1. Tell us about Cassarino Studios and the inspiration behind the company:

The Inspiration behind Cassarino Studios is an easy question to reply to! A young 15 year old boy still in high school purchased a camera at a garage sale for .50 cents and that day changed the entire wedding photography industry several years later. Joseph V Cassarino aka Joe began taking photographs as a boy with his plastic box camera and he fell in love with creating artistic images with nothing more than a plastic camera. Upon taking photography classes in high school, Joe was disappointed in the curriculum. Therefore, Joe vowed to learn photography and come back and teach photo techniques after becoming an apprentice and after furthering his education. By age 23, Joe was giving lectures at the Professional Photographers Association of NY on his unique magazine style of wedding photography.  Joe was tutored by a fashion photographer who taught him to break all the rules of a wedding photographer and that set the course for Joe changing the entire wedding industry. Joseph eventually built Cassarino Studios into the largest and most respected wedding photography studio in America. Cassarino Studios employed 146 people all of whom Joe trained and treated like family. The original Cassarino Studio opened in Whitestone Queens in 1979 with four additional locations throughout the Tri-State area servicing thousands of brides per year. No one previously had ever hired and trained dozens upon dozens of photographers and maintained such an amazing reputation for decades. No other photo studio has been referred by dozens of fine catering venues proudly and consistently aside from Cassarino Studios and the legacy continues to this day. Joe sold the company to Razz in 2003 and today Joe and George the original owners are still active in the company and Cassarino Studios is in as much demand today as it has ever been.


2. Do you have a company motto/philosophy and if so what is it?

Our company motto/philosophy is: Go above and beyond on every assignment and create the most amazing wedding photography possible! This is the exact sentiment Joe Cassarino founded his company on when he opened Cassarino Studios in 1979. This is also the same philosophy every employee mirrored as Joe shared his philosophy with all his employees. Thirty nine years later, every photographer and videographer employed by Cassarino Studios still goes above and beyond and approaches each wedding as if it is a work of art as opposed to simply pointing a camera at a subject. Efforts are made to direct a romantic and stylish theme at every wedding.


3. If you met a bride or groom to be and had literally one minute to tell them why they should use your company what would you say?

If I had one minute to tell a future bride and groom why they should use my company, I would ask them to please ask anyone and everyone in the wedding industry throughout long island and the tri-state area about Cassarino Studio’s impeccable reputation since 1979! I would tell the future bride and groom to please ask the wedding vendors such as their florist, their limo company, their disc jockey or band and the catering venue what they have heard over the years about Cassarino Studios! I would do this because Cassarino Studios has maintained an impeccable reputation for four decades and all wedding professionals continue to tell me this even to this day. That said, the wedding professionals who refer Cassarino Studios will provide the best testimonial.


4. What sets you apart from other photographers?

What sets Cassarino Studios apart is summed up in four words! Style, Energy, Passion and reputation! Style is the first element because Joseph Cassarino started his career as a fashion photographer photographing models in 1979 before he opened Cassarino Studios. What Joseph learned from some of the finest people in the fashion and magazine photography, he immediately introduced into the wedding industry in 1979 long before wedding photography became stylized. In fact, Joseph Cassarino and Cassarino Studios grew to become the largest and most respected name in the wedding photography arena in all of America. Cassarino Studios employed 146 employees and had five locations in the tri-state area since its formation in 1979. Word spread of the amazing style and creativity being produced as Cassarino Studios and Joseph continued to train dozens of photographers learn how to break the mold of typical wedding photography into that of the most amazing and creative fashion style wedding photography and video. Energy is the second element of what set’s Cassarino Studios apart! Every artist is different and each artist maintains a different amount of energy. However, photographers employed by Cassarino Studios have to be cut from a certain and rare mold to qualify for employment. The standards Joseph Cassarino set years ago and still maintained today are rigorous and demanding. If a person lacks energy, then they do not fit the mold as a wedding photographer. Only those with endless, boundless energy qualify to fulfill the position of top photographer. Passion is the third element that sets a Cassarino Studios photographer apart. Passion much like love, is an intangible and it is something you either possess or do not possess. The highly skilled and trained photographers at Cassarino Studios are passionate about their work or they are not hired. You cannot see passion. However, you can feel it in the photographers words and actions and this is the only type of photographer hired at Cassarino Studios. Reputation is the fourth word that sets Cassarino Studios apart. In the mind of Joseph Cassarino, nothing was or is more important than the reputation of Cassarino Studios! In fact, Cassarino Studios became the largest studio in America based on our incredible long lasting thirty-nine-year reputation! Dozens upon dozens of employees and partners have worked long days and had many sleepless nights in the attempt to maintain this amazing reputation.


5. How do you help a couple achieve their dream wedding?

How does Cassarino Studios help a couple achieve their dream wedding? That is an easy question. At Cassarino Studios, we cater to the bride and groom extensively and we make their desire our top priority! We also communicate every detail and we educate the client as to the facets and logistics of a wedding day. We make strong efforts to coordinate and plan the day with the client and we also work in tandem with the catering venue as we coordinate logistics with the Banquet Manager. At Cassarino Studios, we maintain deep relationships with almost every caterer and banquet manager throughout the industry in New York being we have successfully photographed over fifty thousand weddings since 1979.