We love that when their original wedding plans for a black tie New York City wedding were waylaid by COVID, Bryar, a physician assistant at NYP Columbia, and Bradley, a VP at a private wealth management firmed based in Manhattan, opted to see it as an opportunity.
A few months into the pandemic, they moved out of their NYC apartment and into a house in Scarsdale. And given that it happened to have a gorgeous backyard, they figured it would be the perfect spot for a casual minimony – in which, unlike their big wedding (now scheduled for October of this year) where they’re going for timeless elegance, they felt free to experiment and have fun.
The 15-person micro wedding was a chance to try out things they wouldn’t have chosen for their big celebration – like filling tiny bud vases with bright seasonal flowers and opting for a non-traditional but totally stunning bridal ensemble. We’re obsessed with the dramatic sleeves on Bryar’s Vanessa Cocchiaro dress, ordered from Net a Porter, and how cool is her DIY pearl tiara (which she made by combining two pearl headbands)?!Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Megan Mills captured everything so perfectly, from all the gorgeous details to the couple’s love and happiness. Oh, and speaking of gorgeous details, don’t miss their beautiful white laser cut ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com!
Before we hand you over to Bryar, we want to share some of her reflections on her micro wedding:
In hindsight, I am so overjoyed that we got to have our micro wedding in our backyard of our new home. The evening was so intimate and we both were so present throughout the entire day. I feel like we are both so looking forward to our bigger celebration now because it will be just that. We will get to dance and hug everyone we will not have seen in so long, without the stress that a whole wedding day usually carries. Our advice to anyone considering a micro wedding is…do it!
Micro Wedding
Bryar, the bride: Our original wedding date was May 30, 2020 at Tribeca 360. We were so excited to have a black tie New York City wedding. We wanted an evening that was glamorous, yet filled with love, and lots of dancing! When the COVID pandemic began, I was working with Covid patients daily, so Brad actually moved in with his mom in CT and I stayed at our apartment in NYC. We initially postponed our wedding to October 31, 2020 (the last Saturday that wasn’t booked in 2020 at our venue), but we quickly realized that a large wedding in 2020 was not going to be feasible.
In July, we ended up moving out of the city and purchasing a home in Scarsdale. We are lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard and we decided to have a small ceremony in our backyard on September 5. It was 15 people total, just our immediate family and two friends, along with our Rabbi, Rabbi Michael Friedman from Temple Israel in Westport, CT.
Casual Vibes
For our large wedding, we wanted everything to be timeless and elegant…and pink! We hope to still bring this vision to life on our new date, October 23, 2021.
For our backyard wedding, we decided to go very casual. I found an image on Pinterest of a table scape with lots of wild flowers in tiny bud vases and showed it to our local florist. We loved the idea of doing lots of bright flowers that were in season. The whole look was so vibrant, and we got to play with a casual look that would not work in any other setting than a backyard wedding!
Our wedding planner for our upcoming celebration is Amy Katz, but our backyard wedding was planned between the two of us, with the help of both of our moms.
Invitations
We used Paperless Post for our micro wedding. It was just to our family, who all knew the details already because we personally called everyone. We just wanted to send them a cute email as well.
Hair + Make-up
Samantha Agostino and her team did my hair and makeup for our special day, and she will be doing my makeup for our celebration next year as well! She is the sweetest person, and she made me feel glamorous, but not unlike my daily self.
I had seen her work on both my planner and my photographer’s Instagram accounts and I loved that all of her brides looked stunning, without seeming too done up. I reached out to her and fell in love with her during my trial!
A Vanessa Cocchiaro Dress
I ordered approximately 10 dresses from various websites after looking at every white dress on the internet (at least it felt that way!). It was hard to shop for a dress when very few stores were open because of Covid. I ended up wearing a dress made by Vanessa Cocchiaro that I had ordered from Net a Porter.
I have always loved the idea of wearing sleeves, and the dramatic sleeves on this dress really piqued my interest. When it arrived, it didn’t require any tailoring and I felt very bridal, despite it not being a traditional wedding dress.
Accessories
I created a pearl tiara look by combining two pearl headbands. I had seen the look on my makeup artist’s Instagram and decided that I could go with a slightly trendier look for our backyard wedding. I wore my original veil, which was covered in tiny pearls.
My mom had given me a really beautiful pearl bracelet for my 21st birthday that she intended for me to wear on my wedding day, which I did! When I showed the bracelet to my mother in law one day, she told me that she had just the earrings to complete my look. Luckily the earrings she lent me were a perfect match!
Shoes
Because we had our ceremony outside on the grass, I wanted a shoe that made me feel bridal…but they also needed to be practical. I found a white block heel with an ankle strap from Stuart Weitzman and they did the trick.
The handsome groom
Brad wore a handsome blue suit, a crisp white shirt and stunning green tie which really brought out his green eyes. There is one picture of him getting ready that just makes my heart race.
He also carried a photo of him with his dad in his pocket all day, which I did not know until the following day. His dad passed away while we were in college. Brad wanted him close by the whole day, and his spirit was most definitely with us.
Bridesmaids
I have 10 bridesmaids! At our larger wedding celebration they will all wear a black evening gown of their choice. I wanted them all to choose something that they loved, and I happen to love a mix of dresses in the wedding photos.
Ceremony
Our rabbi was so wonderful and helped us to curate a ceremony that felt meaningful to the two of us. I am not Jewish, Brad is, but we agreed on having a Jewish ceremony. Our rabbi assigned us a book to read that explained all of the aspects of a typical Jewish ceremony, and then the three of us decided which to include.
We really wanted to include our siblings in our ceremony, so my brothers recited two readings from the Old Testament, and Brad’s sister read the Seven Blessings in English after the rabbi recited them in Hebrew.
Ketubah
Our ketubah is from Ketubah.com. We selected a cream background with a white laser cut overlay, and it’s already hanging in our home.
Chuppah
We wanted something very simple that went with our casual backyard setting. Our florist created a beautiful chuppah made with white birch and lots of different white flowers and greenery.
Music Choice
Brad walked down the aisle with his Mom to ‘Your Song’ by Elton John, a song that they both love. I walked down the aisle with my mom to ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love with You’, because its true!
For our first dance, my brother played ‘Make you Feel my Love’ on the guitar. It was such an intimate moment for all of us, and I still tear up when I think about how much he practiced to perfect it for us.
Flowers
For our backyard wedding, we used Colonial Village Flowers in Scarsdale. We went with a wide selection of bright flowers that were in season. I purchased almost 100 tiny bud vases and our florist filled them each with 1 or 2 flowers and scattered them all down the table, along with these little tea light orbs.
We used royal blue and yellow place mats and napkins to create even more color on the tables. My bouquet was a mix of various white flowers and Brad wore a single white rose.
Photographer
Megan Mills was our photographer for our special day. She was recommended by a friend, and we are so lucky she was there to capture everything for us.
Food and Cake
Standing Room Only in Scarsdale catered the evening, and they did an amazing job. It was a blessing that the evening was such a small gathering, because both Brad and I actually remembered to eat and we are very glad we got to enjoy the food. Our cake was from Lulu’s in Scarsdale.
Entertainment
We created a playlist on Spotify and it served as a wonderful backdrop to the evening over the speakers.
We do have a large band for our bigger wedding celebration, and we CANNOT wait to dance the night away with them. We are both believers that music really sets the tone for this night, and we know the Chevy Chevis’ group will keep the celebration going all night.
Favours
My mom lives in Vermont and there is a famous glass blowing shop near her, called Simon Pearce. She picked out these beautiful glass paperweights as favours for all of our guests.
Honeymoon
We are planning to take our honeymoon this coming June! We are going to the Seychelles, then to safari in Kenya, gorilla trekking in Rwanda, and a quick stop in Dubai on our way home. It was originally booked for immediately following our wedding in May, but we pushed it back a year because of Covid.
Advice
In hindsight, I am so overjoyed that we got to have our micro wedding in our backyard of our new home. The evening was so intimate and we both were so present throughout the entire day. I feel like we are both so looking forward to our bigger celebration now because it will be just that.
We will get to dance and hug everyone we will not have seen in so long, without the stress that a whole wedding day usually carries. Our advice to anyone considering a micro wedding is…do it!
BRAY & BRADLEY’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Megan Mills Photography
Ketubah – Ketubah.com {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Bride’s dress – Vanessa Cocchiaro
Bride’s shoes – Stuart Weitzman
Hair + Makeup – Samantha Agostino
Flowers – Colonial Village Flowers
Catering – Standing Room Only
Cake – Lulu’s
Invitation – Paperless Post
Rabbi – Rabbi Michael Friedman
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
So beautiful in every way ❤️Congratulations and God Bless ????????????????????????????????