This Couple Brought Romantic French Chateau Vibes To Their New York Wedding

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April 22, 2024

The Planning

Design / Vibe / Vision

The vibe was a Romantic/Modern French Chateau wedding. "We started our love story while studying abroad in college and traveling to Paris for a weekend trip, and made several trips back to France for vacations, and ultimately while getting engaged, so the mutual love and connection to the beautiful country, it's gorgeous gardens and chateaus inspired our venue and many of the course elements of our wedding"

Proposal Story

"To celebrate our 5 year anniversary, and both of our completion of graduate programs and the end of many years of long distance following undergrad, we traveled to Paris, one of our favorite places. While there, we visited the Château de Chantilly in the idyllic Chantilly region - where everywhere seemed to smell of fresh roses. Marc proposed in front of the castle, which was followed by a surprise engagement shoot all around the beautiful grounds. Afterwards, we trained back to the city and spent the afternoon and evening in romantic Montmartre visiting the love wall, eating french fries and drinking champagne all while Facetiming excited family members and friends and capping off the night by adding our lock to the love fence in front of Sacre-Coeur."

Getting Ready

Bridal Portraits

Flat Lays

First Look

The Fashion

Wedding Gown

"My wedding dress perfectly combined the timeless a-line silhouette I always envisioned with modern elements like sheer and embroidered detailing along portions of the corset and a custom neckline that was created to achieve the sweetheart, strapless style that felt the most akin with my vision."

Wedding Party

Ceremony

The Details

Food & Drink

"Our menu was designed with an homage to some of our favorite meals and cuisines. Our cocktail hour allowed us to bring in variety, which is something we incorporate into our daily life (always searching for new recipes, restaurants, etc.), while our main appetizer and entree options represented some of our favorite meals to eat on special occasions (short ribs, french cut chicken, risotto)."

Florals & Decor

"The vision for our flowers was inspired by romantic and organic floral arrangements that would accentuate/compliment the already very present beauty and grandeur of our venue without trying to overpower it. With this in mind we kept our color scheme to muted accent colors of champagne, peach, white and greens that built on the existing ivy and sandstone colors around OHEKA CASTLE. We also wanted florals that highlighted each section of the venue like flowers and greenery weaving through the railing of the grand staircase entryway, a stunning arch framing our garden ceremony, and tall table arrangements drawing your view to the beautifully tall ceilings in the ballroom area."

Wedding Cake

"Our wedding also featured an entire desert room that in addition to featuring the stunning, elegant and yet minimalistic wedding cake that Daniel created. We also included a flambe station, patisserie goods, a shoe-bun tower and more."

Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs

"We each prepared our own vows, and both agree that this was the most special moment in the entire wedding. What started out as a nerve-wracking proposition (having to share some of your most intimate thoughts with all of your closest friends and family) is something we both found to be the most powerful and connecting experience in our wedding. " "We had a special signing of our marriage license during the reception. We were lucky enough to have one of our closest friends officiate our wedding and when we got to get together in a room with him, my sister (MOH) and Marc's brother (Best Man) to finally concretize the marriage it was a joyous, hilarious, laughter filled moment that we will never forget."

Special Detail #1

"One personal touch we particularly loved incorporating during our wedding was using watercolors of places we had traveled to together as a couple as our table numbers instead of traditional numbers. Travel has been a big part of our relationship and it was such a special touch to be able to seat our loved ones at some of our favorite places."

Special Detail #2

One part of the day that was especially meaningful to Marc and Becca were their portraits in the garden. Becca says, "The garden at OHEKA CASTLE is particularly special to Marc and I because we went out to dinner at Oheka and walked around the gardens the final night before starting our 5 year long distance journey during graduate school. The gardens are where we decided to commit and put in an incredible amount of effort and time to make a relationship work across multiple states." The couple worked with photographer Katie Trauffer Photography to maximize time and locations throughout the magnificent gardens on their wedding day and to take portraits that would capture their love and joy artistically, authentically, and timelessly.

Special Detail #3

Though all of the dancing was incredibly fun, especially moments like being hoisted up in chairs by our closest friends, and screaming some of our favorite songs on a packed dance floor, the final dance of the night was just the two of us and it allowed us to relish in all the beauty and love that filled the day while remembering it was about us two, our connection and our enduring love.

Couple Portraits