True story: my fantasy New York wedding – everyone has one – would look exactly like this. A little bit classic and a little bit modern, with pops of black and white stripes all over. Maggie Harkov captured this NYC love affair in gorgeous, light-filled fashion and I’m 1000% certain you’ll heart it too.
From the Bride… September 28th, 2013 was a dream. I know I’m biased, but months later as I write this, that’s still how it feels! Tim and I’s relationship began almost a decade ago while we were in college at Fairfield University. While we had known each other for over a year, our story started our sophomore year when we were at an upperclassman party at the beach. The party was overly crowded, and I had a pair of sunglasses on top of my head holding my hair back.
Out of nowhere, someone from the crowd lifted my sunglasses from atop my head and ran off. Tim was across the room and saw this, and tried to make his way across the party in time to help. Of course, by the time he got there the thief was long gone, but that was ok, it got my future husband and I talking. It was the catalyst that started our story (totally worth losing the pair of sunglasses for). A story that I wouldn’t trade for any other, beautiful in both its perfections and its imperfections, it’s ours, it’s still unfolding after all these amazing years, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
When planning our wedding, the location wasn’t even a question- New York City. Besides it being our favorite city in the world, it holds special significance to our relationship. It’s the place that reunited us after Tim completed a long two and half year Peace Corps service in Africa. It’s the place Tim moved to in order to be with me. It’s the place where I would (and continue to) fall in love with Tim over, and over, and over again. It’s the place where we moved into our first home together (and still call home). It’s the place where Tim proposed, and it’s without a doubt the place where we wanted our future and lives together as Mr. & Mrs. to begin.
Being an event planner and marketer by nature (and by profession), I know that the importance of details. When planning our wedding, every single element was hand chosen and selected to bring our vision to a reality and to make our wedding uniquely ours. My personal style (whether it be fashion, décor, etc) has always been timeless, classic, and with a modern twist. This is exactly what we envisioned for our wedding, along with special touches to make the day inimitable.
Our ceremony took place at the most beautiful, intimate, and charming church on the Upper East Side, The Church of Saint Thomas More. It’s an idyllic setting and a natural choice as my parents were married there, and it meant the world to me to have my father walk me down the same aisle 41 years later.
For our reception, well, I have to admit, I’ve always had my eye on The Foundry. What’s not to love? It has beautiful architectural, industrial, and historical elements coupled with softer details like exposed brick, ivy covered walls, and a garden atmosphere. It was our first choice. I love a good wedding tent, and in New York City, that can be quite hard to find! The Foundry courtyard allowed us to have a whimsical, intimate dinner under a tent I designed, with our closest friends and family, and then transition into the warm and inviting indoor space to party the night away! No detail was left unturned.
From the custom black and white stripe napkins, table numbers that indicated special places, elements, and times in our relationship, his and hers beer buckets filled with our favorite beer, a groom’s cake in the shape of Tim’s football jersey, a custom-tailored musical set list (played by an amazing band), two golden stags perched on the top of our wedding cake (representing our college mascot), all the way to the DIY black and white stripe pillows that adorned the interior space, tying the outdoor and interior décor together. These are just a few of the many details and personal elements that surrounded us, the most important of all being our family and friends.
The day, and the space, was truly ours. Like I said before, it was a dream. I sometimes still can’t believe it all happened. We are so loved, and so darn lucky.
DIY items or family heirlooms: Grandmother’s cameo and lace from mother’s wedding dress placed on bride’s bouquet, DIY black and white stripe pillows, custom black and white stripe napkins, Groom’s cufflinks belonged to his late Uncle.
Photographer: Maggie Harkov | Videographer: Well Spun Wedding Films | Wedding Planner: Meg Savage | Flowers: Melarosa Inc. | Wedding Dress: Reem Acra | Cake: Front Street Bakery | Stationery: Cheree Berry Paper | Church: Church Of St. Thomas More | Reception: The Foundry | Shoes: Stuart Weitzmen | Jewelry: Custom | Bridesmaids Dresses: Hand Selected For Each Bridesmaid | Catering: Great Performances | Make-up: Lindsey Jones Makeup Artistry | Hair: Styles On B | Calligraphy: Papertopias | Band: Elan Artists | Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss | Hotel: The Surrey Hotel | Furniture Rental: Patina | Groom's Tie: Ralph Lauren
