There’s something so fabulous about an intimate, city wedding. Especially one that is elegant and understated, where each and every detail counts. And that’s exactly why we’re totally gushing over this beauty by Alexandra Meseke Photography. It’s simple and timeless and oh so meaningful. Click here for even more!
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From the Bride… Marcus and I got engaged in the summer of 2011 in his college town of Luneburg, Germany. We decided to have a small, intimate wedding in New York City where we met, fell in love, and hoped to make our home together. We wanted our wedding to be warm and welcoming to our guests, and New York City was a perfect setting with its openness to people and things of all different cultures. New York City was also geographically centered for our close friends and families, who were coming in from all over the world. There is a word in German, “gemutlichkeit,” which relates a feeling of contentment, belonging, and coziness — this is exactly what we envisioned for our wedding.
We decided to get married that fall and set a wedding date just three months away. Aside from wanting an intimate and welcoming feel for the wedding, we did not have specific themes or styles in mind. Enter “the dress.” I knew it would be difficult to find a wedding dress on such short notice, and given that we did not have a particular design in mind, it would be hard for me to narrow my search from the overwhelming variety of possibilities. But as fate would have it, I came across a distinctive sample gown that had been on display in a bridal store and was immediately inspired. While most people choose the dress to fit the wedding, I used this dress, with its old-world opulence and intricate, crocheted Italian lace details, as the starting point and designed the wedding around it.
Less than three months after getting engaged, we got married at The Lotos Club in NYC. The Lotos Club took our breath away with its architectural details and classical charm, but it was still ideally-sized for the intimate gathering we wanted. We had our ceremony in the Tennyson room, and kept the colors crisp and white as to not compete with the ornate gold mirrors and windows. Cocktails were held in a foyer with French Renaissance architectural details, where we also kept the flowers white for a more elegant ambiance. However, we wanted a contrasting feel for our reception. We chose to have our wedding luncheon in the Library room with everyone seated together at one long table. The room itself was decorated with engraved wood details and filled with books from floor to ceiling, imparting a inviting, home-like feeling. To make the setting even more warm and rustic, we chose to have multiple small arrangements of varying heights with different flowers, all in lush red and purple hues. It was an amazing experience to celebrate our marriage with our closest friends and family members all sharing our table. And even more amazing is that we are able to relive and share the experience with the amazing photos and video from Alexandra and Michael Meseke, who were able to capture the feel and our personalities so perfectly.
Wedding Photography + Cinematography: Alexandra Meseke Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: The Lotos Club in New York, New York / Floral Design: Ariston Flowers / Officiant: Rev. Mark Giller / Wedding Cake: Pasticceria Bruno / Calligraphy: Ted Clausen / Printing: Superior Letterpress Company / Guitar: David Galvez / Wedding Dress: Michelle Rahn / Bride’s Veil: Sara Gabriel / Bride’s Shoes: Dolce Vita / Bride’s Earrings: Rachel Leigh / Hair + Makeup: Elise Cole of FaceStation / Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss / Groom’s Shoes: Allen Edmonds