Dancing Under Spring Blooms in a Pastel Palette!

Intimate, secret garden party! The bride wanted a statement wow factor over the dance floor! Lots of delicate florals, romantic lighting, soft draping, and pastels to compliment the spring season.

Ray asked me to marry him on August 9th, 2021 in Montauk, New York on a cliff side with the Montauk Point Lighthouse in the background. It is commonly known by the nickname “the end of the world”. We had been long distance in the beginning of our relationship and I moved to a new city twice to be with Ray, so when he asked he said he knew he wanted to ask me at the end of the world because I had been all over the world for him (the tears were flowing). He surprised me by acting like we could go take a nice photo on the tripod before dinner (known fact about Ray, he always hated taking pics on vacation so I was jumping at this opportunity). I was so worried about the tripod and making sure we got the right angle he finally had to tell me who cares about the tripod haha. He had a photographer hiding out nearby who shot the entire proposal!

My wedding dress designer was Berta and it was a fit and flare style. I had a girls weekend with my MOH, mom, and aunt shopping. We went to three bridal boutiques, but I had already been drawn to Israelis designers like Berta when searching for inspo. It was the last boutique when I found the one. I knew it was the one because it had the dramatic back I was looking for and the wow factor that Ray expressed he imagined me in. I loved that it was a nude/blush because I felt it made my complexion look amazing and was different! Reception outfit change: I was dying for a high neck low back for my after party dress (love the dramatic backs) and the brand Retrofete delivered! I loved that it was fully beaded because it still differentiated me from my bridesmaids who wore white! I went with a slicked back pony so it would showcase the high neck and low back! I had the most fun changing my dress and hairstyle with the help of my new husband. Such a fun moment we will always remember!

I chose Jenny Yoo dresses from the “little white” section. I gave my girls freedom to choose what style they wanted because I wanted them to feel beautiful and confident! I chose white bale cause my dress was a nude/blush under with white appliqué. Their white dresses really made my dress pop! And my colorful pastel flowers were able to SHINE against the white dresses as well!

The Groom and all the groomsmen wore tuxes from OMJ clothing. While the groomsmen wore classic black and white, the groom sported a navy tux jacket with their black pants. All the men were gifted a Brackish bowtie to wear by the groom. One of the sweetest details to Ray’s wedding attire, in addition to the wedding date embroidered into the collar of his jacket, was his strawberry cufflinks; a nod to their first dance song ‘Strawberry’ by CAAMP.

Salthouse Catering created a southern focused menu with the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced locally accompanied with a spicy margarita and an old fashioned as their specialty drinks to start the evening! Each seat at the head table had their own personalized menus on their place setting, complete with their personalized menu for the evening.

The tables were set with a white eyelet linen, a powder blue napkin, and floral vellum menu at each setting. The fountain was dripping in floral for the ceremony. Large floral structure over the dance floor with crystal chandeliers. Flora focused on lush springtime tones like blush, soft peach, buttery yellows and white using blooms like peonies, garden roses, butterfly ranunculus, sweet pea, grand pastel ranunculus, stock, campanula, delphinium and larkspur. Flora wanted to create a design that fit the venue and felt as if they were almost an existing fixture of the gardens onsite. The large hanging installation over the dance floor featured over 600 stems of lush linear blooms hanging from a 10x10 foot frame with chandeliers suspended throughout creating an inverted meadow of blooms and cascading greenery—truly a statement-maker! Nina chose to have only white and ivory blooms in her bouquet to keep her bridal look a bit more neutral and classic, but her bouquet still had plenty of dimension and texture and included many of the same variety of blooms used elsewhere in the overall design.

The bride and groom did a small cutting cake, and a gelato cart for their guests to enjoy as the main dessert! The Flowerchild cake design was mimicked off of the delicate floral design on their charger at each place setting. The flavor of the cake was Chocolate Irish Coffee.

Ceremony music was played by Classical Charleston. The Bridal party enters the ceremony to “Bittersweet Symphony” The Verve The Bride processional to “Canon in D” Recessional to “Don’t Stop Believing” As everyone stood, clapped, and cheered the bride and groom were announced onto the dance floor as “Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Johnson” to “Summer” by Calvin Harris. Their first dance was so romantic with the sun pouring through their clear top tent to “Strawberry” CAAMP. The groom's cufflinks were personalized with a stamp of a strawberry as a nod to their first dance song.

Their primary wedding colors were soft spring pastels, blush, white, pale peach, light blue and pops of soft yellows. These colors were incorporated into all the various details: their custom invitation suite by Studio R, the seating chart, personalized menus for every guest at the head table, their custom bar, and even the hand-sewn handkerchiefs (by the bride herself) gifted to her mom & new mother-in-law.

Her reception outfit change was just as good, she said "I was dying for a high neck low back for my after party dress (love the dramatic backs) and the brand Retrofete delivered! I loved that it was fully beaded because it still differentiated me from my bridesmaids who wore white! I went with a slicked back pony so it would showcase the high neck and low back! I had the most fun changing my dress and hairstyle with the help of my new husband. Such a fun moment we will always remember! “.

The couple, along with family & friends, danced the night away until heading to their private afterparty. They rented out an historic Charleston jazz and funk club, The Commodore, to keep the party going! Upon arrival guests were greeted with awesome live music and (multiple) boxes of pizza for a late night treat! Nina and her friends went to Ireland for her bachelorette party and they all brought their personalized green velour jumpsuits and matching hats to party in. Needless, to say they were great was to let loose at the end of the night!