This wedding was one of the most incredible I’ve ever photographed. I’ve had these images posted on my blog for quite a while with a “captions coming soon” disclaimer. Well, it’s been over a year and I still feel overwhelmed with writing this. There’s no way my words could possibly do any justice to what this day was.

Quick refresher: Josh has a brother named Dan. Dan married a woman named Blair. I photographed Blair & Dan’s wedding in 2015. Fast forward to 2018 when Josh became engaged to Blair, he remembered me from his brother’s wedding and the rest is history!

Oh, and to answer your question: Yes, there are two Blair’s. Two brothers (Josh & Dan) each married themselves a Blair. They don’t know this but I refer to one as Party Blair and the other as Disco Blair. Guess who’s who? Oh, and both Blair’s have since had baby girls 3.5 months apart (Charley & Riley). Got it? Good!

Lastly, if you’re in need of a pre-smile to get you in the right mindset before scrolling through these, click here to see their NYC engagement photos.

Powerhouse women!

Their entire wedding party were full of my favorite kinds of people: live-out-loud, confident, successful, compassionate humans. I can’t wait to photograph all of your future weddings. No really, I’ll be there.

The older I get the more I realize the importance of this moment. After all I’m a (step) mom now! When was the last time mom get to dress her daughter? Will there be a next time? See what I mean?

Blair’s mom Ricki has one daughter; this was likely the only time she’ll get to do this. Lori is Josh’s mom; she has two sons. Blair asking Lori to be a part of this was such a gift. In the rush of it all people often forget to slow down to appreciate what’s really happening. We’re often quite distracted by all of the things left to do to ensure the day is a success. There are times throughout our lives when nothing else matters and we need to slow down and appreciate the enormity of what’s happening; a momma putting her daughter in her wedding dress is one of those times.* I remember Lori needing to go help with the men’s bow ties in midst of this and I specifically remember looking at Lori and whispering something along the lines of, “this is the only time you’ll get to do this.” A flip switched and time stood still.

All of this to say, please never take this opportunity for granted. It’s a big damn deal.

*I realize I’m being super dramatic right now but this is the first blog post I’ve written since the pandemic so please excuse me as I’m feeling all the feels!

Brothers.

Disclaimer: I also take traditional photos of wedding parties, I just choose to show the fun ones. It’s kind of a signature photo of mine; I’ve been taking photos like this for the last 15 years. Though, I have been noticing many photographers who’ve added photos like this to their portfolios. I’d like to think that I inspired* that shift.

*My inspiration came from starting my career photographing marching bands; I just brought some of that marching band quirkiness into the wedding photography fold.

Oh you know, just doin’ what I do.

Signing their ketubah.

In my observation the signing of the ketubah is more important than the ceremony itself. This is their marital contract and has been an essential part of Jewish weddings for thousands of years. The ketubah is always signed before the ceremony and is usually very intimate with only close friends and family and is then on display under the chuppah during the ceremony. The Rabbi usually makes references to it throughout the ceremony.

Side note: I know you’ve heard me say this before but I feel it always needs repeating: Jewish weddings are my favorite.

A Bobbi first: photographing a wedding in front of the Hudson River.  WHAAAA???!

It’s tradition for both mom and dad to walk the bride down the aisle; and while it may not have seemed so at first glance… they both did.

THAT CHUPPAH?!?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! I’m not sure if I’ve seen a more beautiful setting for a wedding… well… ever.

I mentioned earlier that traditionally both parents walk the bride down the aisle. The same is true for the groom. After the processional, both sets of parents (and sometimes their siblings) then stand beside them for the entirety of their ceremony while the wedding party usually watches from the front row.

Their expressions?! I can’t. I just can’t! I love these families as though they were my own.

THAT LIGHT?! I’m dead. Call 911, Bobbi died.

This. Is. Everything.

This wedding?! See what I mean?! Like I said in the beginning, it’s really hard to have all of the words necessary to write about it. Luckily I’m a pretty good photographer, so that helps.

Mazel Tov!

Cocktail hour.

Blair and Josh surprised everyone, and I mean everyone (except us, because we kind of had to know) with an epic choreographed first dance. The crowd went wild! See Dan back there to the right of Josh? He couldn’t even deal! I mean, Dan is the ultimate hype man.

This is hands down, bar none, my favorite part of a jewish wedding: THE HORA! I won’t lie, it’s not the easiest thing to photograph, I usually get hurt because I can’t see what’s coming at me because I have a camera in front of my face. People are packed in dancing so tightly; the energy (and the sweat!) can’t be matched.  It’s the time of the day when every person you love is right next to you experiencing the same level of happiness that you’ve been experiencing all day. It’s where people who’ve never met are holding hands and swinging each other around. I could go on and on but instead I’ll wrap this up with one word: bliss.

I thrive under pressure, happy people energize me, and I live for a challenge.  And now you know why this is my favorite part.

For much of the hora, the men dance with the men and the women dance with the women.

Everyone had such great toasts.

After the reception they had a silent disco and it was a hayuuuuge hit. Highly recommend!

Blair, Josh, friends, family: I hope that you know unequivocally how special you have been to me throughout the years and how much you’ve contributed to my growth as a human and as an artist.  I am a better person because of you all. I 100% mean that. Thank you for being you and for loving me no matter what. The feeling couldn’t be more mutual.

I adore you all.

Also, this photo?! I have no words.

Much love friends!

Bobbi

PS. Action shots coming soon. It’s been so long that the RAW files have been archived. Gotta dust off the ol’ 2019 hard drive.