Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Ang Weddings and Events…Fortune Favors the Brave’s jewelry collection is inspired by a rugged Americana and Western sensibility mixed with a touch of 1970s-era glamour.  The jewelry represents a bold and modern reinterpretation of these classic themes, amped up with contemporary proportions for a wearable take on storied, ethereal metalworking techniques.  We found this modern tribute to the southwest as the inspiration for our bridal shoot.  We came across Agave Restaurant in NYC’s West Village- smooth adobe walls, cow skulls, with a bar beneath a wooden beam ceiling – and knew we had found the perfect urban southwestern venue.

In celebration of same-sex marriage becoming legal in the state of New York this year, we decided to use a bride and a bride for our shoot.  Abbey (an artist) and Perkins (a writer) are a real couple, which is so evident in the chemistry they had on camera.  Fortune Favors the Brave provided the jewelry and styled the two brides. Perkins wore an Equipment blouse, vintage blazer and skinny pants from Isabel Marant. Gabriella New York Bridal Salon provided two dresses for Abbey.  For the wedding, Abbey wore Amy Kuschel’s Valencia – a gorgeous dress with architectural layering, rose garden lace, and pleated netting.  A sheer V neckline provided a delicate frame to the bold jewelry she wore. For the after party, Abbey slipped into a short sexy beaded fringe dress by Allison Parris with snakeskin booties by Loeffler Randall.

Make Merry used the jewelry as inspiration for the paper goods, incorporating many of the geometric designs into the invitation, escort cards, place cards and menus.  A deep gold liner was used for the invitation envelope and a silver liner for the response envelope.  A bronze cord tied the escort cards to a tall cactus at the restaurant entrance.  The tables were named for succulents – Blue Aloe and Dessert Rose. Blush Designs created a modern southwestern centerpiece in Agave’s private dining room. Succulents and various cactus plants with pops of red nested in black sand created a low runner down the table. Blush Designs custom draped the table with a light grey chevron fabric with coordinating napkins. A dark brown leather cord tied the menu and napkin together.

Abbey held a modern and romantic bouquet of Chocolate Cosmos, black Calla Lilies, and Succulents. The delicate petals of the Chocolate Cosmos softened the hard geometry of the Succulents and Callas. Perkins wore a boutonniere of a mini black Calla Lily and Succulent.

The cake was simple and elegant, again using the jewelry design as inspiration for the geometric patterns on both tiers, with green sugar succulents as a bright accent. The signature drink was a Smokin’ Hot Margarita – Jalapeno infused tequila, triple sec, fresh lime juice and jalapenos.

The jewelry bar was set at Agave’s bar area, near the entrance of the restaurant. Guests were welcome to enjoy their drinks while adorning themselves with pieces from Fortune Favors the Brave’s collection. The jewelry was showcased on top of black sand in glass vessels, incorporating the jewelry into a landscape of succulents and cactus.

Photography: Ronnie Andren Photography + A. Park Photography / Event Design + Florals: Blush Designs / Event Planning: Ang Weddings and Events / Jewelry + Fashion Styling: Fortune Favors the Brave / Abbey’s Gowns: Amy Kuschel + Allison Parris via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Perkin’s Attire: Equipment (blouse), Isabel Marant (pants) + Vintage (blazer) / Abbey’s Shoes: Loeffler Randall / Perkin’s Shoes: Steve Madden / Paper Goods: Make Merry! / Cord + Leather Braid: M&J Trimmings / Fabric for Linen + Napkins: Mood Fabrics / Cake: Sun Jung for Blush Designs / Cake Stand + Server: Wedgewood / Venue: Agave / Hair: The Beauty Collective / Make-up: CLM Makeup / Couple: Abbey Golden + Kate Perkins

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Post tags: A. Park Photography, Agave, Allison Parris, Amy Kuschel, Ang Weddings and Events, Blush Design, Blush Designs, CLM Makeup, Equipment, Fortune Favors the Brave, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Inspiration Shoot, Isabel Marant, Loeffler Randall, M&J Trimmings, Make Merry, Mood Fabrics, New York Weddings, Ronnie Andren Photography, Steve Madden, The Beauty Collective, Wedgewood
Post categories: New York Weddings

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride… Cy and I met through a mutual friend who had lived with my cousin, Julia, in Mexico City. Cy had attended the University of New Mexico with my cousins. We were introduced over a beer, became fast friends over movies and Red Vines, and started dating 6 months later. My cousin, Julia, was my Maid of Honor and actually introduced me to San Miguel de Allende, our wedding location.

My goal was to have a small, intimate wedding that was a reflection of my husband and me. We love culture, interesting food, beautiful and creative surroundings, and our family and friends. Our wedding was a perfect combination of all of that. We introduced our family and friends to San Miguel de Allende, a colorful colonial town in Mexico. Many of our friends and most of our family had never been to San Miguel. They all loved everything about it – the food, the sights, the people, and the markets! Cy and I loved planning the menu for our reception; we wanted to share a unique blend of modern Mexican cuisine with our guests. I also wanted to make sure my cake was delicious, and still beautifully unique. I’ve never seen a cake I’ve loved more– the white shaved chocolate and the fresh flowers were divine. I asked my wedding planner to have cream and white Otomi (hand-embroidered with beautiful birds, and indigenous to Mexico) table runners made for each table. These beautiful handcrafted pieces were not only stunning but also exhibited the extraordinary talent of Mexican artistry. The fabulous Mariachi band at our cocktail hour also showcased the talent and beauty of the Mexican culture. Antique silver frames with our parents’, grandparents’ and great grandparents’ weddings were the first thing my guests saw as they were greeted with champagne upon entering our wedding venue. Showing our friends those who came before us and have inspired us and helped lead us to this day was important to us. Having our family and most special friends there to share the day with made our day complete.

Cy and I spent many hours creating our ceremony and our program.We were blessed to have a family member, Reverend Erin Bair (Who happens to be my sister-in-law’s sister!) as our officiant. Cyrus and I each chose unique readings that meant something special to us. We wrote our vows together and based them on a beautiful sermon that was written to honor one my best friends and mentor, Sr. Peg Dolan. She evoked love in every aspect of her life and my mom believes it was Sr. Peg relentless prayers that led me to meet Cy. My father sang the Irish Blessing (a tribute to my Irish heritage) to us at the end of our wedding. In our program, we wanted to celebrate the people who played a part of our wedding. We made sure to list each individual and why they were special to us. We also described the traditions and symbols of our ceremony and my attire (ie something borrowed, etc) so our guests knew exactly why our ceremony was the way it was. Every part of our ceremony shared a bit of our hearts with our guests.

My wedding planner was superb! Because it was a destination wedding, I needed help coordinating all the details I knew I wanted. Having Alicia in San Miguel helping me was one of the best decisions I made. My advice, know what you want and go for it!! I hesitated to get married in Mexico because I thought that people might not want to travel to Mexico or be unable to make the long trip. I knew though, that San Miguel was where Cy and I had to get married. I had known it for a long time. The town, the food, the culture, the energy – it just called our names. I was right! I should have never second-guessed myself because of the fear of other people’s reactions.

Wedding Photography: Holly Wilmeth / Lodging: Casa Tierra Negra, The Rosewood Hotel, Hotel Matilda + Various Private Homes provided by Casa Elegantes / Wedding Coordination: Alicia Vilar Segura of San Miguel Weddings / Ceremony + Reception Location: Casa Elegantes / Cake Design: El Petit Four / Stationery: Paper Joy / Hair, Floral Design + DJ: Provided by San Miguel Weddings / Make-up: Friend / Wedding Gown: Anna Maier Ulla Maija (Bianca Gown) via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Belt: Amy Kuschel via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Headpiece + Veil: Custom Francesca Bianco, Phoenix / Wedding Ring: Gauthier / Earrings: Nadri / Right Hand Ring: Borrowed from Mother of the Bride (a Sapphire and Diamond ring – my something blue and borrowed) / Bride’s Shoes: Caparros / Bridesmaid Dresses: Enzoani

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Post tags: Amy Kuschel, Anna Maier Ulla-Maija, Caparros, Casa Elegantes, Casa Tierra Negra, Destination Wedding, El Petit Four, Enzoani, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Gauthier, Holly Wilmeth, Hotel Matilda, Mexico Wedding, Nadri, Paper Joy, San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel Weddings, The Rosewood Hotel
Post categories: Destination, Destination Weddings, Mexico Weddings

So there you have it. The New York Public Library’s new and soon to be completely iconic identity image. With styling by Jackie Weppner of Merci New York, a gown from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, hair and makeup team at Paul Labrecque, accessories from Jannie Baltzer and Preston and Olivia, florals by Matthew Robbins, fine jewelry pieces from Diamond in the Rough and Jupiter Jewelry. And images to drop jaws around the world by Christian Oth.

Here are a few more of the shots from the shoot…

Ahhh. This is the kind of photography that will inspire, that will excite, that will give brides, designers and artists around the world permission to dream again. To inspire their own wedding love with pure magic Christian Oth & Matthew Robbins have officially set the new bar for all things beautiful. Here is a bit more behind the scenes to keep the loveliness alive…

Thank you so very much to Christian, Matthew, Jackie, Gabriella and all of the vendors/artists/designers who collaborated on this beautiful shoot. We are honored that you chose SMP as your platform to share it with the world!

COVER IMAGE

Douglas Hannant gown from the Spring 2012 collection, bib necklace by Rivini, French veil by Sara Gabriel, amethyst and diamond cocktail ring by Jupiter Jewelry, as well as Diamond in the Rough’s “Covet” engagement ring and micro pave wedding band. Shoes from Aruna Seth.

Additional Looks

1. Claire Pettibone “Nightingale” dress, worn with a white Preston and Olivia silk organza fascinator, “Fleurs” diamond drop earrings from Jupiter Jewelry, and “Pendant” necklace, “Covet” ring, and micro pave wedding band from Diamond in the Rough. Shoes from Aruna Seth.

2. Claire Pettibone “Flora” dress, worn with Jannie Baltzer’s “Lucille” headband. All jewelry from Diamond in the Rough jewelry, including the “CB Line” earrings, “Covet” ring, and micro pave wedding band. Shoes from Hollywould.

3. Reem Acra “Best Wishes” gown, worn with a cathedral veil and horsehair sash with feather detail from Sara Gabriel, as well as a vintage bracelet and white fur shawl from Gabriella New York. The shawl was accented with a vintage diamond brooch from Jupiter Jewlery on the lapel. Additional accessories include Jupiter Jewelry’s Tanzanite princess ring set in white gold, as well as the “Orielle” stud earrings, “Covet” ring, and micro pave wedding band from Diamond in the Rough. Shoes from Aruna Seth.

4. Claire Pettibone “Iridessa” dress with silk flower fascinator headpiece (pulled from the waistband of another gown from the designer). “Pendant” necklace, “Covet” ring, and micro pave wedding band all from Diamond in the Rough. Shoes from Hollywould.

Please note: All wedding gowns featured are available at Gabriella New York.

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Post tags: Christian Oth Studios, Diamond in the Rough, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Jannie Baltzer, Jupiter Jewelry, Matthew Robbins, Merci New York, New York, New York Public Library, Paul Labrecque, Preston & Olivia
Post categories: The Blog, Wedding Photography, Wedding Style

And just when you think you couldn’t possibly be happier with all this wedding goodness, Karen and Chandler’s New York City Civil Ceremony is going to just make your day and then some…and don’t forget, the full gallery is well…full…of both of these gorgeous events!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride, Karen Wise, on her Montreal Wedding…As a wedding photographer who has photographed over 300 weddings, I found making choices for my own wedding both simple and quite challenging. In the past few years, I had taken note of what I’d like to have at my wedding after seeing so many unique events. The most difficult part about wedding planning was choosing our location. Chandler and I knew we wanted our wedding to be outside of New York City. I’ve photographed weddings at MANY New York venues and Chandler, being a director/cinematographer had worked almost everywhere in NY too. We wanted to choose something new and unique to both of us. I grew up in Montreal and so looking there seemed like a good idea. My family still lives there and Chandler and I always enjoy visiting. At first we thought we’d want our wedding to take place amidst the pine trees and mountains north of Montreal in Tremblant where we ski every winter. However, since we knew we’d have guests coming from all over and as far away as Vancouver, LA and Barbados, we changed our minds and decided to keep it simple. Old Montreal seemed like the best option, as it is located in the most quaint and historic part of the city. We knew it would lend a picturesque backdrop to our pictures.

Thankfully we were able to bring our photographer (my colleague, the talented Heather Waraksa) from New York. She had photographed our civil ceremony in October, and we loved working with her! We hired Four Branches from Brooklyn to design our chuppah and Mr. Boddington’s Studio in NYC to design our invitations. The rest of our vendors we searched for locally, starting from scratch, researching Canadian vendors from afar. I found that it took a few months to seek out the best talent, as not every one of our vendors had a website or was well-advertised on blogs as they are here. I love beautiful design, so the style of our stationery, the fashion, colors and textures of the décor were fun for me to coordinate. We worked with very talented local Montreal vendors like Flore (floral design), Kostar (lighting design), Cocoa Locale (baker), Caroline Théoret (makeup/hair) and DJ Toddy Flores who rocked the party!

We danced our first dance to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and had all of our guests join in. Chandler and I had briefly choreographed it in our Brooklyn kitchen but only rehearsed it once in the elevator heading down from cocktail hour. Not a lot of time to perfect it, but supposedly it was a hit! Nick Drake and Cat Power were amongst our initial choices but in the end we decided that upbeat was the way to go. DJ Toddy Flores rocked the rest of the party mixing from a list we’d made of our favorite tracks (mostly 80’s and Hip Hop). Verses, Hotel Nelligan’s restaurant’s steak au poivre and Arctic char melted in your mouth. The chocolate chai and vanilla rose cupcakes from Cocoa Locale were perfection.

From the Bride, Karen Wise, about her NYC Civil Ceremony…Our civil ceremony took place in Manhattan, NY. It was photographed by Heather Waraksa, and Saipua provided the bouquet and boutonniere. I wore a light-colored Burberry coat, Louboutin nude patent leather shoes and a red dress with white gloves… I was inspired by Mad Men at the time that I created my outfit!

We knew we would be planning a bigger wedding in Montreal, Canada in the Spring, but we wanted to do this little ceremony first, partly to get my green card process under way. Although we had been dating for 3 years prior to the ceremony, our parents still hadn’t met, so we thought this would be a fun day to have both sides meet! My sister was also there, as well as Chandler’s brother and sister-in-law.

It was a beautiful sunny day in the Fall, it was windy and cool, but really pretty for the photos. We started the day at my home/studio with hair and makeup and then did a few portraits around Park Slope before jumping in a car service to drive to City Hall before the 3pm closing. Since we had a few hours before our reservation at del Posto restaurant in Manhattan, we had some tea, drinks and a snack at The Standard Hotel while we waited. Heather shot some photos after the ceremony in the newly designed City Hall. The light was beautiful as it poured in through their large windows. We also got the chance to shoot in the streets and in front of the Standard before saying goodbye to Heather.

Montreal Wedding – Wedding Photography: Heather Waraksa / Floral Design: Flore / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier via Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier / Make-up + Hair: Studio Caroline Théoret / Cupcakes + Wedding Cake: Cocoa Locale / Stationery: Mr. Boddington Studio / Calligraphy: Primele / Signs: Baumbirdy / Vintage Hair Piece: Sara Gabriel via Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Earrings: Clay Pot / Bride’s Rings: Jessica Fields via Clay Pot / Bridesmaid Dresses: Ann Taylor / Groom’s Suit: Custom Men / Groom’s Shoes: Bruno Magli / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Flower Girl’s Dress: April Cornell via La Cache / Lighting: Kostar Lighting

NYC Civil Ceremony – Wedding Photography: Heather Waraksa / Flowers: Saipua / Coat: Burberry / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Groom’s Suit + Tie: Banana Republic / Earrings: Alexis Bittar / Red Dress: Diane von Furstenberg / Hair Piece: Renee Rivera via Bergdorf Goodman / White Gloves: Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Negligee: La Perla / Hair: Martha Ellen Mabry / Make-up: Sally Duvall / Hand Bag: Moyna

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Post tags: Alexis Bittar, Ann Taylor, April Cornell, Banana Republic, Baumbirdy, Bergdorf Goodman, Bruno Magli, burberry, Canada Weddings, Christian Louboutin, Clay Pot, Cocoa Locale, Custom Men, Diane von Furstenberg, Flore, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Heather Waraksa, Jessica Fields, Kate Spade, Kostar Lighting, La Cache, La Perla, Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, Martha Ellen Mabry, Monique Lhuillier, montreal, Moyna, Mr. Boddington's Studio, New York Weddings, Primele, Renee Rivera, Saipua, Sally Duvall, Sara Gabriel, Studio Caroline Theoret
Post categories: The Blog, Traditional Elegance

click here to see even more gorgeousness!

From Heather Waraksa…When Xochitl, from Always a Bridesmaid, and I met, we knew that the venue was key. We thought 632 on Hudson would be the perfect backdrop to the story. We imagined our couple were worldly, long distance lovers who kept in touch with lengthy love letters. We just loved this sense of longing. We also liked the idea of them being “serendipidous and a little sentimental”. For the shoot, we wanted to capture several model scenes… A boudoir look (which I love shooting before the bride gets into her dress), wedding look (feminine but not princessy) and an after party look. We imagined an intimate gathering for the wedding with a late lunch following and a dessert table.

Other ideas that we infused included classic literature with personalized book plates for favors, personalized “Love Postion” cocktails and the fabulous guest bags with the ” To Have and To Hold” icon by Melangerie NYC. For entertainment, we imagined shadow puppets (click thru the gallery to see) that would tell their love story as guests were waiting for the ceremony to begin and a music box that would play as the bride walked down the aisle. Very fairytale chic.

Photography: Heather Waraksa / Flowers: Saipua / Event Design/Planning: Always a Bridesmaid / Venue: 632 on Hudson / Stationery Design: Regas New York / Cakes and Desserts: Nine Cakes / Props, Linens and Unique Rentals: Props for Today / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Guest Bags: To Have and to Hold Tote: Melangerie NYC / Model: Giulia at MC2 Model Management / Hair: Stacy Pitt / Make-up: Sally Duvall / Boudoir: Pants from Doucette Duvall, Accessories and Vintage Jacket from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Wedding Look: Dress and Hairpiece by Alisa Benay, Veil by Malis-Henderson, Handbag by Amanda Pearl, Shoes by Aruna Seth from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Party: Dress by Anne Bowen , Accessories from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 632 hudson, Alisa Benay, Always a Bridesmaid, Amanda Pearl, Anne Bowen, Aruna Seth, Classic Party Rentals, Doucette Duvall, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Heather Waraksa, Inspiration Board, Malis Henderson, Melangerie, Nine Cakes, Props for Today, Regas New York, Saipua, Sally Duvall, Stacy Pitt
Post categories: From Inspiration to Reality, Photo Shoot, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Decor, Wedding Details, Wedding Fashion

I mean…insanely beautiful right?? The vintage perfume bottles (which would be so amazing re-used with a single stem for the actual wedding), the lingerie pants by Doucette Duvall that are so freaking cute I would wear them to a party. Dying over this. And what an amazing gift for your hubby on your first anniversary. Boudoir photography is becoming huge these day and with this shoot…I am officially a fan!

Photography: Heather Waraksa / Flowers: Saipua / Event Design/Planning: Always a Bridesmaid / Venue: 632 on Hudson / Stationery Design: Regas New York / Cakes and Desserts: Nine Cakes / Props, Linens and Unique Rentals: Props for Today / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Guest Bags: To Have and to Hold Tote: Melangerie NYC / Model: Giulia at MC2 Model Management / Hair: Stacy Pitt / Make-up: Sally Duvall / Boudoir: Pants from Doucette Duvall, Accessories and Vintage Jacket from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Wedding Look: Dress by Alisa Benay, Veil by Malis-Henderson, Handbag by Amanda Pearl, Shoes by Aruna Seth from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon / Party: Dress by Anne Bowen , Accessories from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon

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Post tags: 632 hudson, Alisa Benay, Always a Bridesmaid, Amanda Pearl, Anne Bowen, Aruna Seth, Classic Party Rentals, Doucette Duvall, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Heather Waraksa, Inspiration Board, Malis Henderson, Melangerie, Nine Cakes, Props for Today, Regas New York, Saipua, Sally Duvall, Stacy Pitt
Post categories: From Inspiration to Reality, Photo Shoot, Wedding Fashion

From Heather and Xochitl: We fell in love with the inspiration board immediately. It seemed feminine, dreamy, magical, airy, romantic and had a lovely fairytale quality to it. In a way, it had the mood of classic wedding but with a modern twist. This gave us a lot of creative freedom and a lot to play off of.

Coming up in just a few…the gorgeous shoot!

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Post tags: 632 hudson, Alisa Benay, Always a Bridesmaid, Amanda Pearl, Anne Bowen, Aruna Seth, Classic Party Rentals, Doucette Duvall, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Heather Waraksa, Inspiration Board, Malis Henderson, Melangerie, Nine Cakes, Props for Today, Regas New York, Saipua, Sally Duvall, Stacy Pitt
Post categories: From Inspiration to Reality, Inspiration Boards

I think the best way to describe what it was like when Aaron and I met is that it felt like we had come home to one another. It may seem crazy, but we both knew we were going to marry each other after only two weeks. We managed to wait a year and a half before Aaron “officially” proposed, but we were permanent from the beginning.

I lost my job about six days before Aaron proposed, which was a really tough thing for me. I had a significant amount of time on my hands, which was a blessing in disguise. We decided to forgo the wedding planner, because if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s planning.  From the outset, we knew our wedding had to be in New York City. We’re definitely NY city people! We found The Foundry online and, not unlike other things in our life, knew it was the perfect place for us. It read like our dream apartment: landmarked building, exposed brick, beautiful light, courtyard, ivy-covered terraces, and a phenomenal view of the 59th Street Bridge. Plus, the staff was incredibly accommodating and professional – they were so relaxed and totally on point with everything, knew a lot of the vendors we were deciding on and offered us advice on whom they had worked well with in the past.

I think one of the most difficult things we came up against was trying to figure out a “theme” for our wedding. It was frustrating, because everything is grouped into “themes” in the wedding world: urban, casual, classic, country, elegant, etc, etc. We didn’t have a theme!! We’re not “theme” people. We have very particular taste that can’t be categorized neatly, so instead of making everything fit together, we focused on finding the best (within our budget) food, music and “aesthetic” – when you have the best, it doesn’t have to all look the same, each part makes sense on its own.

Above all else, my husband and I love to cook and entertain, so we decided that our wedding had to be, essentially, the best party we ever threw. I found our photographer, Karen Wise, online and was enamored by the vibrancy of her photos. I mean, just look at the colors! Also, the way she makes posed pictures look journalistic is fantastic.

It was rainy and cold the day of the wedding, so we ended up doing the photos inside, kind of like a photo shoot and I absolutely love the way they turned out. The photos from the wedding are phenomenal – super colorful shots, beautiful shadowy black and whites, just plain awesome.

We are big time foodies and people know that about us, so our caterer had to be really special. We went with Naturally Delicious in Brooklyn because they offered menus that were seasonal, simple but perfect and above all else, tasted GOOD. We had Shannon McCormick as our go-to woman for everything at Naturally Delicious and also hired Shannon to be our week-of and day-of coordinator, which made everything so easy. I cannot speak highly enough of the fantastic staff Naturally Delicious provided us.

We’re kind of lucky when it comes to music – Aaron, a.k.a. Ming, is a professional DJ and record producer, so we kind of had our pick of DJs. Aaron DEFINITELY didn’t want a band, which helped save a significant amount of money, so, keeping in the friends “theme” we hired $mall Change to DJ the wedding. We also asked our friend Michael Lynch, a.k.a. Big Mike  (of American Idol fame) to sing as we walked down the aisle. Aaron and Mike are like “brothers from another mother” – they have worked with each other for several years and Michael and his wife Christa are regular fixtures at Aaron’s mother’s Thanksgiving feast (Mike makes a ridiculous mac-n-cheese), so it was extra special for us to have Mike perform.

Our Design Aesthetic …

We found a florist we really loved and let her do her thing. My mother was pretty vocal on florists, so we let her make the final call on Bridget Vizoso of THE DESIGNERS’ CO-OP. My two requirements were that one, there was not to be a single rose anywhere in the entire place; and two, COLOR. I described a “Bollywood meets NYC” color palette and Bridget graciously re-worded my vision to “gem tones”, which was precisely what I meant. Luscious, vibrant and unabashedly vivid was how I pictured the flowers, although I didn’t want anything traditional or obnoxious. And really, we just let Bridget work her magic.  When we walked into the Foundry, Aaron and I were floored by the amazing job Bridget had done – there was bittersweet draped from the balconies and over our huppah, riotously colorful bouquets on the cocktail tables, votives hanging in the vines and candles everywhere… and that was just in the main room. In the tent where dinner was to be served, the tables were simply gorgeous. A mosaic of flowers covered the tables, paired with antiqued votives and gold candelabras; bright table clothes and napkins; swathes of pink, saffron and orange cloth hung across the tent with large Chinese paper lanterns lighting the room. It was really the perfect décor for the Foundry and, when paired with the food and the music, created the exact ambiance we were trying to achieve.

What I am most proud of looking back at that night is that our wedding really was a total reflection of our life as a couple. That wasn’t too hard to manage because we knew we couldn’t compromise on the fact that we wanted our wedding to be a celebration of the start of our marriage. For us, that meant bringing together everything that is good and beautiful in our lives and sharing the night with the people that mean the most to us and having a few well-placed personal touches. In our program, we wrote a little anecdote/personal joke about each person in our wedding party; our officiant was a judge that has known me since I was a baby in my crib; and of course, we had Big Mike singing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz when Aaron came down the aisle and “Could This Be Love’” by Bob Marley when it was my turn. We also made bags of our “marathon granola” for our guests to take home with them at the end of night. Aaron and I were running the NYC marathon three weeks after our wedding and we had been eating this homemade granola throughout most of our training, so we thought it would be fun to share part of our training experience with our friends and family.

I chalk it up to two things that made the night so fantastic: we hired great vendors – really nice people who are excellent at what they do and we tried not to interfere (too much) in what they wanted to do; and we were adamant about keeping the wedding traditions to a minimum and making the night, above all else, a great party. People still tell us what a fun time they had at our wedding and looking back, I don’t think we would have changed a single thing. Aaron and I are still both in awe about what an amazing night it was for both of us – everything really was perfect.

Beautiful!! Thanks so much to Jackie and congratulations to you and Aaron!! To see lots more from their wedding, take a look at Karen Wise’s fantastic blog ~ Part 1, Part 2.

Photography ~ Karen Wise, Floral ~ Bridget Vizoso, The Designer’s Co-Op, Wedding Coordinator – Shannon McCormick from Naturally Delicious Caterer, Dress Designer ~ Matthew Christopher from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Bridesmaids Dresses ~ J. Crew, Aaron’s Suit ~ Burberry, Hair & Makeup ~ Hatsumi Toshima, Officiant – Bruce L. Kaplan, DJ ~ Small Change, Special guest and friend of the couple, Michael Lynch a.k.a.”Big Mike” of American Idol was there too! He sang beautifully as the couple walked down the aisle

Another wedding filled with bold beautiful colors that we spotted on Karen’s blog was that of Anar & Dale in Alabama: Part 1 and Part 2. SERIOUSLY SPECTACULAR colors!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuppah, Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Hatsumi Toshima, J. Crew, Karen Wise, Long Island City, Matthew Christopher, Michael Lynche, Naturally Delicious, New York Weddings, Small Change, The Designers' Co-op
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, New York City Weddings, New York Weddings, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography