Bruce Plotkin Photography

While everyone hopes for the sun to shine on their wedding day, the Stones said it right when they sang “You can’t always get what you want”. But then what did they know about the desire and determination of Polly and Jason?

As we drove down to the beautiful New York Botanical Gardens on the wedding day, the rain was coming down in buckets, with the parkways flooding and cars pulling over to the side of the road to wait for the rain to slow down. By the time we arrived it seemed to be letting up a bit, but the sun was not about to come out anytime soon and the humidity was 100%. When Polly and Jason arrived for their pre-ceremony family portraits, well, let’s just say that they were not really happy about the prospect about having to move their ceremony indoors, having had their heart and mind set on a ceremony overlooking the extraordinary gardens. That in spite of the fact that the terrific staff of Abigail Kirsch at the Botanical Gardens had been busy preparing for what seemed like the inevitable, setting up for a ceremony in the ballroom, which by itself is as beautiful a setting as they come, for an indoor New York wedding.

But their vision was for an outdoor ceremony and as the rain seemed to be finally stopping the decision was made to go for it and that’s what we did. The next issue was one for me to solve. For as soon as we left the comfort of the air conditioned ballroom for the humidity-soaked outdoors our cameras lenses fogged up as if we were in a rain forest. No matter how many times we cleaned them off, they’d instantly fog up again just as quickly. Three photographers, three fogged lenses, one bride and groom preparing to come up the aisle. It seemed a bit like an old Hollywood movie, with the most extreme of fog filters on our lenses. And changing lenses was simply not an option, knowing that it would only fog up our camera mirrors as well. But then sometimes it’s all about the timing, for just as Polly appeared at the end of the aisle with her dad, our lenses cleared just enough to record the moment and as the ceremony went on and the cameras acclimated to the humidity, our problems were solved, and that dream of the perfect outdoor wedding a reality.

And was there ever a more handsome couple than Polly and Jay? I think not. Polly was gorgeous, of course, in her Vera Wang gown (and check out her shoes). The ballroom at the Botanical Gardens was in all its glory, with floral arrangements by the talented Carolyn Dempsey Design, non-stop music by Soul Solution, and the entire day coordinated by our dear friend and wedding planner extraordinaire Nancy Sloan Alchek. An amazing celebration for a wonderful couple. Congratulations, once again, to both Polly and Jason. Let that sun shine on your marriage.

Last Saturday might not have been “quite” as cold as today is, but trust me, it was winter in New England-plenty cold, AND windy too. But nothing was going to stop RoseMary and Kevin from taking a few of their wedding pictures outdoors at The Inn at Longshore in Westport, Ct. So out we headed with the two of them to the long tree-lined entrance where I’ve shot so many times before, usually in Summer or Fall, typically surrounded by golfers on either side, stopping traffic for a few minutes to capture some rushed but wonderful moments. But not on January 2nd, limited traffic (all of whom seemed to be willing to patiently wait and observe our little session), certainly no golfers, just the desolate but beautiful snow-covered grounds, the quiet and serenity of Connecticut in January and the beautiful and determined RoseMary and her charming and accommodating soon-to-be husband Kevin.

For Kevin and RoseMary their search for a wedding venue that offered an intimate and romantic setting was made easy by the fact that Longshore was the location where they met for the very first time. And in spite of the cold, the beauty of their winter wedding day only added to the memories that they’ll have forever. And how about that sunset for early January!

And of course, everyone loves a winter party (myself included), even one day after new year’s, and R&K’s wedding celebration was no exception. A few great speeches followed by non-stop dancing throughout the evening. Congratulations to both RoseMary and Kevin and their families. Thanks for including us, what a great way to start 2010!