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Mindy and Michael were married on a beautiful September day at the Brooklyn Winery. The day began at the St. Regis hotel and with photos in Central Park.

Mindy met Michael at the southeast corner of Central Park for their first look.

Mindy and Michael began working together at SafeRent in 2010 and really got to know each other in 2015 through work. Mindy shares, “I was so impressed with his charm, chivalry and of course, his professionalism. I knew at once that Michael was a wonderful person and was so glad he was in my life”

Michael asked Mindy to marry him in Central Park on April 21 of this year.

Mindy had a special surprise for Michael. She shares, “He was certain I got him a watch as a wedding gift. Instead I bought him a necklace he had admired in Peru (the week before the wedding) but didn’t buy and put it in an empty watch box. It was great to see his surprise (and confusion) when he opened the gift. We chose the cufflinks he wore for the wedding together in Peru as well.”

Mindy shares, “The wedding was better than I ever imagined it would be. My fascination with Indian culture and weddings inspired the decor and color scheme for our wedding. Kehrin made this vision come to life with a hint of Indian tradition paired with a color palette that was bright and vibrant with beautiful traditional floral garlands. The winery’s warmth from the reclaimed wood succulent wall, paired with the modern concrete floor and light filled atrium made for a perfect venue for what turned out to be a dream wedding for me. Seeing the room set for dinner prior to the guests entering brought tears to my eyes. It was magical and everything I imagined.

I loved everything about the day, from the luxurious room at the St Regis to getting ready with my darling nieces to seeing Michael for the first time in Central Park to walking down the aisle and seeing everyone I love in one place to pronouncing our love in front of them all to the delectable black and white cake from Amy’s Bread. It was all just perfect.

Michael forgetting his vows at home, his button popping off of his tuxedo when he was getting ready and my veil catching fire during my procession all just added to the special memories from the day. I was so honored to have my mother walk me down the aisle and give me away, my best friend standing beside me and my brother reading in the ceremony and sharing his lovely daughters as flower girls. My heart is so full. Our first dance was punctuated by Dorothy, my oldest niece, twirling around Michael and I. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Congratulations Mindy and Michael!

Special thanks to the team:
Planning & Design: Jet Set Wed
Hotel: St. Regis
Venue: Brooklyn Winery
Florist: Doe + Jay Studio
DJ: Beat Train Productions
Hair and Makeup: MG Hair and Makeup
Car: Transportation Buster
Invitations & Paper Products: Mc Calligraphy
Linen: BBJ Linen
Lighting: Universal Lighting and Sound
Cake: Amy’s Bread
Bride Dress: Made with Love
Bride Shoes: Tory Burch
Photography: Jessica Schmitt Photography

Cristina and John had a romantic winter wedding with Christmas touches. The day began in the couple’s apartment in Astoria.

Cristina shares, “Our wedding day truly was THE BEST DAY EVER. I’d describe our wedding style as romantic and elegant, with a hint of glitz. We were surrounded by meaningful people and reminders of those we wish could have been there. From the start of the day, having my family (including our “furbabies”: Chloe and Baby) getting ready with me in our first apartment together was so significant. Chloe and Baby mean the world to us and having them play around the apartment while we all got ready made the morning joyful. I love the holiday season for the togetherness that it brings and having our Christmas tree as my backdrop felt super special. For my accessories, I wore my sister’s wedding earrings and a brand new necklace my Dad gave to my Mom. I also wore my Grandmother’s wedding band on my pinky finger. It felt special to wear jewelry from all of the influential women in my life on my special day.”

The couple shared a first look outside of the Liberty House surrounded by flurries of snow!

The ceremony was warm and cozy inside the Liberty House. John walked down the aisle with Cristina’s mom.

Cristina continues, “The Liberty House is a beautiful location that overlooks lower Manhattan. We both grew up in New York City and having the skyline as our backdrop was an ode to the place that made us who we are today. The inside of our venue has large glass windows that made it feel like we were outside, despite the cold December night.
Other personalized additions to our wedding included our “wish you were here” table, honoring the memory of those who had passed and were near and dear to our hearts. We reserved a seat for John’s Mom at our ceremony, as we know she was watching over us. Our signature cocktails are drinks John and I have been enjoying for years together over date nights. Our wedding favors were ornaments to commemorate our wedding day, filled with love and representative of our favorite holiday, Christmas.
My favorite moments of the day included seeing John for our “first look.” In the 30-degree weather, my adrenaline kept me warm enough to be able to show John my wedding dress outside, in front of the beautiful skyline.
We came out for our first dance in true fashion dancing to EDM music. Our first dance was romantic and magical. It allowed us to enjoy a moment to ourselves, taking in all of the love in the room while our guests watched over us. Dancing with my Dad was also a highlight. We share similar personalities and have always been able to understand each other without saying much. As we danced, I could feel my Dad’s pride for me and I know he felt my appreciation for being the best Dad a daughter could hope for. Seeing John dance with my Mom pulled at everyone’s heartstrings. Celebrating John’s mother’s life during our ceremony honored her existence while John dancing with my Mom represented the new bond they will share as mother and son-in-law.
The thing we were most grateful for was having our living Grandparents with us to celebrate. I grew up very close to my maternal Grandparents and having them there to bless our marriage was truly a gift. John’s Grandmother played a huge role in raising him and recently turned 95. One of my favorite memories of our wedding day includes her with us on the dance floor and being the life of the party.
John and I enjoyed dancing to our favorite songs no matter where we were or what we were doing in that moment. It made us feel very present and allowed our guests to feel relaxed and comfortable to enjoy the night as they wished. The rest of the night went by so fast. Sitting at our sweetheart table gave us the chance to take it all in and appreciate everyone’s presence on our special day. We danced the night away in between trips to the bar taking shots with friends. Having all of our loved ones under the same roof felt surreal. It was absolutely a day we will never forget.”

Congratulations Cristina and John!

Check out their Central Park engagement session here.

Special thanks to the team:
Venue and Caterer: Liberty House
Venue Coordinator: Christina Hope
Officiant: Ben Hickey
Cake: Palermo Bakery
DJ/Band: Mystical Entertainment
Florist: JR Florals
Invitations: Minted
Makeup: Lucero Artistry
Hair: Susy Stylez
Rings: Friman and Stein
Bride’s Dress: Lover’s Society Wyatt Gown via Lovely Bride
Bride’s Shoes: Jewel by Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaid Dress: Amsala by Bella Bridemaids
Groom’s Suit: The Tux Shop
Videographer: NST Films
Photographer: Jessica Schmitt Photography with Eric Swartz

Sandra and Dustin were married at the historic Metropolitan Building in NYC. Their style, joy and love made for a very special wedding day.

Sandra and Dustin shared their first look on the third floor.

  

Sandra shares, “We chose our venue first and that inspired a lot of our style decisions like wedding colors, floral design, typography, etc. When we started looking at venues, we visited the Metropolitan Building first without knowing a lot about it. It impressed us right away. The light was perfect, we loved the ease of the layout, colorful walls and decor items, and the place had a timeless quality that felt right. We looked around, but the Metropolitan Building stuck in our minds and, when we made our choice, we knew it was the right one.

I was pretty obsessive about figuring out what our wedding style was going to be. I am an art director, so I wanted to design as much as I could without driving myself crazy. The goal was to keep everything cohesive, but not in a way that would become cumbersome or feel generic. The colors helped guide things at first, bright primary blue, aqua green, white and grey as main colors and deep red as a pop of contrast. I don’t know how much that came across in the end but it did at least make some graphic design choices easier later on down the line.

My dress and hair plans also helped me figure out how I wanted the invitations to look: evocative of the past, but contemporary and classic without being too traditional or expected. The main design inspiration comes from the Vienna Secession (Kolomon Moser, Gustav Klimt, Alfred Roller, etc.), and the palm leaves motif was inspired by our initial meeting with my wonderful friends and floral decor geniuses, Mikey and Darroch Putnam of Putnam & Putnam.

It was a really wonderful surprise to hear our officiant, the Reverend D, open the ceremony with a quote from Ann Druyan. Dustin and I had no idea what she had prepared and it was the perfect mix of funny, sweet and nerdy.

I also loved having our first look and couple photos before the ceremony. It gave us a moment together before the guests arrived and was a reminder that all of this fanfare was to celebrate the two of us and our relationship. Having all of our friends in our wedding party together to take group photos before the ceremony was also a really special moment. It felt like we were getting the party started and setting the mood for the rest of the festivities.

There were so many other things about the wedding that were amazing: the vine backdrop and flowers and the photo booth, the dancing and music was bananas! I loved looking out and seeing all the people I love together celebrating and having a blast. It was also so great to have my little nephew, Hercules, there wearing his stormtrooper mask running around and being hilarious. I am so glad he could be a part of our big day.”

 

You can just see the happiness on Dustin’s face! He shares one of his favorite moments from the day, “At the end of the ceremony, when we were walking out to The Throne Room (End Scene from A New Hope) by the London Symphony Orchestra with John Williams, it was so amazing seeing all our smiling friends and family.”

Sandra continues, “I knew a lot of the graphic design, decor and floral ideas were foreign to Dustin and hard for him to give an opinion on. To better reflect both our personalities, we found ways to work sci-fi (which we both love) into our wedding. One of Dustin’s groomsmen, Josh, is a super talented stop-motion animator, director and production designer (among other things) and we commissioned him to create a space-window diorama installation in a little stage space in the dining room. When I saw it I was really touched by how amazing it looked and how perfectly he had created all the elements, infusing it with little details like our names and the wedding date. It was a hit with our friends, but elicited much debate over whether or not the Enterprise D and Millennium Falcon could coexist in the same universe…. We also named our tables after sci-fi spaceships from movies, TV, and books. It was fun but exhausting to illustrate each one for the table cards, so I hope our guests liked them!”

One of Dustin’s favorite moments from the day was seeing Sandra and her dad dance together. He says, “Sandra‘s dad’s dancing was amazing and I’ve never seen him so happy.”

Congratulations Sandra and Dustin!

Check out their cherry blossom engagement session here.

Special thanks to the team:
Venue: Metropolitan Building
Coordinator: Ashley M Chamblin
Officiant: The Reverend D
Caterer: Sasha at the Metropolitan Building
DJ/Band: DJ Colleen Crumbcake
Florist: Putnam & Putnam
Invitations and Stationery: Designed by Sandra
Hair and Makeup: Mabel Pang
Engagement Ring: Wwake
Sandra’s Wedding Band: Laurie Flemming; Dustin’s Wedding Band: Yayoi Forest, Catbird
Bride’s Dress Designer/Shop: Carol Hannah
Bride’s Shoes: The Row
Earrings: AU Rate
Groom’s Suit Designer and Tie: Enzo Custom
Groomsmen Suit Designer/Shop: The Black Tux
Bomb Pins: Camopins
Skull Socks: Aland
Space Installation: Josh Mahan
Photography: Jessica Schmitt with Eric Swartz

 

I met Rachel and Michael at the top of Manhattan for a scenic engagement session at the Met Cloisters. We had a beautiful fall day with warm weather and leaves just beginning to change color.

Rachel shares, “Michael and I met a little over four years ago on a dating app. He was my first and only “app date,” and I feel so lucky and thankful that I took the chance! We met for our first date at Maysville in Flatiron (now one of our favorite spots!). As soon as we sat down the conversation was effortless, and it turned out that we had a lot in common including mutual friends and a love for all things food and travel. At the end of our first date, Michael ended the evening by asking me on a second date, and the rest is pretty much history. After dating for a few months, we soon became inseparable.”

Rachel continues, “We have spent the past four years exploring together, trying new things, and visiting new places. We have been to Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand just to name a few, and soon will be heading off on a trip to Australia. Not only do we love venturing overseas, but we also love exploring in our own city, which is how we first came across the Met Cloisters a few years ago. We visited in the fall, and we immediately fell in love with the beautiful architecture and scenic views. It felt like the perfect place to come back to for our engagement shoot.

Michael proposed in March after a busy couple of weeks of travel. We had just come back from vacation, and I had to travel for work immediately after. Needless to say, I was excited to have a relaxing weekend at home. Michael told me that we would spend that Sunday having brunch and then going to the David Bowie Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum near Prospect Park. We went to brunch in Dumbo at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the waterfront with incredible views of the city. After brunch he suggested we go for a walk since we had “some time before we needed to get to the museum” (luckily for Michael I am not the best with geography and did not realize that brunch was nowhere near the Brooklyn Museum!). We walked together on the waterfront, and while I really can’t remember exactly what he said, he got down on one knee, with our beautiful city as the backdrop, and asked me to marry him. It was the most perfect, beautiful moment that I ever could have asked for. Afterwards, we continued the celebrations at a bar back in Manhattan, and Michael surprised me by having all of our friends and family there waiting for us. I am still so impressed that Michael was able to pull off the whole day without me suspecting a thing–not an easy thing to do! It really shows how well he knows me, and for that I am forever grateful.”

Rachel and Michael will be getting married in September of 2019. Happy engagement, you two!

Katie and Michael were married on a beautiful September day in New York City.

Katie got ready for the day in her childhood home in Long Island.

Such a sweet moment between Katie and her dad.

Meanwhile, at a hotel in Manhattan Michael got ready for the day with his family and friends.

Katie arrived at the church in a checkered cab with her dad.

Katie shares, “Our wedding celebration took place at St. Anthony’s of Padua Church on Sullivan Street, which holds a special place in our hearts. St. Anthony’s is the first house of worship constructed by Italians in the United States, which resonates greatly with both of our families. My grandmother, Catherine Timpone (Grandma Kay), and her six siblings grew up on Sullivan Street and attended the St. Anthony’s grammar school. My great great grandmother, Christina Timpone, was an active member of St. Anthony’s and donated the small marble top table that stands on the altar to this day! My mom often visits St. Anthony’s and believes she feels the presence of her family all around her.”

Mike had a hard time choosing a favorite moment from the day. He shares, “This is tough! There were so many wonderful moments throughout the morning, afternoon and evening. Sharing our wedding with all of our family and friends in a city that means the world to us was so special. If choosing one, watching Katie enter the church and walk down the aisle with her dad, Tom, was my favorite moment. It felt like an “out-of-body” experience and brought so much joy and excitement to my heart. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

After the ceremony, we headed to Central Park for photos around Bethesda Terrace, and for a quick NYC bite!

What an amazing way to enter a cocktail hour!

Katie shares, “It’s difficult to pick my favorite moment because the whole day was magical. It still feels like a hazy dream I had. If I had to choose it’s probably when we were about to enter our reception at the Boathouse. Throughout the day my sister, Kerry, kept reminding us to stop and be grateful since the day would inevitably go by so fast. The DJ had finished calling each member of our bridal party, leaving Mike and me alone outside the glass doors waiting for our turn. We could see the lights and hear the cheers from all of family and friends inside. We locked hands and we knew that this was it. This was one of those “grateful moments.” This was the moment when we were about to begin not only one of the best nights of our lives, but also the beginning of our journey as a couple forever. The cheers and applause from our loved ones as we entered as Mr. and Mrs. D’Ambrosio may have been the best way to start.”

 

Congratulations Katie and Michael!

Check out their Gantry State Park engagement session here.

Special thanks to the team:
Church: The Church of Saint Anthony of Padua
Reception Venue: Loeb Boathouse at Central Park
Officiant: Rev. Mario Julian
Caterer: Boathouse at Central Park
Florist: Cress Floral Decorators
Checkered Cab: FilmCars
Cake: Milkbar Weddings
DJ/Band: Tommy’s Tunes
Cocktail Musician: New York Ceremony Music
Invitations: Janice Nelson Designs
Makeup/Hair: Salone Di Capelli
Rings: Reflections Fine Jewelry
Bride’s Dress: RK Bridal
Bride’s Shoes: I.N.C.
Jewelry: BHLDN
Bridesmaid Dresses: Hailey Paige
Groom’s Suit: Giorgenti Weddings
Groomsmen Suits: Men’s Wearhouse
Groom/Groomsmen Socks: Jimmy Lion
Videographer: White Tie Video
Photographer: Jessica Schmitt Photography with Eric Swartz