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Now this is a NYC wedding! From the photos of elegant couple Lara and David out enjoying their beloved New York, to the traditional ceremony and candlelit reception at the amazing Harold Pratt House, this wedding was suffused with a classic city style I adore!
The Couple: Lara and David
The Wedding: 5.12.12 - The Harold Pratt House - New York City, NY
What three adjectives best describe your wedding?
Intimate, Elegant, Romantic
What was your wedding color palette?
Golden tones, with pops of magenta
What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and
personalities into your big day? We knew from the start that we wanted our wedding to be intimate and elegant, and to be
a reflection of our styles, passions and personalities. We wanted it to be about our love of
incredible music and performance, for amazing food, and for beautiful design. We wanted
to keep it small, allowing us to stay connected with each other, and to our family and closest
friends throughout the night. We also knew that we had to find a place in NYC – there’s no other
place in the world we feel as connected to.
We fell in love with the Pratt House immediately. It felt like home as soon as we walked through
the doors. It allowed us to eschew tradition and make each element of the evening stand on
its own. Our ceremony in the round took place downstairs in the drawing room; cocktails, hors
d’oervres and jazz followed in the library after ascending a grand staircase; guests then moved
to the ballrooom for an intimate candle-lit dinner; and ending back downstairs in a transformed
parlor for dancing and desserts.
Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most
about your wedding? From David: It may sound cliche, but my favorite moment was seeing Lara in her dress for the
first time. Not only because of how beautiful she looked, but because I expected to see her in
the sleek, clean, almost structured style I love about her. But instead, she completely blew me
away with this dreamlike, almost fantastical, gown. What a blast to see my almost-wife in an
unexpected way! And even better was how happy she was wearing it!
From Lara: My favorite moment was also about being suprised! We planned every moment of
the night together, in fact, we even prepared a minute to minute itenerary for our all our vendors
and bridal party. So, when David began speaking during cocktails in the library, I was caught
completely off guard – I had no idea what was happening. Suddenly, a formally attired choir stepped out from a hidden door and lined up on the balcony that overlooked the room. They
performed a wonderful piece composed by my husband for me, for our wedding. I’ve never
recieved a better gift. What a magical moment that still gets me when I think about it...
For both of us, few moments were more powerful then standing under our grandfathers’
prayer shawls in our chuppah (canopy), holding each others’ hands, while being surrounded
by the people who love us, and whom we love. David’s son giving us our rings...our sisters’
recitations...our best friends’ and our parents’ wonderful speeches...dancing our first dance to
La Vie En Rose...were all moments we wish we could live over and over again.
We’re happy we stuck to our guns and made the more challenging, riskier decisions. We didn’t
go for a full-service venue, definitely harder to manage, but we were then able to design every
element of the night ourselves. We love that we managed to make our ceremony work in
the round. The emotion we felt standing together completely surrounded by the people most
important to us, was overwhelming and worth the time it took to figure it all out. We love that we
opted for four long rectangular tables, and not the classic rounds. This set-up recreated our love
for spending hours with our family and friends in our home, sitting and talking across our dining
table over good food. Working out the seating arrangements that evening was difficult, but the
result was stunning and true to our vision of the night.
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today?
This advice is for the couple, not just for the bride... Be true to yourselves and to each other!
Create a night that reflects who you are as a couple, what makes you both happy, what
you’re both passionate about. Don’t just do things because you’re supposed to. That said,
some traditions are traditions because they feel wonderful to participate in. It’s ok to
be openminded and try something that would mean so much to someone you love. Most
importantly, do every step with your partner. Every step – from tastings, to picking out linens, to
band showcases, to assembling those envelopes. First of all, it’s so much fun to have a partner
in all the madness. And besides, you guys are getting married after all, commiting to spending
the rest of your lives together. Go to the florist together, and then, if its football season, grab a
beer and catch the game after you choose the color of your peonies.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Farnaz K Studio
Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Harold Pratt House
Officiant: Rabbi Gerald Weider
Invitation Designer: Bella Figura
Catering: Marcia Selden Catering
Florist: Jane Packer
Wedding Dress: Saks Fifth Avenue
Bridal Accessories: Shoes - Valentino
Groom and Groomsmen’s Apparel & Accessories: Groom’s Suit - Dolce & Gabbana
Hair and Make-up: Makeup - Lauren Whitworth
Live Music: Harpist - Maria Banks, Jazz Duo - Chuck Braman Duo, Band - Bud Maltin Metropolitan Orchestra, Choir - New York Polyphony
Transportation: NYC Royal Limo
Dance Instruction: Fred Astaire Dance Studio
Jewelry: Bride - Kwiat & Gilan, Groom - Cartier
Ketubah: Enya Keshet
Personalized Yarmulkes: Cool Kippahs
Wow - thank you for sharing your wedding and planning experience with us Lara and David! What a stunning wedding!
If you're planning a wedding in NYC, don't miss our recommendation lists of New York's best wedding planners and photographers!
Inspired by the lovely, light, tropical colors of today's wedding of Ashley and Max, I couldn't resist sharing this summery wedding color palette of aqua blue and yellow from our Wedding Photo Gallery!
Top row images by: Elizabeth Messina Photography and Karen Hill Photography
Second row images by: Lisa Lefkowitz Photography, Elizabeth Messina Photography, Eric Uys Photography
Third row image by: Ben Chrisman Photography
Fourth row images by: Yvette Roman Photography
Bottom row image by: Karen Hill Photography
Beautiful isn't it? Search for your own wedding colors in our Inspiration Gallery!
Ashley and Max's wedding day was a gorgeous mix of tradition and fun! Their day started with a beautiful ceremony at Saint Edward Roman Catholic Church in Palm Beach, and then a celebration at Lost Tree Club that included a perfect sandy beach, pretty tropical flowers, and a lot of laughter. It all added up to a memorable day, captured beautifully by Jennifer Weiss Photography!
The Couple: Ashley and Max
The Wedding: 5.26.12 - Lost Tree Club - North Palm Beach, FL
What were some fun details you included in your wedding day plans? Gorgeous stationery, incorporating family heirlooms with the wedding bands, and exotic tropical flowers.
What wedding traditions or cultural traditions did you incorporated into your wedding and what did they mean to you?
We had a traditional Catholic wedding. We really aimed to keep things traditional and simple.
What was your biggest wedding planning success?
The reception was a big success thanks the the club who made it so easy to relax and have fun! I think the biggest success was being flexible. Our limo was late, so we ended up driving to the church ourselves - one bride and six bridesmaids means we took whatever two cars in the driveway had keys!!! Everyone else was already at the church or on their way.
What was the most important thing that you learned through the wedding planning process and what would you tell other brides-to-be?
Have fun and keep a journal during the whole process! It goes by so fast and I wish I could have relaxed more and been able to spend more time with my friends and family!!!
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Jennifer Weiss Photography
Ceremony Venue: Saint Edward Roman Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Lost Tree Club
Officiant: Monsignor Thomas Klinzing, JCL
Invitation Designer: Checkerboard
Catering: Lost Tree Club
Florist: Orchid Arrangements of Palm Beach
Music: Jorge Gomez
Cake: Publix Greenwise
Wedding dress shop: Ann Marie’s Bridal
Rings: Max's ring was my grandfather’s wedding ring. It was inscribed with my grandparents wedding date and initials. I had our initials inscribed on the other side of the inside of the ring and kept my grandparents initials and date. My wedding ring is platinum from Eloquence Jewelry in North Palm Beach. We put a full band of diamonds in the ring that my grandmother gave me before she passed away two years ago. I wanted my grandparents to be a big part of or marriage and wedding because they have made such a huge impact on my life and made me who I am today.
Guest Transportation: Molly’s Trolleys Ashley and Max, thank you for sharing your gorgeous wedding day! Readers, for more beautiful beach weddings, check out our image gallery for some great inspiration!
What happens when you mix a 17th-century chateau, the luminous light of Provence, and the expert hand of planners Fête in France? Catherine and William's romantic, gorgeous wedding day! The couple assembled a stellar team of wedding pros, including talented photographer Ian Holmes, to help make their destination wedding the perfect day they'd dreamed. Filled with images of the beautiful setting, Catherine's radiant bridal look, and hilarious moments, their photos tell the story of just how dreamy the end result was!
The Couple: Catherine and William The Wedding: 6.2.12 - Chateau de Grimaldi - Puyricard, Aix-en-Provence; Provence, France
What three adjectives best describe your wedding? Fun, Family, and Beautiful
What was your wedding color palette? Soft dusty pinks and cream
What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? At first I had a million ideas floating around and they were all completely different. I spent the first 3 months of my engagement sifting through lots of different bridal magazine and created a scrapbook of the things that caught my eye. Looking back, a theme started developing, and I finally came across one picture which encompassed everything I wanted the reception to look like. I took this picture every time I spoke to any wedding pro and sent it to Anne (our wedding planner) the moment I found it.
Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? The String quartet was amazing and being Australian I wanted to walk down the aisle to a special rendition of Waltzing Matilda (a traditional Australian Folk song). The string quartet was kind enough to rewrite the composition and managed to make it sound like a classic piece of music; it really made me giggle and set the happy uplifting tone for the ceremony and rest of the day.
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today?
If you can, get yourself a wedding planner. There was no way we could have pulled off organizing 40 Australians and 70 Brits in France. Make sure you get along with the planners and have the same vision for the day. Everybody needs an Anne and Nancy in their lives! Make a list of what is important to you and your partner and make sure you don’t get caught up in other things because you are under pressure. Although it is your special day, remember it is a special day for your family and friends so make sure you have a sense of humor. Everybody is watching you, and if you are not smiling and enjoying your day, it will rub off on your guests. If it’s an overseas wedding, just remember that not everyone is a confident traveler so be sure to provide as much information as you can on the region.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Ian Holmes
Event Planner: Fête in France
Ceremony Venue: Chateau de Grimaldi
Reception Venue: Chateau de Grimaldi
Videographer/Film Maker: Rec Video Editing
Officiant: Father John Dobson
Catering: Chateau de Grimaldi
Florist: Laetitia C.
Cake: A "cheese cake" out of local cheeses, by the Chateau de Grimaldi
Wedding dress: White Lily Couture
Bridal accessories: White Lily Couture
Bridesmaid’s apparel and accessories: Dresses - Two Birds, Accessories - White Lily Couture
Groom and groomsmen apparel and accessories: Ede & Ravenscroft
Hair and make-up: Make-up Artist Provence
DJ: Darryl Jones
Live music: Quatuor Saint Jean
Rings: Max & Guy
Tent: Barnum Receptions Thank you for sharing your stunning wedding day with us, Catherine and William! We wish you all the best in your new life together! Planning a destination wedding? Find a planner that knows all the ins and outs of your destination, on our Hotlist of World's Best Planners and Designers!
Dena and Gerard's chic LA wedding is an all-out tribute to glamour and fun! The ultra-stylized Art-Deco Cicada Restaurant was the perfect home for their fun-loving celebration, and photographers Allie and Brian from Callaway Gable Photography captured Dena and Gerard's equally spirited personalities perfectly!
The Goals: We wanted our wedding to be classic, timeless, and as “us” as possible - fun, quirky, silly, loving - and still pay homage to our heritage. To us this meant lots of amazing food, LOTS of dancing, and in a place that felt like quintessential Los Angeles. The one thing that we insisted on with the ceremony was that we had an opportunity to write and say our own vows to each other.
The Design: Gerard grew up in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, then moved to New Jersey when he was nine years old. His family was all coming from the east coast, so he naturally wanted to have the wedding somewhere on the beach or some other outdoor location for his family and friends. I grew up in Los Angeles, and have always been in love with the old art deco architecture of Downtown LA. In fact, one of the first gifts Gerard got me was a tour of the historic buildings in Los Angeles.Imagine our surprise when, after visiting beachfront venue after beachfront venue, that nothing was calling to us.
On a whim, I suggested Cicada. He had no desire to have our wedding downtown, but when we walked in, I had to pick his mouth up off the floor. Between the chandelier in the center of the room, the mahogany beams, and the luxurious, "Old Hollywood" feel, we knew this was the quintessential Los Angeles venue we were looking for.We chose to have our (mostly traditional) Jewish ceremony in-the-round under the chandelier. For one, we felt that it was more intimate and that we would be surrounded by the people we love most in the world. Later, we learned that a chuppah ceremony much like ours is traditionally held outside under the stars, as a sign that children shall be “as the stars of the heavens”. It seemed fitting that our Chuppah was under the twinkling lights of the chandelier in Cicada’s ballroom.
We were inspired first and foremost by the venue itself. It was so luxurious, we knew we needed more of a "velvety" color scheme - colors you would want to sink into. However, since the venue was so dark already, we also needed the colors to really pop without overdoing it. The colors we eventually settled on - burgundy, purple, creamy ivory, and bronze - were also inspired by my favorite flowers: anemones, peonies and black dahlias.
The best decision we made was staying true to what we wanted to do with our bridal party. We were initially concerned with the size of our bridal party (12 and a half gals, 10 guys). Could we have narrowed down the party? Sure! But at the end of the day, these were the people we wanted to spend the most of our time with. They have been our best friends, our family, our confidantes, and our biggest supporters in our lives. We couldn't dream of leaving a single person out. Plus, it made for one hell of a photo!
The Look: The venue inspired the whole look. I went shopping before having a venue, and left the bridal salon confused and disheveled. Once we found our venue, that was it - old Hollywood glamor with a vintage, modern twist. I wanted to feel my most glamorous, sexy, and beautiful. When I found my dress (after a lot of looking!), I wasn't actually that attracted to it on the hanger. But once I put it on, oh my goodness. That was it. The flowing organza layers at the bottom, the flirty flower applique...it was to die for. And on the day? The way the skirt moved when I danced, the way it hugged my body, the way the train fell, and the way Gerard teared up when he first saw me...it was perfect. And just a few weeks before the wedding, I found a pair of vintage pink earrings that brought tied everything together. The end result was timeless and elegant!
The Moments: There were so many wonderful moments throughout the day, but our first look is something I will never forget. I was so nervous for Gerard to see me. We are a sweats and sneakers kind of couple, so this was a big leap for me! We had our first look at Disney Concert Hall, and our friends and family were all up on the next level watching. My heart was in my stomach. The anticipation was so intense, I can't even begin to explain it. I walked over to him, tapped his right shoulder, and when he turned around he was almost doubled over in glee and broke into tears. While we were completely surrounded by our friends and family and the flashing bulbs of the photographers and videographers, it was as if we were completely alone and in the moment together.
One other special moment for me personally was when my father approached me before our grand entrance to tell me that our ceremony and vows were the most special, intimate and beautiful he'd ever witnessed.
During the reception our first dance was to "Hold You In My Arms" by Ray LaMontagne. The back story: Our mutual friend worked for The Hollywood Bowl, and before we knew each other Gerard and I had both asked her for tickets to the Ray LaMontagne show. She got six tickets for a group of us to go together, and as the shortest people in the group, we were relegated to the way back of the car en route to the venue. Within minutes we were joking about everything, and that was the beginning of the end for both of us. During the show, while Ray was playing “Hold You In My Arms”, I turned to my friend and said, hopeful but jokingly, “If Gerard and I get married, this is totally going to be our wedding song.”
I also cannot stress enough the importance of relaxing and enjoying every minute of your wedding. Your dress might rip (mine did - double-sided tape and chalk did the trick!) or your bustle might fall apart (mine did that too, so I used it as a prop on the dance floor!) but if you let that ruin the moment you will be too blind to see all of the good that is happening.Things might not turn out exactly or perfectly as you might have planned, but you're there to marry your best friend. And if at the end of the night, you're married and happy, that's what matters the most!
The Pros: Please visit Dena and Gerard's page in our Real Wedding Library for all of the details on their amazing wedding team!
And a highlight film from the big day by Threaded Films...
Thank you so much for sharing your INCREDIBLE wedding day with us, Dena and Gerard!
Readers, be sure to check out our Real Wedding Library for more gorgeous inspiration from other newlyweds!
Now this is an engagement shoot that looks like it came straight out of a movie - one of those effortlessly endearing romances that you could watch again and again, visualizing yourself in every scene. Gorgeous and supremely resourceful couple, Julia and Julian, brought their own dreams to life by finding their ideal location for an engagement shoot so they too could visualize themselves in the space they dream of someday inhabiting - a vintage, light-filled loft. I love the way Amanda K Photography captured their chemistry as well as the building's atmosphere in every photo!
From Julia: Julian and I dream of living in an exposed, light filled loft. We wanted to incorporate this style, along with our simple, romantic life into our engagement shoot. Our small town has a main street with beautiful, historic two-story buildings, so I set out and inquired about the second stories of these stores. The woman who owned this particular building said the space was undeveloped and I probably wouldn’t be interested in it. But when she walked me upstairs, I fell instantly in love! We then worked with Marigold Vintage Event Rentals to pull our style into the set with furniture. Our photographer, Amanda K, along with her assistant, Laura Nelson, both did an incredible job at guiding us through the shoot, encouraging us to relax, and show our true selves. Amanda's romantic approach, along with her ingenious talent, made for one stunning photo session!
See more of this shoot on the Amanda K Photography blog!
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