Fred Marcus, a longtime wedding photographer in New York, often said, “When the wedding is over, the photos will last forever. This also applies to the relationships we made at this event. “
Decades later, both statements still sound correct.
In January the Fred Marcus Studio celebrated its 80th anniversary. The studio, which has always specialized in weddings, is one of the few multigenerational photography companies still thriving in New York.
After more than seven decades on West 72nd Street, the company moved to its current location on 58th Street in Columbus Circle in 2019. In doing so, they packed together thousands of photos, volumes of digital archives and memories that had been created over the years.
They went from an area of 4,000 square feet operated from three different floors to 2,500 feet all on one level, which holds the collaboration together for everyone. For over a month, they packed more than 300 boxes of negatives and digital material worth 30 years, most of which were kept in a storage unit. They moved into the new room with more than a dozen cameras, lighting equipment, a large printer, photo backgrounds, and more than 50 albums of archive photos. The rent at their previous location was exorbitant, they said, and they needed a cheaper location.
According to family tradition, Fred Marcus was a 29-year-old escaped Holocaust survivor living in Cuba in 1939. He made money photographing families on the beach.
“He just knew how to take photos and connect with people,” said his son Andy Marcus, 71, who lives on the Upper West Side with Judi Marcus, his wife and the studio’s manager. “When I was little I asked him why he was weddings. He took out the yellow pages and switched to commercial fashion photographer. There were sides of them. Then he went to wedding photographers. Only three or four were listed. He wanted to excel in something that others didn’t. “
Fred Marcus was 31 years old in 1941 when he opened his studio in the basement of a building on West 72nd Street. At the time his son was one. Twelve years later, he made him a lighting assistant at the weddings, which he was filming to keep Andy out of trouble.
“Then we exchanged the used film for a new film in the closet at 2 a.m. We put a towel on the floor to keep light out, ”said Andy Marcus. “We talked about the wedding. It was a wonderful way to get to know him. “
Andy Marcus never left the business. After graduating from college, he started working full time in the studio. When his father was injured in a car accident in 1975, Andy Marcus stepped forward.
“I was alone to run the business,” he said. “I had no idea how to do that. I just knew I had to make it work. I wanted him to be proud of me. “
While Fred Marcus spent seven months in the hospital, Andy Marcus was fine. The first torch was handed over.
“When I started, every photo needed a flash lamp. Then you had to change the film, ”he said. “Most of the photos you took at a wedding were 80 to 100. When digital came along in the early 2000s, it changed everything. Now you can take 100 photos of the bride’s shoes. “
What hasn’t changed are what the customer wants about what to capture.
“We are known for expressive, well-lit family portraits. It keeps our legacy going, ”said Andy Marcus.
In 2001, the then 91-year-old Fred Marcus died. Over the years, Andy Marcus grew the business, bringing new energy, fresh ideas, increased prices and increased clientele. The 80s and early 90s brought opulence and exaggerated events. “The weddings were bigger, there were more flowers, bigger ribbons, everything was on steroids,” said Andy Marcus.
[Sign up for Love Letter and always get the latest in Modern Love, weddings, and relationships in the news by email.]
The wedding industry grew. Celebrities became customers. These days, average packages start between $ 9,000 and $ 20,000, although some customers have spent more than $ 150,000.
Then Andy’s son Brian Marcus, who learned the business the same way his father did, joined the business in 2003 and returned to the East Coast after college and worked briefly as a production assistant at a Los Angeles film company.
“This is a job my family has always been passionate about,” said Brian Marcus, 42, who lives in Tenafly. NJ Brian Marcus, who is now the company’s president, took over the business for two years when his father started slowing down. His father still photographs weddings, meets with clients, and helps with photo selection and album design.
“By the time I was born into this, I already had one leg up because customers trusted me,” said Brian Marcus. They knew I had the knowledge and the ability. Then I had to keep their trust and prove myself. Every day I work to earn the respect my father and grandfather built. “
Today they have six full-time employees without Andy or Brian. This includes the two photographers who work in the studio, cover weddings and take over production. 15 part-time employees help with photography, video and lighting.
You have photographed more than 30,000 weddings and traveled the world capturing couples on film and video. Celebrities she’s seen include: Mary Tyler Moore and Dr. Robert Levine, Billy Baldwin and Chynna Phillips, Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell, the daughter and granddaughter of Mario and Matilda Cuomo, and the daughter of Senator Chuck and Iris Schumer. They also photographed the weddings of Donald Trump and Marla Maples, as well as Ivanka and Jared Kushner.
“My father knew how to take a picture. Back then you couldn’t see what to see if you captured the couple or the cake or the people dancing. You had to trust you got the shot, ”said Andy Marcus, who added that the wedding and events business could be an all consuming job that lasts seven days a week. “It’s hard for your personal life. You can miss many weekends and holidays with your family because you document other people celebrating them. “
But it is precisely during these celebrations that the Marcus family recorded and created a footprint of the generations for a lifetime.
“Seventy years ago Fred Marcus shot my parents’ wedding and 46 years ago mine,” said Judy Kaufthal, 67, of the Bronx. “This was a long-term relationship. I knew them all. They did my three sons’ weddings. Fred, who was no longer working, came to my eldest son’s wedding just to hug him. This is something special. “
In the wedding industry, nostalgia is everything.
“My father was wonderful around people. He told me never to smile at anyone. Instead, talk to them, ”said Andy Marcus. “He built relationships. Then he kept her. I did that too. Brian too. That’s how we keep it going. That’s why we’re still here. “
Keep following our fashion and lifestyle coverage on Facebook (Styles and Modern Love), Twitter (Styles, Fashion and Weddings) and Instagram.
Comments are closed.