Lily Kesselman Wedding and Event Photography in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Natalie and David's wedding from GalaVideos on Vimeo.

We worked with Gala Videos on this wedding - we love it and these short clips are a fun way to share the day!

"The Bee" opening at The Japan Society

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:31:00 +0000

I photographed the opening party for the performance of "The Bee" at The Japan Society a few weeks ago. There was quite a turnout and always a fun crowd to work with. Catering by East and the lovely flowers by the in-house designer Ryohei Yamamoto. Beautiful flowers & food display, as usual!

I always love the floral & decor

Writer & director Hideki Noda

Actor Kathryn Hunter

Alissa & Julie's Wedding Featured in The Knot New Jersey!

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:11:00 +0000

Oh, this was a fun one and we were so please to have it featured in the Spring/Summer issue of The Knot New Jersey! These women were fabulous and such a pleasure to work with!

Here are the day's fabulous vendors!
Alissa's Wedding Dress: Tara Keely at Wedding Atelier
Julie’s Suit: J. Crew
Wedding Rings: Greenwich Jewelers
Bridesmaids Dresses: After 6 from Here Comes the Bridesmaid
Suits: Jos. A Bank
Hair & Makeup: Bloom Studio, Morristown, NJ 973-292-3377
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
Wedding Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar

Officiant: Rev. Janet Broderick at St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Shoes: Dolce Vita from Nordstrom
Flowers: GrowersBox.com

Rentals: All County Rental Center

Accommodations: Hyatt Morristown at Headquarters Plaza

Hali & Charles get married in Neptune, New Jersey

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:20:00 +0000

Hali and Charles were married at the Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune, New Jersey last month, and it was beautiful! The bride wore a stunning Pronovias dress with purple Badgley Mischka encrusted peep-toe heels and carried orchids in her bouquet. Almost the entire family gathered for photos before the ceremony on the golf course before heading in for the ketubah signing and the ceremony. The couple were married under an elegant chuppa with dangling lanterns and flowers. It was a lovely event and we had so much fun with the couple! Mazel tov to the happy couple and you can leave your well wishes in the comments below!

Friends and family can see the entire gallery HERE as long as the couple give you the password!

The Details:
The Venue: Jumping Brook Country Club, Neptune, New Jersey
The Wedding Gown: Pronovias
The Groom's Suit: My Suit
Bride Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Sung of dessy.com
Tuxedos: Dantes Tuxedos
Flowers: H. Bloom
Hair: International Divas
Makeup: Cassandra Suarez and Dominique Lovie
DJ: Ricky Esses

Natalie & David's New York City Wedding Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Here's Part 2 of Natalie & David's wedding! We spent a little time along Fifth Avenue for some city-shots by Bergdorf's and Tiffany's after shooting in the Central Park Conservancy and headed to the church on the Upper East Side. The cocktail hour and reception were at the penthouse of the Hotel Giraffe with live music by Bud Maltin. Ruth Drennan made a lovely 2-tier cake and guest were sent home with a copy of The New York Times to read over breakfast the next day! Bravo to Cheryl J. Weddings & Events for a fabulous event!

Wedding Planner: Cheryl J. Weddings & Events
Ceremony Location: Holy Trinity Church
Make-up: Mandy Bisesti
Hair: Yubie Cepeda
Park Venue: The Central Park Conservatory Gardens
Reception Venue: Hotel Giraffe
Dress: Vera Wang White Collection
Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co.
Flowers: Starbright
Cake: Ruth Drennan Cakes
Ceremony Music: Venus Ensembles
Reception Music: Bud Maltin
Invitations: Ceci New York
Videography: Gala Videos
Bride's Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Family Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:56:00 +0000

I photographed the lovely Nora of Gala Videos with her daughter for a family portrait. I love working with her and they were great clients!

Natalie and David's New York Wedding Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:47:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of working with international couple Natalie & David for their destination New York wedding right here orchestrated by Cheryl J. Weddings & Events! The couple flew in from Korea where they now live and work for a whirlwind New York extravaganza! The couple's first look was at the beautiful Central Park Conservatory Gardens and the ceremony was at The Holy Trinity Church on the Upper East Side. Cocktail hour and the intimate reception were held in the penthouse of the Hotel Giraffe. Cheers!

Click HERE to see all the images (you need the password from the couple!)

Part 2 will be posted tomorrow!!!

Wedding Planner: Cheryl J. Weddings & Events
Ceremony Location: Holy Trinity Church
Make-up: Mandy Bisesti
Hair: Yubie Cepeda
Park Venue: The Central Park Conservatory Gardens
Reception Venue: Hotel Giraffe
Dress: Vera Wang White Collection
Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co.
Flowers: Starbright
Cake: Ruth Drennan Cakes
Ceremony Music: Venus Ensembles
Reception Music: Bud Maltin
Invitations: Ceci New York
Videography: Gala Videos
Bride's Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

The Holidays Begin - Family Photography in Central Park

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:18:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing the lovely family of Sherri & Lee of the fabulous team of Williams-Sossens Events! We had a lovely day in Central Park and the kids did a great job! We always like to make the shoots fun so we climbed some rocks and thew some leaves. Here's a few of my favorite photos! These kids grow up sooooo fast - I feel like I just saw their baby announcements!

A Central Park Zoo Wedding Reception

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:49:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing a lovely reception at the Central Park Zoo a few weeks ago designed by the bride's family with Curtain Up Events! The ceremony was held at the lovely Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue and everyone arrived at the park just before sunset for cocktails and a private performance by the sea lions! The event was filled with lovely details including live sitar music during the cocktail hour, colorful throw pillows all around, peacock feathers for each guest on the tables, paper lanterns surrounding the park and lovely gold & green table decor. Guests were treated to an amazing meal provided by Great Performances and rocked the night away to the music of DJ David Chang. As a cake-lover, one of my favorite elements was the custom six-tier almond wedding cake with lemon-buttercream frosting decorated with sugar green cymbidium orchids and blackberries on a custom tree stand made by Sugar Flowers Cake Shop. I didn't have time to taste it but it was spectacular! All the details were amazing and it was an incredible event!

Event Planning: Curtain Up Events
Reception: The Central Park Zoo
Catering: Great Performances
Flowers: Jane Packer Flowers
Cocktail Music: Harrice Miller Entertainment
Reception Music: DJ David Chang
Hair: Joseph Gonsalves
Palm Trees: Chris the King of Foliage
Cake: Sugar Flower Cake Shop

Futures & Options Event at The Stone Rose Lounge, New York

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:42:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of working with Futures & Options at their first annual Dream Big gala event at Stone Rose Lounge in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. Event honorees included William Thompson, Jr., Andrew Rasiej and Resham Saujani. The evening included dinner, a silent auction (I donated a family photo session!) and a raffle. I can't believe it but I actually won a raffle prize - a lovely gold & crystal necklace! I'm actually wearing it today! It was a great event and guests included patrons, sponsors and Futures & Options alumnus. I had the pleasure of speaking with several former F&O interns now successful college graduates and working in New York City. Cheers and it is always a pleasure working with you! I can't wait to see your annual report!!!

The evening was catered by Gracious Thyme

The lovely view from the lounge.

Event honorees William Thompson Jr., Reshma Saujani and Andrew Rasiej

You can see more images on the Facebook Album.

Baby Charlotte! Family Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:06:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of taking Charlotte's first official photos last week! She was delightful and I think enjoyed being in front of the camera! I photographed her parent's wedding just over two years ago and it is great to see the growing family and Grandma & Grandpa were there too! Congratulations to you and your family!!!

The Children's Aid Society Gala at the Waldorf Astoria

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:06:00 +0000

We had the pleasure of shooting the first gala for The Children's Aid Society last night at the legendary Waldorf Astoria. This was a sold-out event and the evening was led by Master of Ceremonies, Ron Suskind and Iris Abrons the Gala Chair. The event recognized the work of Robert Wolf, Ann Sather & Doris Meister for BNY Mellon. The Children's Aid Society Chorus performed as well.

Promise Award Recipient Robert Wolf, Gala Chair Iris Abrons and Children's Aid CEO Richard Buery

Master of Ceremonies Ron Suskind, Ruchard Buery and Gala Committee Member Anne Citrin

Richard Buery and Petra Nemcova

Petra Nemcova, CAS student and Donna Pressman

Table decor made by Children's Aid Society students

Robert Wolf and Tamara Tunie

Award recipient Ann Sather and Patti LuPone

Check out our editorial in the new New York Weddings magazine!

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:01:00 +0000

We are proud to be featured in the new issue of New York Weddings. They chose a fabulous photo from Monica & Michael's wedding as they sip their coffee by a truck outside of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We love the full-page! Congrats to Monica & Michael!

Katie & Jack's New York City Wedding - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Here is the second part of Katie & Jack's New York September wedding. As the couple headed downtown in a vintage taxi from Filmcars, guests enjoyed a trip on a double-decker bus from Greyline stocked with champagne and a tour guide! Everyone headed down to the Union League Club for cocktails and then up to the ballroom for the reception and dancing to the live music of Vali Entertainment. Their 4-tier custom cake was decorated with sugar flowers and guests were also treated to a Viennese hour with all kinds of desserts. What a night!

Want to see the entire wedding gallery? Get the password from Katie and click here!

You can also write your good wishes by leaving comments below!

Here's a list of their wedding vendors:

Wedding Venue: Convent of the Sacred Heart

Reception Venue: The Union League Club
Dress: Rivini from Kleinfeld Bridal
Band: Uptown Mix by Vali Entertainment
Bride's Shoes: Valentino
Bridesmaids Dresses: Shoshanna

Flowergirls: Rachel Riley
Groomsmen: J. Hillburn shirts, Peter Blair ties
Flowers: Flowers in the Park
Hair & Makeup: Elizabeth Arden
Invitations: Smock
Cake: Gail Watson Custom Cakes
Bus: Greyline
Vintage Taxi: Film Cars
Travel Beverage: Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs

Katie & Jack's New York City Wedding, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York, NY - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:13:00 +0000

Katie and Jack were married at the Convent of The Sacred Heart on Manhattan's Upper East Side, overlooking Central Park! This is one of my favorite ceremony locations with the natural light filtering through the windows and the beautiful interior! I had the pleasure of shooting the first wedding in the chapel after their renovation several years ago and I still love it! It also has a lovely stone patio - perfect for quintessential family photos!

After the ceremony the guests and bridal party headed down to the reception at the Union League Club on chartered Greyline double-decker busses while sipping on Sofia Coppola mini sparkling wines while I traveled with the couple in a vintage New York City taxi! Tourists were taking photos of the taxi - we all felt like celebrities! Well, at least I did - everyone always love to photograph the couple but the taxi attracted a lot of attention! The driver was wonderful and we stopped in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral for a quick photo-op!

Congratulations to the lovely couple!

I'll have photos of the reception and the details Monday in Part II along with a link to the entire gallery!

All the details were so beautiful and I told Katie I thought she should start planning weddings! Don't you agree?

Here's a list of their wedding vendors:

Wedding Venue: Convent of the Sacred Heart

Reception Venue: The Union League Club
Dress: Rivini from Kleinfeld Bridal
Band: Uptown Mix by Vali Entertainment
Bride's Shoes: Valentino
Bridesmaids Dresses: Shoshanna

Just Food - Let Us Eat Local Event

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:43:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of shooting the "Let Us Eat Local" event last night for Just Food at New York's Altman Building in Chelsea. The evening featured a tasting event featuring locally grown foods and honored leaders in local farming and food justice! Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm and author of "Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World" was honored as well as Deb Kavakos of Stoneledge Farm; Classie Parker of Five Star Community Garden, and Basilous Falconer, a student at The Bronx Guild High School.
Here's some highlights!

Always my favorite! Blue Marble Ice Cream!

Marissa Lippert of Nourish with her friends at Northern Spy Food Co.

Harold Dieterle of Kin Shop

Joel Salatin

Just Food's Executive Director, Jacquie Berger

Classie Parker & Owen Taylor doing the boogie!

Joel Salatin talking to guests and signing copies of his new book.

And now a word from our chickens!

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:20:00 +0000

OK, many of you, or well most of you, may not be aware of my my interest in urban farming and I've been working on a project I'm so proud to share!

I have been a volunteer with The Friends of Brook Park in the South Bronx for 3 years and have met some wonderful urban gardeners there. This neighborhood is ravaged by childhood obesity, asthma and poverty. You wouldn't believe that 38% of the residents live BELOW the poverty line! Right here in New York City. The South Bronx is the poorest community in the US! Not good. We need to do better here, New York!

So, what can we do about this? Well, we applied for a grant from Just Food and we got it! What was the grant? Well this was part of Just Food's City Chickens program and they provided materials, staff and 15 chickens for an urban chicken coop in Brook Park - located in the heart of the South Bronx! We worked with volunteers from all 5 boroughs (we even have one volunteer travel from Staten Island to work both days for the build). We also had generous support from The Citizens Committee (we received a grant from them through their changeby.us program), and we had volunteers from buildon.org.

This coop will do many things for the community:

- This can provide an educational platform for local students to learn about food, science and art. We will provide classes for local schools and families.
- The chickens will provide free fresh, local, and delicious eggs for the weekly volunteers!
- The chickens will participate in the local ecosystem by eating veggie scraps and adding to the garden's compost.
- The chickens are fun to watch and have already brought new people to the park!
- We will be putting interested people in touch with Just Food to join their Chicken Trainer program where they can learn how to lead classes and workshops and get paid for their work.
- The park is a safe place for students to go to after school, and students can volunteer and help with the chicken duties! Who knows, maybe we can spark some interest in urban farming in these young minds!

This is a wonderful opportunity and we are so grateful for all of the support! Our 15 lovely hens were delivered from the Queens County Farm Museum on Monday and we are all so happy to welcome them to our neighborhood! The coop looks amazing - we are putting together a mural project through my friend Colleen Lonergan of Paint 4 Color to work with kids to paint an urban farm scene on the side of the coop!

You can click here to see our Brook Park Chickens website. We will be posting regularly. We posted more photos of the build and the new coop and we will have a time-lapse video of the entire project posted soon!!!!!!

Everyone is invited to the park! If you want to learn more about our upcoming classes & workshops, email me. This is not a CSA or co-op - we are 100% supported by volunteers & donors! Want to donate? Click here.

Hope you can visit!

The Japan Society - the VIP Preview for Fiber Futures

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:23:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of shooting the preview of The Japan Society's show, Fiber Futures, that opens on Friday. What a lovely group of artists and a well-heeled crowed in some fabulous ensembles! The installations were fantastic - you should head over and see this show! Greenwich Grill supplied a lovely feast of Japanese hors d'oeuvres for the evening! One of their staff members made the stunning floral arrangements!

Baby Charlie!

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Oh, you know I love weddings but I also love, love, love when my clients call me for their baby photos!!! One of my all-time favorite couples - Jessica & Bram - welcomed the bundle-of-joy Charlie into their family and I couldn't have been more thrilled to photograph his first photo session! We are also making the announcement cards - soooo adorable! He was in a fabulous mood, was cheerful and happy and full of smiles and happy "goo goo" sounds.

Congratulations to the lovely couple, and Charlie, you are delightful!

Here's a few of my faves and you can see the entire gallery by clicking here (just get the password from Mom & Dad!)

Inspiration Board

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Here's a little inspiration board I put together from Two Bright Lights! I loved all the details, and the vendors were sensational!

Alissa & Julie, Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:34:00 +0000

The fabulousness continues with Part II of Alissa and Julie's wedding in Morristown, New Jersey. The food was amazing and so was the cake - I love the fondant-free dessert! You know I love a beautiful cake, and this was the first unfrosted confection I think we've shot and it was beautiful! How sweet is that topper??? Too cute! The reception was held in a hall right at the church, so there was no travel for the couple or the guests, and the ouside area and gardens were lovely. We had so much fun working with these two and enjoyed celebrating the day!

Congratulations once again and cheers to the happy ladies!!

Friends and family can click here to see the entire gallery (you need the password from the couple!) We even reposted their adorable engagement session we shot in Prospect Park!

Feel free to leave your good wishes and comments below!

Once again, here are the vendors from the day!

Wedding Dress: Wedding Atelier
Julie’s Suit: J. Crew
Wedding Rings: Greenwich Jewelers
Bridesmaids Dresses: After 6
Suits: Jos. A Bank
Hair & Makeup: Bloom Studio, Morristown, NJ 973-292-3377
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
Wedding Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar
Catering: The Farm on Adderley

Alissa and Julie's New Jersey Wedding - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:44:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of shooting Alissa and Julie's wedding in July in Morristown, New Jersey. They were married at St. Peter's Episcopal Church officiated by Janet Broderick (yes, Matthew's sister!). Their reception followed at the church and a great time was had by all! The event was covered by The New York Times and was published the same day that gay couples could get married in New York! What an historic event and we were thrilled to be a part of it!

I'll post Part II on Monday including the ceremony and recption along with a link to the full image gallery!

The list of amazing vendors:
Wedding Dress: Wedding Atelier
Julie’s Suit: J. Crew
Wedding Rings: Greenwich Jewelers
Bridesmaids Dresses: After 6
Suits: Jos. A Bank
Hair & Makeup: Bloom Studio, Morristown, NJ 973-292-3377
Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas
Wedding Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar
Catering: The Farm on Adderley

Thanks to the lovely and talented Jordan Van Aken, my second shooter!

First comes love, then comes BABIES!

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:33:00 +0000

OK, you know I love a fabulous wedding! But you know one of the best parts of my job? The babies! I've shot over 100 weddings and I just love being the first "official photographer" for my little clients! I design custom birth announcements and have created some pretty amazing baby albums for families.

Here is an archival, bespoke album hot off the press - it is an 8x8 matted album covered in a grained slate-blue leather and custom embossing. We even had the birth announcement we made mounted on the first page! This client is a favorite and we have made these for all of her 4 kids!

All newborn, baby, can children sessions can be archived in these hand-made luxe book!

This album has a die-cut image front and black text embossing.

Here is the custom announcement mounted in the front of the book for safekeeping!

Polaroids on the High Line

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:50:00 +0000

Here's some of my faves - we took some afternoon shots along the High Line and over by the West Side Highway. I love these Polaroid effects! It takes me back! This is always a great location for family and engagement shoots - we even shot some wedding shots up here!

The Children's Aid Society Foster Care Recognition

noreply@blogger.com (Lily) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Last night I shot the Foster Care Recognition event for The Children's Aid Society at Maestro's in The Bronx. I believe in giving back and thank my good friend Bill Bytsura for joining me in shooting this event pro-bono. Everyone had a fabulous time and it was great to see all of these foster parents together!