Vanderbilt Museum Wedding Photographer and Filmmaker
We photograph and film weddings at Eagle's Nest, the Vanderbilt estate at 180 Little Neck Road in Centerport. Spanish Revival stucco, a walled courtyard, Samuel Yellin's iron gates and a rose garden above Northport Bay. Everything below is our own work on these grounds.
The estate takes one wedding a week, Saturdays only, from the second Saturday in May to the second Saturday in October.
How we shoot a Gold Coast estate?
Eagle's Nest is 43 acres built in stages between 1910 and 1936 for William K. Vanderbilt II, and it photographs as three different weddings. The courtyard is enclosed stucco that holds warm light and seats 125. The Celebration Tent on the old golf course is 6,000 square feet of open sky and takes 250. The gardens are formal and small. The courtyard falls into shade first and the tent site holds sky light longest, so the timeline is built around that.
A Vanderbilt attendant walks the property with you, and the gardens are shared with visitors until the museum closes.
OUR PROCESS
Vanderbilt Museum Wedding Photos and where the light actually is
The venue's package includes the grounds from 2:30 to 4:30 for photographs, before the ceremony at 4:30. That window is not golden hour. Sunset here runs from about 7:58 in mid May to 8:30 in late June and back to 6:22 by the second Saturday in October, so the best light of your day lands inside dinner. We book that break with your caterer in advance and take you out for twelve minutes.
Music stops at 10:30 under the town noise ordinance, so the last dance is a scheduled shot rather than a lucky one.
CostsWhat a Vanderbilt Museum wedding costs
The $20,000 covers the site and almost nothing you eat. Chairs, security, parking, the tram, restrooms, administrative fees and taxes are in it, and so are two extra hours on the grounds from 2:30 to 4:30 for photographs. Food and drink are not: there is no kitchen on the property, so catering is a separate contract with an outside company. The Knot lists the same $20,000 starting price without saying what sits inside it. Ask the museum for the current sheet in writing before you budget. Its own listing is the only source that is not a third party.
OUR Team
Credits
Planning: ELENI & CO.
Centerport Catering: East end Events Catering
Florals: PEDESTALS
Hair and makeup: Karonis
What Couples Say About us
“Beyond and forever grateful I chose Arrakis Films for my special day. They provided a comforting and reassuring energy, open to my vision and preferences, executed and delivered exceptionally. The edited photos were authentic yet professionally and gracefully polished. I look forward to booking them again.”
“Arrakis Films delivered both stunning photography and an incredible wedding film for our NYC elopement. Roma and Andrew work seamlessly as a photo and video team—the photos are beautifully composed and emotional, and the film is cinematic and heartfelt. What sets them apart is that both services feel equally important and equally beautiful. We love rewatching our film and cherishing our photos in equal measure. Highly recommend for any couple wanting artistic, professional work in both photo and video.”
“I couldn’t have asked for better photographers and videographers. They did an amazing job of capturing my wedding day. My wedding day was on May 17,2025. Not only were they supportive throughout the day, but they also made me feel special and beautiful. I’m grateful to have met Andrew and Roma. They helped me with everything, from the smallest details to the biggest ones. When you showed me the pictures and then the videography, I was blown away. The quality of the photos was stunning, and the passion and warmth in them were incredible. The video was even more impressive. I couldn’t believe you could create such a piece that we would laugh, cry, and watch over and over again. Thank you so much, Roma and Andrew, for being the team who captured my wedding day. I was blessed to meet you both.”
“Andrew was an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. He has an incredible creative eye and artistic flair that truly sets his work apart. Every photo is beautifully composed and captures not just the moments, but the emotions of the day. Our gallery exceeded every expectation and perfectly tells the story of us. If you're looking for a talented photographer who creates timeless, artistic images, we highly recommend Andre. We will cherish these memories forever.”
“We couldn’t be happier with our wedding photos and video—they came out absolutely amazing. They captured so many intimate, beautiful moments that we’ll cherish forever. Also such wonderful people to have around on our wedding day! They made us feel comfortable, were a joy to work with, it felt like we’ve known them for forever!! We’re so happy we chose them to create these memories for us. Thank you for giving us something we’ll treasure for a lifetime!”
“I could not imagine my wedding day without Arrakis Films. They are without a doubt the most transparent, organized, and determined team to tell your love story, the way you want it, in a way that's beautifully authentic and heartfelt, including everyone present for such a classic wedding day. It's a little nerve racking picking a vendor as a bride. We thought that since they were both Photo + Video/ Super8 Film, it was a no brainer we wanted them to be our photographer. They go above and beyond to get the perfect shot when it matters most, and still when you're not looking, capturing the most perfect moments. It’s been such a gift from them to us to be able to relive a day for that flew by in the blink of an eye. The photos and the videos—are absolutely incredible. I am so in love with every single moment they have captured, and grateful for their guidance and ability to move from one part of the day to the next. I had absolutely no worries!! Especially with everything else going on. I find myself watching our Wedding Film, remembering each moment more and more as it was, and each time I realize that I’m smiling from beginning to end, every. single. time. These memories mean more to us than I can say (especially cause it went by too fast!). The team is truly amazing. They kept us laughing and easing all of our nerves, made me and all of the girls feel so beautiful, while capturing everything and everyone so thoughtfully and meaningfully. Words truly can’t express how grateful I am for Arrakis Films. With love, The Bride”
ABOUT ARRAKIS FILMSThe Photographers Behind Your Vanderbilt Museum Wedding
Andrew
Founder, award-winning film directorBuilds a frame the way a magazine builds a spread
Roma
co-founder, film producer.A decade on stage, then fashion, then this.
Arrakis Films is two people, working in New York and Los Angeles. Andrew directs and shoots. Roma danced with the Bolshoi Ballet for ten years before moving into film, and produced the shorts Andrew directed: Best Short Documentary at Venezia Shorts Italy, Best Editing at the New York Indie Shorts Awards, Grand Jury Winner at the FFTG Awards. Commercial work for Adidas, Nutella and Mercedes sits alongside it.
Both of us photograph on the eight and ten hour packages, so the second photographer is the other owner of the studio. We select and retouch every frame ourselves. Light, silhouette and composition get built the way a magazine builds them, and then we leave the moment alone. True. Fierce. Beauty.
Ready to book your Vanderbilt Museum wedding photographer?
The estate takes one wedding a week, Saturdays only, from the second Saturday in May to the second Saturday in October. That is about twenty three dates a year, and we hold one date per day.
FAQS-
The museum's own price sheet lists $20,000 for a ceremony and reception of up to six hours, and $5,000 for a ceremony alone. The Knot lists the same $20,000 starting price. Those are the venue's figures as of September 2026 and they do not include food or drink. Ask the museum for the current sheet in writing.
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Catering. The estate is a site rental with no kitchen, so food, beverage, staff and rentals beyond chairs come from an outside company on a separate contract. Abigail Kirsch is one of the caterers that works here. What the $20,000 does include is the ceremony site and chairs, cocktails in the mansion courtyard and gardens, the reception space, access to the arcade, memorial wing, nursery wing and Moroccan court, security, parking, tram transport, restrooms, administrative fees and taxes, and two hours on the grounds beforehand for photographs.
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Up to 250 under the 6,000 square foot Celebration Tent on the former golf course, and up to 125 in the historic mansion courtyard. The ceremony is held overlooking Northport Bay. Confirm the number for your floor plan, because wedding listings put the range lower, at 201 to 250.
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Saturdays only, one wedding a week, from the second Saturday in May to the second Saturday in October. That is about twenty three dates a year. The museum is open to the public during the day, so the event window runs from the afternoon to 10:30 at night, and music stops at 10:30 under the town noise ordinance.
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The venue's package includes the grounds from 2:30 to 4:30, which is where portraits, details and the empty spaces get shot. Golden hour is later than that window in every month of the season, from about 7:58 in mid May to 6:22 by October, so the best light lands during cocktails or dinner depending on your date. We plan that break with your caterer instead of interrupting service.
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Only with permission. The museum requires written permission and an additional fee for a drone on the property, and Suffolk County law makes it an offence to launch or land an unmanned aircraft in a county park without a permit from the Parks Commissioner. We ask for both in advance and file the paperwork ourselves. Where permission is not granted, we do not fly, and we say so before you book rather than after.
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Eight. The venue gives you a six hour event and two hours on the grounds before it, which is eight hours of usable estate, and everything happens on one property with no travel between locations. Ten hours makes sense when getting ready starts far from Centerport.
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Yes. On the eight and ten hour packages both of us photograph, so the second photographer is the other owner of the studio. Your date does not go to an associate you have never met. Photographs arrive within 30 days and the film within six months, and your private gallery stays open for six months with unlimited high resolution downloads.