If real weddings won medals, this one would undoubtedly snag the gold for chicness. With layers upon layers of thoughtfully designed style and Masi Events, Thierry Isambert Culinary + Event Design, Unearthed Vintage and Jarrell Entertainment working their magic behind the scenes, there’s no denying this day is one for the books. Kat Braman photographed, and the fun is only just getting started.
From the Bride… We always knew we wanted our wedding to be outdoors and we wanted the reception to be one big fancy-dress dinner party with delicious food, free-flowing wine, and all night dancing.
The overall vision changed dramatically as we started out planning an October wedding in the Hudson Valley, which meant cool weather and warm fall colors. But we ended up wanting more of a warm weather destination feel and Miami is still hot and gorgeous in October. Carlos spent several years in Miami for his residency and still has great friends there. We went there together on our first weekend getaway, and try to go back at least once or twice a year. So it’s come to be a special place for both of us. And who doesn’t love a weekend in Miami?!
Stylistically I wanted to approach it the same way I would an interiors project – lots of small thoughtful details and layers that in the big picture added up to feel harmonious, striking a fine balance between an elegant black tie wedding and a good old fashioned throw down! Carlos and I love to throw parties and entertain our friends and family, so it was very important to us that the evening encapsulated that same sense of intimacy you would feel in our home.
Because the Deering Estate is such a spectacular setting, both indoors and outdoors, we let it do most of the work and kept the color palette and decorations very neutral and unobtrusive. My bridesmaids were super chic in a variety of black dresses and a jumpsuit, and the flowers were a flawless mix of whites, ivory and greenery. I spent hours and hours putting together inspiration boards for each aspect of the evening and my amazing team of vendors ran with it! They captured all the subtle nuances I was looking for and the night came together beautifully.
Our photographer, Kat Braman, was beyond words. We had already spent a weekend with her in New York taking photos at our home upstate and around Brooklyn. So we were really comfortable with her on the day of and felt confident that she would capture the essence of the celebration on film. And she did a fantastic job! We couldn’t have asked for better photos.
The entire weekend was filled with lots of little moments that meant so much to each of us. We both wanted live music for the ceremony and the cocktail hour. I grew up playing the cello and still think it’s the most beautiful sound in the world so that was a necessary for the ceremony. For the cocktail hour, we wanted something jazzy and loose. In came Chad Bernstein to the rescue. He’s a local musician (who also runs an amazing non-profit called Guitars Over Guns) that was recommended to me by a vendor. He put together a trio for the ceremony including himself on trombone, a cellist and a guitar and created a custom arrangement our music selections.
Carlos makes world-famous empanadas so we wanted to send everyone off at the end of the night with one of our favorite treats for the bus ride back to the beach. We ordered them from a local Argentine restaurant and they were delicious. Not as good as Carlos’ but a close second!
My maid of honor’s father officiated our wedding. We’ve known him for years and it was so special to have both of them standing up with us. I put the transcript for the ceremony and our vows into this lovely musical composition notebook and also used it as the guest book for the reception. In the back of it, I’ve saved lots of little mementos from the weekend so now we have one big scrapbook full of well-wishes and love, and lots of happy little reminders.
My father is a loquacious man, so we knew his welcome toast would be something to remember. But he surprised even me, bringing out a book I’d written in elementary school as a Father’s Day gift, listing all the things I liked about him, complete with illustrations. It was so sweet and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Then 10 minutes later I literally had to get up and remove the mic from him his hands. I don’t think anyone will forget that moment!
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My biggest piece of advice to other brides is if you don’t hire a videographer, ask someone to record the ceremony! I was having such an out-of-body experience during the ceremony, I didn’t even hear the music as I was walking to meet Carlos. All of our friends kept saying how beautiful the music was and I totally missed it! I would also love to be able to hear us saying our vows to each other again – we wrote our own and would love to relive that moment. That was, after all, what the entire day was about!
Photography: Kat Braman | Event Coordination: Masi Events | Event Planning : Masi Events | Wedding Dress: J. Mendel | Wedding Cake: Earth And Sugar | Invitations: Paperless Post | Bride's Shoes: Stuart Weitzmen | Rings: Vale Jewelry | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Elie Tahari | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Shakuhachi | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Self Portrait Studio - Azaelea Red Dress | Catering: Thierry Isambert Culinary + Event Design | Hair and Makeup: Carolyn Jones Makeup | Lighting: Illumene | DJ: Jarrell Entertainment | Favors: Catalina's Bake Shop | Groom's Attire: Seize Sur Vingt | Venue: Deering Estate | Bridal Shop: Bergdorf Goodman | Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Musician: Chad Bernstein | Film Processing: State Film Lab | Florals + Design: Julia Rohde Designs | Getting Ready: The Edition Miami Beach | Rentals: Unearthed Vintage | Veil: Tia Mazza