Swan Club Wedding Photos for Tori and Mark

It rained on Tori and Mark’s wedding day from the morning until the night, with one exception. For about thirty minutes in the middle of the afternoon, it stopped.

That thirty minute window is where almost all of their Swan Club wedding photos come from.

Tori and Mark

They met at Marist College. She played soccer, he swam, and they have known each other a long time by the standards of people getting married.

Their engagement session was back at Marist, on the campus where their relationship started. That gave those photographs a connection to their actual history rather than just an attractive location.

The Morning

Tori and Mark got ready at the same hotel.

There was more energy in that room than a typical getting ready carries. Some couples drift toward the ceremony. These two were plainly counting down to it.

Outside it was pouring. Heavily, without any sign of stopping, and the forecast said the same thing for the rest of the day. Tori was disappointed, which is the honest reaction and not one we would talk anybody out of. You do not plan a wedding on seven acres of gardens hoping to spend it indoors.

The Lobby

Tori is a teacher and a coach.

Some of the girls she coaches came to the hotel lobby that morning to see her. They were not guests and they were not staying. They came, they saw her in her dress, we made a picture, and they left.

We have photographed a great many weddings and that had not happened before. It tells you something about her that no amount of writing here would.

Moving to The Swan Club

From the hotel we went to The Swan Club in Roslyn, still in the rain.

Tori spent some time in the bridal suite, which photographs as well as any we have worked in. Good light, something to look at, room to move. A great deal of a wedding gallery’s opening stretch comes out of that room.

Then Mark arrived and we set up their first look.

Planning for a Day That Did Not Happen

The forecast said rain until midnight, so we had planned for rain until midnight.

That plan was possible because of something specific about this property. The Swan Club has covered outdoor areas where you can photograph outside, in the air, with the grounds behind you, while staying dry. On a day like that one, it is the difference between an indoor gallery and an outdoor one.

Our Swan Club venue guide covers the property in more detail, including which spaces do what.

So we went into the first look knowing exactly what we would do if the weather held its course.

Thirty Minutes of Swan Club Wedding Photos

Right after the first look, the rain stopped.

Nobody predicted it and nobody had time to discuss it. We went outside.

The grounds at The Swan Club are the reason to be there. Gardens, water, stone, bridges, all of it close together and none of it repeating. On a clear day you could spend two hours out there. We had no idea whether we had two minutes.

So we worked in order of what mattered. Tori and Mark first, alone, because their portraits were the priority. Then family, then the wedding party.

The whole thing took about thirty minutes, which was thirty minutes longer than we expected to get.

Staying Near the Door

One decision shaped all of it. We stayed close to cover the entire time.

The sky was clear but the forecast had not changed, and rain that stops without warning can start the same way. So we worked the parts of the grounds that sat near a door rather than the parts that would have left us five minutes from shelter with a wedding party in formalwear.

That is the practical value of a property like this one. At a venue where the good locations sit a longer walk from shelter, we would have been far more conservative with that same window, because nobody gambles a wedding party on a forecast. Here we did not have to be.

We finished every photograph on the list and walked inside.

It started raining the second we were through the door, and it did not stop again for the rest of the night.

The Ceremony

Tori and Mark married in the ceremony pavilion.

Tori’s grandmother watched from Florida, on a screen, because she could not travel. That is worth saying plainly rather than treating it as a footnote. A wedding is a room full of the people who could be there, and it is also, usually, a shorter list of people who could not. Building a way for one of them to be present anyway means a great deal to the person on the other end of it.

The Rest of the Night

Then it was a wedding, and a good one.

Tori and Mark spent it with each other, which sounds obvious and is not. Plenty of couples spend their reception working the room. These two were in it together and it shows in every photograph from that half of the night.

The guests were on the dance floor and stayed there.

We also took the couple back to the staircase for a few images, which is one of the interior spots at The Swan Club worth making time for.

The favors were soft pretzels from Philly Pretzel Factory, which we mention because it is exactly the kind of small, specific, unserious choice that makes a wedding feel like the people getting married.

What We Would Tell a Couple About a Forecast Like That

Three things, from this day.

Have a rain plan you would actually be happy with. Not a compromise, a real second plan. The point is that when the forecast turns, you are choosing between two good options rather than salvaging one.

Know which locations sit near cover. On an uncertain day, the usable locations are the ones you can reach and retreat from quickly. That is a decision to make in advance with your photographer, not while standing outside watching clouds.

Decide the order before you need it. We got everything because we knew what came first. Couple, then family, then wedding party. If we had spent the first five minutes of that window discussing the order, we would have lost a sixth of it.

None of that makes the rain stop. It means you are ready if it does.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you do when the forecast says rain for the entire wedding day?

You build the day around the forecast you have and stay ready for the one you get. For Tori and Mark we planned for rain until midnight. When it stopped unexpectedly for half an hour, we already knew the order we were shooting in, so we used all of it rather than spending the first five minutes deciding. Our Swan Club venue guide covers which spaces on the property work in which conditions.

How long do you need for wedding portraits if the weather is uncertain?

There is no single amount of time that works for every wedding. At Tori and Mark’s wedding we had roughly thirty minutes between periods of rain, and completed their couple portraits, immediate family photographs, and wedding party portraits inside that window. What made it possible was deciding the order in advance and working close to shelter.

How late can you decide whether to move a ceremony indoors?

That depends on the venue and on your date, and it is worth asking before you book rather than on the morning. The Swan Club has several ceremony spaces and Tori and Mark married in the pavilion. Ask which spaces are held for your date and what the venue’s cutoff is for a weather call, so the decision belongs to you rather than to the clock.

How do you include a grandparent who cannot travel to the wedding?

A live video call during the ceremony can be one option. Tori’s grandmother watched from Florida that way. If you go that route, tell your officiant and your venue in advance so that someone is responsible for the device and the connection, and so it is positioned where the person watching can actually see.

Is the bridal suite at The Swan Club good for photos?

Yes. It has good light and enough room to work, which is not true of every getting ready space. A large share of a wedding gallery’s opening section comes from that room, so it is worth asking to see it when you tour.

About the Photographer

Stephen Mayo is the founder and lead photographer of Heritage House, a boutique wedding photography studio. We serve Long Island, New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, and the East End. Stephen is a member of Fearless Photographers, and his work has been featured in Sophisticated Weddings and hamptonBRIDE.

Heritage House builds the photography plan around the shape of a wedding months before it happens, including the version of the plan that only gets used if the weather turns. Tori and Mark’s day is what that looks like when it pays off.

Planning a Wedding at The Swan Club?

The grounds are the reason to book this venue, and a tight timeline is the first thing that takes them away from you. Weather is the second. Between them, those two things decide how many Swan Club wedding photos you actually end up with from outside.

Both are worth planning around early rather than on the day. That is our work rather than yours.

If you are getting married at The Swan Club, or anywhere on Long Island where the outside matters to you, we would like to hear what you are planning. Contact Heritage House to start the conversation.

Vendors

• Photographer: Heritage House Photography
• Venue: The Swan Club On The Harbor
• Videographer: Effervescent Films
• Florist: Pedestals Floral Decorators
• Dress Designer: Paloma Blanca
• Bridal Boutique: Bridal Reflections
• Hair: Mane Tamed
• Makeup: Gina Designs
• Wedding Shoes: Kailee P.
• Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie
• Veil and Hair Piece: Barron’s Bridal
• Entertainment: Absolute DJs and Events
• Transportation: Mark of Elegance Limousine Service
• Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Men’s Wearhouse
• Ceremony Officiant: Long Island Officiant
• Cake Designer: Dortoni Bakery
• Jeweler: Bove Jewelers
• Favors: Philly Pretzel Factory