today is a very special day. one year ago, i was walking down the aisle to marry my best friend. it was the best day of my life, and since indigo heights did not yet exist, i figured my one year anniversary was the perfect opportunity to showcase our day #ontheblog!
stephen and i have known each other since 2009, and began “officially” dating in 2012. he proposed on may 2nd, 2015 and almost exactly one year later, we tied the knot at tribeca rooftop here in nyc. i looked at one venue, and didn’t need to see any more. i was really going for a lofty, urban feel that i could customize to meet my own vision. it was perfect in so many ways. i had four bridesmaids, the best friends a girl could ask for. we had about 275 guests (in true ‘big italian family’ fashion). i was so nervous that the weather wouldn’t hold up, because last may was a really rainy month. in fact it rained the day before and the day after our wedding — but on may 20th, 2016, as the weather man said, “what a day!” (no really – that actually happened and i have the instagram photo to prove it.) we stayed at the roxy hotel in tribeca, in the most epic suite with it’s own built in rooftop terrace. the guys got ready in the suite, and the girls got ready in a stark white studio space attached to the venue. clean, chic, minimalist. i was so obsessed. i wore a martina liana custom beaded & embroidered mermaid-fit gown with a cathedral tulle veil from the wedding atelier on madison avenue. the girls wore navy & gold evening gowns. our bouquets were fuchsia. fuchsia was our pop of bold color throughout, down to stephen’s socks, which we threw into the mix literally 24 hours before the wedding.
after getting ready, i had a first look with my dad – and then headed over to the roxy to have a first look with stephen. surprisingly, i held it together for both of those moments. must’ve been the epic hair & makeup job that i was not trying to ruin! after what felt like hours of taking photos (which i’m never opposed to) we headed back to the studio space for family formal shots. it was SO INTENSE walking into that room full of 50 loud italian people that the poor photographer was desperately trying to wrangle. we got through the obligatory “stand and smile” shots and i had some time to fix my hair once more before i walked down the aisle. our ceremony was short & sweet. we wrote our own vows, and my brothers antonio & jp – along with my “brother from another mother” ryan – all did readings which we hand-picked. though the venue is a rooftop, we opted for an indoor ceremony because 1. i didn’t want to melt or have my hair blowing all over the place…. and 2. once the guests made their way up the stairs for cocktail hour, they were greeted by an EPIC, stunning sunset. to this day, people still talk about the sunset at our cocktail hour. the reception flew by, and the star of the show was without a doubt our cake topper, which was a 3-d printed replica of us (in our engagement photo pose) by doob3D. such a worthy investment. now, stephen and i have action figures of ourselves sitting on our shelf. who wouldn’t want that?!
we danced all night long – took silly pictures in the photo booth – listened to beautiful speeches by our loved ones – and overall never felt more adored in our lives. looking around the room and seeing so many people from so many different walks of life there to support us in our milestone journey was incredible – thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. we kept the party going at my family’s restaurant, adoro lei, which is right down the block from our venue. at 4 in the morning, a shuttle took us back to the roxy — and just like that…… we were mr & mrs eidelman. weddings come and go in the blink of an eye. personally i loved every aspect of the planning process, even the meltdowns (although i think my husband would chime in that he really hated those!). every ounce of blood, sweat & tears put into this event was worth the trouble… because we have made memories that will last a lifetime and then some.
one year later, and i’m proud to say me and my love are going strong – building our life together – and loving every up and down that comes with being an ‘old married couple’. happy anniversary to us.
our wedding was featured on carats & cake which you can check out by clicking here!
to watch a video trailer of our wedding day, click here or view it directly below!
VENDORS: hair was done by gina ribando (who i’m sure you’ve read about on the blog), and my makeup was done by ruhi at mirror and you. (as a former mac makeup artist, i knew i wanted to be super glammed up on my big day, so i hired ruhi who specializes in south east asian bridal…. where the makeup is bold and uninhibited. she nailed it.) flowers & event design by adam leffel productions, dj – jason fioto of generation events, live singer at the cocktail hour provided by almost easy entertainment (side note – the singer was FIFTEEN YEARS OLD and sounded like adele), and calligraphy by order she wrote (who also did the indigo heights logo!) photos captured beautifully by danny weiss (see below), and video by clark + walker studios.
for a recap of our day, flip through this slideshow of our favorite images! have you been a bride yet? what’s your dream wedding theme? follow me on instagram to stay in the loop!
