This wedding is so perfectly New York City. It’s everything I love about that those bustling boroughs all wrapped up in one stylish post. It’s a gorgeous Wtoo gown from Lovely Bridal Shop meets the gritty downtown streets. It’s the celebration of two stylish Brides and their obvious love for each other with the Big Apple proudly serving as the background. The scene is perfectly set for all this Manhattan magic to unfold at The Bowery Hotel and Housing Works Bookstore Café, and thanks to Olya Vysotskaya Photography we can see it all right here.
From the Bride… Manhattan is not only my hometown, it’s also the place we met and fell in love. (New York was also one of a handful of states where we could get married legally!) We knew as soon as we set foot in Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo that we wanted to be married there. It’s located in a gorgeous New York townhouse on a classic cobblestone street. The bookstore space was everything we wanted: intimate, romantic, and, best of all, filled with books. Robyn proposed at the Brooklyn Public Library, so it seemed fitting that we hold our wedding in a bookstore! We continued the book motif with our escort cards, which were printed on vintage library cards and displayed in real card catalog drawers. Many of our guests actually took them home. Once we chose the venue, all of the other details seemed to choose us, especially my blush tulle dress and our lovely photographer, who shoots real film and has a collection of vintage cameras. We kept the décor simple because we didn’t want to compete with the colorful book displays that first drew us to the space. We used silver grosgrain ribbon to make inexpensive table runners and deep purple napkins to add a pop of color. String lights and votive candles brought out the warmth of the rich wood paneling. We chose the Bowery Hotel, on Manhattan’s still-gritty Lower East Side, for our first look and wedding night. As we walked from the hotel to Housing Works, we received many well wishes from tourists and panhandlers along the street. Only in New York! Photography: Olya Vysotskaya Photography / Second Photographer: Asya Photography / Wedding Venues: The Bowery Hotel + Housing Works Bookstore Café both in New York City, New York / Floral Design: Florisan LLC / Catering: The Works Catering / Wedding Cupcakes: Sugar Sweet Sunshine / Escort Cards: DIY / String Quartet: Harmonia Strings / Wedding Dress: Wtoo Brides “Olivia” via Lovely Bridal Shop / Veil: Custom Made via M&J Bridal Salon / Earrings: Perfect Details / Hair Comb: “Something Borrowed” / Cardigan: Vintage / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Suit: Theory / Rings: Catbird + Mark Morrell / Robyn’s Hair + Makeup: Jackie Schneider Beauty / Ría’s Hair: Zion Bakari (zionbakari@gmail.com)
