New York Weddings

We have ANOTHER lovely New York wedding for you but this one is more of a classic take on the wedding day. Sent to us by the dynamic duo, The Nichols, (LOVE them) this reads like a classic New York movie…opening with the Plaza Hotel, moving on to a few scene stealing moments at Central Park and finally ALL OUT gorgeousness at a historic waterfront house in Westchester County. And don’t even get us started on the dress that the starlet Bride is wearing. Knock you out of your chair stunning and paired so perfectly with dreamy florals by Denise Fasanello Floral Design. This is a lesson in perfection if you ask us. See all of the pretty in one place, here.

Find more perfect New York details in the gallery!

Words of wisdom from Jessica, the Bride:

When Scott and I started planning our wedding, we didn’t know what we wanted it to look like or what our color palette or theme would be, but we did know how we wanted the day to feel to ourselves and our guests: relaxed, fun and full of love. And that’s exactly how it turned out, thanks to our incredible family and friends and the few amazing vendors we chose. We had an intimate summer wedding at a historic waterfront house in Westchester County, New York. We wanted a location that was far removed from the hustle and bustle of NYC, but close enough to have wedding pictures taken in the city where we met and now call home. Despite the many logistical challenges this presented, it was really the best of both worlds for us. The vision for our day started to take shape as soon as we found our venue, and we set out to create a timeless, romantic backyard garden soiree. For our centerpieces, we chose mercury glass vases filled with soft garden roses, dusty miller, and flowers that felt fresh-picked. We surrounded the floral arrangements with crystal candlestick holders, on top of which we super-glued matching crystal votives instead of candlesticks so we could abide by the venue’s “no open fire” rule! As a nod to our city, we served Manhattans as a signature drink, along with French 75’s to reflect the French chateau our venue was modeled after. We were very budget-conscious, so we did as much as we could on our own or with help from friends. My colleague helped design and print all of our stationery, my cousin handmade bridesmaids accessories, a dear family friend put all the decorations in place the day of the wedding, and another friend drove us away in his antique car following our sparkler sendoff.

Without a doubt, our favorite detail was our favors. Scott proposed to me on a chocolate cake (clearly the man knows the key to my heart!), so we thought long and hard about how to incorporate our engagement story into our wedding. Finally one morning, the idea came to me to send our guests off with “Will You Marry Me Cake” favors — mason jars filled with the cake ingredients, and our “Recipe for Eternal Bliss.”

Aside from the well-documented advice (be present and savor every moment, EAT!) and the controversial advice (do a first look), my best advice for future brides is: 1) trust your instincts, and 2) surround yourself with vendors who you’d enjoy being with on and before the most whirlwind, joyful day of your life. Choosing our photographers was one of the first decisions we made, and it was clearly one of the best. The Nichols are an AMAZING husband & wife team, and we were blown away by how beautifully they captured the memories of our day. We lucked out with our DJ as well — he had all of our guests up and dancing all night long. But it was a moment of despair that led me to my wedding fairy godmother. Immediately after I purchased my wedding dress, I had second thoughts. Doubts turned to dread and when the dress came in, I knew it wasn’t “the one.” Despite everyone’s best efforts to reassure me, I set out to find a solution and found it in Sam Walls Beasley, the incredibly talented and sweet dress designer behind Samuelle Couture. We spent countless hours together as she transformed my dress into sheer gorgeousness, right up until two days before the wedding! Most importantly, remember that on the other side of the wedding is your marriage, which is even more beautiful than the prettiest of weddings. Happy planning!

** For all of you that are DYING over the wedding dress as much as we are, you are in luck. Jessica is selling that gauzy piece of gorgeousness for another beautiful bride to enjoy. You can find all of the details here.

Photography: The Nichols / Personal Flowers: Denise Fasanello Floral Design / Ceremony & Reception Flowers: Perry Shuler / DJ and Lighting: Harborside Productions / Makeup: Nam Vo / Venue: The Wainwright / Catering and Cake: Cornerstone Caterers / Videographer: Magic Flute / Dress: Samuelle Couture / Groom’s suit: Michael Andrews Bespoke / Bridesmaid’s dresses: Jenny Yoo / Groomsmen Suits: Indochino / Bride’s Hairpiece: Bride’s Hair Revisited / Calligraphy: eDanae / Officiant: Sarah Ritchie

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Bridesmaid

Jenny Yoo

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Good morning, lovelies! I hope that you are all rested, relaxed and ready to dive back into wedding planning bliss. We are kicking off the day with the prettiest of pretty wedding, styled beautifully with a modern, completely chic hand by the talented team at Hatch Creative Studio. It’s one of those weddings that might make you re-think every wedding decision you’ve made thus far and hop right on the modern train. Plus, it’s filled to the brim with super cool details that give the guests a window into the couple’s personality. I love, love, love this wedding and give huge props to Hatch for the design concept, to the bride and groom for totally leaving their wedding mark and to Maggie Harkov for snapping some seriously gorgeous pics. Click here to see the full gallery!

click here to see the full gallery!

From the beautiful bride…”They grew up in the same area of northern New Jersey, participated in the same childhood activities, had mutual family friends, spent four years at the same college, which their mothers previously attended at the same time, and even sat in the same lecture hall… What happened? Nothing.” That’s how the Rabbi started his sermon at our wedding, and he pretty much nailed it! There were plenty of perfect opportunities to meet and, as it turns out, Mitch and I didn’t until months after we graduated from college. When we met for the first time, we really hit it off! We got engaged about 2.5 years later and, though we live in Washington, DC, we decided to get hitched in NYC.

We looked at quite a few venues and finally decided on the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue, because it gave us a blank canvas to plan our “modern white wedding”. The hotel had an amazing rooftop suite with an oversize deck and spectacular city views that served as our home away from home for the weekend. We also used the space to host a Friday night dance party, take wedding day portraits and serve our family and friends a New York-style Sunday brunch. It was perfect!

We wanted our ceremony to be simple and romantic. In addition to a live jazz trio, we opted for a long white carpet runner, a birch chuppah covered with white gauze fabric and a sea of hurricane candles. For the reception, Hatch created a modern, minimalist look by pairing square and long tables with white chiavari chairs and linens. The tables were lined with clusters of white orchids, peonies and hydrangea in different vases of varying heights. Moss runners and grass cubes added a pop of color to the room and tons of votive candles gave the space a cozy, amber glow. Framed engagement photos by our fabulous photographer Maggie Harkov were scattered around the room to add to the intimate vibe.

As for the locket…The locket is my mom’s whole family tree, including my grandmother who recently passed away. The gold ring was a gift from my father (who passed away when i was younger) to my mother when they first got engaged. Both mementos were sewn into my dress that morning so that those two  were with me in spirit on our big day.

As any good hostess knows, great food and music are an essential part of the perfect party. The evening’s festivities started with a live performance by Laura Barry of Addax and continued with several amazing sets by DJ Ray Jarrell. Ray suggested that we incorporate a drummer into the mix, which ended up being a huge hit and kept the dance floor packed all night. To continue the white theme, guests sipped white cotton candy cocktails and got a sweet fix from the all-white candy bar. The flavors of New York took center stage during the cocktail hour with mini reubens, kobe beef sliders, mini knishes and mini hot dogs among other hors d’oeuvres. Guests dined on striped bass and filet mignon and ended the evening with delicious cake from Carlo’s Bakery.

The evening went off without a hitch thanks to our fabulous team of vendors and our planner Erin Ax of Erin Ax Events. Our wedding day could not have been more perfect because we were lucky enough to share it with our wonderful family and friends!

Photography: Maggie Harkov Photography / Flowers: Hatch Creative Studio / Event Design: Hatch Creative Studio / Event Planning: Erin Ax Events / Ceremony + Reception Location: W Hotel on Lexington Ave / Invitations: Live. Create. Play. / Shoes: Fillipa Scott / Dress: Melissa Sweet

I am definitely a vintage girl at heart but I can surely appreciate a well executed modern affair and our next wedding in the line-up is just that and oh so much more. It is the essence of urban, modern, lofty glamour and it’s GORG. We are taking a peek inside this NYC wedding through the lens of photographer Michelle Arlotta and there is so, so much more in the gallery. Check out the bright whites and the bold details by clicking right about here.

dying for more of those modern details? See them all here!

Although our family and friends are scattered throughout the US I was set on having our wedding in NYC because I love this city and wanted and modern/urban style wedding. Even though NY is super expensive to have a wedding we saved by doing a lot of research and many things ourselves. We chose Trinity Church being it is a beautiful church built in the 1700s and is in our neighborhood of downtown Manhattan. Upon finding our venue, which is a photo studio loft in Tribeca, I came up with a “home” theme as they have tons of furniture they are willing to let you use for the wedding. Also, since I am in love with graffitti and nyc and they allow you to actually paint the walls we decided to incorporate the city feel throughout the reception as well.

One of our friends mom is an artist and helped us make our wedding unique. She painted a huge “Mr.and Mrs. Kim” canvas which hung in the hallway of the reception and was used as the backdrop for a photobooth where we had props for people to dress up. We bought props at Rickys and I handmade lips, mustaches, eyebrows on a stick. I took photos of graffiti/love images throughout NYC and had them made into postcards which served as the guestbook. The guests would write on the back and place them in the mailbox. There were also grafitti type words painted on the walls “NYC” and “Home Sweet Home” and brightly colored florals in cement containers. The cocktail hour space had 3 piece vintage jazz band supposed to feel like classy street performers. The florist used cement containers of grass and orchids to bring in the urban feel. Our artist painted a NYC skyline on the wall and we projected a slideshow of photos of city/graffiti images I had taken on the wall over the skyline.

Following the cocktail hour we went into the reception room which had different rooms setups including kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. To save money I purchasd all the decor at Tj Maxx, homegoods, century 21, etsy etc. Over the bride and groom table was a “KIM” doily crocheted by my aunt. Over the fireplace were wedding pictures of our parents and grandparents. We had a NY coffee table book and a candy dish with personalized M&M’s. We had an awesome DJ who kept everyone dancing. Being my fiance is Korean I tried to incorporate his some Korean elements by having a korean paper wrapping books on the beside table, korean hand mirror in the bathroom, and jewelry box on the bedside table. We also had Korean wedding bobbleheads top our wedding cake. We had food stations (an asian station and a meat/potatoes type station) allowing guests to mingle,eat and drink and more time for dancing. We had a “homey” desert table with rice crispie treats, choc clip cookies, miniature pies, and they passed out rootbeer float shots.

Photographer: Michelle Arlotta / Assistant Photographer: David Lim / Catering: Sterling Affair / Florist: Carolyn Griesmeyer of Stem NYC / Band: Lapis Luna / DJ: Eric Visa / Venue: Location 05 Studios, Helah Kehati / Artist: Ronna Lebo / Invites and stickers: Kate’s Paperie, Viva Max / Dress: Priscilla of Boston / Shoes: Nine West with Aldo shoe clips

The final engagement session we’re showcasing today is a breathtaking shoot from Melani Lust Photography. We started off the day by saying that the one common denominator in all engagement shoots is the almost palpable love shared between the couple. You can style or dress or prop all you want, but the bottom line is the emotion caught on film that tells the true story …

I have never, ever loved a photograph more than this one of Elizabeth and Leo tenderly holding hands.

Leo proposed to Elizabeth at the Fort Tilden Beach on the Long Island Sound in New York, so we went back to that spot for their engagement shoot. The sunrise light at 6 am provided beautiful atmosphere for the shoot. Leo is an avid photo enthusiast and shutterbug himself, so he brought his large format camera for a stylized shoot with Elizabeth. We look forward to their October wedding at The Society Room in Hartford, CT.

See Elizabeth and Leo’s sensational engagement session from Melani Lust Photography here!

Melani’s Portfolio {here}

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Photography

Melani Lust Photography

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As we wrap up our Real Wedding extravaganza, I thought that we could take a moment and pay homage to the absolute gorgeousness of a classic NYC wedding. So romantic, SO chic. This is another high style kind of wedding, one that won’t fit into many of your budgets…but who cares! Isn’t it fun to just basque in the luxury of it all and admire the serious beauty in all of the perfect photographs. You better believe it’s fun! Click here to see even more from Shawn Connell for Christian Oth, the unbelievably talented photographer behind the affair.

click here to see so much more!

Photography: Shawn Connell for Christian Oth / Planner: Nicky Reinhard from David Reinhard Events / Florist: Stone Kelly / Band: Elan Documentary / DJ: Michael R Jarrell / Lighting: L&M / Cake: Ron Ben Isreal

And as we come to a close on this day of TOTAL real wedding craziness, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the brides, grooms and vendors who have left us inspired and excited. Don’t forget to click thru the galleries if you are interested in seeing more of each wedding!

We are changing things up a bit this afternoon with a sleek, TOTALLY luxe wedding that literally has me crazy. It’s just so freaking cool…from the raw bar to the zebra rugs and the totally glam style, every little bit of this is insanely gorg. And although we totally get that it’s not exactly a budget style, there are so many little tidbits of inspiration to pull from the look. Designed by the fab team at Fete and photographed by the forever talented Shawn Connell for Christian Oth (who always seems to get the COOLEST weddings), we are dying over this wedding. Click here to see even more!

click here to see some truly amazing details!

Fete had the challenge of transforming the classic Beaux Arts ballroom at the St. Regis into a chic, glamorous and contemporary reception space for the modern couple. The bride loved the design of the Delano hotel in Miami – we wanted to create a sophisticated, all white summer look. We laid down a large high-gloss white plexi dance floor and created a fun and dramatic band backdrop with silver hemisphere balls that reflected light. We used mirror dinner tables and oversized vases with large calla lilies, tropical leaves and orchids and used hundreds of candles and glossy white Belini chairs finished the look. Here are a few more details…

Bar – We printed signage and placed within the wall moldings to give the raw bar area feel of a clam bar you would find in the Hamptons or Cape Cod.

Black lacquer in cocktail bar- I personally love rich dark walls,especially contrasting white moldings- so we painstakingly spent 2 days covering the walls.

Escort Card Board- Very art deco and very glamorous. Guests loved seeing their names printed on the shiny black plexi, highly stylized with a zebra pelt.

Mojito bar – Made to order Mojitos in original (lime), watermelon and peach flavors. Fabulous.

Whisky Bar – We had a fantastic whisky tasting bar open all night where the bartender explained the difference of the types of whisky.

Response Cards – We posted creative guests response cards on the wall for everyone to read.

Photography: Shawn Connell, Christian Oth Studio / Flowers, Invitations Design and Planning: Fete / Ceremony + Reception Location: St. Regis Hotel, New York

Now I know when we think of Brooklyn, wild outdoor spaces aren’t the first thing that come to mind but Brooklyn does have them and this engagement session, captured by Jen Huang, highlights one of those pretty parks in all of its green glory. Or maybe it is the gorgeous couple traipsing around that makes these pictures pop. I think that may have sealed the deal on this e-session and please tell me, who can resist a daisy chain halo a top a bride-to-be’s head? Not I.

{click here for the FULL engagement session}

Maddy and Tora are getting married this summer in Kentucky. They chose to have their engagement in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, styled by their dear friend Amanda of Stellina Events. Maddy was adorned with a flowing 57 Grand cocktail dress and beautiful bouquet by Kat Flower. Hide and seek, peekaboo and sweet kisses – they are so in love! Maddy and Tora took their casual engagement photographs and turned it up a notch with their elegant style and gorgeous forest location in Brooklyn, NY. And why not? With amazing photography and hair and makeup trials brides can treat their engagement shoots as a mini rehearsal for their wedding portraits.

Photography: Jen Huang / Styling and Planning: Amanda Diamondstein-Cieplinska from Stellina Events / Bouquet: Kat Flower / Makeup: Linsey Snyder Wachalter of Facetime Beauty / Hair: Marcos Diaz / Dress: 57 Grand

We are going to end the day with such a cool, awesome, perfect in every way wedding. Can you tell that we are a bit excited about this one? Well there is very good reason. This New York couple wanted to have a green city wedding where urban chic meets a natural garden wonderland. The Foundry played host to this wonderful affair and the venue couldn’t have been more spot on. The old ivy covered brick walls are such a beautiful contrast to the pale blues and greens of their color palette and all of the DETAILS are beyond. From the BBQ sauce table markers to the Tom’s shoes bridal party gifts, we are doing back flips for this baby. Wayne Yuan was there to capture all of the magic and that he did indeed.

{click here for more from this completely and totally fabulous wedding}

Originally my fiancé and I had wanted a destination outdoor wedding, but then decided to have our wedding in New York, which is where we met and now share an apartment together. We wanted a mix of a city wedding and the beautiful outdoors and found the perfect place to have our reception and ceremony at The Foundry, a restored industrial space in Long Island City. It had a beautiful blend of city with the factory feel and a view of the Queensboro Bridge and also the lush green courtyard. The weather that day was gorgeous and we were married in the ivy-lined courtyard surrounded by an intimate gathering of our closest friends and family, all while the two flower girls were blowing bubbles. We chose greens and blues as our color scheme, which was reflected in the different colored bridesmaid dresses and the paper pom-poms, which the bridal party decorated the bridal suite with earlier that morning. Our florist helped incorporate the outdoorsy feeling throughout our wedding by making the indoor area green and airy by lining the indoor railings with smilax and arranging the tables with succulents and vintage jars and vases filled with blue and green flowers.

To us, having an unforgettable menu at our wedding was extremely important. We had one of our favorite restaurants, Blue Smoke, caterer our wedding with BBQ. During our cocktail hour guests snacked on sliders, deviled eggs, sausages and smoked lamb while taking photos with instant cameras. Guests sat down at long tables with burlap runners made by the bride’s mom, dishtowel napkins, place cards written out by the maid of honor and table numbers stuck to BBQ sauce bottles. Guests chose their dinner entrees from a menu designed by the groom’s best man, who also created the letterpress invitations. There’s nothing more fun than eating ribs and mac & cheese in fancy wedding clothes! The cake was a delicious combination of red velvet cake and nutella frosting and was topped with gumpaste succulents. Throughout the night, our dog had a great time walking in and out of the tables looking for any leftovers! After drinks and dancing, our guests finished the night with monogram-stamped takeaway boxes of bite-sized cupcakes, whoopee pies and cookies as favors.

Photography: Wayne Yuan / Venue: The Foundry in Long Island City, NY / Florist: Denise Fasanello Floral Design / Caterer: Blue Smoke / Cake: Alice’s Tea Cup / Desserts: One Girl Cookies / Wedding Coordinator: Sook Yee Yeung / DJ: Cat Hartwell / Invitations and paper goods: done by the Bestman /Wedding Dress: Vera Wang / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Hair Accessory: Jennifer Behr / Suits, bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses: J Crew / Hair and Makeup: Hatsumi Toshima /

I think the best way to describe what it was like when Aaron and I met is that it felt like we had come home to one another. It may seem crazy, but we both knew we were going to marry each other after only two weeks. We managed to wait a year and a half before Aaron “officially” proposed, but we were permanent from the beginning.

I lost my job about six days before Aaron proposed, which was a really tough thing for me. I had a significant amount of time on my hands, which was a blessing in disguise. We decided to forgo the wedding planner, because if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s planning.  From the outset, we knew our wedding had to be in New York City. We’re definitely NY city people! We found The Foundry online and, not unlike other things in our life, knew it was the perfect place for us. It read like our dream apartment: landmarked building, exposed brick, beautiful light, courtyard, ivy-covered terraces, and a phenomenal view of the 59th Street Bridge. Plus, the staff was incredibly accommodating and professional – they were so relaxed and totally on point with everything, knew a lot of the vendors we were deciding on and offered us advice on whom they had worked well with in the past.

I think one of the most difficult things we came up against was trying to figure out a “theme” for our wedding. It was frustrating, because everything is grouped into “themes” in the wedding world: urban, casual, classic, country, elegant, etc, etc. We didn’t have a theme!! We’re not “theme” people. We have very particular taste that can’t be categorized neatly, so instead of making everything fit together, we focused on finding the best (within our budget) food, music and “aesthetic” – when you have the best, it doesn’t have to all look the same, each part makes sense on its own.

Above all else, my husband and I love to cook and entertain, so we decided that our wedding had to be, essentially, the best party we ever threw. I found our photographer, Karen Wise, online and was enamored by the vibrancy of her photos. I mean, just look at the colors! Also, the way she makes posed pictures look journalistic is fantastic.

It was rainy and cold the day of the wedding, so we ended up doing the photos inside, kind of like a photo shoot and I absolutely love the way they turned out. The photos from the wedding are phenomenal – super colorful shots, beautiful shadowy black and whites, just plain awesome.

We are big time foodies and people know that about us, so our caterer had to be really special. We went with Naturally Delicious in Brooklyn because they offered menus that were seasonal, simple but perfect and above all else, tasted GOOD. We had Shannon McCormick as our go-to woman for everything at Naturally Delicious and also hired Shannon to be our week-of and day-of coordinator, which made everything so easy. I cannot speak highly enough of the fantastic staff Naturally Delicious provided us.

We’re kind of lucky when it comes to music – Aaron, a.k.a. Ming, is a professional DJ and record producer, so we kind of had our pick of DJs. Aaron DEFINITELY didn’t want a band, which helped save a significant amount of money, so, keeping in the friends “theme” we hired $mall Change to DJ the wedding. We also asked our friend Michael Lynch, a.k.a. Big Mike  (of American Idol fame) to sing as we walked down the aisle. Aaron and Mike are like “brothers from another mother” – they have worked with each other for several years and Michael and his wife Christa are regular fixtures at Aaron’s mother’s Thanksgiving feast (Mike makes a ridiculous mac-n-cheese), so it was extra special for us to have Mike perform.

Our Design Aesthetic …

We found a florist we really loved and let her do her thing. My mother was pretty vocal on florists, so we let her make the final call on Bridget Vizoso of THE DESIGNERS’ CO-OP. My two requirements were that one, there was not to be a single rose anywhere in the entire place; and two, COLOR. I described a “Bollywood meets NYC” color palette and Bridget graciously re-worded my vision to “gem tones”, which was precisely what I meant. Luscious, vibrant and unabashedly vivid was how I pictured the flowers, although I didn’t want anything traditional or obnoxious. And really, we just let Bridget work her magic.  When we walked into the Foundry, Aaron and I were floored by the amazing job Bridget had done – there was bittersweet draped from the balconies and over our huppah, riotously colorful bouquets on the cocktail tables, votives hanging in the vines and candles everywhere… and that was just in the main room. In the tent where dinner was to be served, the tables were simply gorgeous. A mosaic of flowers covered the tables, paired with antiqued votives and gold candelabras; bright table clothes and napkins; swathes of pink, saffron and orange cloth hung across the tent with large Chinese paper lanterns lighting the room. It was really the perfect décor for the Foundry and, when paired with the food and the music, created the exact ambiance we were trying to achieve.

What I am most proud of looking back at that night is that our wedding really was a total reflection of our life as a couple. That wasn’t too hard to manage because we knew we couldn’t compromise on the fact that we wanted our wedding to be a celebration of the start of our marriage. For us, that meant bringing together everything that is good and beautiful in our lives and sharing the night with the people that mean the most to us and having a few well-placed personal touches. In our program, we wrote a little anecdote/personal joke about each person in our wedding party; our officiant was a judge that has known me since I was a baby in my crib; and of course, we had Big Mike singing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz when Aaron came down the aisle and “Could This Be Love’” by Bob Marley when it was my turn. We also made bags of our “marathon granola” for our guests to take home with them at the end of night. Aaron and I were running the NYC marathon three weeks after our wedding and we had been eating this homemade granola throughout most of our training, so we thought it would be fun to share part of our training experience with our friends and family.

I chalk it up to two things that made the night so fantastic: we hired great vendors – really nice people who are excellent at what they do and we tried not to interfere (too much) in what they wanted to do; and we were adamant about keeping the wedding traditions to a minimum and making the night, above all else, a great party. People still tell us what a fun time they had at our wedding and looking back, I don’t think we would have changed a single thing. Aaron and I are still both in awe about what an amazing night it was for both of us – everything really was perfect.

Beautiful!! Thanks so much to Jackie and congratulations to you and Aaron!! To see lots more from their wedding, take a look at Karen Wise’s fantastic blog ~ Part 1, Part 2.

Photography ~ Karen Wise, Floral ~ Bridget Vizoso, The Designer’s Co-Op, Wedding Coordinator – Shannon McCormick from Naturally Delicious Caterer, Dress Designer ~ Matthew Christopher from Gabriella New York Bridal Salon, Bridesmaids Dresses ~ J. Crew, Aaron’s Suit ~ Burberry, Hair & Makeup ~ Hatsumi Toshima, Officiant – Bruce L. Kaplan, DJ ~ Small Change, Special guest and friend of the couple, Michael Lynch a.k.a.”Big Mike” of American Idol was there too! He sang beautifully as the couple walked down the aisle

Another wedding filled with bold beautiful colors that we spotted on Karen’s blog was that of Anar & Dale in Alabama: Part 1 and Part 2. SERIOUSLY SPECTACULAR colors!

I don’t know about you, but it’s about 90 degrees in Boston today so I’m in a little bit of July-like daze this afternoon. But what better to go with the warm air than a wedding that’s like a ray of sunshine. A citrus blast on this steamy afternoon. Regardless of the temperature in your neck of the woods you’re going to love the colorful DIY wedding. Sent to us by the bride, it’s packed full of bright, beautiful flowers, pretty paper, and zesty details. {Click here to see the full adorable affair.}

My goal was to have a beautiful and elegant wedding that was FUN! Yellow is my absolute favorite color and I wanted to incorporate it as much as I could without going overboard. My bridesmaids wore flirty yellow dresses from J.Crew in a bright, vibrant yellow. I had a lot of DIY projects because I am a graphic designer and an art teacher. I designed all my paper goods, from save the dates, invites, table cards, menus, photobooth posters and take away cards and favor tags.  I was all about the details..we had “signature” drinks with names we made up (the marry-me mojito, i-do-tini and the consumate-it cocktail) and all of our seating cards had a fun/silly fact about us on the back. I used lemons and a fun accent, in the floral arrangements and also as table card and drink menu holders.

My design was influenced not only by yellow (believe it or not!) but also by a kind of modern-vintage feel I wanted to convey. My dress & hair had vintage inspiration as well as my design aesthetics. The photobooth was the hit of the night! I designed a poster for the front that had photobooth pics of me and my husband from the last 10 years (we love photobooths, we have pics from the age 17). It was a real vintage one, so you got a nice printed strip. I also had a table tent on each table that I made that told people to visit the photobooth and have fun! We also have an awesome guestbook from it. We had a big wedding (275), and my husband is first generation Italian. The theme of the food was “A lot!” It was a great time.

Vendor Credits: Photography: Denise Crieger Photographer / Flowers: Arcadia Floral / Photobooth: Scrapbook Photobooth / Reception Venue: Glen Island Harbour Club / Cinematography: Scrapbook Films, Danielle Lesovitz, Videographer

It’s Monday! Which for you probably means another week of trying to work while you are really wanting to just read wedding blogs. But for us, means that we get to show you the most gorgeous affairs that have come across our desks, the most perfect details, the most lovely of lovely brides. Mondays are always really good days on SMP and we’re kicking it all off with this perfectly pretty affair that Turn Loose the Art sent our way. The flowers alone are going to make you cry, but add to that a KILLER dress, an off the charts adorable ring bearer and details that are beyond great..and it’s a recipe for perfection.

{click here to see the full wedding}

Jordyn and Dan planned a lovely little spring wedding overlooking the Hudson Valley in Garrison, NY. The Inn at the Garrison was a beautiful setting, surrounded by quaint stone arches and gazebos. Dan will tell you Jordyn did all the work, and Jordyn will say her mom did all the work, but her mom says it was all Jordyn’s vision.

The whole bridal party wore J Crew, with the guys in tan suits and yellow printed ties and the women wearing silver dresses and yellow heels. The yellow-silver-lavender color scheme suited the spring wedding perfectly, showing up in little touches like the escort tags and printed wine bottle labels by the Tie That Binds. Unique touches like table numbers of antique bells and mosaics mixed with different floral collections on each table tied together the reception.

Photography: Turn Loose the Art / Cinematography: Jeff Zorilla / Flowers: Lee Vazquez Floral Design / Venue: The Garrison / Invitations, Stationery: Tie That Binds / Dress: Jim Hjelm / Makeup: Lo & Co / Music: The DJ Solution

Brooklyn is in the house today lovelies and it is looking mighty good. Robin and Vaughn are the couple behind this pretty New York Wedding, and they just might be the luckiest people ever. They happen to have a huge group of ridiculously talented friends and family who all chipped in to create this one-of-a-kind DIY extravaganza. From the paper flowers to the custom invites, no creative stone was left unturned. Plus, they had pies, which makes any wedding instantly amazing in our book. Abby Jiu was there to photograph all of the action and what an amazing job she did. Be sure to check out the gallery for more from the day.

{click here for the FULL wedding gallery}

Robin and Vaughn planned their DIY wedding by collecting their talented friends to help out with their wedding. While the couple lives in Washington DC, they decided to have their wedding in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn where Robin lived while they dated. The Brooklyn area was very special to her with its cobblestone streets and artistic character. Robin wanted a very eclectic look and something different that represented their personalities. They also wanted to use small companies to support the community and aspiring artists like themselves.

For their flowers, they wanted something different. And luckily, their friend Eloise Corr Danch had the perfect solution. She has become well known in the crafting world. She has appeared on Martha Stewart’s Birthday Show, demonstrating how to make these beautiful paper flowers. She has also appeared in W Magazine as well as done window installations for Macy’s in NY. They loved their photographer, for her different style. And for the invitations, Robin had a friend at Hello Lucky! custom design their invites.

Photography: Abby Jiu / Venue: Bubby’s Pie Company / Paper Flowers: Eloise Corr Danch / Felt Boutonnières: Lisa Kornze / Bouquets: Sprout Home in Brooklyn / Invitations: Anna Hurley of Hello! Lucky / Dress: Lela Rose

For me, this wedding is magic. And seeing the sketches develop and come to life is a lesson in good design. And although I am not surprised in the slightest that the talented duo behind the wedding invitation brand Atelier Isabey pulled this together, I am thrilled to devour it nonetheless. It’s Brooklyn at its finest, style at its most beautiful and romance that literally jumps right off the pages. And I am madly, madly in love. Click here to see more!

{click here to see all of Henry Shoots gorgeous images}

We were very fortunate to have great vendors to work with, many of which are part of the Little Black Book. We worked with Annie of Daughter of Design and Barb of Hatch Creative Studio who helped bring to life our vision. We created all of our stationery and I really loved weaving in elements of the theme of a Botanic Garden into the stationery and escort cards, which were mushroom birds I bought from the New York flower market with tags tied around their feet. My maid of honor works for West Elm so she was able to get tons and tons of mercury balls and silver nature inspired chotchkies to place on the tables. The gorgeous framed portrait paintings were a curious find at the Chelsea garage fleamarket. A real bargain!

I was also lucky enough to be able to have close friends and family create things for our wedding which was really meaningful to us. My mom is a renown wedding cake designer in Asia and so it was only natural for her to make my cake. The sugar flowers were made in The Philippines and Hong Kong and hand carried on the flight to New York. She had to make nearly double the amount of sugar flowers to account for all the breakage that was naturally going to happen from traveling regardless of how well packaged they were. In addition to that, my best friend is a jewelry designer and created gorgeous jewelry for me to wear on the day. Those special, personalized touches were the things that made our wedding even more meaningful.

Photography: Henry Shoots / Cinematography: Cly Creation / Flowers: Hatch Creative Studio / Event Design: Hatch Creative Studio / Event Planning: Daughter of Design / Invitations + Stationery: Atelier Isabey / Dress: Lusan Mandongus / Jewelry: Marney Chalmers Designs / Cake: My mom / Ceremony Location: Brooklyn Botanic Garden / Reception Location: Brooklyn Botanic Garden / Makeup: Magda Design / Band: Elan Artists

There is pretty much no better way to kick off a gorgeous weekend than with today’s first featured wedding. It’s the celebrations of Margot and Steve…design gurus behind the fabulous wedding invitation brand, Atelier Isabey. The wedding itself is completely magical but before I share those photographs, I wanted to show you the sketches and inspiration boards that Margot and Steve put together to hone their style and help them determine their wedding look. They are so beautiful and you’ll be totally amazed at just how spot on they turned out to be!

From Margo and Steve of Atelier Isabey…We both have a relatively laid back style and vibe so we immediately knew that we weren’t going to be having a typical New York ballroom style wedding. When scouting locations we instantly fell in love with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Jane Austen meets Secret Garden feel it had. We decided on the Cherry Esplanade as our ceremony location and chose whites, golds and greens as our color palette.

Every morning, as I drink my coffee and prep the morning weddings to go live, I watch Regis and Kelly. It’s been my forever routine and one that makes me a very happy, very productive blogger. I know that makes no sense, but it’s true. So, when today’s first featured wedding found its way into the SMP inbox, I literally jumped off the couch and did a high kick. OK, not really, but that is exactly what I would have done if my husband wasn’t still in the room. The beautiful bride is THE Lori Schulweis, production coordinator behind “Project Schully,” otherwise known as Regis and Kelly’s “find-Lori-a-man adventure.” Well, Lori not only found herself a man, she also found herself a completely gorgeous wedding and a who’s who list of SMP’s favorite vendors. And the rest…it’s history.

{click here to see the full, gorgeous affair}

I’ve been swooning over Shawn’s photographs for days now. They tell the story to complete perfection. Not in the least surprising seeing that Shawn’s images are some of SMP’s most favorite weddings. And the design, by Matthew at Artfool…ahhh. Here are a few words from the fabulous planner behind the day, Amy at Chandelier Events…

After years of being set up by Regis and her co-workers (even on the show!) Lori decided that, while loving her single life in her 40s, it was not too late to find true love. Through online dating, she met David Buder, a gourmet foods professional from New York City, and they quickly fell in love. David surprised Lori at a birthday dinner she planned for him at Morimoto in Manhattan–unbeknownst to her, her coworkers helped David turn the tables on Lori by orchestrating an on-air proposal where the ring was placed in an oyster shell.

Both food-lovers and avid lovers of the outdoors, Lori and David fell in love with the opportunity to host their wedding in the new Hayloft facilities at the five-star Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Lori’s sister, Julie, had been long-time friends with James Beard-winning chef Dan Barber (the proprietor of Blue Hill), making the chance to give their 200+ guests an organic five-course tasting menu even more personal.

The wedding, October 10, 2009, including Regis & Kelly, and it was a spectacular display of what we like to call, “Luxe on the Farm.” At Chandelier Events, I worked closely with Lori and David for nine months to create an incredible guest experience that reflected their relaxed personalities and professional lives as FOODIES.

The open-air ceremony took place in the courtyard of Stone Barns and featured a chuppah of grapevines and passionfruit vines.  Lori walked down the aisle to classical guitars playing “Pure Imagination” from Willa Wonka & the Chocolate Factory…and the recessional was Coldplay’s Vida La Vida. The fruit-wood chairs were capped with linen chair caps and guests stayed warm in the brisk fall air with heaters and pashimas we handed out to guests as they arrived. Following the ceremony, cocktails and signature farm fresh bites including vegetables picked from the Stone Barns farms (all food is grown and raised on the farm premises) were complemented by signature pomengranate cocktails and an open bar.

Each course of the five course tasting menu was designed by Chef Barber and was paired with a wine chosen by the groom. The menu, which started off with a Forono Beet Salad, was followed by Blue Hill’s signature Farm Fresh egg, a lobster course, a lamb course, and beef course…and capped off with petit fors, cake by Sylvia Weinstock and mini-cupcakes from Crumbs Bakery.

The food was complemented by the gorgeous, ecclectic, edible arrangements in colors of beet, fig and sage by Matthew Robbins Design. One-of-a-kind farmers tables were brought in to complement the rounds covered in a flax linen–and each table featured a different design with antique farm accessories like weathervanes, milk jugs, chicken-wire baskets, and more.

So, we enlisted Ceci New York to create our paper details, with included an elaborate seed-pac ket placecard display, menus personalized with bellybands featuring the seedling variety (lettuce, arugula, beet, pumpkin, rhubarb, etc.), and our invitation was branded on birch wood (like a wine-case) and delivered in flax-paper-covered boxes featuring stamps with the farm motif logos (the running rabbit and almanac banner). The save the dates were hand-drawn personalized takes on the farmers almanac–a design that carried over to the hand-drawn ketubah, program, and menu cards.

We enlisted Sylvia Weinstock to create a cake with wood-graining and marzipan fruits to bring it all to a sweet end.

Planning & Event Concept: Amy Shey Jacobs of Chandelier Events / Event Design & Florals: Matthew Robbins Design / Venue: Blue Hill at Stone Barns / Lighting: Bentley Meeker / Invitations & Paper: Lisa Ceci Johnson for Ceci New York / Dress: Music: One Love by Elan Artists as well as ceremony musicians / Video: Open Eye Documentary by Anna Davis / Photo: Shawn Connell / Christian Oth Studio / Cake: Sylvia Weinstock /  Dress: Vera Wang

Our next “colorful” wedding feature is from Dave Robbins Photography …

But before we hit you with the blast of color, a little bit about how Amy and Stefan got together in the first place …

From Amy … We met at a mutual friend’s birthday party at a bar in Soho. I was getting ready to move to Los Angeles two weeks later (to start my new life). When we met, we sort of hit it off, but not in a romantic way – i just thought he was super cool and smart and cute. We are both public relations consultants, and after I moved to LA, I had emailed him to ask him for some pr advice and some favors (I think he was put off).  I told him I would repay him by taking him to lunch whenever he came to LA.  Long story short, we started emailing alot – and when I came back to New York to close on the sale of my apartment, he asked me out for drinks. I really didn’t see the point in getting together, since I just starred my new life in LA and he lived in NYC. But my mother insisted I should meet him, as who knows “he might have nice friends you can be set up with in LA and you never know…” I went to meet him for drinks and I begged one of my girlfriends to come as I didn’t want to be stuck in any awkwardness.  After 30 minutes, my friend left and the two of us spent the next four hours talking. It was literally magic, I just knew at that point. He escorted me to a taxi – and soon after emailed me and said “that was the best date I have ever been on!” Emails turned into long phone conversations and well ~ the rest is history. Lets just say we both spent alot of time with American Airlines and I soon moved back to LA! It was a whirlwind!

But wait ~ did we say that today is all about bold and beautiful?

David Stark was our event designer  – he did everything … the lights, flowers, design … he is a total genius! When we first met, we told him we wanted something totally unconventional and unique. The unexpected. I guess we both had been to so many weddings and just wanted something different – not uniform. When he saw my dress – which was made out of feathers – he went to work and presented a 1940’s Stork Club theme – feather centerpieces, black and white colors – it was wild and fantastic. Every detail was perfect. I barely even gave him direction, he came up with every single idea.

Simply amazing! Congrats to Amy & Stefan and THANK YOU to Dave Robbins!! There are tons more images from this spectacular wedding in Amy & Stefan’s Photo Gallery. Please DO take a look!

And stay tuned … we have another wedding coming up inspired by …. Willy Wonka?!?  {sneak peek here}

It’s officially Fashion Week on SMP and I am in seventh heaven. Not a bad way to start a Monday morning if you ask me. All week we’re going to be focusing on the latest runway collections, couture inspired real weddings, perfect headpieces and fashion details that will make you SWOON. And we’re kicking off the adventure with this insanely glamorous, fashion fabulous affair where New York based photographer, Craig Paulson, had his camera ready to capture every fashionable second. And my goodness was there a lot.

{Click here to see the FULL wedding gallery and a bit more drooling over that lovely, lovely dress}

First let’s talk about that dress. The concoction is what I like to call the mullet dress (party in the front, business in the back and all kinds of pretty) and I am a HUGE, HUGE fan! The beautiful bride actually took a vintage dress and reworked it into complete and utter perfection. Gorgeous and eco-friendly – Oh how I love that. Here are a few words from the bride herself  (who happens to be a fashion designer)

My dress was purchased at Cheap Jacks Vintage store in Manhattan for $350. It has no tags, so it might be homemade, circa the 50’s/60’s. It was full length and I had it cut off to be short in the front and long in the back, removed the straps and a pink flower applique, added a jeweled belt, and basically redesigned the entire thing to be more modern. Inspired by Stephanie Seymour in the Guns N’Roses November Rain video and also the Spring ’09 Balmain collection with rock n roll short front/long back party dresses.

My headpiece was purchased on Etsy. It’s actually three things all pinned on my head together because I couldn’t find one I liked by itself. There are 2 tulle flower barrettes by Myra Kim, which I wore all night, and a small blusher birdcage french netting veil that I wore during the ceremony.

Photographer: Craig Paulson / Venue: The Foundry in Long Island City / Wedding Dress: Purchased at Cheap Jack’s Vintage Store and custom altered by the bride / Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Hair Accessories: Twigs & Honey / Bride’s Tattoo: Marco Serio at Invisible NYC / Hair: Lisa Carroll from Tommy Guns salon in NYC / Maid of Honor’s dress: Foley and Corinna / MOH shoes: Calvin Klein / MOH hair piece: Latish Angeline / Groom’s tuxedo: Barneys / Groom’s tie: Gucci / Invitations: Jill Malek / Catering: Yen Ngo of Real Food Catering / Cake: Cheryl Kleinman Cakes / Flowers: Prudence Designs / Engagement Ring: 1920’s antique from Doyle & Doyle / Wedding Rings: Catherine Angiel

Short white wedding dresses ~ quite the rage ~ but usually the setting is quite a bit different than you’re going to see in today’s wedding! Kelly ~ the beautiful bride ~ took her fashion experience to all new heights when she married Eric at the fascinating surroundings of the Angel Orensanz Foundation! But before we get to that, a few special getting ready shots from their fantastic photographer, Jason Walz …

From Jason …

This stylish wedding of Kelly & Eric’s took place on February 6, 2010 in New York City. The bride and groom got ready at the Bowery Hotel and had their wedding ceremony & reception at Angel Orensanz, an amazing and dramatic location that came to attention after Matthew Broderick & Sara Jessica Parker married there several years ago. The space is pretty incredible as you’ll see. The bride works in the fashion industry and was absolutely stunning. Her hair was done by her best friend Brian Fisher (from Fringe Salon), who was also her man of honor at the wedding. Her flowers and decor were done by her friend as well, Jessica Saal, a photo stylist with whom she works on photo shoots. And her makeup was done by Koji Higashino, with whom she has worked on photo shoots as well. The groom works in the music industry and there were several alternative rock group musicians in attendance including Conor Oberst and The Felice Brothers (who performed a few songs). M. Ward, another venerable musician, performed the first dance song with the official wedding band… For the rest of the evening, the incredible Dexter Lake Club Band performed, a group that has received much attention over the last year in the press. So, there were many personal connections to make everything happen.

We are simply blown away by the awesomeness of the study in contrasts throughout this entire day! Chic, elegant, whimsical, glamorous, fun, vintage, old-world … it pretty much had it all!! Congratulations Kelly and Eric and our thanks to Jason Walz for sharing!

Photography: Jason Walz Photography, Flowers & Decor: Jessica Saal, Catering: Naturally Delicious, Ceremony & Reception Location: Angel Orensanz, Shoes: Christian Louboutin, Dress: Amsale Little White Dress, Veil: Bridal Veil Falls, Hair: Brian Fisher (from Fringe Salon), Makeup: Koji Higashino, Bridesmaids Dresses: J Crew, Band: Dexter Lake Club Band, Other musical performances: The Felice Brothers and M. Ward, Cake Topper: Ann Wood Handmade

Some weddings are stuffed with details and I love those but I also have a soft spot for weddings that fall on the simple and edited side. Easy, breezy and filled to the brim with family was the name of this game. Dave Robbins Photography sent over this sweet, sweet wedding and it is both classic and elegant. It is like a breath of fresh air and I am completely smitten with the hints of baby’s breath sprinkled throughout. Be sure to check out the gallery for even more of this lovely outdoor wedding.

{Click here for the full wedding gallery}

We didn’t have a style in mind at the beginning. All we knew was that we wanted every inch of the day to represent us. For that reason we decided to do almost everything ourselves. We were living in a small, woodsy cottage on an old farm when we got engaged. It was springtime and we were surrounded by green moss, trees and birds, particularly sparrows, flitting after each other. Those things ended up becoming the central themes of our wedding.

We wanted two things. The first was to have an outdoor ceremony and reception. The second was to have a place that could not only accommodate the wedding and reception, but also our guests for the whole weekend. When we arrived at Belvedere Mansion, it took us approximately three minutes to decide to put down a deposit. The grounds were beautiful with rolling green hills; tall, wise trees; peace full pond and views of the Hudson. The architecture and decor was representative of what we like, traditional yet homey and full of personality. It was a perfect fit.

We did many things ourselves. My husband is an Art Director and paper-lover so he designed the save-the-dates, invitations, place cards, table cards, ceremony programs, thank you notes, welcome notes and a matching website. He worked with his favorite printing company, Symmetry Lithographers, to custom print everything on our hand-picked paper. We worked closely with our priest, Father Dave, on the ceremony and vows. We hand picked every song that was played. We designed the centerpieces and floral arrangements. My mom and I hand made the welcome gifts out of jute fabric, white satin ribbon and sprigs of baby’s breath accented with Brad’s welcome cards. My mom and my aunts hung large pieces of tulle and ferns from the inside of the reception tent to create a magical feeling when the wind blew. The morning of I did my make-up while my mom did my hair. It was surprisingly relaxing to do everything ourselves because, come time for the wedding, we were happy knowing everything would be a part of us, perfect or not.

Photographer: Dave Robbins / Venue and Caterer: Jeff at Belvedere Mansion, Rhinebeck, New York / Wedding Dress: Reem Acra / Groom’s Suite: Brooks Brothers / Bridesmaids: J Crew / Music: JTD Productions

For those of you that are just joining us, you’re in for a treat! We’re doing real weddings every hour today, with some of the most gorgeous inspiration you’ve ever seen coming your way. If you see a wedding you like, just click the link to the gallery of images that we provide and voila…wedding heaven. Our next mini feature was sent to us from the phenomenal duo, Robert & Kathleen Photographers, and in a nutshell…is pure magic. Click here to see the full gallery.

{click here to see the full wedding}

This Winter wedding took plate on the rooftop of a historic NYC hotel, the Gramercy Park Hotel ().  Both ceremony & reception took place on the roof a elegant garden-style location with tons of windows and views of lower Manhattan.  The bride decided to incorporate cheery shades of yellow, green and white in the floral arrangements, the perfect compliment to the simple blue strapless bridesmaids dresses. The Gramercy Park Hotel has an eclectic vibe with unusual artwork and architecture, featured in the cocktail hour room in particular – a room where the ceiling is made up entirely of lightbulbs.

Photography by: Robert & Kathleen Photographers / Dress: Elie Saab for Provinias / Make-up: Lauren Whitworth / Ceremony Location: Gramercy Park Hotel / Reception Locations: Gramercy Park Hotel / Flowers: Big Apple Florist / Caterer: Danny Meyer Group / Cake: Cheryl Kleinman Cakes / Shoes: Stuart Weitzman