Tell us a little about yourselves!
Minutes after meeting around a beer pong table following several missed connections, we shared our first kiss in a vacant Chicago apartment after sneaking away from a friend’s college party in the apartment above. Since then, we’ve gone on many adventures together from traveling the world to moving to the Big Apple.
When Sawyer knew he was ready to propose, he created a full circle moment by trespassing (with permission this time) on a dock at Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire over Thanksgiving when our families met for the first time. He proposed using a family ring that went back three generations- most recently worn by his late mother, which means so much to have a piece of her with me.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
New York or Nowhere.
Moving to New York was a huge leap of faith for us, and it felt right to use our wedding to introduce our new home to family and friends, most of whom live elsewhere across the United States. Therefore, the wedding weekend was designed as a celebration of not just us as a couple but also the city around us.
As a set designer for theatre and film, I (Lindsay) knew I wanted each venue to feel intentionally chosen for its inherent character and how it suited each moment of the weekend. A civil ceremony at City Hall felt right for us- timeless and classic. We knew we wanted an intimate dinner party style affair to follow with excellent food and drinks. La Mercerie has a magical effervescence that brought our intimate vow ceremony to life. They also had crème brûlée - a favorite dessert of my grandmother who couldn’t make it to the wedding, so serving it felt like she was there alongside us. And finally, for our reception the next night, cocktails were the star of the show. Jac’s on bond provided a sexy yet classic vibe.
While we chose these varied individual venues for each event, the real backdrop was the city of New York. We may have only invited 25 guests, but 9 million New Yorkers showed up.
How many guests did you have?
We had 25 guests for our dinner ceremony and 40 for our reception.
Tell us about your outfits.
I’m super attentive to details and deeply appreciate technical craftsmanship and timelessness, which ultimately led me to Danielle Frankel Studio. I ultimately chose three designs to suit the three events, wearing a lace skirt and top for the civil ceremony, paired with an Armani velvet jacket with intricate beading around the collar that tied into the embellishment of my shoes by Manolo Blahnik and a vintage 1920s steel-beaded evening bag that I sourced for the ensemble. My evening look was Danielle Frankel as well- a more traditional gown with a delicate tulle overlay, paired with diamond studs with drop pearls and a midnight blue velvet bag from Mulberry England.
For the reception the following day, I wore a drop waist champagne pink silk mini dress with a playful bubble skirt from DF paired with Roger Vivier silver Mary-Janes and her grandmother’s evening bag from the 1960s.
Sawyer wore a bespoke J. Mueser “puppy tooth” navy suit and knit tie for the civil ceremony, followed by a Todd Snyder tux for the evening. For the reception he wore a bespoke J. Mueser burgundy velvet tux jacket.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We really wanted our wedding to feel authentic to us, so we were very involved in planning all aspects of the events. We also wanted our friends and family to feel like they had a real part in all of our events, so keeping it small and incorporating special touches was something we had a lot of fun with.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Sawyer is Jewish, and I am not religious but grew up around a lot of Jewish culture and traditions. So, it was really important to us to honor both Sawyer’s heritage and the values we both hold strongly in a secular Jewish ceremony. A few weeks before the wedding, we decided to structure our ceremony around the rituals of a Shabbat dinner, emphasizing the tradition of intentionally sharing time and space with our close family and friends.
Since our wedding was at the start of Shabbat on a Friday night, we incorporated the lighting of the Shabbat candles, the breaking of challah, and the blessing over wine into their ceremony that felt magical and meaningful. After our vows were recited, we jointly said Shehechiyanu, the Hebrew prayer that is traditionally recited for firsts or new beginnings. It was really fun for us to practice these prayers together ahead of the event, and it proved very meaningful to us, our family, and friends.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Do the things that feel right to you, and don’t feel like you need to do everything. There’s a sort of theatricality that weddings can take on sometimes, and we wanted our wedding to break that sense of norms. At the end of the day, our experience felt unique to us, and our guests really appreciated that!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Working with Elle and Zach at Kindred was so easy, and their work speaks for itself. It was so fun collaborating with them and we couldn’t be happier with the end result! Also shout-out to Clare at Voe Studios, who went above and beyond with all our hair! Everyone looked and felt beautiful.
Photographer: Kindred @kindredweddings | Planning & Styling: Studio Pimlico @studiopimlico | Flora (at Venue): Field Studies @fieldstudiesfloral | Bouquets: Flowers by Ford @flowersbyford | Civil Ceremony Location: Manhattan Courthouse | Ceremonial Location: La Mercerie @lamercerieny |
Reception Location: Jac’s on Bond @jacsonbondny | Getting Ready Location: Bowery Hotel @boweryhotel | Hair Stylist: Clare Malarky at Voe Studios @voestudionyc | Cake: Sprinkles
@sprinklescupcakes | Stationery: Studio Pimlico x Couernoir @couernoirspecialityprinters | Dress: Danielle Frankel Studio @daniellefrankelstudio | Suit: (Civil Ceremony): J. Mueser @j.mueser & Armani Jacket (@giorgioarmani Black tux:) Todd Snyder @toddsnyderny (Velvet Tux Jacket:) J.Mueser | Purse: Mulberry England @mulberryengland | Engagement Ring: Family Heirloom | Wedding Rings: Family Heirloom (Hers) & Anna Sheffield @annasheffield | Shoes: Manolo Blahnik @manoloblahnik & Roger Vivier @rogervivier