Tell us a little about yourselves!
Corey and I met at a wedding in 2017 - I was the planner, he was the best man. Engaged in Paris on NYE 2023, our families met each other for the first time on our wedding day.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We knew we wanted something small and intimate and to have our siblings, parents, and grandparents with us for dinner. We wanted a private ceremony, just for us - because ultimately it’s about us!
We loved the idea of Italian food, eating family style and doing something local. Daphne's became a quick decision for us, checked all the boxes. We rented the space for the day and they made every part of the meal so special - from freshly made hand rolled pastas, to special dessert requests. We requested olive oil ice cream, which was not on the menu. However, they went out of their way to make it from scratch! We had a 4 course meal, not to mention the grazing table, lots of cocktails and cheesecake. The cheesecake was a surprise from my sister's partner’s family. Lisa is well known for her NY cheesecakes with mixed berries and it was to die for.
How many guests did you have?
17 people total.
What was your budget?
25k.
Tell us about your outfits.
The Dinner Dress: I took a trip to Vietnam with my best friend and had my dress and ceremony look both custom made. I knew I wanted something simple and made with silk. My girlfriend lives in Korea, so it was an easy trip for her to get out of town and for me to find fabrics and tailors that I love and trust. I first drew up my designs and brought them with me to the shop to have measured and picked out the quality fabric. For my ceremony look, I didn’t want to wear anything too overdone at the courthouse, so I chose and felt most comfortable wearing a skirt, jacket and top set (all custom made) and my kitten heels with a “modern day veil” my white silk scarf.
His looks: Corey wanted to wear a lighter colored suit to the ceremony, as it felt right. His undershirt was custom made in Vietnam. His ceremony suit jacket was from Boglioli and the black suit jacket for dinner was from Mango.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We wanted everyone to eat good food, drink good cocktails and have good company. It felt magical seeing all of these people in the same room together, Paula’s parents hadn’t been in the same room for over 25 years after divorce and everyone got along. It was beautiful to see - they all traveled in from different parts of the US for our dinner on a Monday.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
We wanted everyone in the room to feel special. We made custom embroidered napkins with their names on it for the table, that they got to take home. We also incorporated a lot of heirloom doilies for the grazing table and silver platers that were passed down by family. It was especially wonderful to Corey’s grandpa who lost his wife last year and got overjoyed to see heirloom pieces from his wife in the room.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Stay true to yourselves, take out time for each other and take it all in. It goes so fast!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We used a lot of local designers that felt special to us - most to all are close friends. Working in the design industry, I’ve had an adoration for so many but both Sophie Lou Jacobsen pieces, as well as Abel Objects objects were the perfect fit to our day. The local addition is my company so all of the pieces used for the grazing table/center pieces and vessels were sourced from my collection. I was able to give style direction to our coordinator Carly and Zoe with Spilt Milk Collective and they nailed it.
Using pieces I sourced from Morocco, Austin, NYC and so many more places - we used a mix of silver metal pieces, glass, clay pottery and sculptures to the mix. Fresh fruit lined the floral install in the center of the table to fill the empty space and I had the table cloth custom made to fit the size of our large dinner table.
Shout out to the chef from Daphne's Brooklyn who spoke about all of the food, as it was being served and our florist Field Studies Flora, who doesn’t typically do weddings but she is a dear friend and agreed to do our untraditional elopement dinner.
Photographer: Kindred @kindredweddings | Planning: Carly Fekete @carlyblackevents | Styling:
The Local Addition @thelocaladdition | Flora: Field Studies Flora @fieldstudiesflora | Videographer:
Studio Szeitz @studioszeitz | Ceremony Location: Manhattan Court House | Reception Location:
Daphne's Brooklyn @daphnesbrooklyn | Hire: The Local Addition @thelocaladdition & Sophie Lou
Jacobsen @sophieloujacobsen | Makeup Artist: Alex Scoffell @scoffstamua | Hair: Paula did her own |
Grazing Table: Spilt Milk Collective @spiltmilkcollective | Cake: Lisa Dosch @westgaterestaurant | Stationery, Napkins & Matches: Custom made by the couple | Entertainment: Keen Nomari @keennomari | Transportation: Taxi for us & NY Trolly | Dress, Ceremony Look & Headscarf: Custom made in Vietnam | Wedding Rings & Jewellery: Abel Objects @abelobjects | Engagement Ring: Custom made in London | Shoes: St. Agni (Hers) & Ralph Lauren (His) | Coin Bag: Vintage 1970s NYUNYU