delicious was, well, delicious and Elegantly Iced gave all us sweet freaks something to swoon over. Seriously the best cupcake I’ve ever had! All of this would not be possible with out the brilliance (and patience, my God does she have patience) of Sarah Pease from Brilliant Event Planning. She came on board 6 weeks ago and pulled everything together. All of which was brilliantly captured by our featured photographer Craig Paulson Photography (Craig, Jean and Courtney).

We will be doing this every month! Want to be at the next party? To fill out an application to be a WeDo member, click here: click here.

Grand Prize winners of the WeDo Connect Four game:
Parris Whittingham winner of B Spa Bar facial
Evija Mehra and Maryla Colandrea winners of a free face peal and 1 laser hair removal session from Tres Belle Spa
Lindsey Gamble winner of a massage from the The Pipper Wellness Center
Amy DeGiulio winner of the two night weekend stay at the Hotel Roger Williams
Sarah True winner of the 1yr membership to WeDo

Check out a video highlighting the event here!

We DO Event from MCM PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

Featured Vendors from the Launch Party:

Brilliant Event Planning
Rountree Flowers
Naturally Delicious
Jarrell Entertainment
Melangerie NYC
Nice Uplights
Elegantly Iced
Craig Paulson Photography
Go Flip Yourself
Taylor Creative Rentals
Ramscale Penthouse

Bridezillas go crazy at In Any Event Halloween Bash!!!

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:38:02 +0000

Ok, so I’m the Bridezilla* and so is my friend in the biz Megan Hill from Hello Super 8. Wedding planners extraordinaire Leslie Price and Eyal Tessler of In Any Event threw an amazing party at Guastavino’s last night to celebrate their 10 years in business. Since it was Halloween and full of wedding industry folks I thought the Bridezilla thing would be a riot. We bought our dresses at a thrift store in Bushwick. The staff were so taken w/us trying on dresses…. “You look so pretty! When is the wedding?!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was for a costume, so I patted my belly and said “Two months!” We recruited makeup artist Sharon Becker with SB Beauty to do our hair and makeup. It went against every fiber of her being to do bad bridal make up but she nailed it! Bad color choices, gobs and gobs of mascara and highlighter in all the wrong places. She added 10lbs to my face! And my hair! My god I looked like Joan Cusack from Working Girl-Sharon’s got skills. We stuffed our tails, sewed ourselves into our dresses then stuffed ourselves into a cab. Everyone was so into our outfits! Mark Ingram actually told me my dress was coming back in style! God I hope he was kidding. Megan and I had a back story we told anyone who would listen: We were sisters who were marrying brothers Timmy and Tommy tonight at Guastavino’s, but we were left at the alter and decided to join the party instead. All said w/a thick New Jersey accent from 1987 of course. What? Accents can be dated….anyway. Jason Fioto from Generation Events was spinning some mad tunes all night long. Songs we all hear when we work our weddings but can’t dance to. We all made up for it! It was so much fun for all of us to cut loose together. I don’t know what came over me, maybe it was all the tulle but I danced my brains out all night long. Twirling, jumping, strutting, throwing mock temper tantrums anytime someone would step on my train. Good times. We work hard making our couples’ dream weddings come true, we needed a party to celebrate a successful season and blow off some steam. When I got home I realized I was stuck in my dress!!! I literally ripped it off and buttons went flying! So liberating, I highly recommend it. I know where you can get a dress dirt cheap, just tell them your wedding is in two months;) Below are snaps I took w/my point and shoot while wearing 4 inch green witch finger tips. No judgment.

*I picked up all my Bridezilla behavior by watching television. I’m proud to say that in my 10 years of shooting weddings I have honestly never personally encountered a Bridezilla. Can someone knock wood;)

Happy Halloween!

My cracker, so much lipstick!

I didn't know James Franco was in the wedding industry!

me and Eyal

Bridezilla showdown

My new kitty loves to play in the dress

Rick and Jay gay wedding at City Hall in NYC

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:59:14 +0000

Monday morning I got a call from Rick. He had seen my blog entry about Gay Marriage and wanted to know if I was available to photograph he and his partner getting married….tomorrow morning! I jumped at the chance. As a journalist, a wedding photographer and an avid supporter of gay rights I’ve been dying to document a gay wedding in NYC since we passed the marriage equality act. I met up with Jay and Rick at their hotel while they were getting ready. They bought matching suits eight years ago when they first met hoping one day to wear them on their wedding day, if and when that day would ever come. “They’re a little out of date,” said Jay, but they wouldn’t dream of wearing anything else. Riding in the car on the way to the courthouse I could feel the anticipation and energy in the car….it was more than wedding nerves. Now. Today. In the next hour they will be legally married. Something neither of them ever thought they would experience in their lifetime. “Can I see your marriage license please?” asked the clerk. “Wow…..I never thought I’d hear that.” The clerk looked like a Bruno Kirby look-a-like (wait, maybe it was Bruno Kirby), and in his thick New York accent he bellowed “By the Gr-r-r-rate State of New York I now pronounce you married!!!” Sobs of joy all around, it was hard for me not to lose it. Stay focused Kelly, literally;) There is a photo of Rick looking at the Marriage License and you can feel the weight of that piece of paper and what it means to him. “I’m equal…I’m now seen as equal.” After the ceremony we all walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. While they were kissing under the umbrella a construction worker yelled out “Hey! I like your matching suits! You look good!” God I love this town. I could tell as they looked around the city that everything changed for them. They were equal, New York City saw them as equal and acknowledged their love. “We should move here.”

We’d love to have you! Congratulations Rick and Jay!

Hurricane Irene, Cindy and Richard and a dip in the pool

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:26:31 +0000

A hurricane on your wedding day. It’s every brides worst nightmare. You’ve been planning for months, sometimes years….this was not in your plan! You have guests in town from all over the world, everything is paid for. Do you reschedule? Go for it and hope the weather reports are all just media hype? These are hard choices and I didn’t envy any bride who had to make those decisions that weekend. We had two weddings booked for that Saturday. Friday morning I get a call from Sue the fabulous event planner at Wolffer Estates “Are you ready for this?” she asks, “They canceled?” I said, “Nope, they’re doing it tonight at their house, can you have everyone out here by 2pm?” Yikes!! I called the A Team: Mike Nagle Photographer, Mike Canzoniero Videographer and Jordan Gomez Assistant. The biggest worry? All of them had their wedding clothes at the dry cleaners, other than that they were ready to roll on a moments notice. Mind you reports at that time were saying lower Manhattan may very well be under water not to mention the Hamptons (later mandatory evacuations were ordered right where the wedding took place!) But you wouldn’t know any of that chaos was happening when you look at the photos. Looks like they planned this to be at their home from the beginning. Cindy was a cool cucumber who really went with the flow. Nothing was going to stop the love. Best part? After the party she and Richard jumped in their pool!! I have to say when I heard that I was soooo jealous I wasn’t shooting, I’ve always wanted to document that moment. Mike and Jordan nailed it and even thought enough ahead to submerge large hurricane (ha!) candle vases in the water and use them as underwater housing devices for their cameras. Still think it doesn’t make a difference to hire a photojournalist? We’re all about thinking on our feet and improvising. We live for the spontaneous. The underwater shots are so incredible. The last photo reminds me of the famous Rolling Stone cover of John&Yoko, except this one is under water and Cindy is wearing a Monique Lhuillier designed wedding dress. Ok maybe I’m stretching it a bit.

Photos by Michael Nagle with Assist by Jordan Gomez