Distance Means So Little, When Someone Means So Much. Paris to NYC. Alicia & Brian's Love Story
I wanted to write about Alicia and Brian’s wedding day while incorporating the most important element of my wedding coordinating process. Alicia and Brian had a stunning Brooklyn rooftop wedding on the 13thof October and every bit of their day was a nod to their history together in one of the trendiest boroughs.
When I meet with a couple and lock down their wedding vision, It’s impertinent to create and stick to a wedding day breakdown to make sure everything runs as smoothly as it can. Everyone, no matter what their budget, no matter that their vision, no matter what their dream-deserves a beautiful wedding day. Everyone deserves that same experience. An experience that will form into a memory that will last them a lifetime.
But first, a little backstory on Alicia and Brian. Their story is a unique one and you’ll absolutely say “awwww” as soon as you read how they met:
“We “met” on Craigslist. Actually, Brian and his roommate Phil (who officiated the wedding) were looking for a third roommate for the same apartment where we got married, and I responded to their Craigslist posting. I went in to meet Brian, for an interview and see the apartment on August 21, 2012. We both hit it off and during the interview he took me up to the roof to show it to me. I made up some story about finding a different apartment and asked him about a bar in the neighborhood to keep the conversation going. He asked me out two days later and we have been together ever since! Fast forward five years, the fifth anniversary of the apartment interview, August 21st, 2017, happened to coincide with the solar eclipse! Brian and I decided to take the day off from work and watch the eclipse from the roof from a hammock that we had installed. Right after the peak eclipse at 2:44pm (I’ll never forget it!) Brian proposed to me in the hammock, both of us still had our eclipse glasses on. (Afterwards to celebrate, we went out to the spot where we went on our first date!). Fast forward a year and we got married on that very roof!!!!! I was joking to Brian that now we can really never move out of this apartment because we have so many memories here.”
It was evident that the rooftop would be the focus on their wedding day. They had family travel from all over to attend (the bride travels back and forth from New York to Paris for work) and every guest dripped in culture and trend-it really added to the already one-of-a-kind day. The ceremony was intimate and was photographed by a photographer from Madrid Marta Zapardiel. Alicia and Brian’s reception was hosted at Threes Brewing on Franklin Street in Brooklyn. Known for their distinctive beer list and local fresh food, this was a wonderful venue for the couple. Everyone enjoyed the amazing eats, the wide array of beer and wine and music. The newlyweds got to enjoy nearly an hour’s worth of wedding speeches from both sides of their family and opted out of the cake cutting and garter toss. They kept the bouquet toss that included EVERY gender and I thought that to be a good spin on a classic tradition.
When I’m creating a wedding plan, I must make sure that every piece of the wedding puzzle is on a printout for anyone and everyone involved in bringing the day together. This isn’t just for me, but for all the vendors and even my associates that may be accompanying me. It’s to keep track of people, places and things- to log time, to organize processions, to keep everyone on their toes essentially, as well. I make sure to color coordinate all the vendors, partnered with their contact information and tasks. I make sure to incorporate all the names of the bridal party and immediate family along with a few points of contact incase of emergencies (you never know!)
When you make the decision to bring on a wedding coordinator, you’re making the decision to castaway your worry, your stress and any doubt you may have. That’s not to say you won’t ever feel this way throughout the process, you’re human, but your coordinator is the go-to person to help take that weight off your shoulders. It’s more than making the connections with our preferred vendors and design concepts-it’s about the smooth transition from ceremony to reception, to make sure the bridal party is all on the same page, to make sure the bride and groom are relaxed. It’s about building a relationship with your couple and to build on that relationship, there must be trust. To gain that trust, a color coordinated wedding plan must be created and seen through to the very end of the wedding day.
Wedding Coordinator: Cristina with Carismas Party Planning
Photography: Marta Zapardiel Photography
Venue: Threes Brewing
Officiant: Phil Bravo
Hair Stylist: Alex Walker
DJ: Bryn Scharenberg
