Tell us a little about yourselves!
We’ve lived in Long Island City (the same place as our venue) for 3 years, and have been together for 8 years. Patrick was born and raised in Queens and works at his family’s business as a fifth generation Funeral Director, Leo F. Kearns Inc. Molly was born in Florida, moved to New York after college and has her own event company, Molly Block Productions, where she produces events for luxury fashion and entertainment brands like Tiffany & Co. and Disney.
We met 11 years ago when Pat visited his sister at college and she introduced him to her friend, Molly. A few years later at a party in Williamsburg, a bit under the influence, we danced together all night and continued to date on and off every summer in New York. Two summers later we took a spontaneous 3-day trip to Paris together and became officially official. We love to camp, do taekwondo together, and spend time walking around our neighborhood.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Our love story started and has continued in New York City. We wanted to share with our guests a glimpse into our love story. Even better was that the venue was in our neighborhood. The Bordone also had an insanely beautiful view of the city and the 59th St. bridge which felt very special and intimate to our home. The best part was that the venue was an entirely white / blank space, so we really got to design and transform the space with our planners exactly how we’d like to create an unique event.
How many guests did you have?
200.
Pat has a family of 100 people just of first cousins and relatives, and they were all coming! We knew we had to have a big wedding!
Tell us about your outfits.
The theme of the wedding was simply fabulous. We told guests that everyone should receive the compliment, “except for the bride and groom, you look the best!”. So we channeled what that theme embodied. We were also getting married in the place we live, New York City so we had to do the city justice!
I (Molly) wanted something very simple but elevated. There was definitely some pulled inspiration from Audrey Hepburn and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. I went with my mom and sister to Lovely Bride and I think it was the third dress I tried on and knew it was it. It felt like me.
(Pat) The suit was something I was really excited about. I wear a LOT of cheap suits for work, every day. They take a real beating so I never spend any money on them. Having a suit made to my measurements though -when I first put it on I felt good. I went with midnight blue, my thinking was that it would look almost black in some lighting, but have a little subtle color in other light. It had to be a three piece with a bow tie for the special day!
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
It was important to us to make it feel like a real New York City event, rather than a wedding. Being in the luxury event world, (Molly) I was excited to bring a bit of glamour and magic to our big day. Early on my dad was talking with us and he said “When you go to weddings, write down what they did and do the opposite”. So that’s what we did.
We had a cocktail 'dinatoire', instead of sit down dinner, we had performances, inflatable tube bride and grooms, gorgeous unique flowers at every table (shoutout to Justin Reis!), cotton napkins, and jell-o shots (something we have at every house party we throw). Every detail was hand picked. We wanted the night to feel like us as a couple, we didn’t want it to feel like us performing a wedding.
Most importantly, we were together for every conversation about the wedding. It was important to us that this, our first project as a couple, was entirely done together.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Since we did not have a sit down dinner, we needed to make sure the night felt seamless. Justin and Mark helped us create a run of show that gave the night beats for moments to happen.
We wanted to do a choreographed first dance. We went in to work with Wedding Dance Vows (local to our neighborhood) to choreograph a dance to Van Morrison’s Moondance. It ended up being such a fun activity to do together and such an entertaining element of the evening.We were the most excited about this part!
We had lighting changes where at 10:00 PM the lights went down and the disco balls would start spinning, we made sure all the waiters uniforms were the same, it was 4/20 so we had custom printed pre rolls with our initials on it, custom fortune cookies with fun facts about us, and we had a quartet start the evening off by playing classic New York City songs like Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.
It was important that every moment was a decision we made together to give our guests a sense of who we were as a couple.
We wanted to be a bit fun and playful, we are serious people of course but we also know how to party. So it was important to bring in fun elements throughout the night.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Try to be a part of every conversation. Not every decision has to be made together, but enjoying the process together was really important for the growth of our relationship.
We also recognize how insanely lucky we were to have the budget we did. We’d recommend working with a planner to help alleviate stress that naturally will happen. Don’t be afraid to maybe find a planner outside of the wedding industry.
Have fun. You have the opportunity to throw a party for yourselves, and think of it that way. You don’t need to follow the “rules”, let any crazy idea you have be the guiding force!
Minimize your bridal and groom parties. It helps you more than you think!!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Yes!! We truly think we had the best vendors.
289 Main, our planners, were undeniably the best of the best. Justin Reis Designs did an insane job with our flowers, we had guests taking photos of just the flowers at the wedding (which I personally have never done?).
DJ Motha, we met at our local burger pub spot in LIC and loved her. We walked right up to her and asked if she would DJ our wedding, and it was the best decision we ever made. She understood the vibes of the room, and the best part is she sings so beautifully that the guests didn’t even know it was her belting Diana Ross.
Wedding Dance Vows choreographed our first dance. This was the best part of the wedding process. 8-weeks leading up to the wedding we met once a week to create a special dance. We could not have done it without Kalli and team!
Parker Pictures captured our wedding exactly as it felt. The moment she walked into our home, she made our families feel comfortable which is so important for a photographer to do since getting photographed is not a natural thing for most people. She was able to capture exactly as we remembered the night.
Avery Golson for hair and makeup. She made us all look fabulous and not anything else.
Also shoutout to All Access, my audio vendor, I work with Satish a lot in the industry and am grateful always for his kindness and hard work.
Photographer: Parker Pictures @parkers.pictures | Planning: 289 Main @289main | Styling & Flowers: Justin Reis Designs @justin_reis | Videographer: Shu Wang | Ceremony & Reception Location: The Bordone LIC @thebordonelic | Celebrant: Atalia Lopez (a close friend) | HMUA: Avery Golson @avery_golson | Catering + Beverages: Bartleby & Sage @bartlebyandsage | Cake: From Lucie @fromlucienyc | Quartet: Kiral Artists @kiralartists | DJ & Vocals: Melodie Ray @DJ_Motha | Jell-O Shots: Solid Wiggles @solidwiggles | Dance Lessons: Wedding Dance Vows @weddingdancevows | Suits: Alan David Suits @alandavidcustomsuits | Dress: Lovely Bride @lovelybride | Engagement Ring & Wedding Bands: Isabel Dunay @isabeldunay | Bracelet: Molly's Grandmothers, a 50th anniversary gift from Molly's Grandfather