Tell us a little about yourselves!
We are both New York actors (Katie’s credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s series Servant, HBO’s Succession, and the televised version of Broadway’s The SpongeBob Musical, while Travis’ include over a decade of New York theater and voicing the Autobot “Hot Rod” on Cartoon Network and Netflix’s Transformers: Cyberverse), and together we sing and write music for our Americana alt-rock band Baby Chemist.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Though we have lived together in NY for 14 years now, we only stumbled upon this hidden community garden a few summers ago. It was tucked away from the traffic and lush with fig and apple trees, a grapevine trellis, flowers and an apiary- how had we missed it before? We kept coming back and when it came time to elope it was the obvious choice for us.
How many guests did you have?
Just our wedding photographer, Aly Hansen! We wanted an intimate ceremony that was truly just for us - despite being actors, we can be very private people. Lucky for us, we had a great time spending the day together and Aly is now a wonderful friend!
What was your budget?
Our wedding photography, our officiant, our outfits, Katie’s bouquet and our cake were our total expenses. Not to forget our $30 marriage license from city hall!
Tell us about your outfits.
In celebration of her Chinese heritage, Katie wore a bespoke cheongsam from East Meets dress, a red veil, and her grandmother’s jade jewelry. Other details included earrings that belonged to her grandmother, a vintage Dior red blazer passed down from Travis’ mom, and three different pairs of shoes over the course of the day (we walked a lot!). Travis wore a suit from Moss Bros, a pocket square from East Meets dress for a pop of red, and his grandfather’s ring. Katie’s stunning bouquet was created by Christine Le of Anther & Pistil.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We wanted the day to ourselves, but we also knew we wanted to share moments with our family and friends, and so capturing the day for posterity was most important for us. Aly definitely delivered- our 10 minute ceremony was the only part of the day we have on video, but the cinematic storytelling of her photography makes it feel like the whole day was a film.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Vegan NYC treats! We loved our cake by Sweet Maresa’s plus our chocolate cherry hearts from confectionery! And we obviously had to follow that up with boba and then some vegan New York slices!
Any tips for couples getting married?
Do it for you! Over our 14 years together, we have been fortunate to share so much of our relationship publicly with our friends and family. We wanted our elopement to celebrate the beauty of the day to day smaller things in the life we have created together. It was lovely taking the day at our own pace, together and surrounded by New York passerby's wishing us well.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Aly Hansen immediately understood our vibe and went out of her way to accommodate us. We're truly so thankful to have met her! Additionally, Christine Le took so much care in confirming our vision, and her design and craftsmanship of Katie’s bouquet absolutely floored us. The colors and composition were impeccable. We can’t recommend Anther & Pistil and Aly Hansen enough, as well as Minister Eugene of NewYorkMarried.com for our beautiful ceremony!
Photographer: Aly Hansen @alyhansenweddings | Planning & Styling: by the couple | Flora: Anther & Pistil @anther_pistil | Ceremony Location: Residents Only Community Park | Celebrant: Minister Eugene
@nymarried | Cake: Sweet Maresa’s @sweetmaresas | Entertainment: Our playlist by Baby Chemist @babychemist | Dress: East Meets @eastmeetsdress | Suit: Moss Bros @mossbros