Glamorous, elegant and crazy gorgeous… this, lovelies, is the epitome of a Manhattan wedding. It’s romantic cherry blossom centerpieces from Designs By Ahn meets a candlelit reception overlooking the breathtaking city skyline meets all kinds of magical moments captured by Cynthia Chung… and it’s all waiting right here in the full gallery. Enjoy.
From the Photographer… I have never been to SUCH an international wedding. The bride (half Chinese, half Korean) and groom (Middle Eastern) come from such different cultural backgrounds- it was really amazing to see how they were able to connect and come together to create such a beautiful event full of different people sharing love, drinks and happiness together. It was such a beautiful sight.
From the Bride… I envisioned our Manhattan wedding to be a classy, intimate, early-springtime affair. We wanted to find a small and cozy space, but something with a spectacular view to charm our guests and provide that “New York” moment. We found Astra, a private event space located on the fourteenth floor of the Manhattan Design & Decoration Building, complete with a long terrace that overlooked the Upper East Side and the Queensboro Bridge. It was perfect.
I was inspired by my Asian heritage where cherry tree blossoms are cherished for their beauty and their symbolic meaning of love, hope, and happiness — and the coming of spring! It only seemed ideal to go out all out with cherry blossom branches to decorate the entrance, the ceremony, and the reception. The soft pink florals and branches added the perfect amount of color and texture to the modern, neutral space of Astra. Several vintage gold hanging and standing tea light candles were used throughout to create that romantic and enchanting feel.
For the dress, I wanted something that would combine clean modern lines and vintage romance. I found a simple and fitted ivory satin gown by Vineyard with a lovely train, and customized it by adding a Swarovski crystal beaded belt, a sheer illusion neckline, and buttons all the way down the back of the dress. To accompany the dress, the florist created a soft feminine mix of ivory and cream garden roses, peonies, and ranunculus – hand-tied with an ivory satin ribbon. The groom wore a modern black tuxedo by Tommy Hilfiger, with a boutonniere to match my bridal bouquet. My bridesmaids each wore their own choice of dress in a pinkish color to tie in with the cherry blossom decor. For their bouquets, I decided to use the same flowers as my own, but instead in pink, peach and blush hues.
Food is something that we really connected on in the beginning of our relationship. We knew we had to serve amazing food to our guests, which is another reason why we chose Astra, owned by world-famous chef, Carlie Palmer. We were able offer guests salmon tartare, balsamic tenderloin skewers, crispy scallops, heirloom tomato salad, filet mignon with lobster mashed potatoes, and wild halibut with peas and morels. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, we opted to serve cupcakes from one of our favorite cupcake bakeries, “Baked”, and included some of our favorite flavors such as honey pistachio, tart passion fruit, and chocolate peanut butter with sea salt.
For music, we wanted to play all sorts of genres to please our varied guests and ourselves. Throughout the night we had a mix of 80’s, new wave, pop, electronic, oldies, top 40, and Middle Eastern pop music — which made the groom’s guests very happy! Guests were encouraged to take home Baked cupcakes, and a silver fortune cookie, which topped each place setting and included a humorous insert about love or marriage. After all, love is meant to put a smile on your face!
Photographer: Cynthia Chung Photography | Event Coordination: Gavin Murphy Of Astra | Florist: DESIGNS BY AHN | Wedding Dress: Vineyard | Hair & Makeup: Sachiko Yanase | Officiant: Reverend Lynn Bourbeau | Groom's Tuxedo: Tommy Hilfiger | Music: DJ Enrique Colon | Restaurant: Astra (Manhattan D&D Building) | Wedding Dress Customizations: The Bridal Garden