Did you know that rain on a wedding day is actually considered good luck for the bride and groom? In the case of couple Marty and Monica, then, they are in for a lifetime of happiness!

All Photos © Katherine Marchand/Wilde Scout Photo Co.

“It was the biggest rainstorm I’ve ever seen in New York City,” says wedding photographer Katherine Marchand, who is the owner and lead photographer of Wilde Scout Co. “Quite literally, it was a monsoon. A full horizontal downpour that continued for the entire day. We had to adapt our original shooting plan to go around the New York skyline and ended up shooting the entirety of their portraits indoors, during the middle of the setup at the venue, using natural window light. Despite the challenges, their portraits are some of the best work I’ve ever done, and we captured fun, candid images along with fine-art editorial style portraits.”

Marchand continues: “They’re one of those couples that genuinely sparkle together, and that was evident in all the photos. Monica is Cuban, while Marty is Jewish, and it was very important to them to have a wedding that was a true reflection of them. They had Israeli food and Cuban food at the wedding, plus the wine shop Monica has been apprenticing at made custom labels of all the wine for the day. Monica converted to Judaism for Marty, and he attended every single class with her. And then she surprised him during the speeches with a choreographed dance to classics like ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ and ‘Bye Bye Bye.’ They didn’t tell us, so we were also surprised!”

“While this wasn’t the most detail-oriented wedding, it was full of personal touches and a true reflection of the couple,” Marchand recalls, “like the paper flowers that took Monica months to make—435 (!!!) paper flowers located all throughout the space and at each table. They were made out of glitter paper (which Marty hates) and NYC subway maps. They served as the boutonnieres and bouquets for the bridal party and parents. Oh, and the maid of honor made all of the seating cards—creativity runs in the family. The day was full of so many beautiful moments between them, their families and loved ones. Max McQueen (my second photographer on this one) and I were allowed to be photojournalists and documentarians.”

It’s always an extra bonus when the bride reaches out to the wedding photographer with praise and satisfaction. As Monica wrote to Marchand: “We saw the slide show and the majority of the photos and were blown away. I honestly don’t have many words that can communicate our sincerest gratitude that you captured our day so beautifully. Woah, woah, woah.” It doesn’t get better than that.

GEAR OF THE DAY
Cameras and lenses: Fujifilm GFX medium format and a 63mm lens, plus a slew of Fujifilm XT2’s with various lenses
Lighting: Hot continuous light sources for the ceremony, and off-camera flash for the speeches and reception

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