Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We have so much history as a couple in Brooklyn from living together in Crown Heights, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights and we always spent time in Prospect Park. All the memories we have in Prospect Park are so magical from Philharmonic in the Park to picnics with friends to running together to showing family the park when they visited.
When we were doing research for a wedding venue, the Prospect Park Boathouse came up and I was astonished that in all the time we had spent in the park we had never come across it. It is tucked away in the most magical pocket of the park. The next day, New Year's day of 2019, we walked to the Boathouse in freezing weather and stood on the bridge across from it and we knew that was where we were going to get married. It mixed our love of old architecture and history of New York with a magical woodland
fairytale.
How many guests did you have?
72 guests.
Tell us about your outfits.
The first night we both wore suits and the theme was 80's glam. We made sure to maintain the bride and groom essence and New York edge. My jacket is a Nolan Miller vintage from the 80s with pearl encrusted shoulders and I paired that with La Pointe pants and Gucci loafers, my mother's purse and my grandmother's earrings. Chandler's suit is Thom Browne paired with Gucci loafers and his dad's watch. We wanted to pull in many meaningful pieces from loved ones.
For the wedding, my dress is (to my knowledge) one of the only of its kind from Anna Bé, a designer that has since gone out of business unfortunately. It was way over my original budget but the minute I saw it I knew it could be the one, and that was after trying on somewhere around 50 dresses at various other boutiques in New York and Denver. I felt so regal and magical in it and cried the first time putting it on. It is hand painted on organza silk, it is a bit of a chameleon depending on the lighting and it reminded me of a Monet painting. I also loved how the juliette sleeves could be snapped back, a detail my tailor added, to transform into a completely strapless dress so my arms were free for dinner and dancing. My shoes were white leather d'orsay heels from Proenza Schouler and I loved how they weren't too tall so I could stand and dance in them all night but they still felt very fancy. My tailor made the veil custom for me and the crown was the final perfecting touch. My earrings were Japanese pearls with gold folded over in a stunning raw way. I wore my grandmother's wedding ring on my right ring finger and pinned inside my dress was her Sapphire pin from the sorority we were both in, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Chandler wore a fully bespoke suit from Balani Custom Clothier and the experience from start to finish with them
was incredible. His shoes from Magnanni were really unique and we both loved the detailing on them. Chandler again wore his father's watch. He wanted to have a very classic looking tuxedo that he felt great in. One detail that was changed many times to get just right was the tapering of the pant
legs, the more tapered the better in Chandler's book.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Assembling a great team of vendors to execute the vision, planning a full weekend in New York city to bring our loved ones together, and making everyone feel included. This meant keeping our guest list as small as possible. We started at close to 200 and had to make a lot of hard decisions to maintain an intimate feeling. It was also important to incorporate a lot of elements we love in New York City: Ludlow Hotel - as well as Strong Rope Brewery, Table87 Pizza for our welcome party. We also really wanted to have our wedding be intentional and when the pandemic hit we knew we had to stay true to our original vision and date and move it back exactly one year.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
The mariachi band was very important to Chandler and we had them play during cocktail hour. It reminds him of his childhood in southern California. Everyone loved the Mariachi Hidalgo NYC! It was very important to me to have one long continuous table that all guests were seated at. This symbolized everyone uniting and coming together to witness our love and I knew it would create the most stunning visual of one long trailing floral narrative. It was important to us that my sister, Alex, led us through a meditation at the beginning of the ceremony and that Chandler's cousin, Ben, officiated the wedding. It was very important for us to read our own vows and to have a few of our best friends read very carefully selected poems. It was also very important that the schedule and transitions were all really well planned out so that guests were never wondering what they should be doing or where they should be going.
Any tips for couples getting married, particularly during the pandemic?
Don't compromise and wait until you can have the wedding the way you want it. A lot of people will have opinions about how you should go about your wedding, take it all as a grain of salt and only listen to what you and your partner want at the end of the day. Pay for as much of the wedding yourself as
you can so you have control over the decisions. Read all vendor contracts carefully and make sure you are protected as much as possible. Make guests feel safe by posting on your website the protocols around Covid. Arrange transportation to and from everything, it makes everyone's experience so much more fun! And lastly - make sure to weave in moments for just you and your partner!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Emily Gude, our photographer captured the most magical moments that will live on forever and she worked seamlessly with the tempo and schedule of the weekend. Katie Chirgotis (of Eothen), created the most magical floral items I've ever seen and they were beyond my dreams! The ceremony archway took my breath away when I first saw it.
Luca Ponce, who did our hair and makeup, and is a best friend, made sure we looked and felt our most fabulous selves the whole weekend long. He works magic and always goes the extra mile.
Photographer: Emily Gude Photo @emilygudephoto | Hotel : Ludlow Hotel @ludlowhotelnyc | Venue : Prospect Park Boathouse @purslaneattheboathouse | Flowers : Eothen @eothen_ | Beauty : Luca Ponce @lucaponcebeauty | Rentals : Broadway Party Rentals @broadwaypartyrentals | Invitations : Paper Finger @paperfinger | Mariachi Band : Mariachi Hidalgo NYC @mariachi.hidalgo.nyc | Dress : Anna Bé @annabebridal | Bride's Shoes : Proenza Schouler @proenzaschouler | Earrings : Stvdio Brooklyn @stvdiobrooklyn | Bridal Crown : Eden Luxe Bridal @edenluxebridal | Groom's Suit : Balani Custom Clothier @balanicustom | Groom's Shoes : Magnanni @magnanni | DJ : 74Events @74events | Wedding Bands : Catbird @catbirdnyc | Ring : Grandmother's wedding ring | Watch : Groom wore his Fathers watch | Bride's Jacket: Vintage Nolan Miller @nolanmillercollector | Bride's Pants : La Pointe @lapointe | Bride’s Shoes : Gucci @gucci | Bride’s Earrings : Vintage from her Grandmother | Bride's Purse : Vintage from her Mother | Groom’s Party Suit : Thom Browne @thombrowne | Groom's Shoes : Gucci @gucci | MOH Dress : Bella Bridesmaids @bellabridesmaids