Katie + Alex by Toujours

I wanted the day to feel really clean, bright and beachy without being too East Coast preppy.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

I am a Pediatric ICU nurse, and Alex works in finance! I work overnight shifts, and Alex works 24/7 (kidding! But it’s kind of true!). We live in New York City and we love to travel. We are so lucky to live in one of the best cities in the world, but we also enjoy seeing other places and cultures!!

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met in our junior year of college (university) when we were both 20. We were neighbours in the townhouses at Fairfield University. We met at a party, and I told my friend I thought Alex’s roommate was cute (I hadn’t seen Alex yet), and that’s when she pointed Alex out to me and said I should talk to him instead. The rest is history! Alex’s parents are also stagmates (the term the university uses for couples who went to Fairfield U), as well as his aunt and uncle. His brother also went to Fairfield, and many of his cousins! The McMahons are definitely a Fairfield family, and I’m so excited to be a part of it! We also have a lot of athletes in the family; his dad played soccer during his time there, and I was on the rowing team. Go stags!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

I wanted the day to feel really clean, bright and beachy without being too East Coast preppy. The reception was at a marina that I actually used to row by during rowing practice when I was in college. During our second site visit, I heard my college coach’s voice from the water because they happened to be practising during their spring break. It was a full-circle moment and a sign we had made the right choice with our venue.

For styling elements, I wanted to bring in things that felt natural. We picked wood chairs that matched the bamboo pendant lights that we brought in. For florals, I wanted to keep the colours simple with whites/creams/greens, but specifically bright greens to brighten it up! I had my bridesmaids wear yellow which is a trend this year, but I have always loved yellow and I actually wore a yellow dress to a mock wedding that we had our senior year of college. My friends and I have always said yellow dresses are a fashion statement!

The wedding day ended up being a very rainy day (it started POURING right before the ceremony began), but my girls brought the sunshine with their dresses!

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

I actually think the fog on the water made the view of the water from the tent so serene and beautiful. The water view wasn’t originally my favourite thing because there are typically a lot of non-aesthetic things (smoke stacks, houses, etc), but the fog actually hid all of that and gave it a clean slate. The florals were also gorgeous and worked so well with my vision. Although I think maximalist styles are beautiful, it is just not for me, and I wanted to keep everything clean and simple without being too matchy-matchy. I was very careful about not bringing in mixed metals, and I wanted the wood elements to match. The floor was a darker wood, so I wanted to make sure the wood chairs and pendants coordinated with each other, and I switched the wood bar we had originally chosen to a white one so they wouldn’t clash. I was also very picky about the candle votives. I wanted them to be the same style in diﬀerent heights. Same with the candles!

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

I really enjoyed making diﬀerent Pinterest boards for each category. I loved finding outfits for all of my bridal events. It was so much fun to play with diﬀerent styles and knowing I could wear whatever I wanted because I was the bride! I have a Pinterest board specifically for that as well as one for glam, the wedding day in general, photography style, bridesmaids, cake inspo, and stationery. I am very organised, so it helped me to separate my inspiration pictures from each other to make it easy for me to show our planners what I liked about each photo.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

Our photographer really deserves the biggest shoutout. Alex and I are pretty camera-shy, and we aren’t really a PDA couple. But when Chelsea took our engagement photos, she made it so casual and comfortable that we weren’t nervous at all. On the wedding day, she was so fun, all of my friends were talking about how amazing she was and how good her directions were. She has the perfect balance of being fun and outgoing while also being eﬃcient and getting it done. I also think she did such a good job of following my Pinterest inspo board for the styled pics, and the documentary style throughout the night is sooo good. We love you, Chelsea!!

Our planners, Aimee and Natalie, were also rockstars. They were so patient with us throughout the planning process when we (I) were changing our minds about the style and vibe so many times, even after we had ordered glassware, furniture, and other things we ended up changing. They also gave great advice, and I really leaned on them at the end when I was so busy and distracted, and I was indecisive about final decisions. Natalie has a great eye for design and helped me think of all the things and put my vision into reality. Aimee was so amazing handling all things logistics and timeline, everything was so clear, and I loved not having to worry about where I needed to be and when. I just got to show up and they handled the rest!! They are a great team and I would highly recommend them.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

I went to 5 bridal shops and none of the dresses I tried really felt like me. I knew the details I wanted, and I ended up finding a dress on Alexandra Grecco’s Instagram that had the shape I was looking for, so I went to the Lovely Bride in Tribeca to try it on. I changed the skirt from the original dress to have the draping and slit, and I had them make it in a matte material. Then Alexandra Grecco opened a flagship store in NYC, so I went there to pick out my accessories. I had them make the overskirt in the maFe material to match my dress, and they said I was the first to do that! I also got my veil there. My dress was so me and had everything I wanted. The overskirt and veil added the drama I was looking for for the ceremony. I decided to wear the veil to the cocktail hour, and I thought it was such a fun accessory.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Alex went to his family jeweller to buy my engagement ring. We didn’t go shopping together, and I never told him what I wanted because I didn’t have anything in particular in mind. I did tell him a few details I knew I didn’t want, so he knew to stay away from those. I knew if I let him pick out my ring, I would love whatever he chose and would always be able to look at my hand and think of him picking it out. I couldn’t be happier with his choice. He has also gotten me so many jewellery pieces that I love over the years, so I knew I could trust his choice!

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

I would say we were happy to spend on the draping because it gave our venue such an elegant feeling, and instead of just being a tent at a marina, it really felt like a room. We were also happy to spend on photography because the pictures are forever, and we love our photographer’s style and vibe!!!

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

The rain in general made the ceremony a lot diﬀerent from what we planned, and I think it made it so perfect. I was so upset that morning that things weren’t going to plan, but we ended up having the ceremony under the deck in the backyard instead of on the grass. Alex called me to tell me he moved all of the chairs from the lawn, that the florists were setting up the flowers, and that everything looked great. He asked if I wanted a photo, and I said no, I wanted to be surprised. Everyone who had seen the new design kept telling me it was beautiful and I would love it, so I was confident about it, even though I hadn’t seen it.

So when I walked down the aisle, everyone was so close because we were all under the deck, and I could feel the emotions just bouncing around the space. I don’t think I would have had that if we had done our original plan. It was so beautiful. I realised the design (although it truly was beautiful) really didn’t matter because the emotions are what made it perfect. We also only invited our bridal party and immediate family to the ceremony, which made it so special.