Ashanta & Amanda - A Beautiful and Inspiring Couple.

Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. But this didn't stop Ashanta & Amanda's Wedding.

So you get the picture: Exactly two years ago the East Village had flooded. The power was off on the West Side, up to 25th Street, another part of the city had power but no heat or hot water, including where I lived. Local hotels had cancelled out-of-town guests' reservations. Relatives couldn't arrive on time because they needed gas for their cars. Other guests couldn't arrive on time because of detours/public transportation service changes. The pretty spot planned to use for outdoor photos wasn't that pretty and safe anymore.

Days after (night before the wedding) I had been told the wedding might not be happening, I got a call from Ashanta informing me that in fact it was. Regardless of the timing and circumstances, I was so excited to photograph this beautiful couple. They were my first Same-sex wedding I was photographing and I couldn't feel more fortunate to have been given such honor, that not even Hurricane Sandy could stop me. I got all my equipment ready and headed to the Fourth Universalist Society on Central Park West that beautiful morning of Oct 31. Unfortunately, Central Park, where the after-wedding photos were going to take place, was closed due to the amount of tress that were falling, so I did a quick shoot right outside.

Hope you enjoy the photos. And follow Ashanta & Amanda's example. Don't let anything, not even mother nature stop your marriage!

Lidia Wedding Photography.