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

And yet, just when you think that it’s all about the style, all about the chic…there is that bit of handmade charm that EVERY wedding needs to feel complete!

all photos by Heather Waraksa and the gorgeous event was designed by Daughter of Design

As a quick little sidenote, Laura loved the details so much that she launched her own event design company specializing in the finishing touches that turn a pretty wedding into a spectacular one! Definitely check out her new adventure, Make Merry Event Design Services.

A Bit More From Laura…

We served three kinds of really fabulous cupcakes and THE best banana pudding I’ve ever had, period, all from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.  Our caterer Yen Ngo of Real Food Catering, added macaroons and meringues to round out the dessert table.

We gathered wedding photos of our family and friends, printed them in black & white, and hung them from champagne and cream colored ribbons accented by hanging votives (our tribute to them as inspirations for our marriage).

Oh also, we followed the DIY project you posted from Kathleen – the hot chocolate and marshmallow bags. And it was a total family effort: cards printed by me, bags and hot chocolate purchase and put together by my mother, sewn by my aunt, and molasses cookies (family special recipe) added by my mother-in-law. We left these at the hotel for our out-of-town guests and also brought some to the wedding to give away to the others.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daughters by Design, Laura and Eric, Loft, New York City, New York Weddings, NYC
Post categories: The Blog