Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely weekend! We do have quite a week lined up for you on The Little Black Book Blog so let’s get right to it! First from New York ~ a spectacular wedding from Exquisite Affairs Productions, a gorgeous formal ceremony and killer reception from last August. Kirsten and Chris found so many ways to incorporate their personality into the day. We’re pretty sure you’ll agree it was the perfect blend of elegance with a good dose of fun!
From Kirsten & Chris …
One Hanson is a Brooklyn icon and as Brooklynites we wanted to find a unique spot that reflected us and our home. You can’t help but have your breath taken away when you walk into the bank at One Hanson … its soaring vaulted ceiling and its art deco style is stunning when properly lit to feature all its incredible details. We loved the idea of using the old teller windows, and check signing stations as part of our decor. We had our cocktail hour in the massive vault in the basement which a lot of our guests got a kick out of – it was so different than anything else they’d experienced! We loved that our venue gave our guests a chance to have fun in the most unlikely of spaces.
We really wanted people to walk into our wedding and think to themselves, “this is SO them!” Since our wedding venue was an old savings bank we had plenty of inspiration for decor! We had pennies in our floral arrangements during cocktail hour, had a ton of those green banker’s desk lamps, a lounge area with leather bankers couches and of course those lollipops you used to get as a kid when you went with your Mom on the way out.
One of our most vivid memories was walking into the fully decorated One Hanson for the first time before any of our guests. We both had this moment where we stood there agape at the transformation of the space. We couldn’t have imagined that everything could have come together so perfectly – and it was all to celebrate us! So cool.
Kirsten’s Dad is from Germany and is an avid flag collector…, so four flags were hung in the reception room – the German flag, Irish flag, American flag, and the bride’s family shipping company flag. The groom’s family is from Ireland… so we offered Spaten and Guinness on tap in steins and pint glasses respectively. Chris is a huge soccer fan.. and runs the Northside Soccer League in Brooklyn so having little fooseball people as toppers was one of our personal little touches. The bride’s father also presented a gift to the groom and his soccer team – a customized flag with their emblem! A very special German tradition was also included – the “bridal cup.” The bride and groom stand closely together facing each other with just enough space for the cup between them. The bride takes the smaller cup in hand while the groom holds onto the larger cup. Together, the wedding couple raises the cup up and to their lips to drink. They cannot spill a drop because if you can drink without spilling a drop, love, faithfulness and good luck will be yours forever!
We could not have done our day without Christine Viola and her team from EAP — not only was the entire day flawless, but we had SO much fun planning with her and her team. Also would love to mention John from Flower Michele who unexpectedly passed away shortly after our event. His unbelievable creativity with our floral arrangements and decor made our venue come to life in ways we could never even imagined. Carl and the Abigail Kirsch team blew us away with their most insanely delicious food and impeccable professionalism.
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We always like to ask our couples if they had a “first look” session, and if so, are they glad. Here’s Kirsten & Chris’ response … We had a first look to avoid the photographing of everyone after the ceremony. We knew that we’d just want to party! Our photographer, Stacey Ilyse, was so much fun! She made the photo shoot an absolute blast by improvising with our surroundings as we walked to and from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. We even stopped at a nearby ice cream truck! Some of our favorite pictures were ones she captured when we least expected it.
Wedding Planner: Christine Viola, Exquisite Affairs Productions Inc. / Ceremony: The Oratory Church of St. Boniface / Reception: Skylight One Hanson / Catering: Abigail Kirsch / Hair: Jennifer Brent / Makeup /Anita Nouryeh /Photography: Stacey Ilyse Photography / Cake: City Sweets & Confections / Flowers & Decor: Flower Michele / Band: The Urban Guerilla Orchestra (UGO) / Invitations & Stationery: Cheree Berry Paper / Sound & Lighting: L&M Sound & Light / Photobooth: NYC Photobooth / Transportation: Double Diamond Limos