new york city

Jonathan + Frances | A Wedding in New York City

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Sometime in September last year, I happened to be walking around Brooklyn Bridge park and witnessed a really beautiful wedding happening right in front of. What you see in the image below is the ENTIRE WEDDING PARTY. Anyway, I took photo of this and posted it. 

Little did I know, that at the same time, Jonathan & Frances, were hunting for a wedding photographer in New York, and just happened to come across my post! They emailed me and checked if I was available to shoot their wedding in the coming month. Initially, I'd planned to leave New York before their scheduled BIG day, but I decided to stay a little longer and shoot their wedding. For me, this would be a first. A Cuban-Italian couple, getting married in Manhattan's Lower East Side. How could I refuse? 

Jonathan and Frances are both event professionals from Brooklyn and they'd planned their wedding to the final details. There were going to be just 50 guests, and me. Jonathan had picked out Frances' dress and his shiny gold shoes. They went to pick up flowers the day before the wedding from the Chelsea Flower Market, where most of the city's flower vendors come to buy their flower supplies. Supplies run out by 9 in the morning so you need to go early. 

The wedding was held at the roof of the Standard Hotel in Lower East Side, Manhattan with live music keeping us warm & the crisp New York fall breeze keeping us on our toes. 

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Venue: The Standard Hotel  | Bride's Dress: Oscar de la Renta | Flowers from Chelsea's Flower Market

Here's to both the couples! The one that got married on Brooklyn Bridge, and the one that got married just across the river. 

Shuchi's EatWith event in NYC

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All views expressed below are biased but truthful :)

Shuchi is one of my best friends in the whole world. 

As someone who has grown up eating home cooked indian food, I was curious what Indian style tapas would be like. And I'm happy to report, that it is pretty awesome! I know most people associate Indian cooking with being heavy, rich, overly spicy and rarely presented with care. A meal with Shuchi, on the other hand, shows you how Indian food can be light, healthy and beautiful to look at. The evening began with a view of the spectacular sunset over the Jersey horizon and accompanying it were some small bites that Shuchi had prepared as a welcome treat. The cauliflower frittata and eggplant toasties disappeared off the table within minutes. As Manhattan's lights came on, our first course of a lentil & mushroom soup was served. It was a good start for those walking in from a cold New York evening. The next two courses were very finger-food friendly adaptations of some Indian comfort food. First were bite-sized baked chickpea patties that were nicely spiced and topped with a sriracha mayonnaise. These were followed by minced chicken (keema) on little fried dough fritters. Pretty much everyone went for seconds (and even thirds) on these! A well-spiced green biryani tempered with yoghurt was the final course before dessert. Topped with a crisp papadom on top, the biryani had great flavors of fresh mint, coriander and chillies. The dessert of cardamom custard over a chocolate ganache really hit the spot, capping off a wonderful meal. Shuchi's nouveau interpretation of traditional staples was refreshing and delectable. She's the kind of cook that really believes that we taste not only with our tongue but also our eyes : so each course was presented beautifully. To sum up, an Eatwith experience with Shuchi features an engaging host, a breathtaking view and a unique flavorful menu.