Dave and Jenn are now married!

Last weekend at the Kum Gang San restaurant in Flushing, Queens I had the privilege of photographing Dave and Jenn’s colorful and inspiring Korean wedding. You might remember the lovely Lower East Side-based couple from a previous post where I had taken some pre-wedding photos. Now the day had come for the main event.

It would not be an overstatement to say the wedding blew my mind and expectations in every way. There was so much color and food and friends that I didn’t feel like I was just the hired help dressed in all-black. Instead, I mingled with old Condé Nast friends I hadn’t seen since our days of working together, I met Dave and Jenn’s lovely parents, family members and friends, and oh yeah, I took some photographs. Boy, did I take a lot of photographs!

Another reason it was a special day — as least for me — was because it would be my first solo wedding as a photographer. Earlier in the summer I had shot Ravi and Laura’s charming wedding at the Foundry with my good friend, wedding photographer extraordinaire Jacob Pritchard, in part to prepare for this event. (Jake and I are also shooting another wedding together in Connecticut this weekend. Stay tuned.) Perhaps that was one reason I shot so many frames — I knew Jacob wouldn’t be just around the corner in case I missed a precious moment or two. In fact, I inhaled my dinner while sitting by the reception desk with one eye and ear glued to the main stage and my camera strapped around my neck, and actually ended up having to jump in mid-oyster-slurp when Jenn’s mother was approaching the podium for the first toast of the night.

Despite the stress and craziness that all wedding photographers undoubtedly face — especially those without a second shooter, it was a lot of fun. And I have no doubt (and plenty of evidence, in fact) that Dave, Jenn and everyone else present at the ceremony also had a really good time. Here are a few glimpses of the amazing night. I hope they serve as wonderful reminders for Dave and Jenn and their families and friends, and perhaps future generations of the Cho-Ross household.

Colorful Outfits and Yummy Hors d’Oeuvres

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A Ceremony to Remember

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Lobster Tails and Oysters Buffet

After the incredible wedding ceremony that included one awe-inspiring tradition after another (and quickly ate up everyone’s camera memory cards), Dave and Jenn left to switch out their lovely (and super-expensive!) traditional costumes and re-entered in sleek and elegant Western attire.

Meanwhile, everyone had jumped in line for the most amazing wedding buffet — nay, ANY buffet — I have ever witnessed. Just a few of the dozens of items on the silver platters included lobster tails, king crab legs, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, several kinds of whole fish, a whole pig, a Korean BBQ station and several buffets of kimchi, noodles and so much, much more. (Needless to say, and judging by the delicious flavor and taste, there’s another trip to Kum Gang San restaurant in this photographer’s not-too-distant future.)

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Dance, Dance, Dance

The lights dimmed and Elvis’s deep and majestic voice filled the crowded banquet hall with the haunting lyrics to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” — a timeless classic that seemed just right. And with that, Dave and Jenn led off with the first dance, and before I knew it, multi-colored strobe lights were spiraling from every direction and suddenly everyone was on the dance floor. Spontaneously, the bride and groom were placed into chairs and lifted up by the joyous crowd and at some point I caught myself in the middle of the dance floor while everyone held hands and danced in a circle around me. Click. Click. Click.

As far as mix tapes goes, this one was epic — Dave had chosen most of the tracks himself and several times during the night I found myself singing along to songs of my youth, ending with Joe Strummer singing “Police on my Back” as I pressed the shutter a final few dozen times more.

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