I am so excited to feature today’s wedding for many reasons: first off, its gorgeous! Secondly, the bride has been a long time reader of Modernly Wed and used this site for inspiration… so wonderful! Captured by With Love and Embers, Meaghan and Bruce were married on an October day in a chic warehouse space in Brooklyn, New York. The couple had a laid back wedding bursting with personal details. A lovely color palette of yellow, gray and shades of green tied together the attire and decor. Be sure to read more about the day from the bride!
A few words from the bride:
Although not technically “high-school sweethearts,” having gone to the same schools for 6 years, Bruce and I officially connected at a party three weeks before our High School graduation. Despite the timing seeming completely off, Bruce and I were virtually inseparable at the party, and by the first week of that summer, we were dating. Nine years together — Bruce planned an elaborate proposal scheme over many months. Using my sister’s birthday as a cover, he asked me to marry him in my parent’s backyard, in an inflatable bouncy-house (it’s as great of a story as it sounds). It was perfect, and we couldn’t have been more excited to finally marry each other.
When I began to plan our wedding, Bruce and I made a list of our top priorities for the big day. Overall, we wanted to make sure our wedding reflected who we are as a pair, and we knew we didn’t want it to feel like a stuffy affair for our guests. We wanted everyone to have a blast, and feel relaxed and happy while celebrating with us. Bruce and I both love great food and craft beers, so the menu became one of our top priorities when looking for our venue. We also knew that we wanted to get married in a non-traditional setting, and wanted our wedding to be in Brooklyn, to truly give our guests a unique New York experience. With both of us being from New Jersey, a lot of our family and friends have grown up exploring “the city,” but that really only included Manhattan. Brooklyn was the borough I had been living in for quite some time, and it was where Bruce and I rekindled our love for each other, and New York, so we really wanted to share that with the people most important to us.
While we didn’t have a theme to the wedding itself, I relied on the use of color to create a uniformed look, and carried our palette of yellows, shades of gray, and natural green throughout, with accents of white and black. I designed a geometric pattern inspired from aluminum letters I had bought, and used it as a detail in our invitation suite. I also designed a large-scale poster which we used as our guest book. It was a really resourceful idea because not only did it allow me to use one of our professional engagement photographs, but it also became a casual piece of art after the wedding (it is now hanging in our apartment with everyone’s beautiful messages written on the glass).
We agreed on sharing a first look together with our photographers prior to our wedding ceremony. While this certainly isn’t for every bride and groom, it was one of the best decisions we made. Our first look together was the most intimate time we had with each other the whole wedding day, and it allowed us to enjoy our cocktail hour with our guests since we didn’t have to spend that time taking pictures! It was a really beautiful and genuine time between the two of us. We were so excited about marrying each other, and it was wonderful to just calm our nerves a bit and be together.
The best part of our wedding was when Bruce surprised me with a vocal performance I Will Follow You Into the Dark, by Death Cab for Cutie accompanied by my cousin’s boyfriend on the acoustic guitar. It was incredible, romantic, and magical, and there was not a single dry eye in the place! I could not believe that my husband was up there in front of all our guests totally sounding like a rock star. I will never ever forget that moment, and how full of love that room and my heart felt.
Photographer: With Love and Embers // Ceremony + Reception Venue, Catering: The Liberty Warehouse // Bridal Gown Designer: Lela Rose // Bridal Gown Store: Elizabeth Johns // Bridal Shoes: Jimmy Choo // Bridal Veil/Headpiece + Jewelry: Maria Elena // Bridesmaids’ Dress Designer: Alfred Sung // Bridesmaids’ Dress Store: Bella Bridesmaids // Groom’s + Groomsmen’s Attire: BLACK by Vera Wang // Groom’s Cufflinks + Bridesmaids’ bracelets: J. Crew // Cake Designer: Pink Cake Box // Floral Designer: Rose Red and Lavender // Makeup Artist: Aline Djecki // Hair Stylist:Jessica Chapman // Invitation Designer: Meaghan Button, the bride // DJ: Expressway Music // Succulents: The Succulent Source // Officiant: Rev. Mary-Rose Engle // All images by With Love and Embers