WELCOME! To the blog post of Alex + Zach’s November Hudson Valley wedding at The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. Alex + Zach are some of the chicest people I have ever met. They have TASTE. From their custom dark blue tuxedo’s, Le Labo Santal 22 fragrance (that I happened to be wearing on that day, TWINSIES hahaha), their Cartier wedding bands, to their Christian Louboutin shoes…these two enjoy and appreciate the finer things in life, and I loved documenting it all.

Getting to know them has been such an honor for us, and I am so proud of the art we created together. Alex has this very intimidating but warm presence, where he could stop someone in their tracks with a look or a sarcastic remark, and I love that energy. Zach exudes kindness and compassion, and has a very calming presence. Their banter is one of the best things to be around, as they are opposites who work SO SO well together as a couple.

Upon our first consultation, before they officially hired me, they mentioned a night shot I took at Nick + Chet’s wedding, a winter wedding at The Roundhouse from a year or so prior. They requested that if we work together, that we recreate this shot. This shot is a photograph taken at night using fog and my car headlights, and was not something that many people desire or ask for, but it’s the kind of thing that my fine art photography roots LOVE to do. From this moment I was begging the universe to allow these two to trust me to execute their vision, because I knew they would appreciate my vision. (Find those shots and the night candelabra shots we created below, I am so proud of these images!!!!!)

I was so honored that they chose Laurel and I to document their wedding day, and we had a blast photographing their sunrise engagement shoot in Central Park and around the city.

Their goal for their wedding day was to have an elegant celebration, while also throwing a killer party. I think with their goals and vision, were so well done, executed by the amazing vendor team, they succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest imaginations.

An excerpt from their wedding website -

“Our Love Story

It all started in the Spring of 2021, when Alex and Zach matched with each other on a dating app. After some initial back and forth, it was clear this was something different. Hours long FaceTime calls began and then finally, a first date. Fast forward a few months and a trip to Paris was already booked and "I love you" came frantically out of Zach's mouth one morning while drinking coffee. Friend introductions, trips, concerts, and whole lot of Alex cooking meals, things started to fall into place. Once Alex moved into Zach's spotless apartment in May 2022, they both knew this was it. With a friend's wedding coming up in Ireland, Alex tacked on a pitstop in Paris on the front end to pop the question, with Zach being the only person on Earth not aware of what was happening. On a freezing, overcast Saturday afternoon, Alex dragged Zach to the base of the Eiffel Tower, knelt in mud, and asked Zach to marry him. Both are still unclear what was said in the those few moments, with a whirlwind of emotion pouring over, but Zach managed to get an "of course" out somewhere in there. And so here we are, getting ready to celebrate the love story of Alex & Zach and we could not be more excited to have you all join us for our special day!”

A spotlight on one of their answers about their favorite memories from their wedding day that makes me feel insanely grateful and proud…”One other part that really stood out was after the fact and the reaction to all of our photos. The number of people who reached out to tell us how beautiful our pictures were was overwhelming and just cemented the fact that we knew Caitlinn was the right photographer for us, who understood us, who got us, and was able to make our day come alive right off the page.””

Read on for more details of their amazing wedding day, and scroll all the way for their wedding vendor credits.

grooms kissing holding candelabra at The Roundhouse in Beacon ny

grooms’ details at the roundhouse, including santall 22, christian louboutin shoes, and cartier wedding bands

grooms’ details on the penthouse terrace at The roundhouse, including santall 22, christian louboutin shoes, and cartier wedding bands

bouquet on the windowsill of the penthouse at the roundhouse

groom buttoning tux jacket in the bathroom of the roundhouse

grooms tying their pocket squares in the penthouse of the roundhouse on their wedding day

How you met

“We met on a dating app and instantly felt a connection. After a week of texting and then facetime calls, we went on our first date, which was May 25, 2021. And we never looked back!”

How you got engaged

“We were going to Ireland for a friend's wedding and Alex decided to add a stop in Paris on the front end of the trip. We had already been to Paris once together before, Alex knew this was the place to propose to Zach (despite how cliche) because of how much the city means to us and our relationship. Alex proposed in front of the Eiffel Tower on December 2, 2022. Neither of us remember what we said and in the process, Alex knelt in mud and had a pigeon poop on him!”

grooms walk in beacon, ny on their wedding day at the roundhouse

grooms walk in beacon ny on wedding day at the roundhouse

grooms walking on train tracks on their wedding day at the roundhouse in beacon ny

grooms photographed on the train tracks on their wedding day at the roundhouse

grooms on the train tracks near the roundhouse posing for their wedding photographs

grooms walk across street on their wedding day in beacon ny at the roundhouse

grooms at Beacon Falls on their wedding day at the roundhouse

grooms red bottomed christian louboutin wedding shoes in front of the roundhouse

grooms walk in front of the roundhouse on their wedding day with their christian louboutin loafers

wedding photographs of grooms at the roundhouse

wedding photographs of grooms with light flare at the roundhouse in beacon ny

- How you chose your tux's

“We both knew we didn't want to wear black so it was just trying to find the right blue, which we did with Indochino. Also, Indochino makes fully customs tuxes and allows personal touches for a seamless (ha!) tailoring process. As for the shoes, there was no question that we wanted Louboutins and wanted to splurge!”

Solo portraits of groom on wedding day at the roundhouse

Solo portraits of groom on train tracks in beacon ny on wedding day at the roundhouse

Solo portraits of groom on wedding day at train tracks and brick buildings at the roundhouse

portraits of grooms on wedding day at the roundhouse

How you decided to get married at The Roundhouse

“Zach had always loved the venue being from up in the area and Alex had seen pictures. It was our first choice on a list of about a dozen venues. It was the first, and only, venue we saw. When we did the tour, they had one Saturday left in all of 2024 so we signed the contract on the spot. We knew the venue was perfect for us, from the hotel to the catering to the event space to the staff, we knew we didn't need to see anywhere else! The town of Beacon was also just so timeless and is such an escape from the city.”

wedding photographs of grooms in the lounge at the roundhouse in Beacon, ny

How how you decided on your wedding size, who you chose for your wedding party and why, etc

“We knew we couldn't do a small wedding simply because of the size of Alex's family and all his parents friends, and we wanted to have a party to celebrate with all of our friends and family. Alex chose his wedding party based on all being his closest and best friends. And Zach really the same, there really wasn't a question on who would be in our party. And our officiant, Alex, was the only choice and we knew from the start he would do a great job.”

wedding photographs of wedding party in the penthouse opening gifts at the roundhouse in Beacon, ny

wedding photographs of grooms with their wedding party at the roundhouse in Beacon, ny

wedding photographs of wedding party opening gifts in the penthouse at the roundhouse in Beacon, ny

Alex and Zach shared private views on the Penthouse terrace before their ceremony. I LOVED this.

grooms share private vows on penthouse terrace at the roundhouse in beacon ny

-Any wedding planning/vendor decisions you hope to share (decor inspiration, anything!)

“Deciding on vendors proved to be quite difficult and time consuming for us because we wanted to get it right and were looking for something very specific for every facet of the wedding. We wanted a timeless, elegant look but also knew we wanted to have a party, so trying to balance that took some work. I think overall we enjoyed the wedding planning process, especially because all of our vendors (including Caitlinn!!) made life so easy for us!”

The roundhouse indoor wedding ceremony space

The roundhouse indoor wedding ceremony space with flowers by athabold

The roundhouse indoor wedding ceremony space flowers by athabold

indoor wedding ceremony at the roundhouse

wedding reception details at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold

wedding reception details placecard table at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold

wedding reception details at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold and lighting by LNJ Events

wedding reception layout at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold

wedding reception details and layout at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold and lighting by LNJ Tech

wedding reception candles at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold

wedding reception details flash photography at The Roundhouse, flowers by athabold and lighting by LNJ Tech

Why you chose your first dance song

“This was probably one of the easier decisions throughout the entire process. That song "Love You For a Long Time" by Maggie Rogers just spoke to both of us so clearly, the lyrics encapsulate everything we felt about each other and our wedding and it's just a song we absolutely love from one of our favorite artists.”

wedding photographs of first dance at the roundhouse

fine art artistic night wedding photographs at the roundhouse

photographs of wedding reception dancing at the roundhouse in beacon ny

photographs of wedding reception toasts at the roundhouse in beacon ny

photographs of wedding reception cake cutting dancing at the roundhouse in beacon ny

Your favorite memories from the day, and anything else you wish to include.

“We have 2 specific moments from that day that really stand out. The first moment is when we did our vows on the balcony of our room, it was really the only intimate moment we had all day and had been running around, and to just get to pause everything and just be the two of us together and express our personal love for eachother was magical. The other is when we were introduced and entered the event space in front of all our guests, it was a bit overwhelming but such a beautiful moment to be surrounded by all of our friends and family who came to celebrate us. One other part that really stood out was after the fact and the reaction to all of our photos. The number of people who reached out to tell us how beautiful our pictures were was overwhelming and just cemented the fact that we knew Caitlinn was the right photographer for us, who understood us, who got us, and was able to make our day come alive right off the page.”