I swear this bride and I are the same person. Or at the very least, meant to be besties. For many reasons – that Jenny Packham gown? My dream dress. Her classically elegant style? Just happens to be my fav. But when I read her dashing groom surprised her a rendition of “All You Need is Love” from my ALL time favorite movie, Love Actually, I just about died. Because that is literally a dream come true of mine, and I am thrilled that it came true for her. Top all that off with florals from Blush Designs, and my virtual bestie had the most beautiful day ever. In every sense of the word. See it all here.
From the Bride… I wanted the wedding to have a 20s vibe, so we began by touring dozens of Gold Coast mansions in Long Island. The moment we walked into De Seversky on the NYIT campus, my then-fiance said, “I have to get married here.” With the location selected, we began going through our figurative Rolodexes seeing who we knew in the wedding business who would be able to work within our smaller budget. We quickly got a referral to the lovely ladies of Blush Designs for our floral design, and we booked them on the spot. I reached out to a girlfriend who is a graphic designer, and she was happy to work with us on the invitations. She created the prints and color palette that became an integral part of the aesthetic. I also used the prints to make coasters for our favors (with 125 guests at two coasters apiece, this was an incredibly labor-intensive process). I also reached out to a friend of a friend who was an accomplished violinist and happened to be one half of a music duo who played weddings. For the dress, I knew that I wanted to wear Jenny Packham, however, I had my heart set on a dress that was quite underwhelming once I tried it on. The dress I chose had been in my back pocket during the selection process, and when I put it on it just felt right. It was flattering, weightless, glamorous and underbudget.
The big day came everything was better than I could have expected. Right after we had our first dance, Stuart asked me to stay on the dance floor with him and wait for something. All of a sudden, a group of singers appeared singing, “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles. I then realized that they were reenacting the wedding scene from one of my favorite movies, Love Actually. Unbeknownst to me, my husband had been planning this surprise with five vocalists, the violinist and guitarist who played during our processional, a trumpet player, a saxophonist and a man to play the organ, topped off by a guitar solo performed by his twin brother. Needless to say, I got quite emotional, and my husband set the bar quite high for all the other grooms-to-be out there. We proceeded to do the Hora, break some challah and dance our asses off at what was (in my humble opinion) the best wedding ever.
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Wedding Photography: Timothy + Lydia Lee from Timothy Lee Photographers | Wedding Venue: NYIT De Seversky in Old Westbury, New York | Floral Design: Blush Designs | Cinematography: Marvic Paulo | Wedding Cake: Little Miss Cake Company | Favors: DIY | Ceremony Music: Royal Strings | Wedding Invitations: Natalie Kalinowski | Car: Red Carpet Limo | Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham | Bride’s Robe: The Webster for Target | Bride’s Shoes: Loeffler Randall | Bridesmaids’ Attire: White by Vera Wang | Bridesmaid Pajamas: American Apparel | Bridesmaid Shoes: RSVP | Groom’s Attire: custom via Mohan Tailors | Groomsmen Attire: Black by Vera Wang via Men’s Wearhouse | Hair: Marcos Diaz | Makeup: Christina Cartaino