Yoga instructor/art therapist Sophie Green was set up with Matt Kliegman, the man behind The Smile, The Jane Ballroom, Ruschmeyer’s, and The Westway, on a blind date by mutual friends. “It’s funny,” says Sophie. “When I moved to New York seven years ago, I couldn’t get into a club I wanted to go to, so my friend told me to just say I was ‘with Matt’ at the door. I continued doing that for years never knowing who ‘Matt’ really was. My husband ended up being ‘the Matt’ I was saying I was with all of the time! There was an immediate connection when we met, and I guess the rest is history.”

The couple started dating right after the setup and were together for three and half years before Matt proposed. “I was caught completely by surprise [when Matt asked me if I wanted to get married],” says Sophie. “We had just gotten this house in the woods on a creek upstate, and it was the day we moved in. We rented a van in the city to take things up, and Matt was adamant about driving an hour out of the way to pick up two Adirondack chairs, a picnic table, some string lighting, and a handful of tiki torches. Inside the house, we had nothing but a mattress, a couch, a bunch of candles, and some wine. After dinner, we were sitting in the chairs drinking wine, and he casually took me to the picnic table where it was well-lit and got down on one knee. I cried. The ring was beautiful—an antique Tiffany setting from 1910.”

Even though the couple lives in New York City, the outdoors is very important to both Sophie and Matt. “I grew up in Toronto, and I spent all of my weekends at my family’s farm north of the city,” says Sophie. “My parents literally planted every tree and flower on the property as it was just a hay field when they bought it. Bizarrely, our wedding was exactly 33 years after the date my parents bought the farm. The aesthetic of the wedding was derived from trying to seamlessly build off of the farm’s natural beauty in a simple, tasteful way. The topography allowed us to hide each phase of the wedding from the preceding one so that each was a ‘reveal.’ For example, you couldn’t see the tent from the ceremony or the tepee and bonfire from the reception.”

The bride didn’t have a dream wedding dress in mind, but ended up choosing one of the first ones she tried on. “It is this amazing line from Spain named Cortana, and the second I put it on, I knew it was the one. I wanted to find a dress that I could wear all night. I’ve always thought: I only have one night with this dress, so it’s going to stay on! The silk felt like butter on my skin. I loved the neckline and the simplicity of it, as well as the textured bottom with the raw hem and varying layers of silk and tulle. I always liked the look of a veil, so I had a beautiful one made from Stone Fox Bride that matched the silk of the gown.” Sophie also found a pair of Prada shoes with a low block heel that allowed her to move around the grounds easily. “We instructed our guests to not wear heels to make sure people were comfortable and to keep things casual,” she explains. “I kept my jewelry very simple, and only wore a beautiful pair of earrings my friend lent me, as I did not want the jewelry to detract from the dress. I typically don’t wear makeup, so I kept that and my hair very simple and natural.”

The ceremony took place underneath the most beautiful tree on the property. The chuppah was designed with flowers and ferns foraged mainly from the farm and created by the couple’s friends at the Crown Flora Studio in Toronto. Their guests sat on a mix of benches and stumps surrounding the tree. “A couple of days each year two large trees shed their flowers creating this magical ‘summer snow,’ which added to the beauty,” says Sophie. The bride walked down the aisle to Bruce Springsteen’s “Secret Garden” and Norah Jones’s “Come Away with Me.” “During the ceremony, my sister’s boyfriend sang a Hebrew love song by David Broza called ‘Under the Sky,’ and my friend, who used to be in the U.K. band Crystal Fighters, joined him to sing ‘You’re My Best Friend’ by Queen.”

The reception was held in a tent overlooking one of the ponds. Guests were first greeted by a large, locally sourced crudité table—heirloom carrots, delicious red beets, endive, and much more along with bread from Toronto’s Blackbird Baking Co. The main course was served family-style, and all of the entrees were grilled right in front of the guests. Servers brought out large platters of lamb chops, salmon, and chicken, bowls of roasted potatoes, and individual plates of heirloom tomato salad, quinoa, and string beans. “Toasts were given by my father Don and my sister Deeva—who was my maid of honor—Matt’s dad, Jeff, and his best man, Matt Creed,” remembers Sophie. “Most of the speeches happened the night before at a Jamaican-themed dinner for our out-of-town guests.” The couple’s first dance was to the New Basement Tapes’ “When I Get My Hands on You.”

After the reception, the couple and their guests were led by a row of torches to a 150-year-old barn on the property that they’d converted into a full nightclub complete with a six-foot disco ball and mood lighting. There was a bonfire, a tepee, and a food truck right outside for when guests wanted to take a break from dancing. Jonny Sollis flew in from New York City to DJ, and the party kept going until 4:30 a.m.

The post Sophie Green and Matt Kliegman’s Farm Wedding Outside of Toronto appeared first on Vogue.

For Mollie Ruprecht and Alexander Acquavella, setting seems to be everything. The couple first met during an evening sale at Sotheby’s, where her father was the longtime chief executive (and where Acquavella, an art dealer, had been sternly advised to steer clear of Bill Ruprecht’s only daughter). Four years later, they were engaged on the beach in East Long Island, where Acquavella has spent summers since childhood and more recently presented his future wife with a cushion-cut white diamond ring—a Sotheby’s special, naturally. And on the first weekend of June this year the two were married in St. Barth’s, the Caribbean island Ruprecht’s family has been visiting since 1970. “When my grandfather first arrived,” she says, “the customs office was an abandoned bus under a tree. We’ve seen the island go from huts without running water to Nikki Beach, and we keep coming back.”

Perhaps that’s why the three-day affair of their far-flung marriage almost felt like a wedding at home. “I was extremely particular about making a booklet to help guide people around the island,” Ruprecht says. She adds, deadpan, “I’m certain I drove Happy Menocal crazy.” The final document included drawings of Clyfford, the couple’s beagle-mix—his markings resemble a Clyfford Still—and bats, since the animal is the couple’s nickname for each other and also inspired their wedding hashtag #thebattwedding (the thinking being that two “t”s are better than one, and that the more obvious hashtag was already inundated).

First on the agenda was Thursday evening’s rehearsal dinner at Do Brazil, a seaside grill situated along a beach comprised of miniature seashells, rather than sand, that reputedly supplies the best sunsets on the island. Nearly a dozen friends made toasts to the bride and groom—Phil Radziwill, Hayley Bloomingdale, and Chuck Scarborough gave some of the best—before Lennon and Maisy, the teenage stars from hit series Nashville, took the stage. “There is a Nashville cult at Vogue,” says Ruprecht, who until recently worked in the magazine’s fashion department. “And I was the number-one fan.”

After the following day was spent hiking Colombier, lunching at Cheval Blanc, and bathing at Saline, Friday evening commenced at Eden Rock. There, cocktails on the upper deck of the hotel’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant ushered in a buffet dinner on the deck below, where guests were met with an oyster bar and the largest leg of Iberian ham that some contended had ever been imported to the island. Ruprecht chose a white Louis Vuitton dress that night, inspired by a recent Grace Coddington story about the return of white lace. (Incidentally, Thursday night’s tropical Gucci was another idea courtesy of Ms. Coddington.) DJ Sam French fomented an all-ages dance party on the beach—and in the surf—to which sparklers were perfectly suited. “I probably shouldn’t say this,” Ruprecht admits, “but it was my favorite moment of the weekend.”

The next morning began early for Ruprecht and her eight bridesmaids, who convened at the villa the bridal couple had rented high above Eden Rock. She asked her party to wear white, so that the day felt like a group celebration—and brought a few extra dress choices in case there were any issues. The ceremony at Gustavia’s Anglican church was so brisk that the bride and groom attempted to recess down the aisle right after being pronounced “man and wife” and a very determined rector had to almost literally pull the new couple back to the altar for a final prayer.

Revitalizing a group of guests enervated by two full days in the tropical sun is a feat in and of itself, but the sight of Ruprecht in her Valentino couture dress more than did that trick. First seen at the Whitney’s Breuer building last December, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli’s cap-sleeved concoction of white lace was originally too transparent, and was altered over the course of just two fittings to be church appropriate.

The reception at Le Sereno—replete with fireworks, a performance by Sam Cooke–soundalike Leon Bridges, and an unforgettable speech by the father-of-the-bride—followed a private family moment at the beach of Grand Fond. Located on the island’s southeastern edge, Grand Fond is a preserved site with no hotels and no restaurants. “My family has been walking through that field at 7:30 a.m. every morning since I can remember,” Ruprecht says, with every intention of maintaining that tradition. Because yet again, setting is everything.

The post Mollie Ruprecht and Alexander Acquavella’s Three-Day Wedding Celebration in St. Barth’s appeared first on Vogue.

Stylist Karen Kaiser and photographer Nicolas Kern’s story is a Fashion Week fairy tale. The two met during a magazine launch party in New York in 2009: “We had a brief tête-à-tête over Japanese culture and food, and the rest is history,” remembers Karen.

The couple dated for almost five years before the proposal. “Nicolas asked me to marry him very unexpectedly one afternoon just before we were about to leave to spend the weekend with some dear friends,” says Karen. “He had had the ring for quite some time, apparently, and waited for a moment that felt special and intimate. I was overtaken by tears of joy.”

During the early stages of the planning process, Karen and Nicolas realized a key goal of theirs was that the celebration give their families a chance to really get to know each other. With this in mind, they settled on the Southwood Estate in Germantown, New York, as the venue, a place they had visited together during their courtship and fallen in love with. “The estate offers many rooms, so our families were able to stay on the premises,” explains Karen. “And it was great to see everyone get together and to share so many special moments.” Additionally, the setting felt symbolic in that it somehow evoked home for both of them, reminding Nicolas of his origins in Austria on the Wörthersee and Karen of the landscape in Indiana.

Ever the stylist, Karen drew upon two specific images for her wedding look. “One was from a 1968 Vogue,” she says. “It was a photo of a wedding cape designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and photographed by David Bailey. After registering that image, I attended Alexander Wang’s spring 2015 Balenciaga show in Paris, where a white cape walked down the runway. As soon as I saw it, I was certain I had to have it for my wedding day.”

The second image was a photo of the wedding dress worn by style icon Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. “To find the perfect balance, I asked my very dear friend Deborah Milner to design a timeless dress with a modern sensibility,” says Karen. “She has consulted with the likes of Isabella Blow, Philip Treacy, Daphne Guinness, Amanda Harlech, and others including Alexander McQueen, where she continues to work with Sarah Burton on couture. Between my inspirations and her creativity and incredible craftsmanship, we arrived at the final piece. The cut, the fit, and the feeling of the heavy crepe fabric still amazes me today, and I cannot thank Deborah enough.”

To top off Karen’s vision, Treacy graciously customized her veil piece. “I wanted something very minimalistic to echo the shape of the couture pockets on the Balenciaga cape,” explains Karen. “When Philip heard that we were having the ceremony in a church, he added crystals to the piece. They glimmered in the light as I walked down the aisle, adding an air of magic.”

Karen’s shoes were beige leather pointed-toe Altuzarra slingback pumps with a small bow for a chic, feminine feeling. She paired the shoes with toes painted in Essie’s Jazz nail color, which was recommended to her by Vogue.com’s Beauty Director Catherine Piercy.

“My husband had gone with his instincts and chosen a pavé Repossi ring for the proposal,” says Karen. “I love Gaia’s restrained elegance, and therefore found it suiting to accessorize my wedding look with more pieces from her collections—including a Berbère ear cuff in rose gold with pavé diamonds and two rings from the Antifer collection, also in rose gold with full pavé diamonds.”

Karen called upon friends David Adams (colorist), Peter Gray (hairstylist), and Maud Laceppe (makeup artist) to do her hair and makeup on the big day. “Not only have we known each other for years and collaborated on many projects, but Peter, Maud, and I have worked on several seasons of Gabriele Colangelo’s show in Milan,” says Karen.

The couple had a Catholic wedding mass in St. Mary’s Church in Hudson, New York, accompanied by an organ, a trumpet, and a violin. “Nicolas and I each have one sibling, whom we chose as our witnesses,” says Karen. “I entered the church preceded by five flower girls and two ring bearers. And then after the ceremony, our ‘getaway’ car was a red Triumph. The car perfectly fit the part, since the wedding reception alluded to the French bohemian sensibility of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.”

The cocktail hour took place around the estate’s pool with a few Balinese antique blankets and pillows that friends Scott Studenberg and John Targon of Baja East made for the couple. The Bailsmen added their French swing tunes, and with the outdoor location and minimal decoration, it was a leisurely experience where everyone mingled and enjoyed themselves. “It was important to us that everything felt unpresumptuous,” says Karen.

For food, the couple chose a farm-to-table concept catered by Fire Roasted Catering of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, as they both love organic and local produce. At dinner, a prepared pig on a spit, salt-crusted sea bass, and roasted vegetables over open fires were served.

After dinner, Nicolas’s father gave a brief toast and introduced the couple’s first dance, which was to “Le Vent Nous Portera” by Noir Désir. “This was an unforgettable magical moment,” remembers Karen. Then, the couple’s friend Alvise Marino heated up the dance floor playing classics from the sixties and then more modern music as the night went on.

The reception ended after hours by the pool with swimming and more dancing under the stars.

The post Karen Kaiser and Nicolas Kern’s Wedding in Upstate New York appeared first on Vogue.

Janklow & Nesbit Associates literary agent Luke Janklow and fine art photographer Xela Mandel met via email through Luke’s sister, Angela, and a mutual friend, Hillary Lindahl, on what was basically a blind date. “I was living in L.A. at the time and happened to be coming to New York in a few weeks,” explains Xela. “Luke sent me a lovely note, and we started communicating daily until I arrived. Then, we went out to dinner in the city and the rest is history. By the time dessert arrived, I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with him.” The two had been seeing each other for about six months when Luke proposed with a simple band in the ocean at Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos the day after Xela’s birthday.

The couple got engaged in October, found out Xela was pregnant in March (she’s due in November!), and got married on June 20 on the exact same beach where Luke proposed. “The ocean is so magical there and the feeling so calm—we wanted to have our closest friends and family in that setting,” says Xela. “And when we learned that Donna Karan’s incredible home was available, the whole thing just fell into place.” Wedding planner Michelle Rago helped make everything relatively effortless. “The aesthetic was very simple and natural,” says Xela. “Bare feet were practically mandatory!”

Xela originally had hoped to have Peter Copping create her dress. “I met with him and his team, and they were magical—but later that week my mom, Cydney, called and said, ‘This must be the week of wedding dresses because I just found mine, and I thought I had lost it.’ I am very sentimental and the thought of wearing my mother’s dress was just too special and rare to ignore,” explains Xela. “On my parents’ next visit to New York, we all took it out of its box together for the first time since 1967! When I put it on, it just felt so right and fit me perfectly. My mom and dad burst into tears.” The dress was originally designed by Cydney and her mother, and they had it made at Saks Fifth Avenue 48 years ago. Xela did her own makeup, and her hairstylist, Brittany King, flew in from Los Angeles to do everyone’s hair.

To complement the dress, Xela chose simple diamond studs and wore the JAR engagement ring Luke had made for her in the lead up to the wedding. “Luke knew that my dream was to have a JAR ring, so he cold emailed Joel Rosenthal, and they struck up a very funny conversation over the course of several months. Eventually, we went to Paris for a few days and had lunch with Joel and Pierre Jeannet, and at that lunch Joel casually mentioned that my ring was ready and instructed us to come to his shop in a couple of days. He is quite a showman and a brilliant artist with a wonderful heart. When he unveiled the ring, we were speechless.”

Meanwhile, Luke wore a linen suit made by Miller’s Oath and a vintage seventies gold Omega watch that Xela gifted him earlier that morning.

The ceremony took place in front of 75 guests on the beach at sunset. Xela walked along the sand with her father, and her mother joined them halfway as Page Hamilton—a close friend and the founder of the band Helmet—played “The Nearness of You” by Hoagy Carmichael, which segued into the “Wedding March.”

Afterward, guests congregated around the pool at Donna Karan’s house for a reception overlooking the ocean. The couple entered the party to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s version of “The Nearness of You,” and then dinner was served while Carter Van Pelt spun amazing reggae and soul. After dessert, everyone moved to the beach for a dance party that was commandeered by DJ Select. Luke performed the Flamingos’s song “I Only Have Eyes for You” with Page Hamilton. “At the end of the night, friends convened around a bonfire on the beach,” remembers Xela. “And Luke initiated the release of the first of many wish lanterns into the perfect Parrot Cay sky.”

The post Luke Janklow and Xela Mandel’s Wedding in Turks and Caicos appeared first on Vogue.

Ariel Dearie—the creative director of Ariel Dearie Flowers, a floral studio that she founded that specializes in arrangements for weddings and photo shoots and has worked with brands like Dior, Prada, and Bulgari—met Andrew Simkiss, partner at Acres New York, a film production agency, on Halloween in 2012. “It was the week of Hurricane Sandy, and Andrew was sleeping on his friend Seth’s couch in Williamsburg,” explains Ariel. “The storm had knocked out the power at his East Village apartment, and we were both brought to this ‘fake house’ party by friends—a full suburban house built into a warehouse as an art installation, complete with food in the fridge and clothing in the drawers.” The two met in the “kitchen,” and Andrew pretended that he needed flowers for a nonexistent film project as a ploy to get Ariel’s number. “I suggested that we just get a drink instead,” deadpans Ariel.

The couple had been dating for a little over two years when Andrew proposed. “After going out for dinner in our neighborhood, Andrew made an excuse to lead me down a nearby street,” remembers Ariel. “He took me to the wine bar where we went on our first date and proposed outside, under the same tree where we had our first kiss.”

The couple originally planned to get married in New Orleans, where Ariel is from, but all of the venues they were interested in were already booked for 2015. “I had done flowers for a wedding at the Boathouse in Prospect Park and had really loved it,” Ariel explains, “so we inquired and they happened to have this one Friday in June available.” They promptly booked it. “With the tall French doors and large terrace, the architecture of the Boathouse resembles some of the buildings in City Park in New Orleans,” says Ariel. “We also loved that the location was convenient and in the city, but because it’s on the lake, it manages to feel private and tucked away in the park.”

Ariel had a very specific idea of the simple silhouette she wanted for her dress. “During my search, I found a dress with the silhouette I wanted, but it was too basic—and then I found another one with the right silhouette but with too much embellishment,” she recalls. “When I eventually saw the Jenny Yoo dress, I immediately knew it was the one I wanted—it had the simple silhouette but with light beading on the waistline and the cap sleeves.”

The search for a crown was a bit more complicated. “I looked all over for one that was ornate but not over the top,” she says. “I originally thought about wearing a Victorian wax flower crown, but those felt too heavy. I also had a specific idea in my head for this and just couldn’t find it. That was when I decided to make my own crown of tiny freshwater pearls and rose gold. Now that I made that crown, I’ve realized just how special wedding crowns can be and am now making custom crowns for some of my clients.”

The couple’s simple ceremony was outside, overlooking the water. “The weather was absolutely perfect, which was very lucky, as the prediction had been heavy storms for days,” says Ariel. “Our friend Dawn Mauberret, who is an event coordinator, helped orchestrate everything. We had a cellist and acoustic guitar player to welcome our guests and play during the ceremony, and I walked down the aisle to ‘Oh My Love’ by John Lennon. The ceremony was just a few words from our friend who officiated, Jesse Israel, followed by our vows and readings from my mom and Andrew’s brother. Jesse was a great speaker and did a wonderful job of finding a balance between being meaningful and heartfelt, yet humorous. As if on cue, a family of swans swam right up to the altar just as the ceremony ended.”

The reception began inside the Boathouse with toasts made by both sides of the family. Andrew’s two brothers each made some funny speeches to kick things off, followed by Ariel’s family, including her nephews and 3-year-old niece. “Our DJ, Chances With Wolves [Kenan Juska], played incredible music,” says Ariel. “Dinner was hardly over when the whole party made its way out to the terrace to dance by the water. A limbo stick made by my little sister appeared, which led to a contest, followed by a full conga line. The music was so good that at one point I looked up and there were people across the lake dancing on the bridge and in the woods!”

The post Ariel Dearie and Andrew Simkiss’s Wedding at the Boathouse in Prospect Park appeared first on Vogue.

“Our relationship really started on my birthday when my best friend, who was in town from Paris, dragged me out dancing after my Monday night birthday drinks had ended tragically early,” says jewelry designer Michelle Campbell Mason of her courtship with real estate developer Zach Vella. “We went to a bar and Zach happened to be there. He likes to say he never let me leave his side after that night, which is pretty accurate. That was over four years ago.”

The couple had been dating for two and a half years when Zach proposed. “It was Christmas Eve in New York, and we were planning a date night out at the Italian restaurant Marea,” remembers Michelle. “As I was getting ready, Zach asked me to meet him in the living room of our apartment for a drink at 7:00 p.m. sharp, which was a bit fishy, as neither of us are punctual people. As I walked downstairs, I heard Frank Sinatra playing, and then I saw a lot of beautiful lit candles and some amazing champagne chilling. He suggested we each open one gift before dinner. I had him go first. I had gotten him an antique valet, which was in a wooden crate. After he pried that open, it was my turn. I picked a bag, and he said, ‘Not that one!’ and handed me a beautiful and rather large box. I unwrapped the paper and found a Belstaff box. I assumed leather would be inside, but instead it was filled with tissue. I felt around and found a smaller box. In that box was another box, and in my head I was really hoping it wasn’t earrings. He took the box from me, got down on his knee, and asked if I would marry him. I was crying so hard, it was difficult to get out my answer.” The couple then went on to dinner and celebratory drinks at The Carlyle. “It was the most memorable New York winter night,” says Michelle.

Originally, Michelle and Zach had hoped to get married on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands but ran into issues when faced with their guest list of 150, so they set out to explore larger venues in Europe. Michelle studies medieval and Renaissance history and wanted to find a place with ruins and a beautiful story. They started with Ashford Castle in Ireland, which was once owned by the Guinness family. “We brought our amazing wedding planner, Colin Cowie, and toured the property together,” explains Michelle. “Ashford is just a breathtaking place. During our tour, we walked through the woods and came across Cong Abbey, the ruins of a 13th-century monastery. We fell in love with it, and that location was where we had the ceremony.”

Michelle and Zach wanted the aesthetic of their wedding to be comfortable and understated. “When you get married in a castle, you don’t need to add much,” jokes Michelle. “We went for really organic elements to highlight the natural beauty of the space—lots of wildflowers, candles, moss, and unfinished wood.” The weekend kicked off with a high tea for the ladies—all of the women wore hats. Meanwhile, the men took part in a whiskey tasting. Afterward, everyone met on the lawn to practice archery and falconry lessons. On day two, the couple hosted a Moroccan-themed picnic in one of the gardens. “We were very fortunate, as Irish weather is generally gray and rainy. The morning of our first event, the clouds broke and the sun was shining, and we had warm, clear skies until about 4:00 a.m. after the ceremony when a downpour started and didn’t stop for over a week!” Overall, Michelle had six events to dress for, so she had to plan her wardrobe carefully. The first night, she opted for a Cushnie et Ochs dress. “I have done the jewelry for their shows the last two seasons, so they loaned me a killer Resort piece,” says Michelle. She had found her welcome dinner dress months earlier. “Zach owns the Oscar de la Renta building on Melrose Place, so I spend a lot of time there,” she says. “I found a two-piece Oscar gown from the runway that was absolutely stunning—and from his very last collection. With the help of the Melrose team, I tracked down the sample and did a custom order. I was the only one to get this dress!”

For the picnic, she wore Zimmermann paired with Chanel high-tops. And for her wedding, she had three custom pieces made by Maiyet. Its cofounder Kristy Caylor is one of Michelle’s closest friends and offered to help her with the dress. “I worked with them to create a simple fitted silk gown for the ceremony, with a low back and small train—a sort of homage to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s dress,” she explains. “We also made a hooded cape that I wore as an unorthodox veil. It was perfect for the walk through the woods to the ruins. The grounds looked like a dream at dusk with white light twinkling throughout the woods. Maiyet and I also made a dress for the reception from a nude tulle that matched my skin and was covered with beading that Declan Kearney and I picked out. I was so involved in the making of my dresses that I didn’t think about shoes until the last minute. I was lucky enough to meet Brian Atwood at my friend’s wedding a few weeks prior. He is so kind and offered to make me custom wedding shoes in record time. We made two pairs, one nude with a snake motif and the other, a matte gold pair that matched the Oscar de la Renta dress perfectly.” She designed all of her jewelry and both wedding bands. “I created trillion diamond earrings that have a moving back and catch the light beautifully,” she says. “I paired them with a back necklace that draped into the opening of my dress, and my wedding band is a set of baguettes that hugs my engagement ring perfectly.”

When the Guinness family acquired Ashford Castle in the 1800s, they planted an amazing forest to hunt woodcock. “We created a pathway illuminated with lanterns and candles, filled with fun surprises along the way: two bars, a fairy on a swing, a fairy playing a lute, and a monk fishing in the ruins of a hut where the monks from Cong Abbey fished,” says Michelle. “The walk ended with the guests crossing the river and walking to the abbey, which was covered with candles and wildflowers.” Michelle’s father walked her down the aisle while a violinist and cellist played “Yellow” by Coldplay. Then Zach’s brother, Zane Vella, married the couple at dusk.

The reception took place in front of the castle on the lake, Lough Corrib. Lights illuminated the water, and the tent was turned into a bohemian forest with branches and candles hanging all over. There were two long tables side by side, and the guests dined on: cauliflower soup topped with caviar and prawns on a pastry spoon, grilled turbot, and roasted Connemara lamb chops.

After dinner, Zach shot an arrow into a target that set off a display of fireworks over the lake. They were all variations of white and amber. This went on for about 10 minutes, and then afterward, everyone went back into the tent to listen to Zach and Michelle’s father give speeches. “My dad brought everyone to tears with a very sentimental speech,” recalls Michelle. Afterward, everyone moved into the castle for dancing. The couple’s first dance was to Frank Sinatra’s “It Had to Be You,” and the Soul Jets from London proceeded to bring down the house.

Post-reception, the party kept going. “We turned the Dungeon at Ashford—which is usually a bar—into a nightclub, and the DJ Coleman, who flew in from New York, played the most epic mixes until the sun came up,” says Michelle. “The majority of the guests danced till at least 5:30 a.m. Someone with an Apple Watch clocked that they danced 10 miles of steps! Sadly, most people flew out the next day. Everyone was exhausted, though, and missed flights right and left!”

The post Michelle Campbell Mason and Zach Vella’s Wedding at Ashford Castle in Ireland appeared first on Vogue.

One would be hard-pressed to find a more international couple than contemporary art entrepreneur Maria Baibakova and financier Adrien Faure. The Russian bride and French groom live in London, met in Massachusetts, married in Provence, and then honeymooned in Asia. Their August nuptials, attended by 275 guests, was a three-day affair that wove in various aspects of the couple’s heritage, from local French flora and cuisine to traditional Russian shawls for the ladies and—because it was, after all, a party—a dedicated table of vodka shots. The theme, in broad strokes, was the Ballets Russes—“such an important cultural moment, when France was really in love with Russia, and vice versa,” says Baibakova—and they built, sumptuously, from there.

Following a January 6 engagement (FYI, for non-Russians, the date serves as their Christmas Eve), Baibakova went to Paris couture week with her girlfriends Nasiba Adilova and stylist Ekaterina Mukhina to assess the gown landscape. Enter Giambattista Valli, whose signature voluminous skirts capture the fanciful feeling of a ballerina’s tutu, perfect for the burgeoning wedding theme. “He’s an artist,” said the bride, “and I don’t use that word lightly!” The designer created two distinct and removable options for the bride, each to fit seamlessly over the same strapless bustier. Her showstopping ceremony gown was constructed of an incredible 300 meters of frothy tulle, and at each fitting Valli inserted still more layers in varying shades of white. “It was very challenging to get the color right,” says Baibakova, who ceded control early on. “I have to say, it was really his vision.” She worked with him for months on the dresses, which were delivered literally in the nick of time—July 31, the last day that Paris couture studios are open for the season.

Ultimately, of course, the multiple fittings and nail-biting over the color of the gown were completely worth it. Despite the challenge of the heavy skirt—“I kept knocking over my chair every time I got up for a toast!”—the bride kept the spectacular confection on through dinner. “I have zero complaints. I was very sad to take it off.” But the second skirt was literally made for dancing, so she wasn’t sad for long. A tea-length affair, this A-line, cream-tone skirt looked almost like spun sugar, and was covered with delicate three-dimensional anemones. “It was very light,” says Baibakova, “and at moments a little bit transparent.” Valli constructed it so that the length would look right with both heels and flats, guaranteeing that the bride wouldn’t have to stop dancing for even a moment.

The couple chose the stunning location, the historic Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, having visited it last year for the groom’s 30th birthday. It fit with their desire to incorporate pieces of their heritage into the event—not only was the setting French, like Faure, but he used to visit Provence as a child. “It was a really natural choice,” said Baibakova, “like a homecoming.” Set into the picturesque rocky hillsides, the hotel hardly needed over-the-top embellishment, which is why they chose to work with Belgian florist Thierry Boutemy, who utilized local vegetation to create downy, moss-toned arrangements. Olive branches and herbs wove their way through lofty florals on the chuppah and altar. Debora Spar, the president of Barnard College, Baibakova’s alma mater, officiated, speaking of equal partnership and contemporary romance—values the couple try to espouse.

After the ceremony, Baibakova’s mother offered the groom bread and salt, a traditional Russian gesture to welcome him to the bride’s family. “It was so special,” sighed Baibakova. “I loved every single moment.”

The post Maria Baibakova and Adrien Faure’s Wedding in the Hills of Provence appeared first on Vogue.

Singer-songwriter Lia Ices and vintner and Scribe Winery owner Andrew Mariani initially ran into each other at a dinner party in New York in 2010. Lia lived in the city at the time and Andrew was in town for a quick work trip. “The next day he invited me out, and on our date, he told me I should move to California to be with him,” remembers Lia. Their connection can only be described as instant. “I responded, saying I had to go upstate to record my album, but could be there in six weeks. I stuck to my word and we’ve been together ever since.”

The proposal happened four years later in Martha’s Vineyard. “We were there with family, and I had gone for a walk to get wildflowers for my mother,” says Lia. “Andrew followed me and suggested we keep walking to the beach, a mile from my parents’ house. He popped the question once we were there, and I simply agreed nonchalantly because it had been a hot topic for us recently. And he was like, ‘No! I’m asking you for real now.’ I started to cry. We walked back to the house and my family was waiting with champagne—then we all went to dinner at The Outermost Inn that night.”

Martha’s Vineyard—specifically, Aquinnah at the upper end of the island—has always been a special place for Lia. “It’s magical to me—not only because of how insanely beautiful it is, but what it has come to represent. Every summer, my family heads there for a couple weeks, and we reset our clocks for the entire year: We swim in the ocean together, go to the farmers’ market, the local fish market, hike through the woods, make amazing dinners, and stargaze uninterrupted by the trials of everyday life.” With all of these memories in mind, choosing Aquinnah as her venue was a no-brainer.

Lia has always been a big fan of Rosie Assoulin, so when she found out the designer had started making wedding dresses, the decision was made. “I think Rosie Assoulin is a genius,” admits Lia. “The dress I wore was exceptionally feminine but also very sculptural and minimal, almost technical. Her work is not frothy—even a pleat for her has a measured coolness. My look was architectural, iconic, and entirely feminine—it has bows! And the craftsmanship is just so special.”

She also wore a Jennifer Behr crystal headband made of little stars because she is interested in space and all things astrological. “My bouquet was my favorite flower, star jasmine,” she says. “And I wore rings on all my fingers, including my grandmother’s Colombian emerald. My hair and makeup were simple—I knew I wanted my hair off my face, and a sleek straight ponytail seemed to be the right amount of balance for the dress. Plus, it showed off my back. One of the things I liked most about the dress is that it almost looks like a bathing suit from behind. I am always a fan of creating moments of contrast within one context . . . so I absolutely loved that the ball gown skirt shape was married to the ultra sporty. There are many ways to feel like a bride!”

The couple got married in a tiny white Native American Baptist church in Aquinnah that is situated on the same road as Lia’s family’s house. “It’s the oldest Native American Baptist church in the country, and it was founded in the 1690s by the Wampanoag tribe,” she explains. “I’ve been fascinated by it for years—it’s simple and tiny and so unique. Everyone had to cram in to see the ceremony, though.” The bride walked down the aisle to the Beatles’s “Here Comes the Sun,” played on an old upright piano, and the couples’ four siblings, best friend, and the local pastor joined them at the altar. “We incorporated the Native American wedding tradition of washing our hands together on the altar before saying our vows, which was very special,” says Lia.

Dinner and the reception were at The Outermost Inn, where Lia’s family has dined summer after summer. “It sits at the most western tip of the island, with the most romantic rolling meadows and a view of the lighthouse,” explains Lia. “Being on an island is very powerful—you are by nature disconnected. And I really wanted to highlight how enchanting the whole experience is.” The couple had an open-air tent set up on the property, and flowers and chains of carnations and delphinium were hung from the ceiling to convey a whimsical romantic vibe, while the centerpieces incorporated fruit on branches. Their friend, Carrie Wilkinson, from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, came out to cook for the wedding and created a menu with lobster bisque, grilled rib eye, slow-roasted local fish, summer vegetables, and sweet corn as the highlights. The meal was served with magnums of Pinot Noir from Andrew’s winery and finished off with a cheese plate and Lia’s favorite dessert, Pavlova with berries. Chris Gillespie from the Carlyle hotel brought a band out and played all night. “I surprised Andrew and performed ‘Thank You’ by Bonnie Raitt with the band—it’s always been one of our faves,” says Lia. “After the band finished, our friends Hank and Effie from Hudson, New York, spun vinyl, and we all danced to awesome soul and old hip-hop. At the end of the night, everyone hung out by the fire pit, drank wine, and some of us went swimming—there were phosphorescence in the ocean that night!”

The post Lia Ices and Andrew Mariani’s Magical Wedding in Martha’s Vineyard appeared first on Vogue.

Caroline Polachek, singer, songwriter, producer, and half of the New York pop duo Chairlift, and Ian Drennan, a designer at an architectural firm who makes electronic music on the side, struck up a conversation about music while checking out a show at the now-defunct venue 285 Kent. “The band Class Actress played that night,” remembers Caroline. “I was a fan of Ian’s music but didn’t realize we were contemporaries, and ended up in a conversation with him for about an hour before putting two and two together and then going into fan mode. We initially started hanging out with the intention of collaborating, but clearly it turned into something much bigger!”

When it came time to marry, Caroline and Ian decided to host their event at Snug Harbor, a collection of 19th-century architecturally significant buildings nestled in an 83-acre cultural center and botanical garden on the north shore of Staten Island, New York. “I discovered the location during a video shoot there,” says Caroline. “When we went back to consider it for our wedding, we saw the Chinese garden for the first time and immediately knew it was where we wanted to be married.”

Caroline and Ian both love Chinese film and architecture, and her father is even a China scholar—but ultimately, they were mostly drawn to the location because of its atmosphere. “We loved that people could spread out and wander the paths, meeting each other in motion and sitting down together along the built-in seats instead of being closed in one area together,” explains Caroline. “The circular doorways, central koi pond, and looming stones had an otherworldly tone that made everyone feel very much farther from the city than we were, and because the paths are mostly covered, we could be surrounded by nature regardless of the weather.”

Aesthetically, they wanted things to feel elegant and elemental with a few surprises here and there. “We used indigo and ivory throughout, with touches of orange in honor of both autumn and the two persimmons Ian brought over in a paper bag the first time we had dinner together,” says Caroline nostalgically. “Ian and I both loved the tales of King Arthur as children, so that naturally found its way into a few choices, like a ’60s cake knife with a swordlike shape.” They went with textures like rice paper, wood, stone, and antique metal wherever they had the choice. And they preferred handwriting to calligraphy on their invitations, so they addressed the envelopes themselves, and enlisted their dear friend Maayan Zilberman—who has beautiful handwriting—to make the place cards.

“For wardrobe, we were so lucky to have stylist Kat Typaldos help us,” says Caroline. “I’ve been working with her for stage and videos for four years now, so we’re really on the same wavelength. I wanted something simple that felt classical and futuristic at the same time, but it also had to be comfortable so that walking and breathing wouldn’t be burdened. It was a tall order, but I found an image of this J. Mendel dress online and immediately fell in love, and with Kat’s help, I was trying it on the next day. We knew it was the one as soon as I put it on; it didn’t even need any tailoring. J. Mendel just added three buttons in the back so I could bustle it up for dancing.”

Kat also connected Caroline with Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters at Creatures of the Wind, who custom-designed the perfect silk trousers and bustier for her reception. They also made a showstoppingly exquisite jacket embroidered with two nightingales and persimmons, but in all the excitement and dancing, “I was sadly too hot to bear a fitted layer,” says Caroline. “So I made the impromptu decision to instead wear the sheer kimono, which was a gift from my sister that I had brought along to wear while getting ready.” Caroline’s veil was designed by tailor Grace Kim. “I wanted it to lie as flat against my head as possible,” says Caroline, “so she came up with the idea of doing the ‘palm’ formation of very fine darts running up the back, like a hand or star holding my head.” In keeping with the spirit of the simple ceremony, Caroline wanted to keep her makeup minimal, so she opted to do her own. “I’m used to doing it for stage at this point, and I find it calming,” she says.

The couple were married in the Tea Room, which opened onto the Chinese garden via sliding screens. Family was seated in the front, with friends standing behind them. Caroline and Ian’s parents and siblings met them at the back entrance to the garden, and they formed a simple procession through the covered stone walkways of the garden, up and into the space. “We were married by my opera teacher, Pam Kuhn, whom I studied with as a teenager and returned to in 2013, and who has since become a mentor to me,” says Caroline. “Ian and I wrote seven vows, and between reading each one, Pam rang a bell, which was a gift I’d given Ian earlier this year. The short silence and sound between each vow let us really focus on what was being said. Our ceremony was to-the-point, about 12 minutes from start to finish.”

After the ceremony, cocktail hour began in the Chinese garden. “Our friend Ross Menuez curated some beautiful rare records to play, which echoed out of the Tea Room and across the pond,” says Caroline. The party then moved into the nearby pavilion for dinner, where the tables each had a different candelabrum surrounded by a nest of flowers, greenery, and persimmons. “We imposed our diet on our guests for the evening and served only vegetarian and pescatarian options,” says Caroline. “Dinner was soundtracked by a playlist we’d made of all our favorite music that wouldn’t have been right for the dance floor, and there were toasts. Then Ian and I had our first dance to Patty Waters’s ‘You Thrill Me,’ after which our friends Molly Hawkins [Young Turks Records] and Ethan Silverman [Terrible Records] spun a lovingly selected set of soul, classic hip-hop, and ’80s pop. Our amazing florist, Brittany Asch of BRRCH, created the table arrangements in segments so everyone could take a piece and make their way home with flowers in hand, which was such a lovely parting gift at the end of the night.”

Post-reception, a group relocated to Brooklyn, where Caroline’s managers had organized an intimate after-party that her bandmate, Patrick Wimberly, deejayed. “Mercifully, our photographer didn’t come, though!” says Caroline. “It got wild!”

The post Chairlift Lead Singer Caroline Polachek’s Wedding in the Chinese Garden at Snug Harbor appeared first on Vogue.

“He was wearing borderline bell-bottom jeans the first time we met!” jokes Brittany Weinstein, the head of collaborations and special projects at Goop, about KKR & Co. real estate investor Justin Pattner. “I fell for him three years later.” The initial encounter took place at a dinner shortly after their two best friends started dating. “Justin’s best friend is now married to my best friend,” explains Brittany. “[Justin] liked me back then, but I had no interest. But three years later, at his best friend’s 30th birthday party in Los Angeles—where I lived at the time—I was suddenly into him, and I guess I made it pretty clear. We spent most of the night chatting, which turned into pretty regular talks on the phone once Justin was back in New York. I flew to visit him over Labor Day weekend a few months later. We went to Amagansett in the Hamptons with a big group of our friends, and it was after that weekend—a now magical weekend—that our relationship really started.”

The couple dated while living in Los Angeles, New York, and London—and then eventually got engaged in January 2014. “Justin proposed in Big Sur, a special place in general and a particularly special place to us. It was a pseudo-surprise—I can make it incredibly tough to surprise me—but what he had in store for me was completely unexpected. He orchestrated a whole celebration in Los Angeles with both of our families and best friends. He planned a beautiful dinner for everyone to celebrate at Giorgio Baldi, which is where we went on one of our first Los Angeles dates. It was an incredible, special evening.”

Then, the planning commenced. “We considered a lot of options—Manhattan, where we would be starting our life together; the Hamptons, where we fell in love; Big Sur, where we got engaged—but ultimately, we settled on Santa Barbara, the first trip we took together,” says Brittany. “We wanted to get married somewhere we could and would be excited to go back to over the years. Plus, Santa Barbara felt like the perfect place to bring friends and family together for the weekend.”

Many of their guests were coming from the East Coast, and since Santa Barbara is quintessentially “California,” they decided to really play that up throughout the entire planning process. There was the welcome bag: a tote for the beach or pool that included some sunscreen, a printed Goop guide to Santa Barbara, and a few of their favorite snacks from California. Then there was Friday night’s locally inspired menu and, of course, the jaw-dropping views of the Santa Barbara mountains at the ceremony. Everything got the California treatment.

Brittany worked with stylist Elizabeth Saltzman on her wedding day look. “She enlisted Antonio Berardi to custom-make my dress and veil,” says Brittany. “I wanted something chic and a little sexy but also classic, a dress I would look back on 50 years from now and think, Yeah, that was a good dress. I wish I could take credit for it, but it really was all Elizabeth and Antonio. They had the vision. We met in London to review the different laces and embroidery options, which was a surreal experience. The beading on the dress was so intricate and extensive that I kept my jewelry simple. I just wore a pair of delicate diamond slice earrings by Loriann Stevenson and my engagement ring. Elizabeth made the good point that when I look back at my wedding photos, I won’t want to look at the accessories I was wearing, but rather how happy I was on that day.”

Brittany wore her hair in a tidy low bun for the ceremony, but took it down afterward. The reception was on the ocean, and she wanted great beach hair at the reception. “I loved the idea of this exquisite gown and rough-and-tumble, beachy hair,” she says. “It felt very California to me.” She kept her makeup simple, as she typically doesn’t wear much day to day. “I wanted to always feel like me—like a slightly more dressed-up version, but still like me. And I did!”

The couple put a lot of thought into the ceremony, which took place on a big, beautiful green lawn at the Four Seasons, overlooking the Santa Barbara mountains. “It was about tradition, the people that we love, and, most important, each other,” explains Brittany. “We had a Jewish ceremony—however, we spent a lot of time beforehand really trying to understand the different components, and only chose the ones that really meant something to us. Justin’s mom and uncle and my aunt each read passages they had prepared for us, and Justin and I wrote our own vows.”

Afterward, guests moved to the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club across the street from the hotel. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were passed on the terrace while a jazz band played. They served Santa Barbara oysters on the half shell, potato chips with crème fraîche and caviar, blistered local shishito peppers, mini Santa Barbara lobster rolls, Santa Barbara shrimp tempura, and mini crab cakes with salsa verde. “Our wedding planner extraordinaire, Stefanie Cove, created a cocktail menu not to be messed with,” says Brittany. “They were some of the best I’ve ever had!”

Post-drinks, the group moved inside for a four-course seated dinner inspired by local California flavors: cool pea puree soup followed by a bright and beautiful fresh citrus salad with fennel and watermelon radishes. Guests had the choice of steak frites or miso-glazed black cod and were seated at long tables of 30 to 50. “We kept the florals—created by Maurice Harris from Bloom & Plume—low so people could see and talk to each other,” explains Brittany. The band played Frank Sinatra during dinner. “We wanted the dinner to feel incredibly intimate, like a dinner party we would have had at our apartment,” she says. “Toasts were given from each guest’s place at the table rather than in the middle of the dance floor—again, creating the feeling that you were at a dinner party.” The tables were covered in an exaggerated lace overlay, and the flowers were in a palette of white and nude. The only light in the room came from hundreds of candles on the tables and floodlights they used to light the ocean. The light from the candles made the silver metallic, hand-painted palm-leaf wallpaper shimmer.

While dinner was served, the terrace was transformed into a seaside lounge. “The idea was to make it feel like the terrace of a beautiful beach house,” explains Brittany. Outdoor lounges and couches with crisp white cushions were arranged with cozy blankets. Fire pits were lit, and big hurricane lanterns were placed throughout to create a really romantic light. “We opened all the doors of the dining room to create an indoor/outdoor feeling,” says Brittany. “After dinner and toasts, the craziest dance party started,” she recalls. “The 14-piece band played a little Motown, a little Van Morrison, a bit of Beyoncé—Justin sweated through four shirts! We could have danced all night.”

At some point, around 2:00 a.m., the newlyweds and some of their friends made their way back to the cottage where they were staying. “Stefanie had laid out a spread in the dining room that included every late-night food you could ever want,” remembers Brittany. “The dance party picked up again, and the night ended with the front desk calling our room at around 5:00 a.m.”

The post Brittany Weinstein and Justin Pattner’s Quintessential California Wedding in Santa Barbara appeared first on Vogue.

Danielle Mastrangelo, cofounder of Brooklyn-based interior design firm Decorative Traces, and her husband, Brad Walish, marketing coordinator for Woolrich, go way back. “We went to high school together,” explains Danielle, “but we didn’t really know each other. It wasn’t until after college that we reconnected at our friend Mike’s apartment in New York. Brad had just moved back to the city from Los Angeles to finish school, and I had been living here for a few years. We hit it off as soon as we re-met, and went on our first date the next week.”

The couple saw each other for five years before Brad proposed at their shared apartment on the Lower East Side. “Brad was waiting for me to get home from yoga class,” remembers Danielle. “When I walked through the door, he had a song playing from a band we had just seen in concert, The Mattson 2. He ushered me into the living room by the hand, got down on one knee, and proposed. It was very intimate and lovely. We opened up a bottle of champagne and started to call our closest friends and family members.”

They then celebrated with dinner at The Heath, where their friend, who was the chef there, hooked them up with the star table. Afterward, Danielle’s best friend and her boyfriend (now husband) and her brother and his girlfriend joined them for post-dinner drinks and dancing.

From the beginning of the planning process, Danielle and Brad knew they were going to have a destination wedding. “We wanted it to feel like we were on vacation with all of our closest friends and family,” explains Danielle. “We had a few ideas, but Tuscany really stuck out because I had studied and lived there after college, and Brad loves the culture—especially the food.”

Once they ultimately decided on Tuscany, they started working with wedding coordinator Cindy Salgado, who helped them find the perfect venue in Arezzo, where Danielle spent time living with a family after college. “The venue was wonderful because the majority of our guests were able to stay there,” says Danielle. “We loved being able to see all of our guests at breakfast or around the swimming pool throughout the weekend. We were able to have tons of quality time with everyone.”

Both Danielle and Brad love the ’60s, so they took lots of style cues from 1960s Italian cinema, while also highlighting the rustic beauty of Tuscany. “We started with our invitations, which were custom-made by a San Francisco–based illustrator, Lindsay Gardner,” says Danielle. “We wanted them to feel fun and carefree. We developed a color palette inspired by Tuscan summers, and that palette informed all the other design choices.”

Danielle was less decisive about her dress. “I wasn’t the type of bride that dreamed about her wedding dress,” she says. “But I knew how I wanted to feel in it. I also had to be able to carry my dress on the plane, so it couldn’t be too heavy.” She chose a floral French lace gown with a fluted skirt by New York–based designer Anna Maier. “It felt classic and modern,” says Danielle. “And it had Art Deco–inspired rosette lace that was graphic but soft.”

Danielle’s jewelry was simple but elegant. “I had found a gorgeous vintage pair of diamond earring jackets at the Brimfield Antique Show while on a buying trip with my business partner,” she says. “I wore the jackets with my diamond earrings, as well as a 1960s rhinestone bracelet by Kramer that I had bought a few years ago, also at Brimfield.”

For beauty, she took inspiration from 1960s Lee Radziwill. “My hair was pulled back into a low full bun,” she says. “And my amazing makeup artist, Giulia Cresci, made my lashes look incredibly full and long without using false ones!”

The ceremony was in a wooded garden that the couple’s florist, Dario Benvenuti, had draped in garlands of Greek leaves and fabric. The space was small, so their guests sat in a semicircle rather than in rows, which gave it an intimate feel.

The couple spent a lot of time beforehand considering the music. “We had a guitarist and pianist play Led Zeppelin’s ‘Going to California’—an homage to Brad’s roots—as guests took their seats; Van Morrison’s ‘Into the Mystic’ when my bridesmaids walked down the aisle; and then Bob Dylan’s ‘Wigwam’ for me,” says Danielle. “Our friend Mike—who was responsible for reconnecting us—officiated the ceremony, and my friend Katie, my brother Nicholas, and my mom sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Heaven’ by the Talking Heads. Then we recessed down the aisle to ‘She’s a Rainbow’ by The Rolling Stones while our guests showered us with rainbow-colored confetti.”

The reception kicked off with a cocktail hour—“But in Italy, it’s really two hours,” jokes Danielle. “Aperol spritzes were flowing, prosciutto was freshly sliced, and there was a fresh honeycomb dripping over Pecorino Toscano.” This was followed by a seated four-course dinner that lasted for about three hours. The meal started with a vegetable carpaccio; then the first pasta course, a risotto with white wine, saffron, and Pecorino; then Tuscan pici and wild boar ragu; and finally Florentine steak. The couple opted to have an Italian-style dinner, which meant there was no dancing, just eating. “I knew our guests were going to be full and sleepy after a long seated meal, so Brad and I came up with the idea of having a New Orleans–style second line march out post-dinner,” says Danielle. “It got everyone out of their seats and excited to keep the party going!”

They then cut the cake and had their first dance to Leon Bridges’s “Coming Home” before everyone joined the newlyweds on the floor as Umagroso—an amazing soul band they found in Tuscany—played. “They hardly spoke any English, but only performed American songs,” laughs Danielle. “It was amazing.”

After the reception, a DJ played music until about 2:00 a.m. “He surprised us by projecting the corresponding music videos, which was so much fun,” says Danielle. “And then, I know a lot of people stayed to watch the sunrise. We definitely did not!”

The post Danielle Mastrangelo and Brad Walish’s Wedding in Tuscany appeared first on Vogue.

The beginning of Billy Farrell, the cofounder and owner of photo agency BFA, and Bethanie Brady’s courtship sounds like the start of a rom-com. She hired him to shoot a gallery event she was hosting for the company she founded, BB/AM Bethanie Brady Artist Management, and the rest is history.

The two had been dating for two and a half years when Billy proposed on a family vacation in Vermont. How did the famed party photographer pop the question? He persuaded Bethanie to go with him on a sunset kayak on Lake Champlain before dinner. (Billy and his family have a camp there on the lake.) They paddled out to the nearest island, took in the sights, enjoyed a beer, and on the way back to the dock Billy capsized his boat on purpose. He pretended to be hurt in a ploy to get Bethanie to paddle closer to him. “For a second, I thought he was going to pull me in, too,” admits Bethanie. ”But he instead pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him, while family and friends watched from the shore!”

The couple was then engaged for two years. “I had never really imagined what my dream wedding would be,” explains Bethanie. “But I had a hard time picturing us having a traditional one. What we really wanted most of all was to bring all of our loved ones together for an enchanting, relaxing vacation weekend. I could see it all in my head, but several months into the engagement, I had yet to find the actual location—or any other components, for that matter.”

Bethanie admits to having a slight obsession with communes—“as in, I’d like to create one someday for us and all of our friends and family. So I used that and started searching for the perfect location where we could all be together on a compound for three days,” she explains. “After some research, I found out about the Korakia Pensione, a unique 28-room bed-and-breakfast featuring two fully restored Moroccan- and Mediterranean-style villas in Palm Springs, California. From the second I saw the quaint property, I knew that was where our wedding needed to be.”

On their first site visit to Palm Springs, their good friend and artist Randy Polumbo invited them to stay at one of his properties in Joshua Tree, the Spikehorn Chalet, an incredibly eccentric home crafted by him from recycled and repurposed materials and art installations galore. They learned of Randy’s plans to expand Spikehorn to include two more structures, monumental art installations, and a magical desert landscape. “Suddenly, the vision was coming together,” says Bethanie. “Even though the construction hadn’t yet started, we knew that whatever Randy created would be incredible and unique and we wanted to be part of it. Having those two properties secured—Korakia Pensione as the home base for the bridal shower, pool party, rehearsal dinner, and ceremony, and Spikehorn for the dinner and desert moon party—I was now able to hone in on the other details.”

For months, Bethanie spent many sleepless nights scouring Pinterest, magazines, and websites to try and find visual examples of the design elements she was seeing in her head. “I was getting frustrated that, from what I could tell, what I wanted didn’t exist, so I started sketching out the concepts and making examples/models in our apartment,” she explains. “The best aesthetic description that I was able to come up with was: Chiquita Banana’s futuristic desert moon party circa 1970, Marrakech. Pretty basic! I wanted glowing orbs of different sizes scattered around us throughout the desert landscape, creating an otherworldly feel; Moroccan seating areas on the desert floor surrounding the dinner area; fire pits; colorful place settings of vibrant blues, purples, and pinks, with hints of silver, bronze, and copper; and homemade silver tabletop pedestal bowls overflowing with a mix of metallic and brightly colored fruit (fuchsia pomegranates, turquoise pears, purple grapes, copper and silver pineapples, et cetera), all of which my husband and I painted together in the desert one night earlier that week after a trip to the Los Angeles Produce Market for more than 100 pineapples and an SUV full of other fruits. It was a fun pre-wedding bonding experience!”

The wedding was a mishmash of DIY and vintage components, both found and rented. “I didn’t see it all come together in a cohesive layout until game time when it would have been too late to change anything,” says Bethanie. “But the combination of the environment and decor came together beautifully to create a magical, mystical, surreal yet elegant experience.”

The entire weekend kicked off with a welcome cocktail party on Thursday night at the Korakia Pensione. On Friday, the bride and groom’s mothers and sisters hosted a bridal shower, which was followed by a caftan pool party. “From the beginning, whenever I pictured our wedding, all I could see were our guests just lounging around in colorful caftans the whole weekend,” jokes Bethanie. “It was hard for me to verbalize this to all, so I created a ‘vibe’ page on our website to relay the mood I was going for to our guests.” Bethanie wore a colorful Mara Hoffman one-piece cutout swimsuit with an ombré caftan that she had made and gold slides.

Friday night, guests gathered in the Mediterranean courtyard for the rehearsal dinner. Then on Sunday, the ceremony was in the same location, followed by dinner and a desert moon party at the Spikehorn private compound at Joshua Tree.

Bethanie chose Mara Hoffman for her wedding day look. ”She has always been a huge inspiration to me,” explains Bethanie. “I just want to live in her world! I couldn’t picture myself in a typical white bridal look—bright colors and patterns were jumping out in my mind. After months of telling everyone that my dream was to have Mara Hoffman design my dress, a mutual friend, Athena Calderone, kindly made the introduction, and I was lucky enough to be able to work closely with Mara on a custom, hand-embroidered gown that is unlike anything she’s ever created. I had a very specific vision for my dress, and Mara amazed me with the most beautifully designed and crafted work of art that exceeded my expectations! It was such a special experience that led to not only the dress of my dreams, but wonderful friendships with Mara and her amazing team. The final design wasn’t completed until two weeks before the wedding, and I was basing much of the weekend decor and outfits on the final dress pattern and colors, so in those final two weeks it was a mad dash to tie everything together visually and conceptually.”

For jewelry, Bethanie wanted to mix different metals in order to complement Mara’s dress. “Anndra Neen creates beautiful, wearable works of art, and the week before the wedding, they agreed to meet with me and graciously offered to create custom versions of their existing designs, which I was just over the moon about!” she says. “They had the pieces produced and sent to me in Palm Springs within a few days. It was incredible.” Beauty-wise, Bethanie wanted to feel comfortable and natural while making sure that the vibrant colors she was wearing didn’t overpower her. “I’m always wary of having my hair and makeup done by someone else,” she admits. “But our dear friend David Goldweitz, Co-Founder of Glamsquad, arranged for a team of Glamsquad stylists to come down from Los Angeles to do hair and makeup for me and a group of gals. I thought everyone looked stunning—they did an amazing job and were such a pleasure to work with! The bougainvillea flowers in my hair on the wedding day were last-minute additions, picked just outside my suite window!” And then underneath it all was a gift from Bethanie’s good friend and artist Zoe Buckman: colorful hand-embroidered lingerie reading “Mrs. Farrell” and worn for good luck.

Billy wore a classic bespoke indigo suit for the ceremony, and then changed into a tunic and harem pants that he brought back from his last trip to India after dinner.

A close friend of the couple, Joey Jalleo, officiated the intimate outdoor ceremony, which took place in front of 100 of their closest family and friends while the sun was setting against the desert mountains. Bethanie’s mother and father walked her down the aisle while a Spanish guitar player performed “Rainbow Connection” in the background. In keeping with the entire weekend, Joey’s vibe was loose and lively yet heartfelt. At one point, he stopped to take pictures—showing Billy what it’s like to be on the other side of the camera—before telling stories about Bethanie and Billy and roasting a few guests. All the while, the BFA Air drone, operated by Marco Pedde, was documenting the scene from above.

After the ceremony, guests picked up glasses of champagne and boarded buses headed to Joshua Tree for dinner and dancing under the stars. Forty-five minutes later, guests stepped off the buses at Spikehorn and were literally transported into another world. After cocktails, guests were seated at long, colorful tables for a family-style dinner catered by Taste of Pace. The couple’s friend Joey continued to emcee the evening, and after dinner, guests listened to heartfelt toasts to the bride and groom, then New York–based DJ Alex Merrell took to the turntables and everyone joined Billy and Bethanie on the dance floor. By the end of the night, almost all of the guests were gathered together amidst glowing oribes on the magical outdoor bed telling stories under the full moon.

The post Billy Farrell and Bethanie Brady’s Wedding at Joshua Tree appeared first on Vogue.

It was Lisa Salzer’s lucky day. After wrapping up work just before the holiday break she came home and fell listlessly on the couch. Her then-boyfriend of over three years, Marlon Taylor-Wiles, received a “text” saying that the couple had to show up to a last-minute surprise party for a friend. As Salzer describes what happened next, “I dragged myself off the couch and we headed out into the night under the guise of going to the party. At exactly 11:11 [p.m.], my lucky number, Marlon asked me what time it was. I closed my eyes to make a wish as I usually do at this time, and when I opened them, he was kneeling in front of me in the exact spot in the West Village where we first became a couple.”

Salzer, designer and founder of Lulu Frost, and Taylor-Wiles, a contemporary ballet dancer and founder of dance company Flying Under the Radar, set out to create a wedding that was not only beautiful, but incredibly personal as well. The couple chose to marry at Gurney’s seaside resort in Montauk, a place close to Salzer’s heart since she grew up on Long Island and spent many memorable spa days there with her mom. “Marlon and I loved the idea of getting married with the infinite horizon of the ocean as our backdrop,” she says.

As dramatic as the scenery may have been, Salzer had no intention of being the perfect, cookie-cutter bride: “I wanted to look my personal best on my wedding day, and not like some commercialized vision of what a bride should look like.” Her dress, created by Romona Keveza, was the key ingredient to this formula—a convertible, structured gown that she could easily change from a sleeved look to a sleeveless one. For the jewelry designer, adornments were particularly important. Salzer explains, “I wore my grandmother Elizabeth Frost’s—my company’s namesake—antique pearl and diamond studs as well as a new prototype of Lulu Frost fine jewelry made to resemble the constellations. I wore Marlon’s and my star signs—Scorpio for me and a Cancer stud for him.” The stars, it seemed, were indeed aligned for the big day.

The ceremony took place on an outdoor deck of the resort overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The wedding was designed and produced by Tess Casey and Miles Dallas of Aisling Flowers (whose work has appeared on film and TV sets including Sex and the City, The Devil Wears Prada, and Boardwalk Empire). For the backdrop they incorporated marigold blossoms, “symbolizing time I spent living in Nepal,” Salzer notes. There was also a Tibetan singing bowl and wind chimes played by the couple’s nephews, and the writer Lesley M. M. Blume officiated. Readings included passages by Haruki Murakami and Ernest Hemingway on love and the power of the universe.

Art and song were hugely important components of the nuptials. “Marlon’s great friend Clynton Cox, who he met at the Boston Conservatory, played original pieces for the start of the ceremony. Then, I walked down the aisle to one of my all time favorites, ‘The Rain Song’ by Led Zeppelin,” Salzer says. “We walked back up the aisle as a married couple to Grace Jones’s ‘La Vie en Rose.’ Perfection.”

The music raged on after vows were exchanged in the ballroom at Gurney’s: “Our guests were greeted with the cool reggae magic of Winston Irie and the Selective Security Band—who was playing when we first met at a Lulu Frost event—as well as DJ Oliver Mak on the ones and twos.” It was an epic five-hour dance party, not surprising considering Taylor-Wiles’s profession and their artistically inclined crew of friends. As Salzer describes it, “At any given point in the evening there could literally be three distinct dance circles: one with a vogue-off between old rivals, one with an epic rap battle happening, and one with all the old Jewish uncles in a hora spin-off.”

When not on the dance floor, everyone dined on Jamaican jerk spiced salmon with mango salsa or slow-smoked short ribs. The wedding cake was hazelnut with dark chocolate filling and local raspberries. While the noshing and champagne drinking ensued, speeches by the best man, maid of honor, and fathers of both the bride and groom were kept light and funny. Guests were also able to sneak away from the table to take pictures in a GIF-making photo booth. The melodies continued with the couple’s first dance song, “I Only Have Eyes for You” by the Flamingos.

After the reception, the soiree Salzer explains, “moved outside for a crazy after-party bonfire on the beach. People lounged on Moroccan rugs and poufs, smoking hookahs while snacking on falafel and s’mores, and Winston Irie and his band played acoustically for us into the night.” The party continued into the late hours, and for the new Mr. and Mrs. Taylor-Wiles, through the next three weeks: “We went to Morocco for our honeymoon. Our bonfire was a nod to our upcoming adventure, which, needless to say, is another incredible tale all together.”

The post Lulu Frost Designer Lisa Salzer and Dancer Marlon Taylor-Wiles’s Stunning Seaside Wedding appeared first on Vogue.

There was no way writer and author Jessica Soffer was going to have a traditional wedding: “We aren’t religious, we both have tiny families, and two of the people dearest to Alex are over 97 and would not be able to travel far for it.” The Alex she is referring to is her now-husband Alex Forden, a modern-home builder whom she met in a college English class and married at town hall. “Our relationship started in emails—first about homework,” Soffer notes. “They got increasingly more personal until we were telling each other things we’d never told anyone else and being honest in a way that we maybe wouldn’t have had we gone on a series of dinner dates.” The e-exchanges led to a relationship, and the relationship led to the two moving to New York together to attend graduate school. As Soffer remembers, “We lived in my father’s art studio loft in Soho until my book came out and Alex was offered a job in the Hamptons. We couldn’t pass it up, so we dove headfirst into a renovation project in Amagansett and made the home of our dreams.”

Though they were actually legally married by a judge the previous December and they had celebrated together afterward with champagne and takeout, the wedding party itself took place near the same quaint Long Island town in September the following year. “We wanted to do something different and something that honored us, but that celebrated 10 years of love more generally,” Soffer says. “Our friends are such a huge part of who we are and so is the place we live, so we wanted to pay homage to those two things.”

The couple planned a three-day event. “Everyone stayed within walking distance of our house, and friends hosted activities: yoga on the deck, a group surf lesson, picking flowers and tomatoes at the local farm, and Alex took the guys offshore fishing,” she says. On the last day, Soffer and Forden asked everyone to “be glam” and arrive at their house at 4:00 p.m. for a surprise. Soffer herself wore a minimal two-piece Hervé Léger, of which she says, “I didn’t intend on white. I just wanted to wear something that I wouldn’t wear on any other night—but when I saw it, it felt so right, with vintage lines, and so much like me.” She adds, “I tried red dresses and silk jumpsuits and taffeta skirts, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that amazing white skirt and top.” As for accessories: “My earrings were Elizabeth Cole fish bones for Alex, who lives to fish, and my bracelet was a gift from my mother, who is the most important person in the world to us.”

Once all of the very important people were gathered at their home, a bus transported the group to Sag Harbor and onto a yacht for a sunset cruise, dinner, and dancing. “We drank Dark ’n’ Stormys and had loads of seafood, beer, and sparkling wine from our favorite local purveyors,” Soffer says. “Friends made toasts, and we listened to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong. We also danced to Motown for hours.”

And the most important dance of the night? “When Beyoncé’s version of ‘At Last’ came on, Alex and I just happened to be in the middle of all the activity, taking it in with our arms around each other, and suddenly, everyone had made a circle around us and we were swaying. We had a totally impromptu first dance.” The ideas of impromptu, casual, and nonchalant were cornerstones of Soffer and Forden’s event. Even their venue was happened upon one day while strolling through Sag Harbor Village. “Alex loves two things above all: salt water and beautiful construction. I love salt water and Gatsby. And here was this boat: a 1920s motor yacht, teak with brass finishes, and lead glass windows—so beautiful, so glamorous, so exactly right.” Midway through the wedding cruise, Soffer remarked to her husband, “I don’t ever want to get off this thing.”

Eventually, the bride and groom did return to terra firma, but the party was far from over. The group walked into Sag Harbor Village and went to their favorite bookstore, Harbor Books. There, among Forden’s cherished Hemingway novels, everyone “toasted, again and again to love.” “I didn’t expect to feel the way I did,” says Soffer. “And here we were, exactly where we wanted to be, with the people we loved most and who made us feel most like us.”

The post Author Jessica Soffer and Alex Forden’s Intimate Wedding Cruise appeared first on Vogue.

When Michelle Ochs, designer and cofounder of Cushnie et Ochs, met Matthew Kopko, the timing couldn’t have been more right. One evening in January 2013, she was catching up with a friend at Campbell Apartment bar in Grand Central when a group of lawyers strolled in. “A couple of them proceeded to test the waters a bit by talking to us, but with little success,” Ochs remembers. “Eventually, a brash, younger-looking one of them came up and scolded the others for failing miserably, uttering the words to them that are now memorable for us: ‘It’s time to go.’ For the rest of the evening and three years, they didn’t leave each other’s sight.”

“Fast-forward to 2014. Matt coaxes me to Grand Central station once more, with false promises of a new lobster joint he wanted to try out,” she recalls. “I noticed he was nervous, but as a lawyer, he often is, so I thought little of it. We met near the clock in that famed atrium, and as usual, I was very hungry, so I pushed off in the direction that I presumed we were going. I didn’t notice that Matt had started to untie his shoe, and it took the gasping tourists for me to turn around and see my future husband, down on one knee.” After several moments of shock, Ochs finally said yes, and they retreated to the Campbell Apartment for a special private lunch celebration. The wedding date was soon set for July 2015.

“It was important for us to have it feel like a mini vacation,” Ochs notes. “The only time our families are really all together is during Fashion Week in New York for the Cushnie et Ochs show, so we wanted the wedding to feel different and special for them.” Even before they met, the couple really loved visiting Jamaica, so it was there that they decided to get married, specifically at the Flower Hill villa at Spring Farm in Montego Bay. “We didn’t have time to actually visit the venue because [we were busy] planning the wedding and I was designing a collection for the coming fashion season,” says Ochs. “We chose Flower Hill by using a service for luxury villa rentals, which helped us navigate everything that was available and narrow it down.” Ochs and Kopko eventually hired a planner, Melanie Miller, whom Ochs was introduced to by her friend and business partner, Carly Cushnie. As Ochs says, “We kept it all in the family, and we knew we were in the right hands.”

Cushnie also served as maid of honor and, naturally, played a part in the creation of Ochs’s beaded halter wedding dress. “Our team at Cushnie et Ochs custom-made my gown,” says Ochs. “It was an exciting challenge and a welcomed departure from what we normally do.” Other members of her loyal team were also on hand for the pre-ceremony primping process—Ochs called on Bobbie Yanoupeth and Michael Anthony, who create the hair and makeup looks, respectively, for the label’s pre-collections. The bride completed her look with embellished Christian Louboutin heels. To top everything off, Ochs carried a bridal bouquet with blush pink peonies, poppy flowers with purple centers, and light pink astilbes.

The ceremony was held poolside on the upper level of the Flower Hill villa. “We were married on a floating deck in the middle of the swimming pool overlooking the Caribbean Sea,” Ochs says. The ceremony was short and sweet, and guests gathered afterward on the villa’s lower lawn for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres that included bites like salt fish spring rolls and pepper-poached shrimp. For dinner, the couple settled on family style: “We wanted everything to feel really intimate, so for seating we just had two long tables and served traditional Jamaican food.” The fare included dishes like coconut curried lobster, blackened pork loin with a pineapple ginger glaze, and pan-seared snapper filet with passion fruit beurre blanc. As for the cake, Ochs and Kopko stayed with the Jamaican theme. “We were not big on the idea of having a cake, but to go along with the tradition in Jamaica, we felt it was appropriate to have the flavor be a light fruit rum cake, which was made by Selena Wong.”

Kopko’s brother and best man and Ochs’s maid of honor made speeches during dinner before the couple danced to “Take Care” by Drake and Rihanna and guests joined in on the dance floor. “They had so much fun dancing to reggae,” recalls Ochs. “We all feasted on the dessert bar and had rum punch, and by the end of the evening everyone ended up in the pool in their clothes! A good night was had by all.” As for the honeymoon, Ochs admits that it’s “TBD, sometime in 2016.” Perhaps they’ll embark from Grand Central Terminal.

The post Cushnie et Ochs’s Michelle Ochs and Matthew Kopko’s Destination Wedding in Jamaica appeared first on Vogue.

In between styling young actresses like Emma Roberts and designing clothes for her label, Elkin, Kara Smith likes to watch a little magic happen. In fact, she was introduced to her now husband, photographer and video director (most recently for Beyoncé) Nick Walker, somewhere quite enchanting. It was at a private party inside L.A.’s Magic Castle—a magic-themed nightclub experience—Smith met her match: “Nick’s best friend hosted a private show there, and I was invited last minute. I didn’t know a single person, but as soon as I came across Nick, I felt completely comfortable.” She adds, “They have a strict dress code at the Castle: They want ladies to cover their shoulders, which I forgot to do, and they want men to wear suits, which Nick forgot to do. He had to borrow a suit, which was three sizes too big for him, and he wore a red beret as the cherry on top.” For both of them, it was love at first sight.

Smith’s discerning eye for style wasn’t at all put off by Walker’s awkward ensemble, and from then on, the pair was inseparable. “When I first met Nick, it came up that growing up, my dad would always take me fishing, but we never, ever caught a fish,” recalls Smith. “So Nick took me to Troutdale in Malibu to catch a fish for our first date—it’s a trout pond for kids where you are practically guaranteed to catch something. On our anniversary seven years later, he drove me back there. Even though we were the only ones there and he was dressed a little too nicely, I honestly didn’t expect a proposal, so seeing him down on one knee was a shock. I was holding a bamboo fishing pole and he was holding the most beautiful Edwardian ring. After that, he drove me to Neptune’s Net for dinner and cocktails and another surprise: Both of our families were there to celebrate with us.”

For their November 14, 2015, wedding, both Smith’s and Walker’s families had huge roles in the planning. “My family has a very special home and vineyard in Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, and it has always been our happy place,” Smith says. “Nick and I said ‘I love you’ there for the fist time, and we’ve shared some of our best memories there. At the bottom of our street is a little field surrounded by huge trees, and we knew we wanted to get married in that spot, but we just didn’t know who the owners were! We wrote a letter and put it in their mailbox, and a week later we got a call from the incredible couple—whom we now consider family—telling us that they would be honored to watch us get married in their field.” For Smith, it was the perfect backdrop for the “classical, whimsical, wintry” wedding she had always dreamed of.

Her tiered and flowing bohemian dress by Houghton also adhered to this aesthetic. “It was exactly what I wanted,” Smith notes. “We pinned some fabric in my hair at the last minute for my veil, and I added some incredible vintage jewelry from Platt Boutique in West Hollywood.” The bridesmaids (including Roberts) all wore Elkin, of course, and the bride changed into her own black Elkin gown for dinner and dancing. As she explains, “I wanted to look like a snowy angel for the ceremony, and a vampire for the reception, which was slightly embarrassing to explain to the hair and makeup stylists.” Embarrassing for her, maybe, but both of her looks were flawless.

The ceremony took place outside—where guests were served hot apple cider—and after the groomsmen walked down the aisle together, the bridesmaids did the same, with some sound fashion-related advice from Smith: “I told them to channel the girls of Sonia Rykiel’s Spring 2008 fashion show, skipping and sashaying. Thankfully, they all understood the reference.” The couple’s friend Chris Candy officiated, and, in another magical twist, a snowy owl flew over Smith and Walker as soon as they both arrived at the altar. After the vows and rings and kisses were exchanged, the guests threw small white flowers on the newlyweds as they walked back up the aisle.

After the ceremony, there were vintage school buses to take everyone back up to the Smith family’s home for dinner and dancing in the backyard. They had a Dixieland band playing once guests arrived and, as Smith explains, “the cocktail area had bars lined with gorgeous wildflowers, bowls of citrus, taxidermied birds, and special cocktail napkins printed with an Andy Warhol quote: ‘And the best love story is just two lovebirds in a cage.’” The group sipped on winter-blackberry fizz drinks topped with silver tinsel sticks, and dined on an Italian meal served family style in honor of Walker’s heritage. There was grilled sausage, classic Bolognese, flatbread pizzas, and roasted vegetables with Burrata. For dessert there were three cakes decorated with olive branches from the family’s vineyard trees and a cake topper from the 1940s. Under twinkling string lights, an array of flowers—olive leaves, cedar, peonies, cotton, and dahlias—decorated the reception area. As Smith notes, “It was absolutely dreamy.” Once everyone was settled inside the tented reception space, Smith and Walker shared their first dance. “Our friend Hanni El Khatib performed ‘You Never Even Called Me by My Name’ by David Allan Coe. Afterward, he and Nick surprised me by having Nick sing Al Green to me with Hanni on guitar—it was really funny.”

The parents of the bride and the groom made speeches, special dances were had, and then the real party began: “There was a lot of dancing, and I kept looking over and seeing Nick crowd surfing,” says Smith. The couple also rented a 1950s Airstream trailer that they used as a photo booth, and in lieu of a more traditional lounge area, they strung carnival lights above a fire pit, with swings nearby embellished with shag fur. Everyone sent off Chinese wish lanterns and continued the dancing and cocktailing long into the night. As Smith says, “I’m pretty sure I woke up in my dress with a glass of champagne in my hand.” The day after, hangovers in tow, the couple and their guests indulged in a beautiful Bloody Mary–laced farewell lunch. Smith and Walker will embark on their honeymoon in Jamaica at the end of January, another one of their tender memories that will undoubtedly be just as magical as the rest.

The post Kara Smith and Nick Walker’s California Vineyard Wedding appeared first on Vogue.

Jacqueline Burke and Luke Ostrom’s relationship began as a working one when she interviewed with him and his partners for the communications director position at their company in 2010. Ostrom is an owner of NoHo Hospitality, one of New York’s leading restaurant groups that oversees highly ranked establishments like Little Park, Locanda Verde, and The Dutch among others. “I always joke that it was the toughest job interview I’ve ever been on,” Burke says. After she got the job, the pair were together only professionally—until they weren’t. As Burke notes, “Luke and I managed to work together for a while before one thing eventually led to another. . . . We kept our relationship off the radar as long as we could, but I think by the time we told our coworkers, everyone already knew.”

Once Burke and Ostrom had solidified their relationship in work and in life, it was time for the restaurateur to officially seal the deal. After four years of working together, Burke remembers, “we were just about to open Luke’s new restaurant, Little Park in Tribeca, and had planned to squeeze one more weekend of freedom in with a nice drive up the Hudson River before the opening. . . . We got on the road, cruised up the Taconic for a day trip, and had made plans to have an early dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. In the afternoon, we took a leisurely hike around the Rockefeller estate grounds that surround the farm. We passed a little stream and sat down on its bank when Luke starts talking, nervously. He was talking about us and me, and I still didn’t suspect a thing until he pulled out this little box and took a knee.” She says, “I said yes without pause, ‘a hundred percent.’ ” After the engagement, Burke left the NoHo group to start her own consultancy—“we love working together, but we love being married to each other more.”

Though their working relationship had more or less come to a halt, the logistics of their wedding were as food- and hospitality-focused as plans for one of Ostrom’s established eateries. In terms of wedding decor, venues, music, and menus, they’d “seen it all” through their profession, and wanted something that completely avoided tradition. The couple chose to marry at 632 Hudson in the West Village, a large townhouse filled with antiques and vintage treasures handpicked by the owner during her various travels around the world. As Burke explains, “It was the perfect venue for us because it forced us to bend and break every rule in the book. . . . Our ceremony and reception took place in the townhouse’s upper floors, with five distinctly decorated rooms across two indoor levels and an outdoor roof deck garden. When you throw a party there, you’re choosing the space for its strong identity and aesthetic, so the question of adding decor is sort of moot.”

Burke felt the same way about not overly embellishing her look for the big day. She explains, “Like most people, I imagine, I started with the dress, but I wanted something low profile with a sheath-like silhouette. . . . My closet is full of workhorse basics, so I wanted to break out a little. The venue was booked at that point and the interiors there steered me a bit in the romantic, faintly Hollywood direction.” The bride ended up choosing a sleeveless Alon Livné creation, because “the bodice of the dress was so detailed and just dramatic enough.” As for the shoes, Burke says, “I applaud brides for revealing these outrageous statement shoes from under their wedding dress, but for me it felt like it would be too much. Instead, I found a pair of nude, strappy Jimmy Choo heels that I will wear again and again.” She “refused” to wear a veil based on principle but did commission a small accent piece for her hair from Stone Fox Bride. Her side-swept locks and paired-down makeup were done by Moani Lee of Beauty Exchange, and the jewelry simply included her everyday diamond solitaire studs (given to her by Ostrom one Valentine’s Day) and her engagement ring.

While any extra decoration to the space or additions to the bride’s relatively minimal look were kept at bay, Burke and Ostrom still went all out with the flowers: “Raquel Corvino, who handles all of the floral arrangements for Luke’s restaurants, covered the fireplace with a 6-foot tower of wild greens, vines, and flowers to insinuate where the ceremony would take place.” The ceremony, though certainly dramatic in the setting of the townhouse’s stair-lined atrium, was short and sweet. Burke recalls, “We had to bargain with our officiant to keep the ceremony under 15 minutes.” There were no bridal parties, jut a best man (Ostrom’s older brother, Jed) and a maid of honor (Burke’s oldest and best friend, Alyson). The four of them descended the staircase around the open atrium and made their way to the well-trimmed fireplace, all while the band Bon Musique played a slow, moody version of Phil Phillips and George Khoury’s “Sea of Love.” Burke continues, “We skipped readings and blessings, just wanting to give our close friends and family a simple welcome, recite our own vows, and do the deed.” She adds, “I was so certain I’d cry, but shockingly, my voice didn’t break once. I was literally too happy for tears.”

Too blissful for crying maybe, but not for entertaining and eating after the ceremony. Upstairs, the couple had arranged for various rooms of fun—there were blackjack tables, a fortune-teller named Kai, a roof-deck garden with a raw bar in a hallowed out water tower, multiple bars with cocktail fountains, a photo booth, and more jazz and soul music by Bon Musique. The real kicker, of course, was the food, all of which was passed or stationed as an alternative to a sit down dinner. “Louver dividers were pulled away from the enormous open kitchen to reveal a massive chef’s market table,” the bride explains. “There was a full spread and the kitchen team preparing passed canapés of carne cruda crostini with black truffle, Locanda Verde’s famous lamb meatballs, foie gras tartlets with sour cherry mostarda, spring pea soup shots, and on, and on, and on. Luke worked with the chef de cuisine at The Dutch, Jason Hua, to pull together a best-of-the-best list of our favorites from all of his restaurants.” Other dishes included mini kale tortellini with butternut squash sauce, glazed beef short ribs with truffle pomme puree, and a taco station with a whole roasted suckling pig. In lieu of a wedding cake, the couple commissioned Jennifer Yee, head pastry chef at Lafayette, to whip up various sweets for the dessert table that included assorted French macaron towers and a 4-foot-tall grande croquembouche.

There were no speeches made, save for a warm welcome and thank-you to the guests from the newlyweds. There was also no formal first dance, but as Burke recalls, “There was a moment when we found ourselves alone on the balcony with a quiet moment while everyone swirled around us and the band started singing a Hozier song we both really love.” The live band, and later a DJ, played for guests throughout the evening and then it was time for the after-hours event. “We rounded everyone up and headed to Luke’s cocktail place Evening Bar at The Smyth Hotel,” Burke says. “Everyone got there around midnight where we kept the party going until almost 4 in the morning—a nice perk to owning the place was that we could prolong last call as long as we wanted.” The morning after, they shared an intimate brunch with the wedding guests and began to get excited about their impending honeymoon. Unsurprisingly, the professional-turned-romantic couple chose a foodie-friendly itinerary: “We took three absolutely amazing weeks directly after the wedding. We did six days in Istanbul, 11 all over the South of France, and four in Copenhagen. We were lucky enough to have our last meal of the trip at Noma.”

The post Jacqueline Burke and Restaurateur Luke Ostrom’s Wedding in a New York City Townhouse appeared first on Vogue.

Lauren Schwab, cofounder of lingerie line Negative Underwear, and Bobby Webster, VP of basketball management and strategy for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, set out to buck tradition with their wedding. What they ultimately pulled off was nothing short of a crowning study in creative ingenuity: There was original performance and installation art and a silent disco to keep the party going past East Hampton’s 11:00 p.m. noise ordinance. “It truly was this Burning Man meets chic Hamptons garden soiree with Hawaiian bonfire and bluegrass music lovefest,” gushed Marissa Vosper, Schwab’s close friend and business partner.

The four-day celebration was split between the bride’s parents’ waterfront Southampton home and the dramatic sculpture gardens and art-colliding landscapes of the LongHouse Reserve (where permanent installations from the likes of Yoko Ono, Willem de Kooning, and Dale Chihuly are scattered throughout the property). “It was important that all of the events felt authentic to each of us individually and to our relationship,” Lauren said. “We wanted our friends and family, who were traveling from all over—Australia, London, Prague, Hawaii, and California, to name a few—to feel a part of our lives, deeply appreciated, and connect with the other important people in our lives. We carefully and thoughtfully designed every component of the wedding to encourage these feelings, from our save-the-dates and invitations featuring a picture of us at Burning Man, to the menu at the rehearsal dinner—designed by Bobby with Art of Eating and inspired by his childhood in Hawaii—to the ceremony that we wrote and designed . . . and the wild after-party!”

Design-wise, the New York City–based bride (who had majored in art history at the University of Pennsylvania) was keen on incorporating various forms of art into the overall experience. From the outset, planning occurred in tandem with aesthete-in-chief Lyn Schwab (Lauren’s mom). They received proposals from several event and floral specialists in New York, but ultimately fell hard for the avant-garde approach and novelty of multidisciplinary artists Shige Moriya and Ximena Garnica of Brooklyn-based studio Leimay. The duo had never designed a wedding before, but their experience in installation for stage and museum performance enabled them to understand exactly what the urbane Schwab women were after. (Initial musings ranged from a suspended ceiling of roses to a dandelion puff gate blowing in the wind.) Long Island–based wedding planners Duke + Van Deusen rounded out the dream-team contingent to orchestrate the grand affair.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted with sound art, presented as a cacophony of small tinkling bells interspersed with more resonant gong sounds in reflection of the Zen ambiance of the 16-acre reserve. To ensure everyone followed the right path toward the ceremony structure, performance artists donning butterfly headdresses provided directions. Why butterflies, everyone asked? Lauren explained that she and Bobby had been moved by a Radiolab podcast about the transformation of the butterfly in chrysalis, which resonated with them in terms of the transformation that marriage would bring to their relationship.

For the ceremony, the Schwebsters (one of their many affectionate nicknames) had everyone seated in a circle (instead of rows), as to envelop them while they read their vows. To further impart a sense of unity, Leimay conceived and erected an interwoven ribbon structure supported by birch poles (lovingly described by one attendee as “an enormous dream catcher”) to encompass all guests in the round. The bride, wearing a blush Inbal Dror gown, and the groom, in a Hugo Boss tuxedo, walked in simultaneously from opposite sides of the circle with their respective parents to the tune of “Down to the River to Pray” (as performed by Alison Krauss in O Brother, Where Art Thou?). Simple, large white stones formed a pathway toward a stone circle where they joined, and a three-foot halo in the center of the ribboned canopy allowed the sun to shine down on them directly. Throughout the tear-jerking ceremony—officiated by Lauren’s aunt with the assistance of minister Brad Learmonth—the delicate “roof” gently lifted and swayed in the light breeze while 180 guests held aloft white paper umbrellas festooned in silver and waved matching fans to ward off the intense summer sun.  Fittingly, their recessional music was “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine.

During cocktail hour the butterfly performers (no detail was overlooked, down to the tiny, artificial flutters on their eyelashes!) presented a durational hour-long dance around Kiki Smith sculptures and in and out of the pond. All the while, dancers drew in guests to write wishes for the newlyweds that they subsequently attached to Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree. When it came time for the sit-down dinner, those who had been meandering around the various gardens were summoned to the reception tent by welcome music from City of Six (a 13-piece band that Lauren happened upon at The Red Lion in the West Village and whose contemporary covers she was blown away by). Everyone gently retrieved their seat assignments from sphagnum moss falling from the boughs of a weeping cherry tree before heading inside the Sperry tent. Naturally, this wasn’t just any Sperry tent: The inside ceiling was lit by a procession of moving video projections, which heightened the drama of the night and echoed the colored lighting projections onto the trees surrounding the adjacent pond.

A huge hit at the reception was the banzai toast, a nod to Bobby’s Hawaiian upbringing and a tradition unique to the Aloha State. Lauren explained, “Banzai translates to ‘10,000 years’ in Japanese—and is not to be confused with the miniature bonsai tree! The term is meant as an expression of enthusiasm similar to hurrah and the toast is performed in two parts. To start off, Bobby’s uncle Ed asked all the guests to stand during the toast. He led the first cheer: ‘Shinro shimpu, banzai!’ which means ‘long life and happiness to the bride and groom.’ Bobby’s brother-in-law, Guillaume, led the second cheer: ‘Raihin shokun, banzai!’ meaning ‘long life and happiness to all the guests.’ Everyone roared ‘banzai!’ three times in unison, raising their arms and glasses with each cheer, and drinking after the third time. The entire tent was shaking as everyone screamed ‘banzai!’ It was an incredible way to feel connected during the speeches.”

When it came to the food, the groom declared: “Bad food paired with Lauren and I don’t match. I cared a lot about what we served over the course of the weekend because people know that every meal I share with friends and family matters.” Without a hitch, NYC-based Pinch Food Design served their Willy Wonka–meets–farm-to-table best. Each Michelin star– worthy dish—from the diver scallop cruda with kimchi gastrique, Fuji apples, and ginger puree to the balsamic braised short ribs, creamy potatoes, pine nut gremolata, and broccolini—was presented in highly interactive, playful ways. “Desserts were passed around on the dance floor on long, wooden snakelike structures . . . lollipops and cakes dangled like ornaments to be plucked!” recalls Vosper.

For the after-party, Leimay installed another original element in the form of triangular, swirling, decorative lighting on both sides of the property’s permanent installation, Fly’s Eye Dome. The geodesic dome, outfitted with deep armchairs and sofas, formed the centerpiece of the festivities and served as a lounge area for those seeking respite from the wild dance floor. As East Hampton’s noise ordinance dictated innovation, Quiet Disco came to the rescue with their wireless headphones, a DJ spun tunes, an opera singer belted out “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and everyone danced like mad into the sweltering summer night. The groom reflected: “They say that there are three things you should do every day to live a full life: laugh, think, and have your emotions move you to tears, happiness, or joy. I’m pretty confident that everyone in attendance accomplished all three at one point or another tonight.” Banzai to that!

The post Lauren Schwab and Bobby Webster’s Wedding at East Hampton’s LongHouse Reserve appeared first on Vogue.

“I feel like I have two good ideas per year, and this was one of them,” says Nicole Systrom (@nicole), née Schuetz. Though this is certainly not the case for the CEO of clean-energy investment firm Sutro, transforming her wedding to Instagram cofounder and CEO Kevin Systrom (@kevin) into a jazz age–themed black-tie masquerade ball in Napa was, unquestionably, a lightning-bolt moment. The October 31 nuptials featured one memorable idea after another, from the bride’s walk down the aisle to the tune of “The Spy Who Loved Me” to the band that played their daytime reception: a Wisconsin high school jazz group that the groom discovered on YouTube.

The pair met at their alma mater, Stanford (“somehow I was charming,” she demurs) and got engaged on Thanksgiving two years ago. The engagement took place at their home in Tahoe, surrounded by friends, family, and—of course—their Insta-famous dog, Dolly. In fact, Dolly indirectly facilitated the whole thing: “Kevin tricked me into thinking that our puppy had run away. So I stormed out of the house in my apron and slippers and he proposed in front of the incredible sunset.”

But they’re busy people, and they didn’t really get to planning until the following April, when Nicole realized they needed to shake a leg. “I started to get nervous,” she said. “It’s a big project to plan a wedding!” Once they nailed down a date (Halloween) and picked a location (Napa was always high on their list), they made a list of priorities. Topping it was “great food and great wine,” which they knew they could get in California’s wine country. And from there the event really took off.

Following an alfresco ceremony at the Beaulieu Vineyard, the guests enjoyed brunch under a canopy of vines. Here is where the high school jazz band came in and kicked off the jazzy festivities. The bride and groom enjoyed their first dance and cake (her self-proclaimed favorite food group) before retiring for a few hours and a disco nap. The 180 guests returned to their hotel to discover custom masks had been delivered to their rooms in their absence—a subtle nod to Halloween, which managed the tricky feat of adding an elegant playfulness to the proceedings without devolving into camp. (“We didn’t want anyone showing up in, say, a police costume,” said Nicole with a laugh.) For the evening’s party, the bride changed into a pearl-and-sequin-embellished number (by Lihi Hod) with a swingy, ’20s vibe. The night began in the wine caves of the Clos Pegase Winery, which had been decked out in heavy, draped burgundy curtains; jewel-toned velour seating areas; and tall candle-burning chandeliers. The feel here was more Victorian than roaring—lush and romantic with a hint of gothic. But the couple maintained the jazzy theme with a roaming brass band, which set the tone with traditional New Orleans jazz.

Donning their own masks, they led their family and friends out of the caves to the tented dance floor (a hidden nightclub complete with “floating” candles), where they all remained for hours, sipping cocktails and snacking on—what else?—handmade Halloween candy. “We wanted to do something that people would remember forever,” said Nicole. #Success.

The post Instagram Cofounder and CEO Kevin Systrom and Nicole Schuetz’s Masquerade Ball Wedding in Napa appeared first on Vogue.

Mosha Lundström Halbert, fashion director of Footwear News, was in character when she first met Aidan Butler. “We met at a ’60s Space Age costume party in Toronto in 2008,” Mosha explains. “I was dressed as a Jetson, with a bouffant and a patent leather dress. His British accent was so thick, I couldn’t really understand a word he said, but I was immediately charmed.” Though it was an unusual love at first sight, Mosha and Aidan (CEO of sports technology company GuardLab) went on to date for five years until the pair got engaged in 2013, though they were in no hurry to spread the news, or actually walk down the aisle. The pair waited 24 hours to tell any friends or family of Butler’s sweet, intimate proposal with a simple diamond and rose-gold band on their apartment rooftop in New York. Then they waited two more years before walking down the aisle. “No wedding ideas felt right and we were both so busy with work,” says Mosha. “We finally decided to get married in Iceland on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2015.”

Mosha is part Icelandic and lived in Reykjavík during her university years, but it wasn’t until a dinner party guest suggested the destination that the two realized it was the perfect choice. “When a friend of ours was over for one of Aidan’s English Sunday roasts, she joked that we should ‘meet in the middle’ [of the Atlantic] and get married in Iceland. Aidan and I took one look at each other and that was it,” she recalls. “A winter wedding on New Year’s Eve in the middle of nowhere was so unusual, and so us.” The groom had never been to Iceland before, and neither had the majority of the 100 friends and family who traveled there from six different continents, including Europe, South America, and Africa. “It seems that everyone had Iceland on their bucket list,” Mosha says. “I felt a great responsibility to act as an ambassador and show them the best of the best.”

That she did. The entire five-day itinerary included activities for guests, like a warrior woman workout and an Icelandic sweater pizza party and, a day before the ceremony, a big blowout Viking-themed party. She notes, “Aidan is a massive Game of Thrones fan [which often shoots in Iceland] and loves costume parties, so we decided to have an Ísland Ínvasion Viking-theme party on Videy Island the night before the wedding with a medieval roast dinner of lamb and cod with Icelandic skyr and berries for dessert.”

Videy—an island off the coast of Reykjavík featuring one of the country’s oldest houses and beautiful vistas of the city—was one of two venues the couple ultimately chose for their celebration. Mosha and Aidan chartered a large, three-level boat to take all of the festively dressed guests in “fur, leather, and horns” to and from the soiree. Mosha remembers, “Once everyone arrived, they were asked to take a shot of Icelandic Brennivín—a very strong liquor also known as Black Death—as their ‘admittance’ to the party,” she recalls. “From there, we had professional Viking performers stage a duel, and during dinner, my mum asked each table to nominate their strongest Vikings to give a toast. They were all hilarious, naughty, and touching.”

The night continued with Mosha emceeing a Viking fashion show for guests with the most outlandish costumes, then dancing to a soundtrack that was strictly Scandinavian—Robyn, Of Monsters and Men, Lykke Li, and lots of ABBA. Mosha’s favorite part of this kickoff celebration, however, came toward the end of the night. “This was one of the evenings when Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace tower installation was lit on the island. It’s a beautiful outdoor work of art that emits a mesmerizing glow that can be seen citywide. Usually, it’s only lit a few times a year,” she says. “Trekking to it and taking in its beauty, even as the snow and hail came down, was something I will never forget.”

That was only the beginning of the magic, as the next day the bride and groom prepared to make it official. The wedding was a black-tie affair held at the Gamla Bíó opera house, which is an Art Deco–style building with sweeping ceilings, chandeliers, and light wood floors that once housed Iceland’s first cinema. For the ceremony and reception, the bride chose to wear architectural, unique attire. “My mum is a veteran Canadian fashion designer, and I’ve always known that if I ever did get married, she’d make my outfit, which would be ivory and not white.” She adds, “That was the easy part. I am not a bridal person and have never seen a picture or a person in a wedding dress and thought it was something that would suit me or move me. When my mum and I were in Iceland planning over the summer, it finally dawned on us: I’d wear a bodysuit with interchangeable skirts and touches of fur.” Mosha chose a knitted ivory long-sleeve bodysuit from Wolford, which her mother then customized by creating a more open neckline. “I love a good bodysuit as a base for a look,” she says. “I wanted the ceremony and party skirts that would go over it to both have an intermission hemline, which reminded me of Balenciaga and Dior looks from the ’50s and ’60s.” For the wedding, they chose a “stunning, stiff yet airy silk organza” with a train and custom over-the-knee suede boots designed by the fashion director’s friend Paul Andrew. To finish the look for the ceremony, Mosha wore crystal snowflake earrings by Oscar de la Renta (her “something new”) and a garter covered by her mother in Icelandic blue crystals (her “something blue”). Makeup was kept natural and her hair was done up in a traditional braid crown.

The ceremony began with Icelandic violinist Greta Salóme playing “Hoppípolla” by Sigur Rós. Mosha remembers, “We kept the lights dim and there were hundreds of white pillar candles lit everywhere. The groomsmen took the bridesmaids down the aisle and they were carrying black lanterns with candles inside. Just before I entered with my father, Joel, the groomsman raised the chuppah made by my mum from ribbon and branches.” The couple’s two dear friends officiated the Jewish ceremony and Mosha and Aidan exchanged special rose-gold signet rings they found together in England. (They plan to have them engraved with the Butler crest.) As Aidan broke the glass, everyone yelled “mazel tov!” and the newlyweds exited back up the aisle while Salóme played her version of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’s “Home.”

Among twinkling candles that filled the ballroom, the reception was set to begin. After an Icelandic “Happy Marriage” toast, guests were treated to a hearty offering of the country’s most traditional foods. “We wanted dinner to be a smorgasbord of Iceland’s finest and for people to have as much or as little as they wanted,” says Mosha. “We served smoked salmon, dill herrings, black holiday breads, and Iceland’s addictive herbed butter. There were blinis and caviar, baked potatoes with skyr, langoustines with garlic herb skyr, grilled cod, baked halibut, double smoked lamb, and beef tenderloin.” She adds, “While everyone was feasting, we had fun Canadian and British music playing: Arctic Monkeys, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Paolo Nutini for him, Drake and Bieber for me!” After speeches, the dancing commenced and the happy couple ended up taking their first spin around the ballroom to a surprising tune. “Spontaneously, we ended up dancing to a Fetty Wap song,” Mosha says. “That’s just what the DJ was playing when we decided we had to get up and dance. Not very romantic, but hey!”

After their first dance, the couple and their guests prepared to top off the wedding and ring in the New Year all together. “I quickly changed into my sequin skirt, tank bodysuit, and parka,” says Mosha. “After we cut the cake [a traditional Icelandic Vinarterta], we led everyone upstairs to the roof for fireworks. As soon as you exited the lift, we had an ad hoc photo booth set up with props and a professional photographer taking portraits,” she recalls. “It was about 11:15 p.m. and the fireworks were going off like mad. It was the most epic countdown I’d ever seen.” After the clock struck 12:00, the party continued inside with wild party hats from the Danish store Tiger, confetti bombs, caviar and champagne, and a candy and sundae bar. Outside, a snowball fight was under way, complete with glow sticks and, of course, more dancing.

Mosha and Aidan did a “mini-moon” straightaway in south Iceland, riding horses at a friend’s ranch and snowmobiling to the top of a glacier. In the spring, they went to Japan and Bali for a proper “mega-moon.” And to commemorate their wild theme-party, dance-rave, all-out spectacular nuptials in one of the most magical places in the world, the couple got some new ink: “We got tattoos of our wedding logo in Reykjavík to mark the best week of our lives.”

The post Mosha Lundström Halbert and Aidan Butler’s Magical Icelandic Wedding appeared first on Vogue.