VENUE: Once we got engaged in Scotland, the next challenge was figuring out where to get married. While London offered us a lot of opportunities, we decided to go for New York, my home town. We love going to concerts and saw that the Music Hall of Williamsburg was available for private events. We had a look around the space when it was empty and saw how much potential the venue offered us. We could have the ceremony and reception in the same place and still have enough room for a cocktail hour. It was perfect! We wanted the wedding to be an extension of us, an opportunity to share the music, food and place we love, and the Music Hall let us do all this. We were lucky to have an amazing space to start with and the flexibility to give it the look we wanted with our own chuppah (made by James and friends), string lights and bunting/flags. Little did we know, we had a vision for the space but didn’t fully appreciate it until the day. I was almost crying when I walked into the space on the wedding day and saw how beautifully James and his groomsmen transformed the space. Glen Miller was being played on the loud speaker and I truly felt like I had stepped into a Music Hall from another era.
INVITATIONS: James knew about them as he use to live around the corner from their workshop in London, which is tall and slender and chock full of printing presses. We loved the typography work they did with initials and quickly were able to design a simple but bold invitation for our wedding. The green we used in the invite would reappear throughout our wedding.
FOOD: Elizabeth, owner of Betty Brooklyn, was recommended to us by our DJs and we instantly liked her and her approach to food. She sources locally and cooks seasonally. We didn’t know what the weather would be like but thought comfort food, that lines your belly, was the way to go. She was also incredibly accommodating to make our menu accessible to the various family member’s food allergies including a mini gluten free, dairy free red velvet cake! The drinks were provided by the venue and they were kind to have cocktails of our choice, Blacks Russians and White Ladies, ready for guests after the ceremony.
DRESS: I did not have any vision in my mind as to what my dream wedding dress would look like. I found my wedding dress on my first day of looking. The girls at The White Gown take such good care of you. They understand your response/taste and find dresses to match this. They also have a great selection of dresses. The were also incredibly accommodating to fit my fittings in/around my dates in NYC and did some last minute alterations.
SHOES: I wanted to have pretty shoes that I could dance in. Couldn’t look much further than Repetto! Althought I was greatful to have some white sparkly Tom’s to change into at the end of the night.
HEADPIECE: I knew I didn’t want to wear a veil but wanted something to complete my outfit for the day. I thought I would wear my headpiece for the ceremony and then lose it but I ended wearing it the whole night!
BRIDESMAID: The had dresses in the exact green we used in our invitations so it felt like the right place to go for the dresses. The variety was great and could accommodate everyone’s style.
SUIT: While James didn’t wear a traditional morning suit, he did kit himself out like a proper English gentleman and got his suit, shoes and waistcoat all on Jermyn Street
RINGS: There’s an amazing antiques market near Bond Street in London called Grey’s Antiques Market. Both James and I found our wedding rings there in the same day.
MUSIC: Have a dance party with our friends and family was a number one priority. The enthusiasm from Abby and Tom for our space and vision was exactly what we wanted for the night.
FLOWERS: Saw Taylor’s designs in NY Magazine and found her arrangements playful but delicate at the same time, with an amazing eye for detail. She was great at sourcing the quirky flowers we were after and worked with the layout of the tables to fill the long ones with apothecary glass vases. The brown glass really played off the metal and industrial feel of the space.
FAVORS: We kept trying to find ways of combining the UK and NYC together and our favors offered a great opportunity. Found the ‘We are Happy to Serve You’ Greek coffee cups online (so NYC!) and then filled it with our favorite candy and tea from the UK. We used the favors to double as table cards using initial badges on shipping tags.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Sas was recommended to us and we could quickly see from her portfolio that she could capture truly amazing moments in time. We were keen to have a photographer who would capture everything but without us knowing they were there. She was exactly what we wanted. We look back at our photos from the night and feel like we are able to relive all the fun and happiness through her work. She also did an amazing job of tracking down some great spaces for our photos – mere minutes from the venue. I can’t speaking highly enough of her work, from portraits to action shots. She makes every photo unique and special.
Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Invitations: Harrington and Squires
Food: Betty Brooklyn
Dress: The White Gown
Shoes: Repetto
Hairpiece: Colette Malouf
Bridesmaids: J Crew
Music: Playsomethinggood
Suit: Jermyn Street
Rings: Grey’s Antiques Market
Flowers: Fox Fodder Farm
Photography: Sasithon Photography
Portrait location: The Jungle
[images from Sasithon Photography]