Gardith + Kent | West Hills Country Club | Hudson Valley, NY Wedding

Gardith and Kent worked together for while, both admiring each other from afar but never making a move. Until one day, Kent found out that Gardith had gotten a new job and was leaving the company. He knew right then and there that he couldn’t miss out on a girl like her, so he sent her flowers. The card he sent with them said “Good luck at your new job!”. The two have been together ever since and Gardith still carries this card around in her wallet every day - isn’t that so cute!?

I first met Gardith and Kent during their engagement photos and have been lucky enough to get to know them both just a little bit better throughout their planning process. And I say lucky, because it’s true - these two are some of the kindest and most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. And they are head-over-heels IN LOVE which only makes this fairytale that I call a job, that much easier!! With each other they are loving, understanding and always have each others back.

Their wedding day was a beautiful blending of not only two families, but of two cultures. Kent is Chinese and Gardith is Haitian. During the reception, Gardith changed into a traditional red Chinese wedding dress called a Qipao and they performed a tea ceremony as they offered the elders of their families tea and exchanged symbolic gifts.

Now, I have been to Haiti and I know the people LOVE to dance, so I was expecting a huge party - and their 200 guests did not disappoint! The rest of the night was filled with so much dancing as the tent was showered in bright color and caribbean beats!

Photographer: Cassondre Mae Photography, Warwick, NY
Venue: West Hills Country Club, Middletown, NY
Hair: RB Artistry, Warwick, NY
Makeup: Fierce Artistry MUA, Arlington, NJ
Dress Shop: Aleana’s Bridal Shop, Paramus, NJ
Dress Designer: Mon Cheri Bridals
Bridesmaids Dress Designer: Morilee
Custom Tux: Michael’s Tuxedo’s by Dante Zeller, Nanuet, NY
Entertainment: MSV Music Speaks Volumes Entertainment, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Invitations: Little Feet Opus, Hamden, CT

From the Couple…

Perfect Photographer

Cassondre was hands down our favorite wedding vendor! It‘s going to be really hard to write this review without writing a whole book about her. Our first contact with Cassie was through email, where she demonstrated how attentive and professional she is. She responded to my emails so quickly and gave very descriptive and engaging responses. You wouldn’t believe how many vendors I encountered that took days to respond, so she was definitely a breath of fresh air from the very beginning! We also wanted to meet with her in person before hiring her, but it was a little hard coordinating with my husband’s schedule, and Cassie was so kind and flexible enough to do a video chat. We were immediately sold within minutes of talking to her. She just made us feel so comfortable, and her passion for photography really excited us.

Fast forward to our engagement shoot, which we
did a few months before the wedding. This was our actual first time physically meeting Cassie in person and also our first time taking professional pictures together. We felt like we were not photogenic, and we were just extremely nervous about the whole process. Cassie made us feel so comfortable at the engagement shoot, and our pictures came out absolutely perfect! I would definitely recommend doing an engagement shoot with your photographer before your wedding day so you can get comfortable being in front of the camera.

Now, for the wedding day, I think it’s safe to say most brides are nervous and just want everything to go right. For all my other vendors, I printed out wedding day notes of reminders for them in order to make sure everything was executed the way we discussed and went smoothly EXCEPT for Cassie. She literally demonstrated time and time again how on top of her game she was, and I was so comfortable with her that I didn’t feel the need to remind her of anything. My husband and I wholeheartedly trusted her, and we just knew she wasn’t going to disappoint us. During our final meeting, she made a personalized timeline for our wedding day and answered all my questions before I even asked them.

Cassie demonstrated her true professionalism when our guests were trying to deviate from the schedule. During our portrait session, which was set to be held during cocktail hour, we had a lot of guests requesting pictures that weren’t part of the timeline. She was so patient, professional and accommodating of my crazy family. She was able to squeeze some unexpected portraits in and then also allotted some extra time during reception for more portraits.

Cassie went above and beyond our expectations, as if we thought that was even possible. Not only is her work product just simply beautiful and perfect, but she is amazing to work with. She’s so considerate, honest, caring, hardworking, organized, passionate...I can literally go on and on about her. I truly can’t express enough how happy I am with the experience we had with her.

Our wedding gallery came fast, and we also got some sneak peeks along the way. She posted a few pictures on social media a couple days after the wedding, and then soon after we got back from our honeymoon, she did a beautiful blog post with more sneak peeks! She definitely stayed true to the deadlines she gave us, but more importantly, the gallery was perfect! We loved every single picture and moment that she captured, and 90% of the time, we didn’t even know she was there snapping away. We received so many pictures of the whole night that we were able to personalize our thank you cards by giving each guest a picture of themself, whether it was a portrait or a candid picture on the dance floor!

I also want to credit Cassie’s second shooter, Alicia, who got some really nice pictures of my husband and his guys getting ready before the ceremony! Being able to look back on those moments is incredible. Alicia and Cassie were such a great duo. At one point, they realized I was sinking in the grass with my heels, and they went to get my second pair of shoes for me to change into while doing portraits so I could be more comfortable.

I really can’t say enough about Cassie and how happy we are with her and her work! In the several months of working with her, we never got the sense that she was just there to do her job. It was as if she was our friend who was truly happy and excited for us taking photos. Going forward, my husband and I will only use Cassondre Mae Photography for our professional photography. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and check her out! You will not be disappointed! Cassie perfectly captured the best day of our lives, and we will be forever grateful! We will always sing her praises and continue to recommend her.

-Gardith + Kent