I’ll admit I’m not exactly the spontaneous type. I like plans. But reading about this couple, Ms. Australia and her handsome groom, traveling across the world for a surprise elopement in NYC, made me think I need to be a bit more adventurous. If the pure joy on their faces is any proof, then it’s worth it. Raquel Reis captured every NYC moment in this gallery and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the week.
From The Bride… New York has always been one of our favorite cities and a great inspiration to choose the city was it also being home to the number one restaurant in the United States, Eleven Madison Park. I have a Masters Degree in Gastronomy and as a TV Presenter specializing in food and wine, I have had the privilege to travel the world in my career and with my wonderful husband to see and experience some of the most amazing restaurants, wineries and produce markets in the world. Ross and I love food and wine, so when it came to making our decision – the first element of our wedding in the United States that I booked was Eleven Madison – the private dining room for our black-tie wedding.
Leading up to our wedding, like many brides, I had been planning and finalizing our wedding for the best part of a year – but here in Australia! We had three months until our initial wedding date when Ross and I just looked at each other and said “What are we doing?” Like many (or from what I hear nearly every!) wedding, ours had started to snowball with our venue in Australia proving close to impossible to make our dream day come true so we made the decision to elope and to one of our favorite cities, New York!
Being summer in Australia and winter (with snow) in New York – this took some tweaking of the creation of my wedding gown – I actually decided to completely change the entire design of my haute couture gown by amazing designer Paolo Sebastian – from strapless, princess-style, to a more classic and elegant style – featuring made-to-order hand sewn French lace from Princess Kate Middleton’s lacemaker for my bodice and long sleeves with an ivory silk georgette skirt and train. An elegant matching cashmere cape was also created featuring the special lace to complement my gown as we had envisaged the weather to be cold – but were thrilled to enjoy the hottest day ever recorded in December in New York with 22’C!
Once we had chosen New York and Eleven Madison, we chose our hotel – The NoMad, what a gorgeous boutique hotel! We decided to marry on the rooftop in the stunning marquee with beautiful hanging chandeliers, the iconic New York skyline as our backdrop with the historic Cupola Dome and a string quartet playing as I walked down the aisle with my dad to marry my handsome groom. In choosing to elope, we decided to invite only a small party with our male guests looking very dapper in their black bow-ties and the ladies very elegant in black with a touch of red – which I tied in with our stunning classic red roses theme – my bouquet, miniature red rose wrist corsage for the ladies and red rose lapel for the gents.
Creating a vision board of our theme really helped to convey and share our dream styling with all our wonderful service providers – from our Ron Ben-Israel stunning white and gold monogram tiered wedding cake with red sugar roses topper, to our beautiful photographs from Raquel Reis Photography and wonderful film by Joseph Edwards Films. The team at Eleven Madison and The NoMad were also exceptional – such amazing attention to detail and all so genuinely lovely. Special touches also included the gorgeous miniature ring cushion my mum made for us, featuring lace from my wedding gown.
It was a special moment walking down the aisle with my dad to marry my groom, church bells started chiming from all around Manhattan, very, very special and one of those signs you know that you are in the right place at the right time. Marrying my wonderful husband and best friend.
Photography: Raquel Reis | Videographer: Joseph Edwards Films | Floral Design: Ovando | Wedding Cake: Ron Ben-Israel Cakes | Ceremony Venue: The NoMad Hotel | Reception Venue: Eleven Madison Park | Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Celebrant: A New York City Wedding by Rev. Will | String Quartet: Art Strings | Bride's Gown: Paolo Sebastian