Black Tie NYC Wedding at the Harvard Club

Abby Capalbo
March 24, 2015
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance
Tags: Bouquets, Candles, Desserts

It doesn’t get more timeless than a traditional black tie affair like this NYC beauty at the Harvard Club captured by Ulysses Photography. Complete with breathtaking florals from Ariston Florist every detail is absolutely perfection, and this gallery proves yet again that classic weddings will always be in. See even more here.

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From The Bride…I have dreamed of the perfect over-the-top New York City Wedding all my life. Since my parents were married in Manhattan 30 years ago, I always knew my home of NYC was the place for me to throw the party of lifetime. In the early planning stages, I wanted to create a formal black tie affair that was classic, decadent and romantic. Although the overall wedding theme was classic and sophisticated, I envisioned the night’s festivities eventually escalating into a Great Gatsby type of extravaganza: incredible music with wild dancing, endless cocktails and culinary delights, and of course a few fun surprises throughout the evening. We were married at St. Thomas of Fifth Avenue. During the ceremony we had over a dozen members of the famous Men’s Choir sing some of our favorite hymns for us; the cathedral space filled with angelic music made the exchange of vows feel incredibly spiritual. I wore a custom couture gown designed by Kim Hicks, a creative genius who brought to life my vision and dream – a modern interpretation of the “Grace Kelly” gown. As they left the church, guests were given white balloons and customized maps of Manhattan. When we exited, crowds of guests (and even hundreds of curious bystanders) lined all of Fifth Avenue to see the spectacle. White rose petals were tossed, and guests cheered and then paraded down midtown Manhattan toward the Harvard Club. You could see the pearl white balloons all down Fifth Avenue. After looking at every major hotel and private club in the city, I loved the Harvard Club because of its exclusivity, history and charm. As an active member and young ambassador of the club, I have always felt that the space is very masculine yet rich in character. I wanted to romanticize and feminize the club by filling the rooms with warm tones of light, white flowers, and personalized touches throughout. “Why have a Manhattan when you can try a Ladyhattan” were the words of encouragement for guests to try something different, the signature drink boasting my nickname – Ladyhattan. Guests entered the dining room with great surprise at the dramatic table décor – customized gold boxes filled with champagne truffles and hand calligraphy menus at each place setting. Guests were further stunned by the presence of a commissioned artist at the front of the dance floor, capturing the scene by painting on a large canvas. My husband and I walked out to the song “Empire State of Mind” and began our first dance. Immediately afterward, we encouraged guests to join us on the dance floor with some rowdier party music and people went crazy – in a good way! At that moment, the celebration had officially commenced and it felt like experiencing the aerial scene from the movie Great Gatsby when people are dancing, drinking and confetti is flying in the air. Later in the evening, I changed into a sexier black-white gown to match the black gowns of my bridesmaids. We entered the ballroom to the song “All the Single Ladies” and guests were given fun custom party glasses. For the grand finale of the three course meal, two different plated desserts were served along with red velvet wedding cake and passed treats on the dance floor including my personal favorite, mini ice cream cones! The projects that I created myself ended up being some of the most raved elements of the evening. On the guest book and card box table, I placed several vintage gold picture frames with old family photographs surrounded by candles. People really enjoyed seeing old pictures of grandparents being married or even posing with President JFK. Another fun table that I created was the Halloween themed candy buffet. Since our wedding was right around the corner from one of my favorite holidays – Halloween – I filled glass jars with orange Halloween candies. Beside the jars, I created custom goody bags that said “Trick or TERIK Treat, thank you for being sweet!” The joke was that our names – Tara/Erik – create the catchphrase TERIK. I am a people person – I love people! So choosing the people I was going to be working with closely for this important life event was an important process. Several of the companies I chose to work with were actually “husband and wife” teams which I absolutely LOVED! My photographers, Ulysses Photography, were the most incredible pair of people I could have ever asked to share every intimate second of the experience with – their kindness, flexibility and passion for what they do is contagious to everyone around them. Our “day of the wedding planner” and photo booth operator were another stellar husband/wife team, as was the videography company we worked with.