Friday, April 28, 2017

We Found the Ultimate New York City Wedding

Every now and then a wedding comes across your desk that stops you dead in your tracks. I call them the weddings with the trifecta of pretty – beautiful photography, fresh design moments, and a bride and groom whose love practically leaps off the page. The incredible Heather Waraksa and ever swoon joined forces for this Manhattan affair and the result is ALL of the above. Scroll on for taxi cab place cards, cronut favors, and don’t miss the sweet words written by the groom.

From the Groom… Arielle and I got engaged at the Plaza Hotel under the guise of a very over the top staycation. Having grown up in New York, I felt like it was only appropriate for our engagement and later our wedding to touch upon iconic New York if possible. I had the hotel set up our room to include champagne and originally had asked the concierge to just throw a few flowers about the room (nothing spelled out or anything) as I continued to think that the proposal part would be a surprise for Arielle (I should have realized that how do you sell the woman you are dating that a staycation at The Plaza hotel after dating for years wouldn’t have something more to it!) We walk into the room and spelled out on the bed is “I ❤️ u” in rose petals…well if I thought there was any surprise left, I immediately got down on one knee and asked her to marry me!

When we started to look for our wedding venue, that same New York sentiment kept playing in our heads. We looked at quite a few venues that definitely had that New York vibe but once we saw the rooftop where we would hold the ceremony at TriBeCa Rooftop, we knew it was the spot for us. Now as you can imagine, the rooftop is located in TriBeCa, and it has the most amazing view of New York in both directions. To the south, there is a backdrop of One World Trade Center and to the north the Empire State Building. The idea of getting married while surrounded by the entire New York skyline at sunset was all we needed.

From there, we put everything else together with a similar theme – from our invitations, which was a custom watercolor drawing of the street we live on in Greenwich Village, to the taxi cab place card holders. We decided that as our last piece to the wedding, we had to have Dominique Ansel Cronuts (a cross between a croissant and a donut, for which people usually wait on line for hours to get!) at our wedding as we love Dominique Ansel and thought that it would be a super fun NYC gift to all of our guests who most likely would never be able to get one otherwise. Arielle was so intent on making this happen, that while at his store in the West Village she wrote him a note on the back of a receipt begging to find a way to have 250 fresh cronuts at TriBeCa Rooftop on the day of our wedding. To our amazement, the store manager came over and told us that it would be their honor and the rest was history!

Arielle wanted to add a serious fall vibe to our fall wedding and with the help of Amy Febinger of Bourgeon picked out an entire scheme to decorate the wedding. The evening started with cream and peach hued flowers that made up the chuppah at the ceremony. Beautiful hand-made copper silks tied all of the bouquets together matching the copper lanterns lining the aisle. As we got ready to hold the ceremony, the skyline was set afire by the light from the setting sun over the Hudson River to our west. Simon and Garfunkel started playing and we were ready to take our stroll down the aisle.

As most people who have been a bride or groom will tell you, the wedding goes by incredibly fast. Like lightning fast. A week or two before the wedding, we had both been told this numerous times and given advice like “make sure you don’t miss it while caught up in everything”. After hearing this enough times, we made sure in the middle of the wedding while everyone was out on the dance floor to sneak away for just two minutes and to have it all by ourselves. We snuck up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the entire venue and sat just the two of us watching. I remember soaking in the music and watching all of our friends dancing, noticing where all of our family members were scattered about the room. It was the first moment all night that we felt like we really had to ourselves to hold hands, to actually take a moment and to see everyone who was there even if it was from a distance. I am so glad I actually listened as its the clearest memory of the entire whirlwind of a night.

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Photography: Heather Waraksa | Event Planning: ever swoon | Floral Design: Bourgeon | Cake: Tribeca Rooftop | Brides Shoes: Tabitha Simmons | Rings: Heirloom | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Ralph Lauren | Makeup: Kimara Ahnert | Hair Stylist: Styles On B | Favors: Dominique Ansel | Grooms attire: Tom Ford | Groomsmen Suits: Suitsupply | Officiant: Jill A Kreitman | Venue: Tribeca Rooftop | BM Dress: Novis | Bridesmaid dress: Adrianna Papell | Decals: A Sign of Sucess | Grooms and Groomsmen Shoes: Nike | Grooms and Groomsmen Tie : Salvatore Ferragamo | Musicians: Eturnity Band | Photo Booth: The Bosco | Stationery and Paper goods: Lion in the Sun | Wedding Dress and Veil: Mira Zwillinger

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A Wildly Romantic Wedding in the Arizona Desert

What began as a last-minute “plus one” to a wedding became a forever kind of love for Marian and Mark. And when they began planning their own big day, they knew showcasing the Arizona scenery was a top priority. A soft color palette and natural greens complemented the setting, and Rachel Solomon told the story of the day in stunning fashion.

From the bride… Mark and I met through my older brothers about 5 years ago, when he moved from the Bay Area to Arizona. We started dating about a year later when he needed a last minute plus-one to a friend’s wedding. My brothers thought that I might be able to suggest one of my friends as a suitable date, but I offered to go instead. I always thought Mark was fun, kind, and handsome – and there could be worse ways to spend a Saturday, right? We had an amazing time together, and the fun hasn’t stopped since then.

Mark proposed almost 3 years later, while we were hiking in beautiful Sedona, AZ. The love of the outdoors, especially the breathtaking Arizona scenery, has been a constant throughout our relationship, and it was the perfect spot to decide to spend the rest of our lives together.

As we began wedding planning, we knew that we wanted to showcase Arizona scenery – especially through the choice of venue. I think we knew the moment we stepped on the Casa Paloma lawn at El Chorro that we wanted to get married there. The venue features a stunning backdrop of Camelback Mountain and the property itself is simple, classic, rustic, and beautiful with wrap-around patios, fireplaces, and an open and airy event space.

The venue is stunning enough on its own, so we wanted the décor to be soft and natural with some rustic details. The florals from Sarah’s Garden featured natural bouquets and centerpieces in neutral whites, creams and blushes with pops of deeper pinks and peaches, surrounded by eucalyptus greenery. We also added some pops of color with rose quartz menus from Minted, paired with rosemary sprigs clipped from a friend’s garden that morning. The head table featured a long garland that complemented the greenery hung in the rafters of the event space.

Letters by Jennifer created stunning calligraphy for our custom signage, seating charts, and escort cards. We also featured some desert-inspired details in our cactus invitation suite, programs, and itineraries from Paperless Post and our custom logos from Snaptag Designs.

For my “something old” my mother created a ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket using lace from the bridesmaid’s dresses at her wedding. And my “something borrowed” was a turquoise bracelet that my grandfather gave to my aunt to wear on her wedding day.

We chose long, flowing, chiffon gowns in a pale blush from Dessy as the bridesmaids’ dresses. Paired with the silk ribbons from Frou Frou Chic, slightly moving in that day’s soft breeze, the bouquets were captured beautifully by Rachel Solomon Photography. Rachel and her team did an amazing job capturing all the moments and details from throughout the day.

And of course, the glue that held everything together was planning and coordination from Andrea Leslie and her team. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support from our friends and family and the hard work from this amazing team of vendors that created the best day of our lives!

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Photography: Rachel Solomon Photography | Videography: An Pham | Event Planning: Andrea Leslie Weddings | Floral Design: Sarah's Garden | Gown: Watters | Cake: Ruze Cake House | Invitations: Paperless Post | Reception Venue: El Chorro | Shoes: Ralph Lauren | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Dessy Group | Hair: Molly Bardon | Calligraphy: Letters by Jennifer | DJ: MT Sounds | Groom's Attire: The Black Tux | Bridesmaids Boutique: Bella Bridesmaid | Gown Boutique: BHLDN | Rentals: Glamour And Woods | Ribbon: Frou Frou Chic | Ring Box: The Mrs Box

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