We love seeing the choices top wedding pros make when it comes to their own big days – so naturally we were thrilled to see the fabulous NYC Jewish wedding of Andrea, founder of Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor NYLUX Events, and Adam, who works in finance.
Thanks to her work in the industry, Andrea knows all of the city’s under-the-radar venues, and she and Adam chose to wed at one of the very best: Carnegie Hall. Although it’s one of New York’s most iconic music venues, it’s a hidden gem of an events space, with outdoor space, epic views, and a prime location near Central Park – and Andrea and Adam loved sharing it with their friends and family.
The couple wanted to keep their wedding elegant, classic, intimate, and fun – like a big dinner party – and with special details like a cocktail hour to open the wedding, personalized notes for all the guests, embroidered napkins with bespoke logos, and a last hour “after party” featuring bar carts and pizza on the dance floor, they achieved their goal and then some! Photographers Todd France and Phillip Van Nostrand are behind the exquisite photojournalistic imagery, and videographers Davitte Taveras from Dartiztudio and Karlie Rogers from Karlie Louise Photography captured the day in action.
When Andrea counsels brides shopping for their wedding gowns, she advises them to pick something that will withstand the test of time – and she certainly followed her own advice with her sleek, minimalist dress by Romona Keveza Collection – with a striking asymmetrical top, it’s elegant with just a little bit of edge and we couldn’t love it any more!
Read on for all the rest of the details of this very special day…
How We Met
Andrea, the bride: We met online and in our initial conversation, realized we had raised our children just a few blocks away from each other in suburbia. We had our first date a few days later on Monday, second date on Tuesday, third date on Wednesday and we have been together ever since. It was easy right from the beginning.
An Iconic Venue
Almost everyone, no matter where they live, has heard of Carnegie Hall. It is one of the most special, iconic music venues in New York City, perhaps in the world. A number of years ago, I was looking for a very specific location for a wonderful client. We were focused on Classic New York, near Central Park, outdoor space, elegant and modern, and all without being fussy and overdone. I was looking for a needle in a haystack. Carnegie Hall had recently renovated their space that had long been artist apartments. This was a building that housed some of the most talented artists to ever grace the stage. I went to tour the space and fell in love, for both my client as myself!
While I work all over the city, the surrounding area and travel for events, the combination of all those aspects in one location is very rare. When Adam and I started to discuss where we would consider hosting our wedding, he asked me to choose my top 3 venues, and of course Carnegie Hall was one of the three. He asked me thoughtful questions about each venue, which I tried to answer very unemotionally, as while I do plan weddings for a living I wanted Adam to be a part of the decision.
When discussing Carnegie Hall, we also spoke about how we both love music (Adam prepared an involved playlist of 1000+ songs for the DJ, I have had tickets to hear classical music at Carnegie Hall for years, we already had plans with a group of friends to opening night) how the venue had all the right elements we wanted in size, flow, outdoor space, how the food was delicious and how I consider the people who run events to be my work family.
And, as Carnegie Hall as a special events venue is truly an undiscovered gem in NYC, being able to surprise many of our friends, who are tried and true New Yorkers, with a location for our wedding that they had never been to, did not know about, and was so special was an added treat. We did not finalize the decision during that conversation. We went to dinner at a friend’s home that evening, and another guest asked Adam where we were getting married. Adam looked across the table at me and smiled and replied “Carnegie Hall”. We knew it was perfect for us.
Theme + Planner
I plan so many weddings for other couples at NYLUX Events and now I got to plan ours! It was great to be able to take into account Adam and my personal preferences. Adam perfectly summed up how our personalities and personal styles were manifested at the wedding – “Bridal support team of 65 people, Groom on his own with a cocktail”.
The goal for our wedding was simple – elegant, classic, and fun. Stated perfectly by one of my girlfriends “Your wedding was more like an intimate dinner party. As if you invited 70 guests to dinner in your home”. When I reflect back, there is no bigger compliment she could give.
Adam and I are cocktail people. We love the time, after the work day is over, when we can sit together and have a drink, slow down and connect after each crazy day. When we host guests for dinner parties, cocktail hour is a significant part of the evening. Drinks are thoughtfully chosen, to work with the food, season and guest list. So when I suggested to Adam that we host our cocktail hour first, before the ceremony, he immediately agreed. We wanted to give our guests that same experience, of coming to our wedding, having a drink, relaxing and connecting with people for a bit before getting to the ceremony.
It was a very “us” thing to do, and with a bonus – it required me to change outfits an additional time. Instead of a standard escort card table, we had waitstaff walk around during cocktail hour with trays holding the escort card envelopes. Inside each envelope was both the table number and a personal note written to each of the guests, expressing how excited we were they were with us on our special day, notes as to why we sat them next to another guest, and how they have made an impact on us. Writing those notes, which I did the day prior to the wedding, was very emotional. It made me think about how lucky we were as a couple, to have so many people in our lives, to realize the depth of some of our relationships, to appreciate the lengths some people went through to join us. The effort to write out each card was more rewarding to me than words can describe.
For those who know us, embroidered napkins are an expected detail. If you come to dinner, you will always have a proper napkin, often embroidered with a witty saying, and our wedding should be no different. We came up with 4 logos and used them to differentiate tables. This created interest but also gave me 4 new designs to incorporate into our future dinner parties at home.
We decided to treat the last hour of the night as our “After Party.” I changed into a short, sparkly party dress and everyone was partying on the packed dance floor. Out came two roaming bar carts – one with Irish Whiskey for Adam, and one with upscale Tequila for me. Then, shortly after the bar carts, Constellation’s waiters came out bearing pizza boxes. Guests took slices of pizza directly from the boxes. Anyone who has stayed over at our Montauk home knows that at the end of the night, I will happily pull slices of leftover pizza from the freezer and heat them up as a “nightcap”.
Invitation
I love an old-school, substantial wedding invitation, which sets the tone right from the moment it arrives in guest’s hands. Amy Glaser Design designs all our invitations, knows what I love, and outdid herself on Adam’s and my invite. We went with a navy invitation, bronze foil and letterpress, in a white envelope with bronze liner.
Amy designed a monogram of two capital letter A’s that connect which was at the top center of the invitation and repeated on dinner and cocktail napkins. Knowing my love of butterflies, she added a small one at the bottom right of the invite. But the most special part of the invitation was the personalization. Each guest’s name was calligraphed into the invitation, rendering each of them special and unique. Coeur Noir Specialty Printers made the invitation come to life.
Hair + Makeup
Having a team of beauty experts for my wedding was an incredible privilege. Parvin Klein is the master colorist to the stars in New York City. She made sure my hair color was perfect the day before the wedding. On the day of, Tracy Hadden and Alexis Blickley made me look and feel special and gorgeous. They both knew the right balance to hit so I would look and feel my best.
A Romona Keveza Dress
As this was my second wedding, it was my goal to look understated, sophisticated, and most importantly, not too bride-y. I wasn’t inspired by a specific look, more that I wanted something elegant and classic, but not boring. I always tell brides when we are working on their wedding vision, that my goal is for them to be able to look back, years later and still think their choices were chic and timeless. I relied on Jackie Avrumson from NYC Bridal Stylist who knew me and knew what I was looking for. She made an appointment at Mark Ingram Atelier.
When I arrived with my daughter Lauren and son’s fiancé Josselyn (my bridesmaids) in tow, they had pulled a number of looks that were wonderful options, but as I tried on dresses none was quite right. It was a second wedding, and I was hypersensitive not to look like a first time bride. There was one dress, all beautiful lace, and when I put it on, my daughter began to cry. It was the reaction every bride wants. But, a few minutes later I turned to Lauren and said “I think this is your dress, but it is not mine.” She nodded. The next dress I put on was perfect. Sleek and simple, with an asymmetrical top, elegant and a bit edgy. It was from Romona Keveza Collection.
I knew as I walked though the showroom, I had found the one. And in typical fashion for me, all done in a matter of a few hours. Having Jackie Avrumson of NYC Bridal Stylist was one of the smartest moves I made. It was Jackie who sent me to Mark Ingram for a dress, but also accompanied me to all my fittings, picked up my dress and jewelry and brought them to the hotel, steamed everything and made it all perfect. I even took an important business call with air pods in at my last fitting while she and the tailor discussed alterations. She took care of me and my dress all night. All that responsibility and time was taken off my shoulders. All my brides should have Jackie on their team.
Accessories
The best accessory I wore, and the one with the biggest impact, were the fabulous diamond earrings by Verstolo. Lauren Grunstein at Verstolo is the secret weapon that I tell all my clients about. Verstolo has a bridal diamond jewelry collection that is exquisite. Brides can rent or purchase the perfect jewelry for their big day. Lauren and I worked together to choose the perfect earrings to wear with my gown, as well as earrings for both my bridesmaids. The earrings completed the outfits and were the perfect finishing touch for each of us.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids were my daughter Lauren and my son’s fiancé, Josselyn. I asked them to wear blue gowns and they coordinated and looked amazing, both individually and together! Lauren’s dress was Michelle Mason with Mach and Mach shoes, Josselyn wore Michael Lo Sordo with M.Gemi shoes. Each dress was perfect!
Ceremony & Chuppah
Adam and I embraced the traditional elements of a conservative, Jewish wedding ceremony and celebration. At the ceremony, It was very important to incorporate both of our father’s tallit into our chuppah. We made them the only items at the top of the chuppah to give them the importance they mean to us, as we wanted the tallit to shine and did not want to cover them with florals and greenery, which instead we incorporated into the base of the chuppah. We decided to begin a new tradition for our families, prompted by our conversations with our wonderful rabbi, Rabbi Joshua Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.
Rabbi Franklin told a story about his family having kiddush cup which is incorporated into each special occasion and then is engraved with the names and date. We loved this idea and set out to buy a new kiddush cup of our own, with plans to use it for all our future family celebrations. We searched and finally found one on-line we felt would work. It was vintage and from Budapest, which spoke to our shared Hungarian heritage, and it was large with lots of engraving space for future special occasions. It was perfect! When it arrived, we unpacked it and both stared for a moment, it was huge! We did not really digest the measurements and had ordered the equivalent of a giant chalice.
On our first date, I was late. People who know me, know I am time-challenged. (Hence another reason to start the wedding with cocktail hour!). I quickly texted Adam, saying I was on my way and to please order me a drink. He turned to the bartender and asked what drink he should order for a woman who was running behind. The bartender replied Champagne. Little did he know it is my favorite! (I believe Champagne should be drank often, not just for special occasions.)
When I walked into the restaurant and Adam handed me the glass of Champagne, I knew it was a sign. And when planning our ceremony Adam suggested using Champagne for our kiddish under the chuppah instead of wine, which was a perfect moment and connection for our joint family.
Walking around Adam 7 times at the beginning of the ceremony felt very emotional. There was something magical in that moment, creating a circle in the world that is just ours. I will never forget how hard my heart was beating, or the look on my father’s face as I was passing him as I walked around Adam. Having my father be an important part of the ceremony and read the 7 blessings in Hebrew was a very emotional and special moment for me, and I feel really enhanced the ceremony.
Ketubah
Choosing our ketubah was very important to Adam and me. We found Stephanie Caplan of The Ketubah, and worked with her to design a personal ketubah. Stephanie was wonderful, and suggested we incorporate a phrase that was meaningful to just us into the design. She also added a small butterfly, which I wanted. Signing the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract, during the actual wedding ceremony as opposed to before the ceremony was something I had only done once prior in my career.
I had come away from that wedding ceremony feeling it added so much warmth and inclusion that I suggested to the Rabbi and Adam we incorporate it into our own ceremony. We asked two of our best friends to join us under the chuppah and sign our ketubah. Those moments, during the ceremony, were so important and meaningful to Adam and me.
Our music choice
Shiran Nicholson of Nicholson Events was just a given for the wedding entertainment. Shiran and I go way back, as we started working together almost 20 years ago and still partner often. He DJ’d both my children’s mitzvahs and now my wedding. Shiran knows how to get the dance floor packed, sees what music people respond to, understands the event timeline. When we discussed the percussionist, he knew exactly the best person to bring. He made the evening shine with extra details of lighting, roving photo booth, and worked with Erica on the dinner music playlist.
Once he was a part of the night, I knew I was in great hands. Multiple engagements points of entertainment – It was incredibly important to us to have changes over the course of the evening In musical flow. Cocktail hour began with a classical string quartet. At the ceremony we added female vocalist, Erica Lustig to the ensemble who sang both Adam’s ode to me – The Eurythmics ‘There Must Be an Angel’ as he and the wedding party walked down the aisle, and then my processional song in Hebrew, ‘Boi B’Shalom’. As we moved into our reception, the DJ got everyone dancing and we went Into the hora.
As dinner was served, and people were relaxing at their tables, Erica sang all our favorite crooner love songs, from Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Once back on the dance floor, Shiran Nicholson of Nicholson Events had the crowd moving and grooving and out came a percussionist. We wanted the add In the additional element of live and Interactive musician. All night guests had a blast participating by playing percussion – the photos are Incredible!
Flowers
The floral and decor team of Carlos Rivas and Antonio Vieira of Carlos Rivas NYC do the most gorgeous decor and have the best taste in the business. Working with them is always a dream, they are so talented, creative and kind. Their work for The Museum of Modern Art’s Party in the Garden gala each year always takes my breath away. We met a few times, maybe 2 or 3, and I explained my overall vision – shades of blue, anemones for dinner.
We chose the very non-traditional color palette of blues with accents of black and a hint of gold, which resulted in decor that was both modern and classic. From there, Carlos and Antonio did what they do best. The black and white dance floor, black chairs paired with deep blue velvet linens, mirrored floral containers, gold candle lamps on the table all came together magnificently.
The most unexpected piece for me was the chuppah. When I got a text double checking that I was ok with a colored chuppah, and then a paint swatch, I immediately said Yes! Please do whatever you think best. The chuppah was beautiful. Another favorite for me was the black and white checkered dance floor. Very classic and old school New York. It was perfect.
Photographer and videographer
At NYLUX Events we are blessed with wonderful vendors for photography and videography. Adam and I were blessed with having two wonderful photographers. Todd France and Phillip Van Nostrand both shot our wedding. The photographs, which are gorgeous and photojournalistic, let us relive the wedding in a way that is even more beautiful than we could have imagined.
Todd and Phillip captured everything! All the special moments of our guests that we could never see all of during the party. We also had the privilege of two amazing videographers with Davitte Taveras from Dartiztudio and Karlie Rogers from Karlie Louise Photography. They captured the wedding and produced incredible reels where we can listen to the speeches, send clips to our friends and watch the wedding happen all over again. We cannot thank these special people for giving us memories we can hold on to forever.
Food and cake
Food is very important to us as a couple, and the menu at our wedding had to be perfect. We have taken cooking classes on our trips (including our honeymoon), toured restaurant kitchens and love to cook and entertain. Together we worked with the Constellation Culinary team to design a menu that hit all the right notes in variety, dietary needs and equally important to us – visually. Adam and I firmly believe that people eat first with their eyes.
My absolute favorite was the first course. A fabulous tartare duo of Tuna and Hamachi, which was presented on the plate within scrolled cucumber ribbons. Delicious to eat and equally gorgeous to look at. Working with Constellation Culinary Group was a dream. They are the icing on the cake that is Carnegie Hall. In many ways it was easy, as I know their food and their presentation from having worked with them so often. But of course, we wanted to change it up a bit, and I came armed with photos of ideas. Together we went through menu options, amuse bouche or no amuse bouche? I only wanted passed canapes, no stations. I know we all equate food with love, and more food is more love.
But I am sensitive to the amount of food waste and felt the passed bites would be enough. Together we agreed on one heavier passed item, a small 3 bite plate of spring vegetable risotto for anyone who needed a bit “more”. Constellation was 100% my planning partner for the evening. We received so many compliments that the food was the best they had ever had at a wedding, beautifully presented and the service was so attentive.
We had a gorgeous cake by the super talented Andrea Green of Cakes by Andrea. She designed a modern yet classic cake that tasted as delicious as it looked. My wonderful custom cookie baker Christine from Sweet Tablescapes did an assortment of beautiful butterfly and monogram cookies that were passed on the dance floor. We topped off the evening with pizza from a local NYC old school pizzaria. A huge home run!
Wedding Registry
We used Bloomingdales for our registry. The website is very easy to use, great customer service, you can see all the merchandise in store and they have a variety of items at many different price points.
Honeymoon
We spent 10 days in Marrakech at La Mamounia. It is the most incredible hotel and Adam and I loved every moment we were there. The decor, amenities, service are all outstanding. We highly recommend La Mamounia for couples on their honeymoon.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
My advice is to hire the best vendors you can afford and listen to them. Try not to micro manage those vendors as they have been in the industry for many years and have seen it all. They know what works and what doesn’t. Listen carefully to what they recommend. They want the wedding to be as successful as you do. The schedule of the day is very important, as it is the bible that everyone follows.
The planner bakes in time for errors and adjustments. Don’t try and micro-manage the timing. Nothing in life runs that way. Unless you have an unlimited budget, do less but do it well, trying to do everything on a shoestring results in it all being done poorly. Prioritize. Hire the right planner for you and your party. Once you do, take their advice. They have been doing this for many years and have seen it all before. PS. At the end of the night, always serve pizza.
ANDREA & ADAM’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Todd France and Phillip Van Nostrand
Videography – Dartiztudio and Karlie Louise Photography
Planner (Andrea, the bride!) – NYLUX Events
Venue – Carnegie Hall
Bride’s dress – Romona Keveza Collection found at Mark Ingram Atelier
Bridal Stylist – Jackie Avrumson
Bride’s accessories – Verstolo
Bridesmaids – Michelle Mason, Mach and Mach, Michael Lo Sordo, M.Gemi
Hair + Makeup – Tracy Hadden, Alexis Blickley
Flowers – Carlos Rivas NYC
Entertainment – Nicholson Events
Catering – Constellation Culinary
Cake – Cakes by Andrea
Custom cookies – Sweet Tablescapes
Ketubah – The Ketubah
Stationery Design – Amy Glaser Design
Stationery Printing – Coeur Noir Specialty Printers
Rabbi – Rabbi Joshua Franklin from Jewish Center of the Hamptons
Honeymoon – La Mamounia
Wedding Registry – Bloomingdales
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
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.
