I love finding out about cool unique wedding venues in NYC. When the couple contacted me about their wedding at Governors Island Collective Retreats, I was so excited! I’ve been wanting to photograph a wedding on Governors Island forever, and this seemed like such a great spot to do so.
For those unaware, Governors Island is a tiny island in the harbor just south of Manhattan. It’s history involves a lot of military use, but was reestablished as public parkland in the early 2000’s. Currently it’s a fun escape from the city and only accessible via a quick ferry ride from either the southern tip of Manhattan or over in Brooklyn. Riding the ferry to Governors Island makes it a bit of an adventure and you are treated to killer views of the downtown skyline.
Collective Retreats is a beautiful spot on the west side of Governors Island. It’s most often used a luxury camping spot, there’s lots of beautiful tents and a fire pit area along with a couple bar setups and a little restaurant area. I’ve done many summer camp weddings, in fact summer camps are some of my favorite venues for weddings, but I never thought of a summer camp wedding right in NYC! What a great idea!
As you may remember, this fall was absolutely drenched with rain every Saturday, and leading up to this wedding we thought for sure it was also going to be soaking. However, the clouds slowly parted for us and although it was SUPER windy, we managed to stay dry. Taking precautions for the weather, the ceremony was still held in a tent, but we got to wander around the island for photos and it was such a fun day!
The couple had the most amazing florist. Her creative bouquet was one of the coolest I’ve seen and had such a great natural woodsy look.
You can’t go wrong with the skyline views for wedding photos on Governors Island!
We hiked up to the top of the hills on the back of the island to get even better views!
Surrounded by family and friends for their tented ceremony at Collective Retreats.
One of the most fun parts of the day? The bride’s family decided to rent one of the surrey bikes that you can take around the island and brought it over to the venue. Everyone had a blast taking it for a spin around the grounds.
They opted not to have a dance, but there was still lots of fun to be had at the reception during dinner.
Right at sunset, it seemed to be clearing up even more, so I asked the couple if they would head outside for a view golden hour portraits. Their wedding didn’t have a formal dance, but I asked if they’d like to do a little first dance in the evening light on the patio! The bride was thrilled and the light was gorgeous, and I’m so happy when couples are willing to get a few more snaps later in the day!
Congrats to the happy couple and thanks to Collective Retreats on Governors Island for being such a great venue for a wedding in NYC!
Wedding Day Vendors:
Photographer: De Nueva Photography
Venue and Catering: Collective Retreats Governors Island
Florist: Daydream Floral
Cake and Dessert: Milk Bar
Officiant: Rev. Jaqueline Smith
