Wedding | Michelle & Samuel

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met on Tinder in 2017. Michelle was a freshman at NYU, Sam was a sophomore at Cooper Union. It just so happened we came from the same background, and lived a 20 minute walk from each other along 4th st. We were basically inseparable after our first date. 

We’ve now lived in Manhattan for almost a decade. We’re both software engineers. 

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

The TWA Hotel was the only venue we looked at. It’s hard to describe the feeling of being in such a large and beautiful space. We knew this would be our venue from the moment we walked through the doors. 

How many guests did you have?

About 110.

What was your budget? 

50k. We went over.

Tell us about your outfits.

Sam wore a custom suit from The Armoury. 

For the ceremony, Michelle wore Comme Des Garçons Fall 2020 Look 3. The actual piece that went down the runway. So many things had to align to make this possible, the fact I was able to wear this piece of history as my wedding dress makes me believe in fate and destiny. As someone who deeply loves fashion and finds it at the core of my identity, looking for a dress that felt authentic to me was maddening. Time passed, the wedding approached, yet it felt like nothing resonated. Beautiful gowns felt hollow and meaningless. In the peak of my anxiety, I sat down and began sending far fetched emails and DM’s to stores and collectors. “Hey I saw you wearing Comme des Garçons fall 2020 look 5 in your Instagram story last week, can I borrow it?” (A real email I sent to icon Lauren Amos who very very kindly and politely declined). Some went into the ether, some politely said no. I was shocked to find an email a few days later from Dover Street Market NY offering to grab a coffee at Rose Bakery and go through their showpiece archive.

Together with Dover Street Market NY’s Department Manager, we scrolled through a PDF of runway looks noting which could work (and which were within my narrow price range). When he showed me Fall 2020 look 3, I honestly wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. Red?? Blue?? I haven’t worn color in 5 years. “This is the one, it’s perfect for the venue, trust me”. I tried to wrap my head around it. I trusted him.

So many people worked so hard to make this possible – Dover Street Market NY’s department manager, our ring designer Ambie Stapleton (coolest sweetest person on earth) who is friends with Dover Street Market Paris’s buyer who all worked with Comme Des Garçons in Japan to get the piece shipped across the Pacific to NYC for me to try on. 

In the weeks that passed before the dress arrived, I couldn’t envision myself wearing anything else. That had to be my dress.

I couldn’t sleep the night before the day I’d try it on. What are the odds a runway piece worn by a 6ft tall runway model fits me (5ft tall normal person). Even if it does, what if it doesn’t look good? What if all of this work, all of this help from so many amazing people was for nothing?

When the dress zipped and I looked in the mirror for the first time, I genuinely felt like Cinderella putting on her glass slipper.

My shoes were MM6 Maison Margiela purchased via the RealReal for $108. It was my hairdresser’s idea to add a silver sock to complete the look. I got those at Intimissimi the day before the wedding. For accessories, I wore a costume jewelry ear cuff my hairdresser gave me, and some simple diamond stud earrings.

For the reception, Michelle wore a custom dress by NYC based designer Melitta Baumeister. I have been a huge fan of her work for years, and our wedding felt like the perfect chance to reach out with the (slightly farfetched) request for her to make me a custom look. The final look was something that Melitta described as “a soft sculpture that required car-level engineering”. It mixes hard plastic piping with a beautiful stretchy silver fabric. I wanted to invest in a piece I’d keep and wear forever. It’s so bouncy and strange – exactly what I wanted.

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

Having planners that were able to run with our taste and vision. Mudari Creative did just that. We’d come to them with the most random inspiration (eg. a random linen stuffed animal) and they’d know exactly how to translate it into design for the event. They’re true artists.

They also have an absolutely incredible network of vendors, and assembled the perfect team for the day.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Spreadsheets. Though seriously, whether you have planners or not, make sure you stay organized and have a spreadsheet for everything: vendor payment schedules, timelines of tasks to do, emails to respond to, guest list, guest responses, seating chart layout, things to bring on the day of… I can go on. - Sam.

Pick a few things that are most important to you. Focus on those, and for the others, be okay with giving up a little control. While planning the wedding, everyone we spoke to had a different thing they thought was the most important: food, music, florals, venue, etc. If we micromanaged every single aspect, we probably would’ve lost our minds. For us, we focused mostly on the design. For food and music, we kind of just let the vendors do their own thing. They did a great job and we have no regrets!- Michelle.

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

Not really a vendor but we do want to talk a little more about our wedding rings! They were designed by Ambie Stapleton whose trademark is hand drawn calligraphy that she transforms into heirloom jewelry. 

Sam’s says “east on Fourth” and mine says “west on Fourth”, which refers to where we lived in the beginning stages of our relationship. We’d always walk along fourth street to meet up before going on dates. 

Beyond that, and I wouldn’t say this if I don’t mean it, every single vendor we had was the absolute best in their field. 

Mudari Creative is as good as everyone says they are. 

Studio Thao’s photos speak for themselves. Look at them!!

Karli Anne Films video was called Oscar worthy by our relative who is a real life Hollywood Executive. 

Sounds Buono got every single person (even grandparents!) dancing on the dance floor.

Photographer: Studio Thao @studiothao | Planning & Stationery: Mudari Creative @mudaricreative | Styling: Younghee Kim | Flora: Wild and Birch @florist.song | Videographer: Karli Anne Films 

@karliannefilms | Ceremony Location: The TWA Hotel @twahotel | Reception Location: The 1962 Room, The TWA Hotel @twahotel | Makeup Artists: Marta Mariotti @mariotti_marta | Hair Stylist: Younghee Kim | Cake: Yip Studio @yip.studio_ | Entertainment: Sounds Buono @soundsbuono | Dresses & Veil: Ceremony Dress: Comme Des Garçons Runway @commedesgarcons from Dover Street Market

@doverstreetmarketnewyork | Reception Dress: Melitta Baumeister @melittabaumeister | Suit: The Armoury Tribeca @thearmourynyc (Measured by) Alexander Winchell @alex_winchell | Engagement Ring: Custom | Wedding Rings: Ambie Stapleton @ambie.stapleton | Shoes: MM6 Maison Margiela

 @mm6maisonmargiela & Allen Edmonds @allenedmonds | Tie: Hermes | Belt: The Armoury NYC @thearmourynyc