On With the Show - Maura Kutner Walters

THE ALBUM
camp throwback........................... academic affair..................operatic occasion.........................
rowdy steak dinner ...............fantasy fête........bookstore nuptials............historic celebration
Haley Lieberman
and Michael Friedman
On With the Show
From a small dinner at Sammy’s Roumanian to an operatic megaproduction,
how seven very different New York couples made it happen.
by maur a kutner walters
Photograph by Roey Yohai
winter 2015 | new york weddings
69
“Before the movie
started, we used the
screen to show pictures of
our family and friends.
Then everyone got
blankets, popcorn, and
bags of candy.”
THE DETAILS
event design
That Time Events
laura’s gown
Kathryn Conover
sam’s gown
Vera Wang
officiant
Elizabeth Phaire
band
Tangled Vine
hair & makeup
Jill Hammelman and
Sharon Becker
photographs by
Heather Waraksa
camp throwback
Laura Leigh & Samantha Abby
Cedar Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, New York
sep t e mber 7, 2013
laura leigh and samantha abby, both 29, met at Emerson College
in 2004 while Sam was pledging Laura’s sorority. “I was minding my own
business, dating boys. There was an immediate magnetism when I met
Sam, but it took me a while to catch on that this was the person I was meant
to spend my life with,” says Laura, a freelance writer. After a few years of
off-and-on dating, Sam, a television and digital producer, popped the question in August 2012 via a homemade animated movie while the two were
on vacation in Oregon. “I must have said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ 30 times,”
recalls Laura. “Then I said, ‘Oh, and yes, of course.’ ” The couple wanted an
outdoor wedding but were turned off by noise ordinances at venues on the
North Fork. “We don’t like rules,” says Sam. “My aunt suggested Cedar
Lakes Estate for its anything-goes vibe. When we saw the lake and guest
cabins, we gave them a deposit on the spot.” The summer-camp-themed
wedding weekend included a late-night screening of Wet Hot American
Summer and a 50-person kickball game the next morning. Later that day
the two exchanged vows in the woods while 170 guests looked on and
sipped spiked apple cider and prosecco. The ceremony concluded with a
live acoustic rendition of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.” Explains Laura:
“That was our signal that it was time to party.”
“Neither of us wore white for the wedding,
so we had a white party the night before
to get those more traditional wedding photos.”
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winter 2015 | new york weddings
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album
THE DETAILS
event planner:
Brilliant Event
Planning
dress:
Birnbaum and Bullock
suit:
Calvin Klein Collection
flowers:
Rountree Flowers
catering:
Sterling Affair
music:
45 Riots
hair & makeup:
Face Time Beauty
photographs by
Brian Dorsey
academic affair
“You actually can’t wire
the reading lamps, so we put
little Christmas lights with
battery packs in each one.”
Abigail Post
& Joon Ho Seo
St. Bart’s and
the New York Academy of Medicine
oc t ober 26, 2013
Abbie Post, 31, and Joon Seo, 27, fell in love in a
science lab. “We were both studying biology at William Paterson University, and Joon helped me get
to know the lab. It was pretty charming,” recalls
Abbie, now a graduate student. A year later, at a
sushi restaurant in Wayne, New Jersey, where they
had their first date, Joon, a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers, proposed. When it came time to wed, “we
didn’t want anything too glitzy or formal,” says Abbie. “The New York Academy of Medicine really
spoke to who we are as a couple. We loved the colors
of the books, the painted rafters, even the checkered floors.” The reception for 150 guests included
scholarly touches like reading lamps on every table
and library cards for guests to write well wishes.
The band 45 Riots played the couple’s favorite songs
(lots of Stevie Wonder), and to honor Joon’s Korean
roots, bowls of bibimbap were served with the surf
and turf. And for dessert? A periodic table of elements made of macarons.
“Abbie was brought up Catholic, and we
were surprised to learn that St. Bart’s had
a female priest. The Reverend Lynne Sanders
was the perfect match. We really adored her.”
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album
“We were like, ‘Is any
place going to be more fun
than Sammy’s?’ The
answer was ‘Obviously not.’ ”
rowdy steak dinner
Alexis Scherl
& Chad Allen
McCarren Park and
Sammy’s Roumanian
j u ly 12, 2013
Alexis Scherl, 40, and Chad Allen, 41, met
on the now defunct site I’m in Like With
You in 2007. “We were supposed to meet
for PBRs in Brooklyn, but Chad canceled,” according to Alexis, a research
pathologist. “I wrote him off.” The two
kept in touch on Flickr, and Alexis was
charmed when Chad, a software product
manager, made his own camera for a Polaroid outing she had organized. (“That
really won me over,” she recalls.) After
dating for almost six years, Chad popped
the question in the summer of 2012 on a
raft in the Berkshires. The couple wanted
the wedding to be as simple as possible:
“City Hall and a party at a bar,” says Chad.
“But our friends were like, ‘You can do
something cooler than that.’ ” They decided on an 18-person ceremony in
Brooklyn’s McCarren Park, then threw a
boozy dinner party at Sammy’s Roumanian. Eighty-five guests dined on hanger
steaks, chopped liver, and potato latkes
while chilled bottles of Ketel One were
passed around the tables. Resident comedian-cum-musician Dani Luv played his
shtick songs (“It Had to be Jew”), and at
midnight the party relocated to a karaoke
bar. “People were dancing before the
appetizers even came out,” says Chad.
“When you surpass 20 people
in a city park, you’re required to
get a permit. For the ceremony, we
narrowed our guest list down to 18.”
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THE DETAILS
dresses:
Nanette Lepore
(ceremony),
Milly (reception)
suit:
Topman
flowers:
Alexander Brothers
Florist
cake:
Dortoni Bakery
photographs by
A couple
of cameras
album
fantasy fête
Krista Dresbach & Andy Chen
“If we could have engineered
a Willy Wonka–style tree
full of sweets, we would have.”
The Green Building
august 30, 2013
Krista Dresbach, a hat designer, and Andy Chen, a project manager for a pharmaceutical company, threw an over-the-top affair inspired by their favorite movies,
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Labyrinth, when they wed last summer. “We wanted everything to feel magical and otherworldly, as if Marie Antoinette were hosting the party,” says Krista, 34. The Green Building in Gowanus
served as a blank canvas for the couple, who decorated the raw space with candelabras and draped cream-colored fabric over the chandeliers. The Wonderland
theme extended to the wedding party, who wore whimsical
“We wanted to
pocket squares and masks handcrafted by the bride. “My
create a movie set:
sister, Jen, wears Banana Republic almost exclusively, so
Guests wore masks
she was hesitant about putting on a corset,” says Andy, 37.
and got bottles
“But when she tried everything on—the patterned tights,
of St. Germain with
the tutu Krista sewed herself—she was pretty excited.”
‘Drink-me’ tags.”
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THE DETAILS
flowers:
Mimosa Floral Design
dress:
Paola D’Onofrio
suit:
My.Suit
event planner:
Megan Southerland of
the Green Building
invitations:
Katie Skau Illustration
catering:
The Simple Chef
desserts:
Knead Baked Goods
photographs by
Sara Wight
Photography
album
“The balloons
told our guests that
it was time to let
their hair down.”
operatic occasion
Haley Lieberman &
Michael Friedman
Central Synagogue and Skylight One Hanson
m ay 3, 2014
“I approached my wedding like I would a grand-scale
production,” says costume designer Haley Lieberman, 31. When her boyfriend, Michael Friedman,
a 37-year-old rabbi, proposed in September 2013,
Haley got to work. “I created a mood board of stilllife flowers and sumptuous fabrics painted by the
Dutch masters,” she says. “We wanted everything
to be very romantic and elegant.” Choosing
the venue was easy. Haley had gotten a peek
at Skylight One Hanson in Brooklyn while
THE DETAILS
working on an opera at BAM. “At the time
flowers:
it was a construction site,” she says. “But I
Flowerful Events
peered in and saw these gorgeous marble colinvitations:
umns and mosaics. When I found out I could
Bliss & Bone
get married there, that was it.” Haley and Mievent
planner:
chael wed at Central Synagogue in midtown,
Tracy Taylor Ward
then bused guests over the Brooklyn Bridge
dress:
for the lavish celebration. At the reception,
Timberlake
friends and family enjoyed a local seafood
Studios
feast by Kevin’s of Red Hook. At the end of
cake:
the night, 350 balloons fell to the dance floor
Lulu Cakes
photographs by
from the mezzanine. “We decided to throw
Roey Yohai
some casual elements into the mix,” recalls
Haley. “Hence, everyone dancing among
balloons and me swapping my heels for pink
Nike Dunks.”
“My dress was inspired by
a costume I designed for the opera
I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Two
dressmakers helped me bring it to life.”
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album
bookstore nuptials
THE DETAILS
officiant:
Gina Jacobs-Strain
flowers:
W Floral Design
dress:
Martina Liana
music:
Sly Scott Trio and
DJ Carver
makeup:
Rouge New York
hair:
Neal Farinah Salon
photographs by
Georgi Richardson
Robyn Lewis
& Brandon Greer
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
m ay 17, 2014
Robyn Lewis and Brandon Greer, both attorneys, met at the University of Michigan Law School in 2006. “Brandon had also been
an undergrad there, and he won me over with a guided tour of Ann
Arbor,” recalls Robyn, 35. The two dated for five years before Brandon proposed in the summer of 2013 on a walk along the Bosphorus
during a vacation in Istanbul. The following spring, the couple got
hitched at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, which they chose for its
homey vibe. “It felt removed from the hectic city. It was like a sanctuary, in a way,” says Brandon, 32. Robyn’s younger brother walked
her down the aisle, and a reverend from Brandon’s family church
in Montclair, New Jersey, officiated. Personal touches included a
reading from the Taylor Mali poem “How Falling in Love Is Like
Owning a Dog.” Later, everyone retreated to the front of the store,
which had been transformed into a dance floor with votive candles
and paper flowers constructed from old newspaper. (For centerpieces, the couple borrowed hardcovers from the shop.) A threepiece jazz band played standards while guests ate sweet-potatoand-shrimp fritters, buttered asparagus, and lemon-flavored
wedding cake from Baked. “Getting married in a bookstore,” says
Brandon, “ended up being everything we wanted.”
“We didn’t know if we’d be able to find an affordable venue
in New York that felt special. Everyone kept saying, ‘I had no
idea you could get married at Housing Works.’ ”
album
THE DETAILS
event planner:
Joy Proctor Design
dress:
Johanna Johnson
flowers:
Baura New York
catering:
Creative Edge Parties
music:
Marianne Bennett
Orchestra
transportation:
Statue Cruises
hair:
Eiji Salon
makeup:
Jonny Polizzi
photographs by
Robert Wagner
historic celebration
Julia Harris & Behdad Eghbali
Ellis Island
m ay 3, 2014
“I had no idea the hora was
going to happen, but Behdad thought
it would be a fun surprise.
All of a sudden I was on the chair.”
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“Our heritages are really important to both of us,” says Julia Harris, 32, who married Behdad Eghbali, 38, last spring. “I’m from a southern family full of traditions,
and Behdad is a first-generation American whose family is from Iran.” Which is
why the couple, who met while they were both working on Wall Street, chose to
wed on Ellis Island. “It was the perfect place to celebrate the joining of our two
backgrounds, and an added bonus was that my great-grandmother had come
through there,” explains Julia. Her twin brother and Behdad’s sister officiated the
springtime ceremony, which combined traditional American and Persian wedding
elements. (Julia and Behdad, both still in finance, sat atop a table set with candies
and honey, Iranian symbols of a sweet marriage.) A D.J. spun Persian tunes, while
the father-daughter dance was a cotillion waltz that Julia had perfected as a teenager. The multicultural nods extended to the wedding
“Everyone took
program, which had the years and points of entry of guests’
boats over to the
ancestors. “Everyone told us about their backgrounds in
island. The day
the RSVP cards,” says Julia. “We ended up with a list of started with dodgy
people who came to America as early as the 1600s and as weather but ended
recently as 1993.”
with a huge rainbow.”