Brooklyn Waterfront Wedding at Liberty Warehouse

Dawn Strong
March 11, 2014
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic

If there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that Brooklyn weddings are awesome. From classic affairs to modern soirees to everything in between, it’s one borough that really knows how to party. And this sweet Liberty Warehouse affair? It’s romantic meets urban meets one glorious moment after another captured by Casey Fatchett Photography. See every last one in the full gallery.

Colors

Seasons

Summer Weddings

Settings

Eatery Industrial

Styles

Romantic

From Casey Fatchett Photography… In my 13 years photographing weddings, it is rare to come across a couple with such a vast amount of details and a clear style for their wedding without help from the a designer or planner. Not only did they manage to coordinate all of this but also created a number of DIY elements – wooden stained candlesticks, heat embossing ombre escort cards and dinner plate cards (before the calligraphy was added), table number signs, and cocktail signs. On top of that, they created personal gifts for their friends and family (custom ring dishes for the bridesmaids, custom cufflinks – including “father of the bride/groom” cufflinks for the dads – Emily also had a handkerchief embroidered for her dad). The amount of personal attention and love involved in all of aspects of the wedding was extremely apparent to anyone there.

From Rosehip Floral… I loved working with Emily and John because they both had such lovely ideas about the décor and flowers. It was quite fun to blend their two styles and make flower arrangements that would guarantee an impact and stand on their own, in the large warehouse space.

Working with a client who wants to source some of their own décor helps me further understand their aesthetic and who they are as a couple. It is also enjoyable to see what they come up with and how to integrate their personal touches. Emily and her family did a spectacular job collecting most of the unique vases used at the wedding, and I was thrilled to be able to make some gorgeous arrangements to fill them.

From the Bride… John and I wanted to get married in New York because it is the city that brought us together. We met through a chance encounter on a street corner, and three years to the day, John proposed while on the very same spot where we met.

We chose to get married at the Liberty Warehouse so the ceremony would overlook the Statue of Liberty and New York harbor at sunset. With an August wedding date, we expected a hot, muggy day – and we would have been OK with that. Instead, we had perfect weather – not too hot or cold – and a postcard-worthy sunset, painted with spectacular bright and vivid shades of pink, orange, blue and yellow.

A very special moment happened during the ceremony, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a little baby duck playing in the water just steps away from our chuppah. It looked so happy and content. I remember thinking of how happy and I content I was, too, to be marrying John.

Our vision for the wedding was to create an enchanting, magical night in celebration of love, while also creating a very personal experience for our friends and loved ones by reflecting our life together in New York.

I lovingly drowned myself in the creative details. Drawing inspiration from the venue’s rustic wooden columns, we decorated the tables and windowsills with hundreds of wooden candlesticks (which my dad and I stained together in my parents’ backyard), along with custom-painted signage, and small dark wood blocks which we used to hold the escort cards.

As our wedding took place on the water, I used an ombre concept of blue and greens – our wedding colors – to evoke an ocean feel throughout the wedding. These colors were incorporated in the flower vases and vessels, custom-made table runners, and unique place cards. The handwritten calligraphy by Marcardin Calligraphy, in a beautiful white Peoni font, coupled with the heat-embossed bride and groom symbols I added to the cards, added a whimsical touch.

Pola at Rosehip Floral designed flower arrangements that exceeded my dreams and expectations. We had discussed creating “an explosion of flowers” at every turn of the wedding, which is exactly what Rosehip Floral achieved, with over 200 unique arrangements in shades of pastel pink, peach, ivory and accents of blue flowers. The flowers were placed atop pale mint green runners and into vases of various shades of blue, green and grey stone. Pola and I collaborated on the tablescape design, and I was able to collect dozens of the vases and containers, which proved to be especially fun for my mom and I.

The resulting floral concept was intended to strike a balance between my playful, whimsical style and John’s classic and elegant taste. The incredible globe lighting strung up atop the long banquet tables, which were dripping in candles, made us feel as though we had stepped right into a lovely secret garden hidden in a Brooklyn factory warehouse.

John and I enjoyed designing the cake together. We both wanted a memorable and unique cake. We chose pistachio for the inside because we couldn’t stop thinking about it after the tasting at Cake Ambiance. For the cake topper, we worked with a papercut silhouette artist in the Ukraine who was so excited to make their first cake topper.

I will never forget walking through the room during dinner, with John by my side, and looking over lush tables, the glowing room, and seeing all the smiling and loving faces.

Everything about our wedding came together like a dream, and we are so grateful. We will treasure the photos and video because they capture the happiness that surrounded us at the wedding – our beaming parents, dedicated bridal party, elated family and friends, and love for each other.