Now, this is how I like to start my Monday. In fact, I wouldn't mind starting my every day just this way... With a nice cup of coffee, sunny skies and gorgeous image after gorgeous image of this lovely New York City affair by the ah.ma.zing Karen Wise. Yep, sounds pretty good to me. And you'll be sure to agree with me once you jump right into this lovely soiree, complete with some of the most beautiful florals I have ever seen by Rountree Flowers, a breathtaking location, a brilliant purple color palette and a stunning Vera Wang gown. Yes. Please. With every detail designed and executed by the genius that is Stellina Events, this is definitely one wedding that I'll be revisiting time and time again. So, sit back and stay awhile... There is a whole gallery full of pretty to enjoy!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride... Grady and I knew from the start that our wedding didn’t need to be nor should it be perfect. Life is messy and unpredictable, and only in the chaos of it all can you step back and gain some clarity about what the priorities are. Like almost everything in our relationship, we knew we would have to do things a bit unconventionally for our wedding. Our daughter, Eva, was 17 months old when we got married. Because of this we wanted our wedding to be an intimate affair - an opportunity for everyone we love to be together, celebrate with one another and meet our daughter. We decided to have our wedding in New York, where we both had lived and where my family currently lives. When we chose our venue, we were living in Chicago and in the process of moving to Portland, OR. So, all wedding choices would need to be made from the gut with little time to mull things over. Having a baby helps with that process!
We picked our venue after only one visit. The Lillian Goldman Stone Mill at the New York Botanical Garden and the in-house caterers, Abigail Kirsch, were the perfect match for us. The setting was spectacular - an old stone mill on the banks of the Bronx River in a lush and wooded area. We had only heard rave reviews about the food and planning that Abigail Kirsch provided. With the venue and caterer settled upon, we knew we were going to use the photographer (the lovely Karen Wise) and DJ (Small Change) that Grady’s brother and sister-in-law used for their wedding. Because planning was no simple task living on the opposite coast, in a new home with a little baby, we hired Amanda Diamondstein-Cieplinska of Stellina Events to help find some of the vendors and orchestrate the day’s events. It was a life saver having someone in NYC locating these vendors for us and making sure everything went seamlessly on the day of our wedding.
The ceremony was beautiful and truly captured the essence of our relationship. Our wonderful officiant, Cantor Micha’el Esformes, led a rich and meaningful experience that brought everyone into the moment through his words and music. We stood underneath a chuppah, wedding canopy, that Rountree Florist helped us to envision and bring to life; standing there amongst our families and the pictures of our loved ones who couldn’t be there, Grady and I vowed our love for each other. This was the most important detail of the whole wedding - to remember all our loved ones and to join our two lives and two families.
Wedding Photography: Karen Wise Photography / Wedding Planning, Design + Styling: Stellina Events / Floral Decor: Rountree Flowers / Venue: The New York Botanical Garden, Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill / Catering: Abigail Kirsch / Wedding Invitations: Studio Olivine / Wedding Gown: Vera Wang / Hair Stylist: Renee Serra / Make-up Artist: Hiroko Takada / DJ: DJ Small Change / Transportation: Silver Star Limousine