{"id":7308,"date":"2011-12-09T21:26:35","date_gmt":"2011-12-10T02:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sarahtew.wordpress.com\/?p=6248"},"modified":"2016-01-27T13:11:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T18:11:52","slug":"melissa-rodrigos-wedding-at-the-metropolitan-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sarahtewphotography.com\/blog\/melissa-rodrigos-wedding-at-the-metropolitan-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa & Rodrigo’s Wedding at The Metropolitan Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Metropolitan Building<\/a> is literally 3 blocks from my studio, so I’ve been eager to get in there and shoot one of these cute DIY\/hip\/vintage-inspired weddings they seem to be a perfect venue for around here. \u00a0 I was thrilled to hear from Melissa and Rodrigo, who were putting together the final details of their plan and needed a photographer the weekend after Thanksgiving.\u00a0 Was I available?\u00a0 YES!\u00a0 Eager to meet the bride and groom and check out the venue, I got there early and started exploring the details artfully arranged by the florist and designer, Jenah Barry of Xylem-Phloem<\/a>. Rodrigo and some of his family arrived and the guests began arriving shortly after… the schedule was to start with a cocktail hour followed by ceremony and reception, and the bride did not arrive until midway through cocktail hour…this couple has a beautiful little daughter together named Esperanza, who served as the flower girl in the ceremony, and to my delight made use of the spotlight quite adorably.\u00a0 For the ceremony Melissa changed into her beautiful Tadashi Shoji<\/a> Chiffon and Lace Gown, while her bridesmaids and daughter Esperanza wore dresses from J.Crew.\u00a0 Hair and makeup was provided by Melissa’s aunt, Barb Watkins of Stylez hairdressing– she came all the way from Australia!\u00a0 They had a moving ceremony officiated by\u00a0Jeddah Vailakis<\/a> with selected readings performed by friends and the lighting of a special Unity Candle from Forest Candle Studio<\/a>.\u00a0 After a sweet ring-warming (when the couple passes the ring around to guests to hold and imbue with warm wishes or prayers for the marriage), they exchanged a pair of rings from The Clay Pot in Park Slope<\/a>.\u00a0 Rodrigo’s was particularly interesting– I’ve never seen a ring like this before so I inquired and found out that it’s called “mokume-gane,” and was made by George Sawyer<\/a>.\u00a0 After the ceremony there was a stirring and emotional series of hugs and then family gathered around to wave at the laptop that had been streaming connecting relatives who weren’t able to attend via “facetime” or Skype or some such program.\u00a0 The reception was a multi-course meal full of significant dishes the couple wished to share with their guests, expertly prepared by the excellent chefs, Melanie de Coppet and Brooke Costello from Red Table Catering<\/a>.\u00a0 Other credits include a wonderful quartet that played during the cocktail hour featuring vocalist Sofia Tosello<\/a> and guitarist Yuri Juarez.\u00a0 During and after dinner, music was provided by DJ David Medina<\/a>.\u00a0 The unique translucent brown reception chairs and neat woven chargers were selected and rented from Party Rental Ltd.<\/a>\u00a0 The purple pretty lanterns were from LunaBazaar<\/a>.\u00a0 All in all it came together quite beautifully!\u00a0\u00a0Congratulations, Melissa & Rodrigo!\u00a0 Your families were so sweet and loving and the energy at your wedding spoke volumes about what a good match you must be!<\/p>\n

Congratulations, Melissa & Rodrigo!<\/p>\n\n

I’m experimenting with a new “blog gallery” style below– click on any image and then you can scroll through them nice and large… please tell me what you think in the comments!<\/p>\n\n\t\t