Check our this fun little video of our Studio at the NY Magazine Weddings Event last week (shot by our very own Ben Norman-damn that kids got talent!). That place was packed! We met tons of brides (yes, Tiffany I shoot weddings in Tobago, twist my arm;), made new friends (Greg & Bella from Kate’s Paperie) and reconnected with some of our favorite vendor friends (Hello Super 8, Rewind Pics). Everyone loved the sweet treats provided by 24 Carat Cakes, we could hardly keep them on the table. But most importantly, the people that came by the booth got what we did. People lingered, watched the slideshow&video, chatted with Allison and Joy and signed up for our raffle for a free engagement portrait. (Congratulations Janine!) Over and over I heard from brides what a breath of fresh air our photos were. We wish we could have spent more time with each bride, but we were swamped (as you can see). So if you liked what you saw at the show, call us and set up an appointment today, I’ll even be sure to have more sweet treats on hand.

I’m so excited to finally share these videos! They’ve been months in the making and I’m so proud of them. I got the idea during my pick up meetings. My couples are always soooo excited to see their photos for the first time and I always thought I should film them. I finally did it with the help of Associate Photographer Ben Norman and Editor Milner Ayala. Each video tells the story of one couple and their love story, the wedding day and their experience working with Kelly Guenther Studio. They’re short, funny, beautifully shot and just fun to watch. A special thanks to Eric&Nicole, Arianna&Richard and Mark&Sarah for participating. Your guys are the best! Enjoy and please share the video and let me know what you think.

I’m so excited to be exhibiting at the New York Weddings Event again. Like I tell all my brides, New York Magazine Weddings is the only magazine you need to buy to plan your wedding in NYC, and their event is the only one worth going to. Over 100 highly selected  vendors (ahem;) will be represented. Everything you need to plan your wedding is under one roof.  Be sure to stop by our booth for the chance to win a free engagement portrait session, meet the team and sample delicious goodies courtesy of 24 Carat Cakes. Many of the vendors exhibiting are on my referral list: Nine Cakes, Ray Jarrell Entertainent, Generation Events, Loli Events and many more. If you go, be sure to check in your gift bag for an amazing Kelly Guenther Studio give away for NY Mag Wedding attendees only. I don’t want to give it away, but can you say Kelly Kash? Too much w/the K’s? I’m no marketing genius, I’m a photographer. Photos from the show coming soon!

Josh and Liz are born and bred Brooklynites. They knew if they got married in NYC they’d have to invite, well, all of Brooklyn. They wanted a more intimate wedding. Since they were keeping the guest list small, they decided the perfect location would be a little boutique hotel in Cuernavaca Mexico, Las Mananitis, where they had been vacationing for years. The town is known for their secret gardens, and Las Mananitis has some of the most beautiful gardens around. You’d never know it from the outside, but behind the high stone walls literally lies paradise. Guests took over the entire hotel for the weekend and enjoyed the heck out of the amazing weather, especially since NYC had just been hit with it’s second blizzard of the season. Josh and Liz are both in the food&wine industry so you can bet that there was plenty top of the line spirits and nosh all weekend. Liz looked amazing in her dress with hand embroidered floral details that accented the local flavor. All guests were encouraged to wear bright colors. It’s a toss up for me who wins most colorful guest award: the gentleman in the pink floral sports coat w/matching pants or grandma in the green dress (it’s the white shoes that put he over the top). I think it was the first time this Mexican based orchestra played the hora, I don’t think they knew how to end it! It went on an on….don’t get me wrong it was a blast! I was just worried the guests were going to faint from exhaustion. But everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and that’s the most important thing. Congrats Liz and Josh, and thanks for choosing me, I needed the sunshine;) Oh! And for helping me get over my fear of birds! Part of the charm of the hotel were the peacocks, flamingos and other large stunningly beautiful birds that would wander the grounds. I had just unpacked my bag and I opened my door to explore the hotel and there standing in my doorway was a peacock in its full glory just staring at me! We both screamed (ok, peacocks can’t scream but I could tell it was startled) then ran away from each other. I eventually stopped running and started laughing and that was the end of my fear of birds.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Parlor Club last night. We had a huge turnout for the event, over 150 wedding professionals. The space looked amazing and as a little surprise to all who showed up-open bar all night! There was no shortage of yummy food thanks to Naturally Delicious and Nine Cakes. As usual with those two everything tasted as good as it looked. Sarah’s brightly colored flowers (Blossom&Branch) were stunning. Allison from Tres Belle Spa greeted everyone at the door w/a uniquely designed name tag courtesy of Brandon of Design-o-Matic. (I just loved them, I think I’m going to wallpaper my bathroom with them;) Sounds like everyone had a great time and more importantly, made connections with other vendors. I was so glad to see so much potential business happening. I love bringing good people together, helping them make connections and ultimately making our brides happy with all the services we can offer. I know my brides love it when I refer them to vendors that I know will do an amazing job for them. I’m no wedding planner, but because of my referral list I hand out to all my clients, many weddings I shoot turn out to be Kelly Guenther Studio productions: they hired the caterer, dj, stylist, make up artist and florist all because of my referrals. I hope everyone that attended the event last night will update their own vendor lists with some of the fantastic people they met. The big question I heard over and over last night is of course “When’s the next one?” Let a gal recover a bit then I’ll get on it, I promise. We will for sure be doing this again.

Photos by Ben Norman for Kelly Guenther Studio

If you’re in NYC and in the wedding industry you do not want to miss this networking opportunity. I’ve teamed up w/The Parlor Club (NYC’s new exclusive members only club), Nine Cakes, Naturally Delicious, Blossom&Branch, Generation Events, Kage Konsulting, Tres Belle Spa and Design-o-Matic to make this event possible. It’s amazing what’s possible when we all pool our resources together. It’s going to be a big event, the first of many I predict. The RSVP’s are pouring in! We’d love to see you there. Click here for more information and an invitation.

Ingrid and Philippe live in Singapore. We finally met in person just a couple weeks before their wedding and I could tell that this was going to be a fun party. They had friends and family flying in from all over the world for this wedding. The evening was a mixture of Western, Jewish and Chinese traditions. They were married under a hoopah, danced the hora and performed a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony for their parents. Can I just say that Philippe is one smooth cat? He actually strutted up the aisle w/Ingrid after the “I do’s” and pulled it off! Very impressive. I love the photos of Philippe popping in on Ingrid while she was changing into her traditional Chinese gown. She didn’t want him to see her in the dress and he eventually covered up his face with a napkin so as not to ruin the surprise. They also played a few embarrassing get to know you games, another Chinese tradition. They were good sports about it, and everyone had a good laugh at their expense. Towards the end of the night I grabbed them for a few night shots in the snow. The sky was this crazy orange color emphasized even more due to my long exposure. I like to think of it as a little Brooklyn wedding gift. I’m sure it’s good luck.

I met Mark and Sarah well over a year ago at the Bam Bridal show. I was giving a talk about how to hire the right photographer. They came right up to me after and said “We don’t have a date or a venue but we know we want you to be our photographer.” Sounded good to me. None of us had any idea at the time that the wedding would end up being in Detroit. But like I say have wedding, I’ll travel;) Nothing like a destination wedding in Detroit in the middle of winter. I’m not knocking Detroit, quite the contrary. I grew up in Toledo so Detroit was the big city to me as a kid. I’ve always had a soft spot for the motor city. We flew in Saturday morning and got right to work. Sarah looked stunning! We headed out to meet Mark for the first look moment. Mind you its freezing cold. I was so worried about her toes-I’ll be damned if I lose a bride to frost bite! She had adrenaline and the love from her grandmother’s wrap to keep her warm. Mark was waiting in the cold by the scenic Detroit river for his bride to be. They’re both private people and wanted that first look moment to be just between them. Then we took a stroll around downtown Detroit, even stopping to “give daps” to the Joe Lewis fist. The ceremony was a blend of Jew”ish”, African American and their own traditions all mixed together. Their rings were wrapped in Sarah’s mother’s scarf (who passed away over three years ago) and were then passed around the church for blessings from all the guests. It was very moving and powerful.  During the reception we had the On Site Portrait studio set up and the guests really had fun with it. The band was incredible! They all tour w/famous Motown artists so you can imagine how loud and funky the horah was. Mark however does not tour w/famous Motown artists but that didn’t stop him from surprising everyone, especially Sarah, by singing Barry White. Oh what a night! Such a fantastic group of people, I’m honored to have spent the weekend with them (and a night at the Detroit airport with some of them, but that’s another story…).

Here’s just a sample of what they had to say about us: “The speed at which the actual wedding day can come and go is shocking to many couples. It also has made Kelly Guenther one of Manhattan’s most sought-after wedding photographers.” Click here to read the rest of the article: “The Business of Love: 5 Wedding Businesses.”

Angela and Jerry had been together for 15 years. They (finally;) decided to make it official. It was Angela’s first trip to the alter and I think everyone was overwhelmed with the happiness they felt for both of them. All of Angela’s nieces and nephews and Jerry’s grandchildren were in the wedding party. I’d never seen so much cuteness in all my life! Angela was definitely going for that 50′s look and she nailed it. It takes guts to chop a wedding gown at the knees and boy did it pay off. All the better to show off her shoes;) After the ceremony and a stroll on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade everyone made their way over to the couples favorite watering hole, Walkers in Tribecca. They were the first wedding to take place in the recently renovated back room, I can tell you that they won’t be the last. Such an incredible day, congratulations!

Photography by Kelly Guenther with assist by Drew Anthony Smith