Tell us a little about yourselves!
David and I met in NYC in 2020 (thanks Hinge)! We live in Brooklyn.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
One of our favorite things to do as a couple is visit art museums. In every new city and country we visit, we always make time for a museum trip (or three), so it felt fitting for us to get married in one. We also wanted our wedding to feel elegant and timeless, and the Baltimore Museum of Art was just that – it didn’t require much decoration or adornment; it was beautiful just as it was. A perk of getting married at the BMA is that we were able to leave the galleries open during the reception so that our guests could wander around and enjoy the art.
Although we’ve both lived in New York for over 10 years now, I grew up in Baltimore, so getting married in my hometown was really special. I got ready in the living room of my childhood home with just my mom, my maid of honor, and my dogs. Some of my favorite photos from our wedding day are the portrait shots that Rachel took of me in my parents’ dining room.
How many guests did you have?
We had a small wedding – only about 75 guests. While we loved so many aspects of our wedding, one of our favorites was that we were able to spend time with all of our guests. It was so important to us that our wedding be small enough for us to really celebrate with our closest family and friends.
Tell us about your outfits.
I think I’m a bit of an outlier when I say I had absolutely no idea what style of wedding dress I wanted when we got engaged. I didn’t have a Pinterest board or any photos saved in my phone of wedding dress styles I liked. But when I stumbled across Danielle Frankel in my search for a dress, I knew immediately that I had found my designer. Her dresses were so undeniably cool – elegant and unique without being un-wearably avant-garde. The dress I chose – the Noa – felt like something out of a 1960’s black and white film, which, unbeknownst to me at the time, was exactly what I was looking for. My second look was a no-brainer – I had my mother’s wedding dress from 1977 tailored into a modern mini. I also knew that I wanted to be able to wear my shoes all night long, so I opted for Prada leather slingback pumps with a shorter heel height.
In keeping with the timeless style of our wedding, David opted for a classic tuxedo from Enzo Custom in New York. He also spent a great deal of time looking for his perfect wedding watch and ultimately landed on a vintage Cartier Tank from the 1970s.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Aside from having an intimate wedding with a smaller guest list, it was important to us that the entire day reflect our relationship. We wanted it to feel both intentional and romantic. We did that by keeping a lot of the logistics simple. We opted for no bridal party, just a maid of honor and a best man. My bouquet was just a few white calla lillies (as was David’s boutonnière). Both of my parents spoke during our ceremony (my father, a pastor, was the officiant), and we wrote our own vows. We also chose a photographer who specialized in candid film photography.
We also added smaller personal touches throughout the day. As just one example, we picked out a new cologne and perfume for our wedding so that those scents would always remind of us of the day.
We also made sure to carve out time for just the two of us – we had a sweetheart table separate from our guests so that we could enjoy dinner together and snuck away from the reception at the end of the night to wander the galleries alone.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Having a smaller wedding allowed us to really focus on the things that matter most to us –an elegant venue, excellent food and drinks, a live band, and beautiful flowers. As just one example, we found a champagne at our local wine store in Brooklyn that we loved – Delamotte Blanc de Blancs – so we shipped in a case for our toast.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Our biggest piece of advice would be to hire a planner! Working with our planner, Julie Partridge, was one of the best decisions we made. She made the process so much more manageable for both of us, especially since we were planning our wedding from another state. We were also intentional about making the planning process as fun and low-stress as possible, so we made date nights out of our more arduous decision-making sessions – we would grab a drink at our favorite local bar and check things off the list.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We really enjoyed working with Rachel Stenger from Fairfoxes and her husband/second shooter, Steven. When we started looking for wedding photographers, we were immediately drawn to Rachel's work - her style was everything we were looking for: intimate, thoughtful, and candid. About 6 months before the wedding, Rachel photographed our engagement shoot in Baltimore, and about 3 months after that, she, Steven, and our videographer, Nate Bittinger came to Brooklyn to shoot some B-roll of our home life. By the time our wedding came around, they all felt like friends, which we think is evident in the photos from the day.
Another standout from our wedding day was our caterer – Linwoods Our family has been going to the Linwoods restaurant for years, so we knew the food would be excellent. It was important to us that our vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friends had just as exceptional meal as everyone else, and Linwoods was the perfect choice for that. They were willing and able to cater to all our guests’ needs without skimping on flavor or presentation. Linwoods’ Catering Director, Sherri Levin, even came over to our sweetheart table during dinner to make sure that David and I were enjoying our meals. She let us know that she personally oversaw the preparation of both our plates to make sure they were perfect. It doesn’t get more “above and beyond” than that.
And we can’t talk about our vendor team without bragging about our incredible planner, Julie Partridge She was an absolute joy to work with in the 14 months leading up to the wedding, and she somehow managed to outdo herself on our wedding day. She got to know us both so well and made sure that every detail reflected us and our relationship. She was a comforting and competent presence throughout the day and ensured that everything ran smoothly. Julie, too, has become a lifelong friend, and we miss talking to her as often as we did in the heat of our wedding planning.
Photographer: Fairfoxes @fairfoxes | Planning: Partridge & Co Events @partridgeandcoevents | Flora: Steelcut Flower Co.@steelcutflowerco | Videographer: Nate Bittinger @natebittinger | Ceremony & Reception: Baltimore Museum of Art @bmaweddingsandevents @baltimoremuseumofart | Celebrant: Father of the Bride (Pastor Edward DeYoung) | Hire: Select Event Group @selecteventgroup | Ceremony Space: Baltimore Museum of Art @bmaweddingsandevents @baltimoremuseumofart | HMUA: Eva Varfolomeev @evamuah.dca + Caitlyn Meyer @caitlynmeyermua | Catering & Beverages: Linwoods @linwoodsrestaurant | Cake: Cakes by Jason @cakebyjason | Stationery: Stephanie Gould @stephgcallig | Entertainment: The Adrian Duke Project & Two Rivers Chamber Music @theadriandukeproject @samhillentertainment @tworiverschambermusic | Dress: Danielle Frankel @daniellefrankelstudio | Suit: Enzo Custom @enzocustom | Veil: Danielle Frankel @daniellefrankelstudio | Watch:
Cartier @cartier | Engagement Ring: Antique | Wedding Rings: Marisa Perry Atelier
@marisaperryatelier | Shoes: Prada To Book New York @prada @tobootnewyork | Favours: Stephanie Gould @stephgcallig | Transportation: Thoroughbred @ridethoroughbred