With its snowy NYC backdrop, breathtaking candlelit everything and stunning Gramercy Park Hotel setting, this glamorous wedding is the literal definition of romantic. Which makes perfect sense, really, since this darling bride and groom have one of those crazy cool love stories that is straight-from-a-movie awesome. Think chance meeting in an elevator meets Paris proposal and you’re on the right track. Add in the ever-talented Robert & Kathleen Photographers to capture all of the pretty and this, my friends, is a day that deserves your full, undivided attention. Click here for more.
From Robert & Kathleen Photographers… When Lauren’s friends ask her where they can meet a guy like Josh she has a very simple answer for them. “An elevator.”
It was an ordinary day. Lauren was heading out to take her dog for a walk when the elevator doors opened. There was Josh. Tall, handsome Josh with kind eyes and shy smile. They rode together long enough to learn each other’s names and for Lauren to find out that Josh was new to the building and to Florida, in general. Josh knew he had to get to know that gorgeous blonde whose smile he couldn’t seem to forget. It didn’t take long for a first date to be made and the two of them to hit it off. Living in the same building, they got to know each other quickly and found it surprising (and nice) just how easily they fit into each other’s lives. Lauren showed Josh around her home state, quickly making him feel very much at home there. Josh would return the favor, bringing Lauren up to Connecticut to meet his family and see where he grew up.
What you’ll quickly discover about Josh is that he doesn’t do anything half way. He swept Lauren off her feet better than most leading men do in romantic comedies. But that’s not to say what they have isn’t real. What they have it so sweet, so genuine that the best examples of anything remotely similar that come to mind are from the best books and movies. Because what they have is not only real, it’s rare.
Because it’s rare that you find a man willing to put his heart out there and tell you exactly how he feels. Rare to find a mind that flies you to one of the most romantic cities in the world and asks you to be his wife in a suite overlooking the Eiffel tower. But Josh did just that. Because he knew that what he had found was rare, too. He knew it was rare to find a woman who was just as kind as she was beautiful. Rare to find a woman who was supportive of him and who truly thought for herself. Even more, they knew it was rare to find someone that their friends and family loved almost as much as they did. Because their friends and family could see exactly what they already knew – together, they had become better versions of themselves.
They decided on a destination wedding of sorts, having his family from Connecticut and her family from Florida all gather together in another one of the world’s most romantic cities for their big day. The scene was set: NYC in December. It was a cold day and there was a threat of snow that would have made a lot of other brides nervous. Not Lauren. The cold was a change of pace for her and the snow was the icing on the cake. She could think of few things more romantic than to have snow falling as they said their vows under the glass roof of the Gramercy Park Hotel. And – to top it all off – this was the first snow some of her guests had ever seen. (I have to say, standing there and watching the wonder of snowy NYC through the eyes of Lauren’s sweet friends and family made me fall in love with the city all over again.) But even that, even NYC and the snow falling were no match to the magic of Lauren and Josh themselves. Watching them say their vows, seeing the way they looked up at each and held hands so tight during the ceremony. They were flanked by a sea of friends and family (with crying bridesmaids in the front) all smiling broadly while they shared their first dance.
It was enough to make even the hardest heart melt just a little bit. Enough to make many a single girl to head to the elevator, looking for exactly what Lauren and Josh have found.
Photography: Robert & Kathleen Photographers | Cake: Ron Ben-Israel Cakes | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Sung | DJ: Jarrell Entertainment | Venue: Gramercy Park Hotel | Bridal Gown: Mikaella Bridal | Bridal Shop: The White Magnolia