Heidi—We met in our freshman year of architecture school. I saw Ryan from a distance on the first day and proceeded to stalk him until I could formally introduce myself and make him date me.
I grew up hiking in the forest behind my parents’ house, and that’s where our wedding venue, Chelsea Mansion, is nestled. It’s a quaint, enchanted old mansion covered in ivy and surrounded by overgrown, romantic gardens. It was perfect for the intimate garden party we wanted.
At one point on the night of our wedding, we were on a packed dance floor, surrounded by all of our closest friends and family, everyone jumping, singing, and dancing, with Ryan and I in the middle. We had never felt that much intense love, happiness and energy in our lives. It still gives us goosebumps thinking about it.
For our wedding, we hired Southern Californian photographer Nick Radford. We loved his energy and style. He’s insanely talented and we are lucky to call him a good friend. Our friend Jesse Pafundi shot with him, and they were a dynamic team.
Ryan and I mainly shoot weddings together, dividing the workload very organically. Ryan handles our admin; I handle our shipping and packaging. We split photo editing pretty evenly, and I edit most of the videos.
Working together can definitely present some challenges, but overall it’s a blast. We butt heads once in a while but we always
work it out. You have to have patience with each other and cut each other some slack, because when you start out, there are going to be learning curves, and trials and errors. But you look for solutions together and never put blame on the other person. Also, it is really important to keep your individuality and find your own unique interests and passions. That way you can bring a fresh perspective to the art you are collaborating on and creating.
We didn’t live together before we got married, so it was a great surprise to see what compatible roommates we are. Ryan cooks, cleans and takes out the trash. He is without a doubt the most amazing man I have ever met. He is my best friend and I still get butterflies when he is around. He really makes me the best version of myself. He is very calm, which has helped me handle stressful situations way better than I used to.
Ryan—After six years of dating and right after Heidi graduated with her Master of Architecture, I proposed on the top floor of the Bank of America Tower, the second tallest skyscraper in NYC. The top floor isn’t open to the public, but I worked for the architecture firm that designed the building at the time and I was able to get access. To top it off we had the bank’s executive chef prepare a private five-course dinner to celebrate. It was amazing.
We both really love shooting weddings. We get the best couples in the world who trust our vision, and are down for anything
to get the shot, and we get to travel around the world and see the most beautiful places. Once, we shot an elopement in Iceland. The couple got married in front of a waterfall and during their vows it started snowing, sleeting, raining, hailing and then the sun came out. It was so epic and beautiful. We’ve also taken a helicopter with a couple to a mountaintop elopement in New Zealand, which was unreal. We feel really lucky. In addition to wedding photography, I direct commercial work and Heidi shoots fashion and beauty photography.
I’ve never met anyone more empathetic than Heidi, which means that, when I’m having a rough day, I always have someone who understands, or someone to celebrate with when I’m having a good one. Knowing that she’s got my back allows me to push further, as an artist, as a husband, and as a human. She can always make me laugh and we hang out non-stop as best friends. Oh and did I mention she’s the most beautiful woman on earth? Because that too.
Being completely transparent and honest with each other has been super important in our marriage. You can’t send mixed signals and bottle up your feelings.
Something that really works for us is spending time apart. I know that sounds weird but when you spend too much time together, you never get to “miss” each other. When we spend a weekend or a week apart, we realize how much we appreciate each other and it completely resets us. forgedinthenorth.com
Top Photo, Bayly & Moore | Bottom photo, Jean Laurent Gaudy
