A Classic Wedding at The Breakers Palm Beach with an Old-World European Feel

Lauren Megerdichian
March 30, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance
Tags: Southeast Venues

Not only is this classic wedding incredibly gorgeous and complete with an old-world European feel, it’s also filled with the most thoughtful, sentimental details incorporated throughout the day. With a little help from Carrie Zack Events, this stunning bride personalized her wedding in just about every way you could possibly imagine. From a venue that’s near and dear to her heart, to the addition of Italian ruscus in her floral arrangements as a nod to her roots, to sewn in pearls from her mother’s wedding gown in the sleeves of her dress. We are beyond blown away by the sheer beauty and precious details of this timeless affair. See it all captured by Lance Nicoll Wedding Photography below!

From the Bride… Chris has spent a lot of time traveling the world for work. He worked in a private equity firm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for three years. Prior to meeting me, he moved back to West Palm Beach FL to be closer to his family in Vero Beach FL and to take a job opportunity in Palm Beach. I had been living in Europe and working in the fashion industry as a model. I decided to move back to West Palm Beach to finish my degree, and that is when Chris and I met. Chris and I met 4th of July weekend three years ago during a sunset cruise for my friend’s birthday. Chris later asked our mutual friend, “Can you please help me ‘run’ into her again?”. Luckily the next day, our mutual friend coordinated a firework viewing party at their house where Chris and I were able to exchange numbers. The venue we chose for our wedding has always held a special place in my heart. Growing up, my family would vacation at The Breakers so the property is filled with all these precious memories that I hold so close to my heart. As a little girl, I can remember feeling awe struck at the all the history it’s gorgeous gilded-age walls hold. Getting married at The Breakers was like a dream come true! Walking down its beautiful hallways as a little girl with my dad was always a favorite memory of mine.

Chris and I love to travel. Our wedding was inspired by the travels we shared together. Chris had proposed at St. Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall England — a beautiful hilltop, castle on a tidal island on the Cornish coast. It was important to us for our wedding to feel timeless and classic with an old-world European romantic feel. That is why we chose white florals with a hint of fresh summer greens that featured Italian ruscus — (a shout out to my Italian-family roots that Jennifer from our floral and design team thoughtfully picked out). I also wanted all my sweet angelic bridesmaids in white. Their dresses featured classic lines with a gorgeous cowl back that felt timeliness and feminine to me. I really wanted the gilded age, baroque architectural features of the reception ballroom to stand out. We choose decor to highlight these features that kept with the old world setting. We used crystal candelabras and place hundreds of candles in the sills of the 12 arched floor to ceiling windows that encircles the ballroom. This made the amber wash light bounce and glisten all over the room highlighting the already opulent space. All the candle light was very romantic and soft. I worked very closely with my friend Siuleth at Eleven Note to create our invitation suite. For me, all the little details are what make an event amazing. So, having a hand crafted invitation set the tone for our elegant old-world European feel. Siuleth watercolored the iconic front of The Breakers for the invitation liner. Featuring the historic property in the invitation gave the guest a sense of what was to come

Siuleth also designed a custom chocolate bar wrapper that featured all the wedding weekend details and a personalized “thank you letter” from Chris and me. We paired the custom chocolate bar with bottle of Champagne for our welcome gift for the guests. To keep with our timeless and elegant feel, a harpist and violinist welcome ours guests to our ceremony which was held in a historic church that my family has been going to for generations. My bouquet was designed after my best friend/grandmother’s (Mimi). I love how elegant cascading bouquets are. Having mine designed after Mimi’s was a special way to honor her presence since she is no longer with us. My mom also had Mimi’s engagement diamond set in a necklace for me to have her “close to my heart” on my wedding day. Our floral designer use a mini Calla Lily for Chris’ boutonnière, which was what my parents choose for their wedding florals. So sweet! My dress was designed by Zuhair Murad. It was important to me for it to feel feminine, classic, but with a modern-twist which Murad is a master at! I had previously worn a dress by him for a fashion shoot and knew I had to get married in one of his designs. It was important to me to be able to wear the dress both at the ceremony and reception (since it is such a special day!), the slip that gave the bodice it’s structure during the ceremony actually slides out so it revealed a little more skin for the party and was easier to move it for all the dancing that followed. During the fitting, we had pearls from my Mom’s wedding dress sown into the sleeve (wrist area) so I could see a special piece (something borrowed) of my mother’s as I was holding my bouquet down the aisle. My mom and I are very sentimental, she gave me a beautiful “wish box” after she helped me get into my wedding dress. The box had all these wonderful hard-written wedding ‘wishes’ on heart shaped notes that she had collected from my closest family members and friends. It totally melted my heart!! Love her so much. A true treasure! We also loved adding little sentimental touches anywhere we could, I had a custom lucite clutch made with J + C and Stuart Weitzman J and C shoe clips to wear on the big day!

The cake was one of the first things guests saw once they entered the ballroom. I wanted it to be a focal point of the room and to mirror the center pieces we had. It had to be a piece of art all to its own. We had our recurring J + C placed one of the top tiers in gold script and each of the 6 tiers was separated by a layer of luscious florals. It really drew a lot of attention. Since it was a summer wedding, we choose light and refreshing flavors, lemon cake with lemon mouse and fresh raspberry filling. At the end of the night, we offered our cake in “To-Go” favor boxes that read “Midnight Snack #SladeGetsJade” since The Breakers is known for their OTT desserts, after the main course, The Breakers Signature Mini Martini Sundaes was presented to each guest. It had Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Haagen Dazs IceCream, Chambord Macerated Berries 3 Chocolate Fluted Cups with Toppings (M&M’s, Reese’s Cups and Candied Almonds) and a Milk Chocolate Heart that Read, “Christopher loves Jade” in a bed of White Rock Sugar with Butler Passed Hot Fudge and Caramel Sauce. It added a fun and whimsical element to all the classic and elegant vibes of the night. Plus, who does not like ice cream sundaes in the summer! After all the guests entered the reception ballroom after the cocktail hour and got situation, Chris and I made a grand entrance and were escorted by a champagne parade with sparklers. It was the grand entrance of a lifetime! We went right into our first dance, Chris and I were choose “Color of Love” by Sade. The lyrics felt perfect for us and Sade is so chic! We also had a Bride and Groom signature cocktail called “The Slade” that was a rift on a Paloma garnished with an orchid (perfect for summer!). At about 11:00pm we had

“Cheeseburgers in Paradise”butler passed around the reception room and dance floor as a “late-night” bite. Everyone loved them! The planning process was one of my favorite parts! My mom and dad were so sweet and involved every step of the way. They are huge dancers and love music so they were tasked with finding the best band. They choose The Social, a 12 piece show band, which was a huge hit! They are an incredible show band and entertain like no other, we danced all night long! The girls even did a outfit change after dinner into these stunning gold lame jumpsuits. So fantastic, everyone loved it!! It was wonderful to have all my parents support and to share the planning process with them- such a special time for us all. We had an incredible team and The Breakers is beyond flawless to work with. They not only know how to make a wedding day beyond spectacular for the bride and groom but also for all the family and guests too! We really wish we could relive our wedding day, it was perfect, timeless and beyond what we could have imagined!