cat + ricky reached out to me in july of 2021. they were expecting a baby in october of 2021 and wanted to do a small and calm elopement in prospect park, brooklyn in september that would be officiated by their good friend, amit.

saturday, september 4th, 2021. it was a beautiful sunny day as my sister, best friend and i drove to prospect park (having extra hands available is always helpful and needed). we met on the corner of ocean ave and lincoln rd.

i had never met the three of them but our immediate introduction began with cat saying “i have to pee” and then quickly handing her bouquet to ricky and running off. immediately i knew these strangers were going to make my day, but they changed a lot more than simply my day.

the six of us strolled around prospect park until we found the perfect spot to do the ceremony. we walked down a small hill to the bottom of a quiet waterfall under the trees which created a beautiful canopy of shade from the summer sun.

my sister was the ring bearer, my best friend video-taped the ceremony on ricky’s phone, and i photographed the whole thing as amit conducted a beautiful ceremony. he brought us through cat and ricky’s separate paths which ultimately led to their union after meeting at the mayoral office of nyc.

cat + ricky read their individual vows, spoke of their love for each other, their growing family, and their endless excitement to go through life together. there was not a dry eye in our small party of six.

it is such a weird thing to explain, how within an hour, the six of us went from complete strangers to my sister, best friend and i witnessing one of the most intimate and meaningful moments of their lives. that connection is something i can’t quite explain. but the trust and comfort that was so quickly formed does not easily dissipate. after their elopement, i saw them a few weeks later for their maternity session and then two months after that, i was in their apartment meeting their beautiful daughter rio for her first photoshoot.

they exchanged rings, shared a first kiss and after a few minutes of soaking in the moment, we trekked up the side of the waterfall, back onto the trail and began strolling through the park. we stopped on a few benches, took portraits and i simply watched the two of them glide through the park with grace, beauty and love. they might as well have been floating.

we found a quiet corner near the boathouse and listened to a jazz player in the distance and i asked them to spend a few minutes having their first dance.

soon enough, we started making our way toward the end of the park. we found an empty picnic table to sign the wedding certificate. i signed as the first witness and my best friend signed as the second witness (a special memory for me). as we walked out of the park, there was a bright pink ice cream truck, but to everyone’s disappointment it was not open yet. cat was now determined to get ice cream and managed to convince the ice cream truck driver to open up just for her and he even gave her a free celebratory ice cream cone to commemorate their special day.

we all sat in the shade as they shared their ice cream cone, and then it was time to go our separate ways. cat + ricky went to clean their airbnb in their wedding attire, as i headed home to obsess over the photos i had just taken.

it was only 10am and they were married.

in the presence of only a few, their wedding ceremony was as quiet as a whisper but as sincere as sunlight.

9. 4. 21

“intense as the cling of the sun to the lips of the earth.” — richard hovey

read cat + ricky’s testimonial here