Wedding | Ivan & Shawn

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Ivan is an event floral designer based in Brooklyn. His company Floralstud.io By Ivan is a passion project where he aims to bring storytelling to the art of floral design. Ivan is creative, intentional and ambitious and brings a discerning touch to everything he approaches.

Shawn is a technology trainer at a law firm by day and a trivia host by night. Shawn is the socialite that people gravitate towards. He has a warm personality and is able to make friends wherever he goes.

We met on the gay dating app Scruff in 2019 while Shawn was in New York for an interview. We dated long distance for a year before Shawn moved to NYC in 2020 after getting a job here. We spend our time seeking out fun queer experiences, new places, b

otanic gardens in different cities, and going out for dinners on our regularly scheduled date night Wednesdays. We both have a sense of “gay audacity” – maybe an unfounded belief that we can achieve anything we set our minds to.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Ivan was originally looking for a white box space so that he could focus on making the design of the wedding really stand out. However, Shawn wanted something with a bit more character. After searching for several places, we realized that the white box space would require bringing too much in. Further, we really liked that the Georgia Room had a food and beverage program that really aligned with our tastes. The menu is what truly sold us on our decision. In the end, the character of the space ended up being a strong point as it situated our wedding in a time and place – it felt very New York. And the food was absolutely amazing.

How many guests did you have?

We landed at 75 guests.

What was your budget?

$95k.

Tell us about your outfits.

Shawn wore an impeccably tailored four bar suit by Thom Browne, with shoes and a tie by the same brand. He accessorized with heirloom cufflinks and tie bar from his late grandfather.

Ivan wore a yellow suit from Ghanaian-American brand Kwasi Paul, who he selected after seeing a suit by the brand at the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibit “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. Ivan felt that it was important to platform a Black designer for the wedding. He complimented the suit with a tuxedo shirt by Bode, white bolo tie by Prada, shoes by Camper, tuxedo studs by The Black Tux and cufflinks that he got from the now closed Conran Shop in 2006 with one of his best friends. He later changed into a red suit by Kwasi Paul, again complimented this time by a Bode shirt and now a red Prada bolo tie.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

The florals were an especially important part of the wedding since they gave Ivan the opportunity to express what he’s capable of when executing a full concept. Because of that, many of the earliest planning decisions were visual ones. Early on, Ivan told Shawn the color palette would be primary colors: red, yellow and blue. And a lot of the design choices flowed from that point. Shawn, who has recently gotten into 3D printing, designed custom holders for the candles and candle sleeves along with the place card and escort card holders. Those details became a way for us to physically shape the environment, so that it felt like both of us. For the florals, we centered everything around tulips for a few reasons.

We chose our wedding date partly because it was a time when Shawn’s family could travel altogether, and tulips are naturally in season then. They’re also a favorite of Ivan’s. When he first got into floristry during the pandemic he would reflex tulips on walks with Shawn, so they became tied to that chapter of our relationship. From there the tulips informed many parts of our wedding, including the stationery and especially in the ceremony where Ivan designed wedding-cake-skyscraper-inspired tulipéres filled with red Leo tulips. We also wanted to visually separate the different phases of the wedding, with red tulips anchoring the ceremony, blue for the cocktail hour and yellow for the reception.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

It was important for our wedding to feel like a fun celebratory party; almost a dinner party turned to a dance party. Having Harriet Tugsmen do a drag performance really sealed the deal here. The dinner was already lively, but when she came out and performed after our first dance, mother-son, and chosen family dances, it really got our guests excited and ready to dance themselves. After Harriet opened the dance floor, everybody spilled in and started dancing. It was incredible.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Try to incorporate as many personal details as possible. One thing that our guests kept saying was that our wedding felt like our personalities. We tried to put thoughtful details in everything from our wedding invitation and paper suite to our music. We’re extremely playful at heart – for example, instead of playing songs during guest arrival, we had our DJ play the Wii theme song on repeat the entire time. We also had the drinks reference our own personal tastes, “The Shawn” was a play on a classic ranch water with mezcal instead of tequila, and “The Ivan” was a vodka beverage with ume, lavender and prosecco. Overall, buck tradition – do what feels right for you as a couple. People may feel like weddings have a structure or traditions that need to be adhered to, but if it’s not serving you or doesn’t feel right, skip it or change it. Or hire a drag queen.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Emma Melin Studios, our photographer, was incredible. Visually, the Georgia Room errs on the darker side, and she was able to capture beautiful images of our wedding and our guests throughout the night. The detail shots of the florals turned out beautifully. Beyond that, she has an eye for capturing candid moments – she captured the energy and vibe of our wedding and it’s abundantly evident in the photos. Looking back at the images we are transported to every single moment and it’s amazing to have that captured. She is extremely talented.

Additionally, Avalinda, our coordination team, made everything run smoothly. They were such an integral part of our event and we are truly grateful for their attention to detail despite many last-minute changes. Because of their attention to detail we were able to stay present and enjoy all of the moments throughout the day. Working in the wedding industry, Ivan did not realize how much care and love the planning and coordination team put into making sure the couple has the best day ever, and it really showed. They were amazing.

Photographer: Emma Melin Studios @emmamelinstudios | Planning: Avalinda @avalindaco | Flora: Floralstud.io By Ivan @floralstud.io | Ceremony Location: Georgia Room at the Freehand Hotel @georgiaroomnyc | Reception Location: Georgia Room at the Freehand Hotel @georgiaroomnyc | Celebrant: Friend of the couple | Hire: Drape Kings | Hair: Lewis Beilharz @beilharz_official | Catering & Beverages: Georgia Room at the Freehand Hotel @georgiaroomnyc | Stationery: Designed by couple | Entertainment: Harriet Tugsmen @harriet_tugsmen | DJ: 74 Events – Duane Harriott @74events | Suits: (Shawn) Thom Browne @thombrowne & (Ivan) Kwasi Paul @kwasipaulofficial | Wedding Rings: (Shawn) VRAI @vraiofficial & (Ivan) MOCIUN @mociun | Shoes: (Shawn) Thom Browne @thombrowne & (Ivan) Camper @camper