It’s not hard to find a pretty wedding. Because weddings are innately beautiful. The vows, the moments, the flowers, the details. All pretty. But the magic…the magic is what takes a wedding from pretty to spectacular. The minute I laid eyes on this wedding, I felt that magic in every ounce of my wedding loving self. It’s Great Gatsby meets Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s unabashed elegance meets charm and downtown style. It’s the definition of beauty wrapped into the most lovely of packages. And it’s the photography, crafted by Amanda K Photography, that takes this wedding to an entirely new level of stunning. This wedding has left a mark on me and although I could go on and on, instead, I’ll just let you devour it for yourself. Click here to see even more.
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From the Bride…The venue in itself was exquisite. I had seen weddings at this venue on SMP and knew I needed to visit. Let me tell you, the outside building at first glance scared me a little, but when I climbed up the rustic wooden stairs and into the main room with the antique crystal chandeliers, into all the secret rooms, the hallway of antique lampshades and mirrors, and was surrounded by the beautiful muted blue/gray walls… I was taken to another place in time. I wanted the wedding to feel like Great Gatsby, meets Midsummer Nights Dream all in the middle of old Paris in the 1930s, without it being too themey. Not to mention, the owner of the venue also has a huge collection of antique furniture that she lets you use!
I went back and forth about getting a videographer because we wanted to cut costs. In the end, I am so delighted by how beautifully Kiss the Bride captured the essence of the wedding. I was very skeptical about hiring a florist because I wanted to do everything myself! My florist, Eunice, did such an amazing job with all the flowers! Most of all, my bouquet brought me over the moon ecstatic. I fell in love with my bouquet and she did over and beyond my expectations, and that’s really hard to do! It was filled with so much romance and I had it wrapped with the left over fabric from my wedding dress!
The three most important decisions I made for this wedding were food, photographer, and my dress (of course!) Daniel and I LOVE FOOD. Upon doing my research from wedding blogs, Naturally Delicious came highly recommended. I loved the idea that they used fresh ingredients, even straight from their garden. The food was amazing and our coordinator, Tyler, was over the top amazing. He made sure every single detail of the wedding was on point.We wanted to start the wedding off with drinks before the ceremony to send out the vibe that this was going to be a really good, good night. For the cocktail hour, the chefs created foods to mimic foods from our favorite date spots- pork belly buns from Ippudo, tacos from Cascabel, the shroom burger from Shake Shack, and french fries (because we love french fries)! My mouth is watering just thinking back on the food. They even let us create an ice cream sandwich bar station for our guests. The food was very personal to us and told the story of our relationship through food. We named the specialty drink after my dog, Pickle (the other love of my life). We also had an amazing experience with the liquor store that Naturally Delicious has a relationship with- Heights Chateau. The owner not only paired the wine to the food but to our personality. The wine tasting soon became a dinner filled with delicious food, new friends, and great tasting wine!
Looking for a photographer was not easy because NY is filled with so many talented people. I even looked into photographers that were not local. I had come across an engagement photo shoot on SMP by Amanda K and completely fell in love. The dress, the scenery, the light, the essence… everything about it was what I wanted my wedding to look like and feel like. Once I got in contact with the photographer, Amanda, I knew that I had made the right choice. She was more than accommodating (flew all the way from Oregon) and although the first time we ever met was two days before the wedding… I knew it was meant to be. She has a heart that is beyond this world and I was so blessed and honored that she wanted to capture my wedding.
Now to my dress. I went to so many different stores and tried on so many dresses. I started to grow frustrated by the search and thought that maybe I would never find one. I didn’t want to settle, if I didn’t settle with finding Daniel why would I settle with my dress?! I came across a designer that was debuting her dress for 2011. There is only one vendor in NYC that carries Jenny Packham and I made an appointment the next morning. It so happened they were having a Jenny Packham trunk show and so her newest collection would be in store the weekend of my appointment. EVERYTHING was beautiful. When I came out in the Giralda, the whole shop became quiet and everyone was looking at me. I felt the magic in my fingers and I knew that I had found the one.
Everything was threading together so perfectly… I’m a perfectionist and a control freak, so I had planned everything way in advance. God had other things in mind. On the day of my wedding arrived Hurricane Irene!!! All of my guests and I were worried about the danger we would be in because the venue was in a mandatory evacuation zone and estimated to have the most damage. People told me that when it rains on your wedding it’s suppose to be good luck, well I’m hoping that with a hurricane my marriage is going to be flooded with love/grace/joy unending… and so far it is. All of the vendors were willing to bump up the time to accommodate for a 4 hour time change to avoid the hurricane. ALL of them came on time and ready to work to make my wedding happen. No matter what, plans no plans, I was getting married. Even the guests who lived in mandatory evacuation zones made it! The day was perfectly overcast for the hundreds of candles to light the whole room. In the end, even though everything seemed like it was falling apart… to have a room filled with overflowing love, all our family, and close friends and to finally end a chapter in my single life to be called someone’s Wife (Daniel’s wife), it was Heaven on Earth. I hope that in 40 years from now, with my grand-babies in my lap, I will tell them about this magical day filled with mystery, horror, and love.
Wedding Photography: Amanda K Photography / Venue: The Metropolitan Building / Caterer: Naturally Delicious / Liquor: Heights Chateau / Wedding Videographer: Kiss The Bride Films / Day-of Event Design: Rock Paper Scissors Events / DJ: Menyu / Invitations: Angel B Lee / Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham via Designer Loft / Reception Dress: Alice and Olivia via Net A Porter / Veil: Etsy, The Bride / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Hair + Make-up: vickyC5 / Flowers: Eutopia NYC
