Seeing a wedding through the lens of Karen Wise is always a treat. Her images always have a way of capturing our attention, and making us stop and stay awhile to pour over all the pretty. So on this lovely Monday morning, she's treating us to a gorgeous fête at The Metropolitan Building where every image is simply frame-worthy, and you can see them all right here.
Long Island City Wedding at the Metropolitan Building from Karen Wise
From the Bride... When Christian and I first met in business school, we didn't imagine then that we'd end up married! We come from such different backgrounds - to start, he's German, I'm Chinese-American - but we clicked, fell in love, and it all worked out fabulously in the end. And how we came to be a couple also sums up our approach to our wedding. Neither of us had any idea what we wanted for the wedding, but we just went with it, fell in love with different things along the way, and it all combined to give us the perfect day in the end.
As soon as we stepped into the Metropolitan Building in NYC, we were amazed by how unique the venue was - French chateau meets antiques store, with exposed brick, peeling walls, and fantastic little details everywhere you looked. Who cares that the dates we wanted were no longer available - our fall wedding turned into a winter one! From there we made each decision and choice as it came to us, trying to stress out as little as possible, and while we were behind schedule, I don't think we could have assembled a better team for our wedding.
On the big day, I subjected Christian to the Chinese tradition of "door opening games" and then tea ceremony. Then we started drinks early (as the Germans like to do!) with a pre-ceremony cocktail hour, complete with warm spiked cider to help guests warm up. As I saw the space while getting ready to walk down the aisle, it was more beautiful than I had imagined, with candles, gorgeous florals, and pussywillows that I spent weeks hunting down but loved as they fit the setting and season perfectly. After the beautiful ceremony and another cocktail hour, the rest of the evening went by in a blur. We had such amazing food, and I've never seen a wedding dance floor so constantly packed! We had 4 different tiers of Momofuku Milk Bar cake (our favorite), and our "mustaches and lips" theme was a hit, helped along by a fun photobooth and even guests bringing their own stick-on mustaches! We had spent hours upon hours making jars of different flavored hot cocoa mixes as favors, and I was surprised that the cake toppers I painted of us also turned out well. I loved that we were able to infuse many personal touches into the wedding and was happy our day-of coordinator made everything happen seamlessly. And at the end, we couldn't be more grateful that Karen Wise captured the whole day with her beautiful photos that caught big moments as well as little details for us to cherish as we live happily ever after!
Wedding Photography: Karen Wise | Wedding Venue: The Metropolitan Building | Officiant: Bettina Yiannakourou | Coordination + Planning: Green Apple Weddings | Floral Design: Xylem & Phloem | Catering: The Raging Skillet | Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar | Ceremony Music: Chelsea, Juilliard student | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals | Invitations + Programs: Minted | Menus + Place Cards: Papyrus | Wedding Gown: Augusta Jones | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bari Jay | Tea Ceremony Dress: CFG Boutique | Groom's Attire: J. Lindeberg | Cufflinks: Hecho en Brooklyn | Guestbook: Karen Wise, Engagement Photo Book created on Blurb | Cake Toppers + Favors + Other stationery: DIY by Bride + Groom | Hair + Makeup: Roberto Gonzalez (roberto.face.artist@gmail.com) | DJ: DJ Sparber | Photobooth: ISH Events
As soon as we stepped into the Metropolitan Building in NYC, we were amazed by how unique the venue was - French chateau meets antiques store, with exposed brick, peeling walls, and fantastic little details everywhere you looked. Who cares that the dates we wanted were no longer available - our fall wedding turned into a winter one! From there we made each decision and choice as it came to us, trying to stress out as little as possible, and while we were behind schedule, I don't think we could have assembled a better team for our wedding.
On the big day, I subjected Christian to the Chinese tradition of "door opening games" and then tea ceremony. Then we started drinks early (as the Germans like to do!) with a pre-ceremony cocktail hour, complete with warm spiked cider to help guests warm up. As I saw the space while getting ready to walk down the aisle, it was more beautiful than I had imagined, with candles, gorgeous florals, and pussywillows that I spent weeks hunting down but loved as they fit the setting and season perfectly. After the beautiful ceremony and another cocktail hour, the rest of the evening went by in a blur. We had such amazing food, and I've never seen a wedding dance floor so constantly packed! We had 4 different tiers of Momofuku Milk Bar cake (our favorite), and our "mustaches and lips" theme was a hit, helped along by a fun photobooth and even guests bringing their own stick-on mustaches! We had spent hours upon hours making jars of different flavored hot cocoa mixes as favors, and I was surprised that the cake toppers I painted of us also turned out well. I loved that we were able to infuse many personal touches into the wedding and was happy our day-of coordinator made everything happen seamlessly. And at the end, we couldn't be more grateful that Karen Wise captured the whole day with her beautiful photos that caught big moments as well as little details for us to cherish as we live happily ever after!
Wedding Photography: Karen Wise | Wedding Venue: The Metropolitan Building | Officiant: Bettina Yiannakourou | Coordination + Planning: Green Apple Weddings | Floral Design: Xylem & Phloem | Catering: The Raging Skillet | Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar | Ceremony Music: Chelsea, Juilliard student | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals | Invitations + Programs: Minted | Menus + Place Cards: Papyrus | Wedding Gown: Augusta Jones | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bari Jay | Tea Ceremony Dress: CFG Boutique | Groom's Attire: J. Lindeberg | Cufflinks: Hecho en Brooklyn | Guestbook: Karen Wise, Engagement Photo Book created on Blurb | Cake Toppers + Favors + Other stationery: DIY by Bride + Groom | Hair + Makeup: Roberto Gonzalez (roberto.face.artist@gmail.com) | DJ: DJ Sparber | Photobooth: ISH Events