Real Wedding | Casey + Matt
Tell us a little about yourselves!
Matt and I met at work 5 years ago when I had a co-worker email him asking if he was single! 5 years later we have lived in Williamsburg and now West Village (next to our first date spot Automatic Slims). New York is so special to us as all of our favorite memories fit right into this 'grid' and if we are lucky our life will continue to grow in this amazing city.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Our style was always focused on simplistic, moody and sleek and when we had visited the Freehand Hotel a few times prior to our wedding we had thought that the restaurant on the 2nd floor and adjoining bar would be the perfect spot to create a 'Gossip Girl' meets 'Mad Men' style event.
How many guests did you have?
92!
Tell us about your outfits.
For my dress I wanted to wear something my guests would see me in outside the wedding day, with sleek straight lines and pronounced shoulder. I also collect small mini purses and vintage bags so I knew carrying a bag was going to be part of my look throughout the day and found this amazing pearl purse from Pretty Little Pearl Boutique through an Instagram ad and had to have it!
The veil my Mom ordered off Etsy and I didn’t even open it until I put it on my head and now it is the most beautiful item in all of the photos.
My after party dress was found at a sample sale in NY and reminds me of something Fran Drescher would have worn on the Nanny!
Matt always wanted to wear a fitted velvet blazer but the color of dark olive was not in the original plan. However, his Suit Supply suit ended up matching the dark wood tones of the bar perfectly.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
That the day we were planning was unique to us and we never felt forced into any particular traditions or moments that we knew wouldn’t fit the vibe we were going for. Also I know the photos were going to be so different and classic in the space so Rachel Leiner and I couldn’t be more aligned on bringing these to life. I will never forget sitting on that bar with champagne!
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
The candles and light touches of flowers was really important in how we would flip this hostel style hotel into a more moody romantic night and Molly from Brownstone Botanical blew us away with the execution. Our guests still talk about the stairs!
I knew after the ceremony I wanted to have a private few moments with just the wedding party and our family so we walked straight back into the bar and closed the doors while the cocktail hour started – they served us champagne, we signed our license and in that moment surrounded by everyone so important to us we were speechless!
Any tips for couples getting married, particularly during the pandemic?
Continue to talk about the wedding after the date and have friends remind you of certain moments and bring you back to that exact detail. Sometimes I felt like I was in a daze at our wedding and it’s so nice to remember that our guests created small memories for us moving forward.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Rachel Behar Events. She not only helped seamlessly execute every detail the day of and leading up to it but she ended up being so much more in the process – planning can be stressful and not everything aligns or personalities align but Rachel fought for us to the end and that was not part of her contract but certainly her personality.
I ended up using three insanely talent women from Williamsburg for the Flowers (Brownstone Botanical) Photography (Rachel Leiner) and Planning (Rachel Behar Events) and by the end of the event I never wanted them to not be part of our exciting moments. That’s the type of vendor you want to pick!
