On the lower west side of New York City lives a very lively and trendy part of town known as Greenwich Village. Greenwich Village has been known as the bohemian part of the city attracting many different artists, musicians and writers. The quaint neighborhood is knows for it’s cafés, restaurants, coffee shops, and overall dynamic cultural experience. It is also the most perfect place for a couples session or engagement session in New York City! Throughout this post, we’ll talk about this sweet couple, Lainey and Peyton, planning a greenwich village photoshoot, the best time to shoot and Lainey & Peyton’s Favorite recs to explore!
I posted my travel dates for New York City in December of 2023. I was traveling at the same time as my husband was traveling for work coincidence? Definitely not. I’ll never pass up a trip to New York. While traveling I posted my dates and availability for photoshoots in the city. Lainey’s cousin follows me, shared the post with Lainey and Lainey immediately knew she wanted to have a photoshoot in their new home in Greenwich Village. Lainey + Peyton moved to New York City recently before this photoshoot. Living in Greenwich Village is something they treasure and love about their NYC move! When Lainey reached out to me she had the idea to recreate 3 poses from their wedding day that they have recreated in photoshoots for the past 3 years! They’ve done these poses on their wedding day, in New Orleans and on the beach and now finally at their new home in Greenwich Village.
They wanted to capture everything they love about New York City and Greenwich Village all in one! She wanted the city skyline, the dreamy streets, and sunrise to avoid the crowds. We both prepared ourselves for a freeze because in December, the mornings can be a taaaddddd bit chilly. But alas, we survived!
Greenwich Village is a great place to take your engagement photos, just-for-fun photos, wedding portraits – really anything!
The great thing about Greenwich is you just walk around and explore and see where the wind takes you! The streets themselves have so much character to them that simply standing in the middle of the street brings a new life to your photos. Not to mention, New York has 4 full seasons so no matter when you take your photos, the streets will always be different!
Photoshoots should feel like the two of you, they should feel natural and not awkward. What do you like to do together? Are you foodies and love to go on dinner dates? Pick one of the hundreds of restaurants in the areas to grab a slice of pizza or sandwich or maybe have a Lady in the Tramp moment and share your spaghetti noodles. Coffee people? Sit at the local lively café and drink a cup of coffee together while people hustle and bustle around you. The restaurants in cafés in Greenwich and surrounding areas are nothing short of quaint and charming. Love to ride bikes in the park or visit the harbor? You are only a few blocks away from the Hudson where you can look at the skyline and enjoy it together!
You can find some of the best pizza places in Greenwich Village!
We chose sunrise for this photoshoot to avoid the crowds. On weekends and especially evenings, Greenwich Village is moving and grooving! People everywhere, going home, to dinner, to drinks, to shop – there’s so much to do that it brings in a lot of people! Sunrise gives you that gentle pink light as the sun rises on the other side of the city, giving you a gentle and overall glow to soften your photos. Sunrise also gives you the privacy that New York doesn’t always offer. Often the only people around us were early morning runners and dog walkers passing by.
We walked around the street for roughly two hours! Just exploring the neighborhood, the beautiful Christmas decorated brownstones, the skyline at the Hudson, and finally sitting for a cup of coffee to warm us up at Fellini Coffee in West Village. Fellini Coffee is definitely a sight for soar eyes as the coffee shop measures 16 square feet! LIKE WHAT?!?! On the little triangular corner of 7th avenue, Waverly Place and Perry Street, Fellini Coffee is an adorable coffee shop that added to the uniqueness of their photoshoot. And a moment to rest our legs 🙂
Greenwich Village is beautiful at sunset as well, although be warned there will be a TON of people surrounding you and walking everywhere. If that doesn’t bother you, then go right ahead! Let’s shoot at sunset!
Christmas and winter definitely played a role in this photoshoot, the outfits and the scenery. With brownstones decorated in garland and bows, Christmas trees for sale on the side of the street and huge coats on for warmth. Like I said, no matter when you take photos in Greenwich Village, it will always be surrounded by beautiful decor, charming restaurants and dreamy streets.
Did you fall in love with this New York Photoshoot or New York in general and want your photos here as well? LET’S FREAKING DO IT!! I love New York and go back typically every year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go back more!! I have family that live there now, friends to visit, and cafés to visit!!
If you want to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to walk around Greenwich Village snapping pics, drinking coffee or eating donuts, you can head to my website where we can chat about your photoshoot/wedding vision, what you want and when you want it!
Want to schedule a photoshoot at a different location? Sign me up! You can view my current upcoming travel dates on my website and book at one of those locations or pick your very own location! Let’s chat more!
If you are still trying to pick a location for your engagement photoshoot or couples session or wedding, chekc out these other blog posts for some stunning destinations:
Flights, hotels, itineraries, oh mon dieu! Take the stress out of planning your dream destination wedding and ensure you’ll get great photos with my comprehensive checklist.
Whitney Stark of Les Petits Bijoux is a Louisiana-based destination wedding photographer capturing treasured imagery for crazy-in-love couples across the globe.