Before this trip, the one and only time I'd been to New York City was in my early teens visiting my sister Katie who lived in Brooklyn. Being someone who has always had "big city dreams," this trip was long overdue. Luckily, I had the opportunity to get back to the Big Apple to film two of my past clients, Hillary + Logan. I filmed H+L's wedding in Charleston at Lowndes Grove Plantation on July 3rd, 2017. It was an incredible day and these two gorgeous and camera-ready individuals made for one of my all-time favorite wedding videos to date (it's also gone the most viral, too!). This time around we'd be shooting my very first anniversary film to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary. I was SO down.
I've learned from my travels that you can research the hell out of a location in advance, but 9 out of 10 times you only end up doing a fraction of what you'd planned. So while in New York, I decided for the first time to "just go with it." No plans, no pre-trip dinner reservations, just walk and explore. I must say, I'm totally loving this philosophy! Less stress and a go-with-the-flow attitude is where it's at. Very unlike myself being an obsessive coordinator and lifelong organizer. With a city where transportation is literally all around you, getting places would be a cinch. I was told by many folks prior to the trip to avoid the subway at all costs, so Ubers and taxis here I come!
The flight from Charleston to NYC was $126, you can't beat that! I decided to stay in Times Square so I'd be central to each of our pre-planned shooting locations. My room on the gazillionth floor looked down onto the hustle and bustle that is New York City. I loved the view but once I stepped outside the anxiety heightened. Not only am I claustrophobic but I'm not one that loves crowds. I had to get myself a jumbo pretzel and my bearings on where I was, so I walked around for a bit. My Instagram stories were jam packed full of naked cowboy boomerangs, peeps dressed as the Statue of Liberty, Superman and Optimus Prime to name a few. I found the cutest little area called Nolita with a coffee shop best described by their tagline, "Pink AF." Obligatory staring-off-into-the-distance photo to be had. Thank you self-timer.
I loved this project because we approached it with no real vision. I knew I didn't need one because H+L are just so. damn. effortless. in front of the camera. Clearly a match made in heaven. These two are the type of clients who make me jump for joy and get me excited about a shoot because I know they're going to give me a ton of different looks to shoot and choose from in post-production. An editor's dream. We started off in Central Park at the Loeb Boathouse where the plan was to film them in a row boat with the skyline in the background. Long story short, it was a total bust, and you'll literally see just a millisecond of this take in their video below. Trying to squeeze three people into a row boat with all of my gear, while balancing and steadying the boat was a mere impossible task, but hey we tried! Luckily unlike on a wedding day we had the luxury of time, so trying something out that didn't work was no biggie. On we went into Central Park for more skyline moments and we ended up finding the perfect spot atop one of the many boulders spread throughout the park. From there we spent time shooting underneath the Bethesda Terrace where I got some really great silhouettey shots of them. You'll see from the video Hillary has mastered the twirl and the dip (YASS!). If it were an Olympic sport, the gold would be ALL hers. Diverse shots with movement? Check!
Our next stop would be Rockefeller Center where we'd shoot at Top of the Rock, the observation deck with by far the best views of the city. This was one of my most memorable moments of our shoot day. The many tourists on the observation deck alongside of us must have thought H+L were celebs because the seas of people parted, their cameras and phones came out and they let us do our thang, sans distraction. It was incredible! We ended our day in Brooklyn where we got some of my favorite shots with the bridge and city in the background. The shoot day was a long one, I think in total around 7-8 hours with filming, traveling from location-to-location and a couple of quick stops for food and water. We must've walked the length of a half marathon. My feet were DEAD. H+L treated me to dinner at the neatest little Italian restaurant, Uva, in the Upper East Side. It was so nice to sit and relax after a long day with a glass of wine and with some of the best Italian I've had to date.
It was an amazing experience and getting to create a film like this, unlike anything I'd done before was so, so invigorating. New York breathed new creative life in me and I remember leaving feeling re-energized with new ideas and ready to tackle the remainder of my wedding year. I've told them many times before but I can't thank Hillary & Logan enough for being rockstar clients. It was so nice to have our time together in NY to get to know them better outside of the stresses of a wedding day. I've received so much work, literally all over the country, from these two and I couldn't be more grateful we crossed paths. I'll be back in the city later this year shooting a promo video for a lifestyle blogger and I'm amped to see what NY will deliver next. Until next time! XO
