This wedding is New York City at its finest. The Audrey Hepburns, Grace Kelly’s, Frank Sinatra’s of wedding with a sense of tradition and elegance built into the very foundation. Photographed by Lilian Haidar this wedding will have you at hello and hold your hand right through I-Do. Just make sure to take some time to pore through the galleries!
From the bride…Though I grew up across the Hudson, Dave and I have chosen to make Manhattan our home together (he is a lifetime New Yorker). We chose the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park for its modern ballroom, delicious cuisine, and excellent service. The hotel’s location also happened to be the perfect setting for one of our themes for the evening, which was emphasizing the our New York/New Jersey background. Our beautiful photographs by Lilian Haidar Photography taken in nearby Battery Park overlook both the skyline of New Jersey and the Statue of Liberty. We continued this theme in our music selection (along with our bridal party, we entered our reception to our band’s rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” and Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind”, which then segued into our first dance to Bruce Springsteen’s “Jersey Girl”) and overnight guest welcome bags (which we filled with our favorite local and homemade goodies).
Our design began with wedding paper by Short Girl Long Name. The gorgeous custom-designed invitations, envelope liners, programs, and escort cards included floral elements and our monogram, which were both repeated elsewhere in our design scheme. As a unique and whimsical touch, I chose to include our deco-style monogram on both my veil and manicure. When looking for color inspiration, we were influenced by the saturated hues of the sunset. The bouquets of our bridesmaids truly “popped” against their champagne-colored dresses, and the contrast had a huge impact in our photographs.
When designing our space, we wanted our guests to feel that they were at an intimate ceremony and then invited to a beautiful dinner party. In a space as large as that of the Ritz Carlton’s ballroom it is no easy task to create a sense of both warmth and formality, all without being stuffy–yet Matthew Robbins and his team truly helped us realize our vision. Our chuppah was lush and overflowing with beautiful florals, and its canopy was draped with the prayer shawls of both our maternal grandfathers–a beautiful reminder of their presence. Luscious floral arrangements on the tables were clustered with candles housed in metallic votives of different shapes and sizes. The hints of gold on the chargers, the silver of the modern table numbers, and the metallic threads running through our linen tablecloths reflected back the warm candlelight.
One of my favorite moments was revealing the surprise groom’s cake. Cake Alchemy shaped the chocolate chip, pretzel, caramel, and Guinness confection into a larger-than-life replica of a hat from Dave’s baseball team. His reaction was truly priceless! Our wedding cake was what I like to call a “naked cake”–delicious cake without the traditional fondant. Along with our central chocolate malt cake, Momofuku also provided a apple pie cake, a dulce de leche cake, and a mint cookies and cream cake. By alternating flavors among the place settings, our guests could share and taste all the different choices.
We were truly thrilled how all of the details came together to create such a wonderful and memorable experience for our wedding day. Our band had our friends and family up and dancing, and guests repeatedly told us that they loved that all generations were on the dance floor the entire night. From searching for inspiration with my sister (who was my maid of honor), to spending the morning with my best girls, to marrying my love and celebrating with all our family and friends, our wedding was the perfect experience of bespoke lush elegance in New York City.
Photography: Lilian Haidar Photography | Floral Design: Matthew Robbins | Wedding Dress: Isaac Mizrahi | Wedding Cake: Momofuku Milk Bar | Ceremony Venue: The Ritz Carlton New York, Battery Park | Reception Venue: The Ritz Carlton New York, Battery Park | Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale | Make-Up: Laura Mitchell Makeup | Hair: Styles On B | Band: Totally Live LLC | Groom's Attire: Martin Greenfield | Officiant: Rabbi Michael Freidman | Bridal Belt: Millie Icaro | Bridal Shoes: Chanel | Groom's Cake: Cake Alchemy | Groomsmen's Gift: Hammer On Steel | Manicure: Nail Sakura | Second Photographer: Photo DH | Veil: Timeless Weddings | Wedding Paper: Short Girl Long Name