We’re experiencing some hardcore dress envy today. Seriously, HOW exquisite is bride Alyssa’s soft, whimsical Mira Zwillinger gown? It’s so dreamy, and just the right level of princess-y without being over-the-top. The story of how she ended up choosing it from beloved SoFla bridal boutique Chic Parisien is pretty epic too!
And how about Alyssa and Leon’s AMAZING chuppah?! Constructed from manzanita branches and strewn with a bed of orchids (!), it’s incredibly special — and absolutely perfect for the couple’s natural aesthetic, with a focus on greens and woods accented by bright whites.
This gorgeous wedding featured a seriously star-studded array of vendors, from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ruth Mergi, who provided the couple’s beautiful modern chuppah, to Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ana Paz Cakes, who crafted an oh-so-elegant orchid-studded white tiered cake, to photographer Emily Harris, who captured some incredibly emotion (not to mention a whole lot of pretty).
We love that Alyssa made the bold decision to dress her bridesmaids in white — it’s not for everyone, but the shots of the bridal party all together are pretty stunning!
Take it away, Alyssa!
Garden Oasis
Alyssa, the bride: We got married at The 1 Hotel. I chose this location because it is absolutely breathtaking. The decor in the hotel is exactly my style and the theme I wanted to portray–everything is green, wooden decor, earthy and organic feeling.
The live green plant wall in the reception room was also a major selling point for me. It really added to the room and made for a great photo back drop for all of my guests!
Also, every time I walked into the hotel I felt like I was in some sort of garden oasis. I wanted my guests to feel like they were at a destination wedding on vacation and I really felt like the 1 Hotel provided that feel.
Green and Clean
Everything was very simple and clean. Our color scheme consisted of mainly green and white. All my flowers were white. My bridesmaids’ dresses were even white!!
We really tried to carry on the hotel’s theme of trees/greenery and reflected that in the reception room. One of our centerpieces was a big manzanita tree covered with orchids and hydrangeas. It was absolutely beautiful. Our card table also featured an even bigger manzanita tree decorated with an assortment of flowers, including orchids.
Our wedding planner was Carolina Toledo. She was incredible and such a pleasure to work with. She really helped me feel relaxed on the big day, which was the most important thing for me!
A Mira Zwillinger Dress
My dress was by Mira Zwillinger (bought from Chic Parisien). Her style is very whimsical and soft, which is the look I had always dreamed of. It ended up being my third wedding dress lol.
My first dress I picked, I felt like I got really overwhelmed and wrapped up in the moment all at once, and ended up choosing a dress I knew deep down was not for me. Chic Parisien was so unbelievably kind when I came back a week later admitting that I wanted to change my dress. I ended up getting another dress that was tight fitted and much more modern than the first dress.
Fast forward 6-7 months later, I tried the dress on for my first fitting and I was in tears. The dress was just not my dress. As a little girl I had always dreamed of having a princess-style dress. I never imagined I’d end up in a tight fitted dress. I just knew this wasn’t the dress for me and I couldn’t picture myself in it on my wedding day.
Once again, Chic Parisien was so unbelievably kind and accommodating, they allowed me to get another (third) dress! This was exactly two months before the wedding. When I put on my dress my face lit up and I immediately knew this was the one. I felt like such a princess and it really was meant for me. It was everything I had hoped for.
A Chuppah with Manzanita and Orchids
Again going with the theme of the wedding decor, I wanted to incorporate something with trees, so Raffi (from Petal Productions) helped me bring this vision to life by using manzanita branches for the two front ‘poles’ and then across the top of the chuppah was a bed of orchids.
Celebrating Us
My favorite part of the ceremony was looking out at all of our guests smiling back at us. It really felt special to see so many people gathered there to celebrate US. It made my husband and I feel so lucky to have the family and friends we have.
A Modern Ketubah
Our ketubah is so special to us. We got it from Ruth Mergi, an artist in Israel. It’s a more modernized ketubah design.
Photographer
Emily Harris photographed both of my sisters-in-law’s weddings (my husband’s brothers). I loved her style and the types of photographs and moments she captured–I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about “what pictures were taken” or if she was able to capture a certain moment, because I had full confidence that she would.
She also made me feel so calm that day. I remember being so nervous and a million other things were going on at the same time, and she made be feel so settled and confident that these special moments were being captured. She is also the sweetest person ever and made it so easy working with her.
Photobooth Memories
We had a photobooth from Capture Pod. I loved this because at the end of the night they gave us a copy of ALL of the photos that were taken! My husband and I still like look through them to relive some of the moments. It’s so much fun!
We also had late night bites (French fries, mini burgers).
Speech
My husband made a speech at the wedding and I thought this was so special!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My advice to other brides would be to stay organized, and try to get ALL of the details taken care of by at least a month prior to the wedding day. My husband would make fun of me for doing everything so ahead of time, but by the time December rolled around, I had most everything done with the exception of some smaller details, and I think it led me to being less overwhelmed. I also had a great wedding planner (Carolina) who really, really helped hone in all the details and keep me organized the month of!
My most important piece of advice: as many times as you can throughout the big day, take a quick second and stop and take everything in and really think about the moment you’re in, because it all goes by so fast! You spend all this time picturing in your head and planning how the “getting ready” process would go, and then it happens and it’s done in a second. The same for all the other ‘moments.’ (first look, pictures, walk down the aisle, first kiss, etc.). Just take a second through each moment to be IN the moment.
Alyssa & Leon’s little white book
Photography – Emily Harris
Ketubah – Ruth Mergi
Cake – Ana Paz Cakes
Videography – Megaset Wedding Cinematic Reels
Wedding planner – Carolina Toledo
Venue – The 1 Hotel
Bride’s dress – Mira Zwillinger found and fitted at Chic Parisien
Flowers – Petal Productions
DJ + Band – Rock With U
Photo Booth – Capture Pod
Rentals – Elements and Accents
Linens – Nuage Designs
