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From the bride… It was magical. Every single moment. We’ve lived in New York for 10 years, so it was only fitting to celebrate our wedding day in our amazing city. Modern, chic and totally glam. The ceremony took place at the Tribeca Rooftop. We rented steel grey chairs, had an all white piece of fabric suspended from the ceiling as our chuppa, and plexiglass columns surrounded us, all topped with vibrant fucshia centerpieces. It was a modern and romantic as I could’ve ever imagined. For the cocktail hour up on the roof, I wanted an outdoor but still modern feel. Grasses held each guests table card, and decor consisted of simple yet exotic plants and flowers. The reception was a vision — deep eggplant linens, steel grey chairs, vibrant fushcia centerpieces in vintage mercury glass, with candlelight everywhere. It was simply the best. And the dress — of course it had some bling, we are in NYC!! Delicate strips of organza mixed with tiny sequins and sea pearls. Glamorous and truly a show stopper. And of course the blue stilettos from Pierre Hardy. The groom and all groomsman wore John Varvatos leather converse along with their tuxes — an amazing look I must say!! The night was a total dance party, from start to finish — complete with the bride and groom crowd surfing! The band was completely off the hook. Eddie’s Pizza Truck was there late night with 2 slices for each guest as they left the reception.

Wedding Planner: Annie Lee of Daughter of Design / Flowers + Event Design: Barb Salzman, Hatch Creative Studio / Photographer: Shawn Connell of Christian Oth Studios / Venue: Tribeca Rooftop / Dress:  Monique Lhuillier via Mark Ingram / Shoes: Pierre Hardy / Makeup: Nam Vo / Hair: Jeff Chastain / Jewelry + Rings: Kwiat / Groom’s Tux: John Varvatos / Groom’s Shoes: John Varvatos for Converse / Pizza: Eddie’s Pizza Truck / Stationery, Invitations, Programs + Menu Cards: Cheree Berry / Cinematography: Tweed Weddings

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 47 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Annie Lee, Barb Salzman, Cheree Berry, Christian Oth Studios, Daughter of Design, Eddie's Pizza Truck, Hatch Creative Studio, Jeff Chastain, John Varvatos, John Varvatos for Converse, Kwiat, Mark Ingram, Monique Lhuillier, Nam Vo, New York, New York City, Pierre Hardy, Shawn Connell, Tribeca Rooftop
Post categories: The Blog, Traditional Elegance

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From Daughter of Design… This couple loved Bowery Hotel and really used the existing decor as a spring board for their design inspiration. The dark wood bars and ceiling inspired them to use the color brown and they mimicked the metallics like those found in the lighting fixtures in their cooper/bronze urns, silver vases, and mercury votive holders. We paired the slightly industrial look of the space with the softness of ivory, blush and dusty pink seasonal blooming blossoms, peonies and garden roses.

The bride already had this cartoon drawing of the couple made and so we took that and made the Save The Date out of it! Instead of a guest book, each guest wrote on custom made prescription papers since both the bride and groom are doctors (though only Beth is a medical one). Place cards and menus, why waste paper? I like having a calligrapher write each guest’s name at the top of the menu.

Wedding Photography: Roey Yohai / Floral Design: Fleurs / Event Planning: Daughter of Design / Wedding Ceremony + Reception Location: The Bowery Hotel / Wedding Invitations: Mr. Boddington’s Studio / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Wedding Cake: Mark Joseph / Cookies: Momofuku Milk Bar / Hair: Jeff Chastain / Make-up: Nam Vo / Band: Hudson Project / Custom Linens: Designing Linens / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Classic Party Rentals, Daughter of Design, Designing Linens, Fleurs NYC, Hudson Project, Jeff Chastain, Jimmy Choo, Mark Joseph, Momofuku Milk Bar, Monique Lhuillier, Mr. Boddington's, Nam Vo, New York Weddings, Roey Yohai Photodocumentary, The Bowery Hotel
Post categories: New York City Weddings, New York Weddings, Traditional Elegance

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From the Bride… As wedding planning goes, ours came together quite simply as we wanted our guests to experience “An Enchanted Evening with MNO” (our initials) and everything that defines us as a couple. A large part of the wedding was DIY — from the calligraphy to designing the dessert table. I was aiming for a very specific look and guest experience that was not readily available on the market. But I knew exactly what I wanted and just had to work on execution.

Thankfully, tackling the three most important elements was the easiest because they were simply the best: planner (Annie of Daughter of Design), photographers (Robyn & Maria of Verité Boutique Photographers), and venue (San Francisco Opera House). The three of them working together created the *magic* of the evening.

We were fortunate enough to get married at the San Francisco Opera House — where we had our first date and have been season ticket holders ever since. The historical significance of where United Nations charter was adopted in 1945 was particularly meaningful as a nod to the joining of our cultures. The idea of “staging” an opera made the planning even more enjoyable.

To construct the grandeur of old San Francisco, we opted for a formal yet intimate event accented with a palette of blues, golds, and hints of delicate pink. The invitations were handmade with custom calligraphy and petal enclosures with French silk ribbons by colliding stars. We also included personal messages with each invitation thanking our family and friends for their support with hopes that they would journey to California for the wedding — 80% out of town and several coming from over 6000 miles away.

We wanted to capitalize on the wow-factor of the Opera House and give the feeling of an opera in full swing. In front of the entrance on busy Van Ness in San Francisco, we framed giant posters of our Opera Wedding for all passerbyers to see! Lighting design and ornamental table settings from Hartmann Studios were used accomplish the look. We made programs that mimicked vintage playbills with our love story and the evening’s events in acts and guests as characters. The highlight of the ceremony was our friend/officiant who shared hilarious stories about the progression of our relationship from the early days of workplace flirtations. Our pianist, Michael Udelson, manned the Steinway grand piano and kept our guests entertained with an eclectic mix of modern rock interpretations from Muse to Jimmy Eat World.

We both wanted a classic and timeless look and opted for the designers Melissa Sweet and Hugo Boss. Our accessories were also a nod to our cultures — red Kate Spade shoes for Chinese good luck for the bride and a Nara Camacie cravat as a Croatian invention for the groom. Learning how to dance in 4-inch heels was a challenge, but we planned in advance with weekly waltz lessons over 3 months. Instead of a typical love song, we danced to “L’amour Toujours” by Sagi Rei since the original euro dance version “I’ll Fly with You” by Gigi D’Agostino was a little too fast.

The cocktail hour and reception were our chances to showcase the best of San Francisco dining and the culinary skill of Chef Dean Rona of Patina. Guests were greeted with nickname/inside-joke place cards and enjoyed a delectable five course food and wine pairing featuring our favorites including duck confit and filet mignon with corn-sotto. In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, we served the groom’s beloved desserts — handrolled truffles by XOX Chocolates in various flavors, Parisian macarons and dame blanche by La Boulange, and Scharffen Berger chocolate bars a favors.

All-in-all, the planning and wedding was an amazing experience both creatively and bonding with my now-husband. Our guests still rave about what a great time they had and ask when we’re renewing our vows so they can take another trip to San Francisco.

Photography: Verité Boutique Photographers / Floral Design: The Bud Stop / Event Design: Colliding Stars (The Bride) / Event Planning: Daughter of Design / Wedding Ceremony & Reception Location: San Francisco Opera House / Wedding Invitations & Calligraphy: Colliding Stars (The Bride) / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Wedding Dress: Melissa Sweet / Catering: Patina Catering / Rentals: Hartmann Studios / Hair: Eric Xia / Makeup: Go Blush by Tammy Son / Pianist: Michael Udelson / Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm / Groom’s Tuxedo: Hugo Boss / Groom’s Shirt & Ascot: Nara Camacie / Groom’s Shoes: John Fluevog / Chocolate Buffet: XOX Truffles Inc. + La Boulange

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Post tags: CA, California, Colliding Stars, Daughter of Design, Dessert Bar, Eric Xia, Go Blush, Go Blush by Tammy Son, Gold, Hartmann Studios, Hugo Boss, Jim Hjelm, John Fluevog, Kate Spade, La Boulange, Melissa Sweet, Michael Udelson, Nara Camacie, Northern California Wedding, Patina Catering, Red, San Francisco, San Francisco Opera House, The Bud Stop, Verite Boutique Photographers, XOX Chocolates
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

See entire image gallery here!

From Trent Bailey: We set out to style a luxe bohemian styled wedding, with rich fabrics and glam decor elements juxtaposing the raw, natural environment of the barn and the farm table we used for our tablescape. We covered the long table with a runner made of mixed & matched ribbons and we used mercury candlesticks and votives for a refined vintage feel. Black melted taper candles created a dark and dreamy vibe, echoed by our wedding guests who were styled in sultry attire like sapphire blue velvet and black lace. Accessories took center stage in both the fashion and event styling, with our guests accessorized to the nines, our place settings topped with beaded appliques and the bride’s bouquet wrapped in sparkle. Annie from Daughter of Design had the idea to create a station where guests could “find their perfect match” and top off their outfits with a glam accessory as their wedding favor. We brought in pops of color in saturated flowers and in the Champage & Blini bar created by our Andrea Lennon from The Good Knife, our amazing farm-to-table caterer. Jenna Hein’s romantic calligraphy was used on our wine glass seating assignments, as a menu on the plated china, and as a decorative accent on the lamp shades that hung above the table.

I concepted the shoot with Jessica Edwards, a Style Me Pretty bride who is now a writer on the blog Inspired Bride . We brought in a team of amazing vendors to help bring our luxe bohemian concept to life, starting with our gorgeous location — Circa 1799, an incredible Dutch barn in upstate that hosts only a few weddings a year. Annie Lee from Daughter of Design was our event planner and stylist. She has so many creative design ideas bubbling out of her at any minute — any bride would be lucky to have her vision. Jessie from Rountree Flowers is an absolute flower genius and a true joy to be around, and Jenna Hein of Love, Jenna showed us her talent shows no bounds — she was writing on every surface imaginable! Last but not least, Jeff Chastain and Nam Vo were the dynamic duo who did all our models’ gorgeous hair and makeup, and had the entire set laughing all day long.

We wanted wedding fashion to play a big role in our shoot so we reached out to two of our favorite sources in the city. Gabriella New York has the best edited selection of fashion-forward gowns in the city, including the romantic tulle Marchesa dress our bride wore in the shoot. The boutique is also stocked with a great selection of wedding day accessories, including some that you see in our shoot.

The apricot hued gown worn by our bride was a custom design by Samuelle Couture. Based out of Brooklyn, Samuelle is a perfect choice for the bride who wants a completely one of a kind look for her day.

Concept: Jessica Edwards and Trent Bailey / Photography: Trent Bailey / Floral Design: Rountree Flowers / Event and Fashion Styling: Annie Lee from Daughter of Design and Jessica Edwards, Inspired Bride/ Calligraphy: Jenna Hein / Catering: Andrea Lennon, The Good Knife / Venue: Circa 1799 Barn / Fashion: Gabriella Bridal Salon and Samuelle Couture / Makeup: Nam Vo / Hair: Jeff Chastain / Rentals: Party Rentals LTD / Bride Model: Laura Schilling / Groom Model: David Trichel / Jewelry: Desla Couture and Breeziway / Marchesa Wedding Dress: Gabriella Bridal Salon / Couture Wedding Dress: Samuelle Couture

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breeziway, Daughter of Design, Delsa Couture, Gabriella Bridal Salon, Inspired Bride, Jeff Chastain, Jenna Hein Calligraphy, Marchesa, Nam Vo, Party Rentals Ltd, Roundtree Flowers, Samuel Couture, The Circa 1799 Barn, The Good Knife, Trent Bailey Photography
Post categories: Photo Shoot

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Jason’s proposal was touching and sentimental. It started with a poem and ended on a bended knee. Soon after, we were surrounded by friends and family delighting in our bliss. The celebration began at dusk and went well into the night. It was a night to remember. Jason and I knew we wanted our wedding to have the same feel; sweet, elegant, romantic and fun!

I started off looking at wedding blogs, including Style Me Pretty, for inspiration. I found myself drawn to ethereal, whimsical, romantic weddings. Chandeliers, candle-lit rooms, soft chiffon, drop veils from Monique Lhuillier, beautiful full peonies, garden roses and lilacs- all were part of my inspiration. Peachy-pink with touches of lilac purple, pinks and chamomile was my color palette. I hand-picked the peach-pink silk-chiffon for my bridesmaids’ dresses and had them custom-made. Not only did the dresses fit them like a glove, but they also showed a bit of their personalities because they were the ones who designed the tops of their dresses. I was also drawn to quirky details. I scoured here and there for the perfect quirky sock for the groomsmen, which I found in Paul Smith. For the bridesmaids, I wanted flowing streams of ribbon for their bouquets. It gave the bouquets a fresh and light element. As for the reception, I wanted guests to feel like they were in an ethereal wonderland full of soft lights and tall branches. I love the organic nature of fresh picked flowers from an English garden and I hoped to reflect that in our floral arrangements.

In all aspects, we had the wedding of our dreams. We knew that the beautiful and majestic Oheka Castle was the only venue we truly desired and was lucky enough to get our wish. Our amazing florists, Saipua in collaboration with Nicolette Camille, did a splendid job adding to the beauty of Oheka with a gorgeous palette and arrangement of flowers. They were so professional and incredibly intuitive. Within minutes of conversing, they understood my vision for my wedding day and they pulled it off without flaw. Our wedding couldn’t have gone so effortlessly without our planner Annie Lee of Daughter of Design and assistants. And finally, our EXTRAORDINARY photographer, Caroline Tran, was there every step of the way to capture all the splendor and elegance.

From the flowers to the cake to the smiles on our guests’ face, it was an amazing day… one I will never forget.

Photography: Caroline Tran / Cinematography: Well Spun Wedding Films / Flowers: Saipua / Event Planning + Design: Daughter of Design / Ceremony + Reception Location: Oheka Castle / Invitations: Bella figura / Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Hair: Valery Joseph Salon / Musicians: Rhythm In Motion, Inc / Linens and Coverings: Party Rental LTD / Makeup Artist: makeupnv / Transportation: M & V Limousines LTD / Film Work: Richard Photo

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bella Figura, Caroline Tran, Daughter of Design, Inc., Jimmy Choo, M & V Limousines, MakeupNV, New York Weddings, Oheka Castle, Party Rental Ltd., Priscilla of Boston, Rythm in Mothion, Saipua, Valery Joseph Salon, Well Spun Weddings
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

if you think it couldn’t possibly get any prettier, then you need to see the gallery!

Eli and I saw our wedding as a public expression of who we are as a couple. We chose to have a traditional Jewish ceremony, but spent a lot of time making it our own. We added our own vows and wrote our own translations for the seven blessings. The intimacy of the ceremony was incredibly special for us and brought all our guests together beautifully. It was especially important to me that I looked and felt like myself when I walked down the aisle. My wedding dress took awhile to find, but as soon as I tried this one on, I was crying. It was the most gorgeous second skin I’ve ever worn. When Eli saw me that day, I know that he saw the woman he chose to marry. We tried to bring in as many DIY touches as possible, though we discovered that takes a lot of time! Among the highlights: My brother made our wooden ring box by hand—he even sewed the tiny pillow inside; our chuppah was my mother’s beautiful handiwork, and included 64 sunrays (for our song, “When I’m 64”); I made the bridesmaid necklaces, with each of our birthstones wrapped into the back clasp; Eli sang to me, backed by the band and his college a cappella group (easily one of my favorite moments of the night); and our wedding was entirely gluten free and delectable to boot!

I imagine that every bride has a favorite idea for her wedding, and mine was the mailboxes (Barb’s gorgeous creation!) filled with personal notes that we wrote for each of our guests. Writing those notes was a wonderful reminder of why each person was there with us that night and we loved watching how thrilled the guests were when they saw them. The energy at the reception was electric from start to finish. We felt so warmly surrounded by all our family and friends. At the end of the night, I knew we’d thrown an amazing party when all of our guests started screaming for an encore! As we were driving back to the hotel, totally exhausted, we could not stop talking about the day. We wanted so much to keep the moment, to just hold it and have it for one second longer. I feel so blessed to have the memory, to have a wonderful husband, family, and friends, and to have so much love in my life.

And a note from the Groom … I just want to throw in a few additional details. One – the band was off the CHAIN. They were tight as hell and had obvious passion and joy while performing. Everyone was dancing – even my other computer programmer friends (which is, like, a feat). Two – my suit was made from LASERS. Yes, it’s true! Alton Lane measures you with a super-futuristic laser booth and creates a suit that fits like a glove. They also are patient with the fashion-inept. Two thumbs up. Three – some other handmade touches include the Save the Dates (taken by my co-worker), the amazing website (made by Nadia and myself, which includes a custom-built online RSVP thing), and a recording booth that guests could use to leave us a fun voice message (assembled by me and Nadia’s dad, and complete with mad fun prompt signs, made by a friend of Nadia’s). Four – if you’re reading this and are planning for your wedding, know that all of those ridiculous nights when you and your spouse-to-be are wringing your hands and bandying about questions like “should we use plum or sage for the ribbons on the gift bags?” actually do pay off. It was such a mind-bending pleasure to see all of the details that Nadia and I had agonized over come together into a coherent event that was much more than the sum of its parts. I hope that viewing our pictures is inspiring or useful to you in some way.

Venue: Wave Hill / Caterer: Great Performances / Cake: Sylvia Weinstock / Florist: Barb Salzman of Hatch Creative Studio / Photographer: Robert Sukrachand / Band: Urban Guerilla Orchestra (Elan Artists) / Makeup Artist: Victoria Moyer TheDown2EarthDiva@gmail.com or 484-716-4775 / Hairstylist: Courtney Benedetti / Day-of Event Planner: Annie Lee of Daughter of Design /  Stationery: Ceci New York / Save the Date: Hello!Lucky / Wedding Dress: Vera Wang / Groom’s Suit: Alton Lane / Ketubah: New Ketubah / Officiant: Rabbi Andy Bachman / Congregation: Beth Elohim

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alton Lane, Ceci New York, Courtney Benedetti, Daughter of Design, Hatch Creative Studio, Hello!Lucky, New Ketubah, New York Weddings, Robert Sukrachand, Sylvia Weinstock, Urban Guerilla Orchestra, Vera Wang, Wave Hil
Post categories: Casual Elegance, New York City Weddings, New York Weddings, Real Weddings, The Blog

From Annie Lee of Daughter of Design…

Sarah Joy and David met while cast as star-crossed lovers, Mimi and Rodolfo in Baz Luhrman’s Los Angeles production of La Boheme, a tragic opera which defines bohemian romance and Parisian love affairs. Luckily though in real life the stars were aligned for Sarah Joy and David and they were wed last summer in NYC. It was a total no-brainer that the wedding’s theme would be inspired by the bohemian Parisian romance of La Boheme…sans the tragedy and tuberculosis.

SJ and D worked with Bernard Maisner in creating their very dramatic, yet elegant wedding invitations. They choose a thick black card stock with voluptuous, ornate ivory calligraphy. Very Boheme. The envelopes were black but lined with leopard print for that little touch of sexy. We couldn’t find paper sheets of a leopard print we liked so I sourced a wallpaper from Home Depot that was perfect (and actually more cost effective). Bernard used ivory calligraphy on the black envelopes for the addresses and I finished off the look with vintage stamps that not only were in shades of gold/orange that matched the leopard lining but also were music themed. My favorite was the Metropolitan Opera stamp. I almost fainted when I found it.

For the RSVP card, we spelled out Responde S’il Vous Plait, which means “Please respond” in French and where we get R.S.V.P. from. It went with the whole French thing and added a little more formalness to the card. Instead of giving the options will attend/will not attend I thought since they are such a positive and spiritual couple it would be nice to have all guests reply that “I/We will be attending” but they had to indicate whether it was “in body” or “in spirit.” Also a note if you are thinking of doing black invitations sets, that’s all fine and dandy but it’s always best to do your response cards in a lighter color so that people can write with blue and black pens without any issues. Most people don’t have white marker lying around.

Also included in the invitations were the activities card which listed the information for Friday and Saturday. Since the wedding was already set at 632 on Hudson I thought it would be neat if we continued the weekend wedding theme with the word “Hudson.” As a result we chose the Hudson Hotel for their Friday welcome party. Bernard enlarged and emphasized the word “Hudson” on both the Friday and Saturday activities to show the link. I’ve requested that Sarah Joy and David also name their first born, Hudson Miller, cute no?

So much more in a bit!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Belathee, Daughter of Design, David Miller, Il Divo, New York City, New York Weddings, Sarah Joy Kabanuck
Post categories: New York City Weddings, New York Weddings, Traditional Elegance

And like many celebrations, there is a life, a story behind the beauty. Here are some last details and a touching note from Laura, the gorgeous bride…

Due to my aforementioned obsessive planning trait, I would have normally chosen to give ourselves plenty of time to perfect every detail and incorporate tons of DIY projects. During our planning, however, life took a different turn: my stepfather, whom I think of my only father as he’s been with us since I was a child, was diagnosed with liver cancer. As many who have dealt with cancer can attest, there were many ups and downs… some times we thought he would beat it, and other times we were scared he wouldn’t make it through the week. Eric and I decided right away that we would do our best to make sure he would be there with us on our day, so we chose a winter date in the same year and ramped up our planning.

photography by Heather Waraksa and event design by Daughter of Design

The decision to move up the wedding turned out to be, far and away, the best one we made, and not just because my father made it to our wedding. In the months leading up the big day, his health began to fail rapidly and life became very difficult for him. But his anticipation of the wedding and his desire to be there to walk me down the aisle kept him going, and when I called him I could hear the joy and excitement in his voice even through the pain and depression he was dealing with.My mom described the day she took him to get fitted for a new suit (and a very dapper new hat and coat to go with it) as one of the happiest he had during that time.

My father passed away just a few weeks after the wedding. Thankfully, we had the warm memories from the wedding and the pictures showing the happiness and positive spirit that he had that day to ease us through this period. Eric and I are so extremely grateful that we were able to spend this time with him, show him the love that we have for each other and the promise of our future so that he could rest assured that I was taken care of. These memories are happy ones and we cherish them… and I know my father would be proud of that.

Near the end of the evening, after the photographers had left and things were beginning to wind down, it started to snow in Manhattan.  We – and our guests – all went out onto the roof deck and reveled in the magic of the city lights and the snow falling around us.  It was so breathtaking… as if the stars were aligned for us that night.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 16 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daughter of Design, Daughters by Design, Eric and Laura, Heather Waraksa, Loft, New York City, New York Weddings, NYC
Post categories: Contemporary, New York City Weddings, New York Weddings