Movie Premiere Chic.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Kevin is a New York native from the Lower East Side. He is a video technician who loves the internet, slot machines and walking around.
Lucy is an accessories designer who enjoys long dinners catching up with friends.
She credits growing up with the cold New England winters and four brothers for her toughness and grit. She has an appreciation for craftsmanship, whether it is antiques, baked goods or a tall tale.
We both love spending time watching movies together, taking walks around the city (favourite areas include Chinatown and the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park), making each other laugh and travelling outside of the city to rural Connecticut for some R&R.
We both like to express ourselves through fashion and hosting our friends and family. Typically, we host a New Year’s Eve and a Halloween Party; however, this year our big event was our wedding!
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We both went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but never met while enrolled (Lucy was working hard in the fashion department, and Kevin was enjoying a more leisurely road to his BFA). Years after graduating, Kevin visited Chicago and met Lucy through a mutual friend. Kevin thought Lucy was beautiful and had a perfect sense of humour, and Lucy thought Kevin was charming and fun. It was meant to be: Lucy was planning on moving to New York in the coming months. This is actually covered in more detail in the movie we made and premiered at our wedding.
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).
A simple visual element that worked out well was the florals in the purse for the City Hall ceremony. When we went to apply for the marriage license, it became obvious that holding a bouquet is actually tricky. It’s a bit of an active environment; you are moving from room to room, signing things, presenting an ID, etc. Lucy decided to put the florals in a handbag (a super cute last minute Etsy find). The florals were a mix of faux tulips (mimicking the motifs in her engagement ring) and live flowers pulled from the bouquet Kevin got her for her birthday that week from Plantshed. They went through the metal detector right in the bag and held up fine the whole day. Later that day, we bought additional faux florals at the aquarium store (two water lilies) to add to the collection. All of them live on our bedroom shelf, which brings back such nice memories.
In addition to the beautiful theatre space, the venue also has screens to project on in the restaurant area. It was fun brainstorming what to put here; we ultimately decided on anaglyph 3D horror films. This was so moody and fun. This added the element of 3D glasses, which the guests looked great in, and it enhanced the vibe out on the dance floor. Our nephews took the job of handing them out very seriously.
We are so lucky to have very talented friends. When Ryan Bush & Raphael Martinez Cohen (Ficus Interfaith) suggested creating a Walk of Fame-inspired Terrazzo piece for us, we were really blown away. We feel so lucky to have Fine Art as a ‘Welcome Sign’ which now hangs in our living room. Again, it’s nice to have things to remember the day by throughout our apartment.
Another talented friend, Carlie Hougen, offered to do the flowers. One of Lucy’s fondest memories of the wedding prep was the 7 am trip to the flower district with Carlie to pick out all the stems. The inspiration came from movie theatre concessions. We landed on gorgeous buttery butterfly ranunculus, popcorn-like Dancing Lady orchids, lily, and beautiful bubble gum Honeymoon Tulips for her ring and roses for her (middle) namesake. The bold King Proteas added a great sculptural element. It was like Supermarket Sweep, floral edition, and the cab smelled amazing on the way back to her sewing studio. The bud vases were antique salt & pepper shakers and ink wells sourced from Lucy’s grandmother’s home. The larger vessels came from Goodwill and Antique stores in rural Connecticut – their favourite city escape.
Notastic food was another stylistic element. Our wedding had popcorn and candy throughout. Not only was that a delicious choice, but visually it added a playful element. Lucy wanted to pay tribute to some family memories with the food as well. In 2011, Lucy’s father Kurt bought a 10lb block of cheddar cheese and involved the whole family in carving a cheese Birth of Venus. It only made sense for Olga from Marcy Brownstein Catering to bring a Venus de Milo to life in the form of butter as a homage. Kurt loved it so much that he brought the whole statue to his table. Lucy’s aunt Mary had always been a big supporter of her artist pursuits; she even had clothing tags stating “A Lucy Original” made when she was first starting out. At every family gathering, she brought her famous green jello salad. She sadly passed away in 2022. Our wedding had a variety of artisanal Jello creations to honour her memory.
The last and most impactful visual element was our guests! They really dressed to impress and elevated the whole look of the event. We gave them the prompt: “Movie Premiere Chic. If you enjoy dressing up, this is your time to shine! Sequins, fringe, shine, and bold accessories are all encouraged. Sartorial risks are welcome. Any length will do. Tie or tieless. Look festive and ready for a photo op” Everyone hit it out of the park! Especially our guests under 10 years old.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
We were in the concept phase for our event for a long time. We got engaged in March and didn’t land on what we were going to do until September. There is a lot of pressure to lock something in or to check items off the list, but take your time and be really sure you are clear on the broad strokes. What makes sense for you as a couple, what are your priorities, what makes sense for your guests, what things are non-negotiable and where you are willing to compromise. We also focused on how we wanted our wedding to feel as much, if not more, than how it would look.
Our non-negotiables:
- Needed to have a variety of accommodations nearby
- Needed to be able to go late (a surprising amount of venues can’t go past 10 pm)
- Not too serious/stuffy but also not too casual
Things we were flexible on:
- Location
- Day of the week and time of year
- Food
- Splitting up the ceremony and the reception
- DIY
In terms of planning, we enjoyed making mood boards for our events the most. Lucy makes these professionally, so it was a natural first step. Kevin would suggest movies to watch to further hone the direction, which made it even more fun. The perk of having your party in a movie theatre! These references can be spotted throughout: Lucy’s reception gloves were influenced by Funny Face and The Sound of Music. Star headbands served as dancefloor prompts inspired by Ziegfeld Girl. Classic Bond movies and Austin Powers influenced the fashions and the vibes.
We planned a multi-event wedding in less than a year, which was no easy feat. A real asset to us was working with personal shoppers at Nordstrom’s Menstore (shout out Matt & Jeff!) and Bergdorf’s (Shout out Lesly!) This made curating the looks for all the events (including bachelor and bachelorette!) less stressful.
You spend the most uninterrupted time on your wedding day with the Hair and Makeup artists, so choose people you vibe with. Both Katie and Bianca were a dream to work with. Lucy felt like she had known them for years, and their natural but enhanced style was perfect. On time, prepared for anything, and open to feedback. Couldn’t ask for anything more.
Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?
Stevie at Syndicated did an amazing job and made planning the wedding exciting and stress-free. She is a real pro: she never told us no, but she’d be honest if something wasn’t working. Dash was an incredible DJ: his prep with us before the event didn’t feel like homework, and despite being so cool, he wasn’t at all intimidating. Chelsea and her team were the same; we immediately felt comfortable with her, and a combination of professionalism and charm disarmed us into being great photo subjects. The three of them had this rare combination of being extremely talented and yet so enjoyable to work with.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?
On our first trip to see Lucy’s parents after getting engaged, her mom, Ginny, pulled out some amazing pieces from storage. The treasures included her own Gunne Sax dress, her grandmother’s wedding band, dress and headpiece. All of which she would incorporate into her bridal era. The headpiece was particularly inspiring, fully hand-beaded with bow motifs. She immediately knew she wanted to work around that and brought it with her to various bridal appointments. Every modern bridal option was too stark white, and she was hitting a roadblock. She ended up working with a personal shopper at Bergdorf’s (shout out Lesley!), and they found the Rachel Gilbert evening gown in a colour called “Butter”. It was kismite as she later would be twinned with the butter sculpture!
The Court House Wedding look was always going to be suit-inspired with a hat. Since various areas of the wedding reception had already gone over budget, it was time to get creative with the civil ceremony look. Lucy listed items on the RealReal earlier that year and was sitting on a decent-sized credit for when the right thing came along. And boy did it! An ivory Christian Dior by John Galliano Blazer, purchased in the White Jacket filter one morning, and Lucy quickly snapped it up. The iconic hourglass Bar Jacket silhouette was perfect. She completed the look with some high-low styling with an H&M skirt and Zara shoes.
Lucy has designed hats and gloves for over a decade now, so naturally, this wedding time would be the opportunity to splurge on some truly special hats and gloves. Julia & Slainne at East Village Hats were so lovely to work with. We went back and forth with what shape would best complement the vintage Dior jacket and ultimately landed on a classic pillbox. They were able to rush a custom piece for the civil ceremony.
Lucy did a virtual appointment with Genevieve from Cornelia James to discuss length, fabrics and colour for her reception gloves. We ultimately landed on a matte colour in a contrasting Ivory (instead of dying to match the Butter dress) with a ring window and covered button Mousquetaire in an extended opera length. What is more Hollywood glamour than that?
Kevin wanted a timeless yet vintage feel to complement the theatre space and his personal colouring (a black tux would just be too harsh), so the brown suit with cream shirt was perfect (but hard to find). He accessorised with a wood cane with a spaniel dog head, as he’s an animal lover, and it felt very Hollywood. His nephews especially liked the cane and kept borrowing it throughout the night.
Syndicated Theatre
Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.
Lucy’s engagement ring is an antique Art Deco platinum, lozenge, Imperial topaz, and diamond ring. The linear fans and open scalloped gallery are particularly charming, as well as the side tulip motifs. This was selected from Courtville in Dublin days ahead of their engagement in Dingle, Ireland. Alyce from Courtville would go on to source complementary diamond earrings with cut-out fans worn at her Ireland ceremony.
Lucy’s wedding band is her grandmother’s gold and diamond band that mimics the lozenge shape east-west.
Kevin’s wedding band is a classic gold band. He wears it so well, it’s inspiring him to look into adding a pinkie ring to his jewellery wardrobe.
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?).
We both believed from the beginning that the wedding would only be as good as the guests. One of the hardest (and most expensive) parts of any wedding is the headcount, and it became clear early on that we wanted to go over our original limit. This is a daunting move, but one that was completely worth it. If you fill a big room with as many great people as you can, no matter what happens, it will be a success. We got lucky: nothing significant went wrong, and we had a ton of great guests. What more could you ask for? Well, we wanted to capture all those great guests, too, so we hired fashion illustrators from Drawn Together. This was worth it: we got to keep beautifully drawn illustrations of everyone, which doubled as fun wedding favours that hearkened back to our artistic roots.
Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?
Working on the film for the movie theatre element was our favourite. It was so creative and fun. We got to commission an animation, select celebrity cameos and even do some amateur acting. Kevin worked with his filmmaker and comedian friends Alex Quade (@alexquade_) and Alon Elian (@alon_elian), which he loved doing. It wasn’t something we had to do; it was something we got to do. When we first started dating, Kevin showed Lucy all over NYC through his eyes, and it was such a magical time. It was really nice to relive it. It felt great to share more of our story with our friends and family. We got to see everyone laugh and cry in the theatre, which is exactly what we wanted. Bonus, we even got to make a totally epic Movie Poster.
Our civil ceremony was just us, our photographer and her assistant. It wasn’t overly planned and took place during a weekday morning. For example, the day prior, Lucy walked by Dudley’s to see that it was under construction. She chatted with manager Max, who assured her it would be open the next day for lunch – and it was! It contrasted our production of a party as it was very low stakes, laid back and familiar (we walk down centre street all the time). It felt good to have this time to ourselves without hyper-focusing on details or logistics. I think we went to sleep by 9 pm that day. Not the case for our reception!
What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?
During this wedding season, our community of friends and family got to know one another in a whole new way. It was like one big crossover episode! Being married means that our respective families (chosen and genetic) are now one big family unit. There has always been mutual support and respect, but our marriage solidified our ‘Village’ in a new way.
LOCATION NYC Legal Ceremony – New York City Marriage Bureau; NYC Reception – Syndicated, @syndicatedbk PHOTOGRAPHER Chelsea Palatucci, @chelsea.foto SECOND PHOTOGRAPHER Philip Tran, @_philiptran ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHERS Alicia Miranda, @freakleesh; Marc Palatucci, @_marcpal_ STYLIST By the bride FLORIST NYC Legal Ceremony – Faux tulips – Duyone via Amazon, @amazon; Stems from Birthday Bouquet – Plant Shed, @plantshednyc; NYC Reception – Carlie Hougen, @carliehougen CELEBRANT City Hall Marriage Officiant ENTERTAINMENT DJ – Dash Speaks, @dashspeaks ILLUSTRATOR Drawn Together, @drawntogethernyc HIRE Linens & Food Related – Broadway Rentals, @broadwaypartyrentals; Bowls/Vases/Frames/Candles/Candleholders – From the couple, Thrifted & Ikea CATERING NYC Legal Ceremony – Dudley’s, @dudleysnyc; NYC Reception – Charcuterie and Desserts – Marcey Brownstein, @marceybrownsteincatering; Dinner – Syndicated, @syndicatedbk; Late Night Pizza: Williamsburg Pizza, @williamsburgpizza CAKE NYC: Jello Cakes – Theodora Fan STATIONERY Invite – Zazzle Template; Seating Chart, Bar Signs, Ticket Sign – By the bride SIGNAGE Welcome Sign – Terrazzo art piece by Ficus Interfaith, @ficus-interfaith ENGAGEMENT RING Antique Art Deco from Courtville, @courtvilleantiques BRIDE’S WEDDING BAND Grandmother’s band GROOM’S WEDDING BAND Brilliant Earth, @brilliantearth OTHER SIGNIFICANT JEWELLERY Pearl drop earrings – Moda Grace, @modagracejewelry; Grandmothers 1950’s beaded headpiece BRIDE’S LEGAL CEREMONY OUTFIT Blazer – Christian Dior via The Real Real, @therealreal; Skirt – H&M, @hm BRIDE’S LEGAL CEREMONY SHOES Zara, @zara BRIDE’S LEGAL CEREMONY ACCESSORIES Vintage Liz Claiborne bag via Etsy, @etsy; Pillbox Hat – East Village Hats, @eastvillagehats LEGAL CEREMONY HAIR & MAKEUP Katie Bacon, @katiebaconbeauty BRIDE’S RECEPTION DRESS Rachel Gilbert, @rachelgilbertau via Bergdorf Goodman, @bergdorfs BRIDE’S RECEPTION SHOES Heels – Celine, @celine; Flats – Tory Burch, @toryburch BRIDE’S RECEPTION ACCESSORIES Custom Opera Gloves – Cornelia James, @cornelia_james; Neckscarf – Carlie Hougen, @carliehougen RECEPTION HAIR & MAKEUP Bianca at Oser House, @oserhouse BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Fleur Eclair – Regime des Fleurs, @regimedesfleurs GROOM’S LEGAL CEREMONY SUIT Jack Victor, @jackvictorofficial GROOM’S LEGAL CEREMONY SHIRT Eton, @etonshirts GROOM’S RECEPTION SUIT Boglioli, @bogliolioofficial GROOM’S RECEPTION SHIRT Todd Synder, @toddsnyderny GROOM’S SHOES Allen Edmonds, @allenedmonds GROOM’S ACCESSORIES GROOM’S ACCESSORIES Cane – eBay, @ebay GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Original Musk Formula No. 1 – Kiehl’s, @kiehls
