Museum of the Moving Image Wedding | NYC Wedding Photographer

For couples who love film, design or simply something different from a traditional banquet hall, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, is one of New York City's most memorable wedding venues. The museum's bright white interiors, sculptural staircase and splashes of bold color feel like a modern art installation, and this summer wedding, planned by Hold Your Hand Events, used every inch of it.

Getting ready at the Ravel Hotel

The day began a few minutes away at the Ravel Hotel in Long Island City. The bride's gown hung in the window of her suite beside her Jimmy Choo heels, a "Badass Bride" clutch and a pair of "Bride" sunglasses, while an orchid bouquet in pink and white waited nearby. Across the hall, the groom buttoned up a navy suit as his groomsmen fueled up on pizza. Before heading to the museum, the couple made portraits on the hotel's terrace with the Queensboro Bridge and the Manhattan skyline stretching behind them.

A ceremony in the museum's theater

At the museum, we photographed the wedding party outside in the summer greenery, and the couple made portraits against its clean white walls and on its stark white staircase. Then guests took their seats in the museum's theater, with its deep blue walls, for a ceremony unlike any other. The couple's names were projected across the screen above a chuppah draped in hot pink fabric and crowned with orchids and hydrangeas, and a field of stars glowed around them as the lights went down. After the vows and the traditional breaking of the glass, the room erupted.

The celebration

The couple made their grand entrance down the museum's white staircase as family and friends cheered from below. There were toasts, a first dance and dances with parents, and a hora that lifted the bride and groom high above their guests, with the groomsmen dancing just as hard on the floor below. As the night wound down, guests headed to an afterparty, and we finished with a few quiet black and white portraits of the two of them in one of the museum's long white corridors.

Planning a wedding at the Museum of the Moving Image

If the museum is on your list, a few tips from behind the camera:

Embrace the contrast. The theater is dark and dramatic while the lobby and corridors are bright and white. Both photograph beautifully, and it helps to plan portraits in each.
Use the staircase. The white staircase is the museum's signature backdrop. It is perfect for your grand entrance, a wedding party photo and a few portraits of the two of you.
Stay nearby. Hotels in Long Island City, like the Ravel, are only minutes away and offer skyline and Queensboro Bridge views that add a classic New York moment to the day.
Bring color. The museum's neutral palette makes bold florals and fabrics, like this couple's pink chuppah and orchids, really stand out.