Cool, Stylish & Fun Filled Loft Wedding In New York

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Maia and John Michael’s stylish New York wedding is the kind of wedding you wish you were a guest at. Captured perfectly by Chaz Cruz Photographers it just looks like SO much fun while the love these two have for each other and their family and friends is palpable.

What’s their recipe for such a special celebration? Take a white, loft venue overlooking the city, fill it with greenery and white blooms, add candles as the sun sets, invite your favourite people in the whole world, blast some tunes and you’ve got yourself one heck of a wedding!

John Michael cut a suave figure in a classic black tux set off with a polka dot bow tie. While Maia made such a glamorous bride in her sleek Tony Ward wedding dress, sparkly Louboutins, side swept waves and chic red nail polish. Not to mention a leather jacket thrown nonchalantly over her shoulders for a stroll around NYC. Too cool, right?

The Love Story

We have a few different stories we tell people about the way we met. We met online 4 years ago, but after a hilarious dinner party with friends, we decided it would be fun to invent different stories. Our favorite story was telling people John Michael bumped me with his bike in Union Square Park, which could have totally happened.

On our wedding website, for more fun, we decided to ask people to tell us how they think we met. The stories people came up with were hilarious!

JM proposed after a day at Storm King Sculpture Park, in New Windsor, NY. It was a cloudy day, and he said he knew the moment was right after the clouds finally parted. He saw it as a sign from his father who had passed away.

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The Venue & Vendors

We fell in love with our wedding venue, Studio 450, the moment we walked in. It was an all white blank canvas, and we knew we wanted to choose a minimalist color palette. I worked with our florist to create an all white & greenery space, with a nod towards the greenery surrounding us the day we got engaged.

As for choosing our wonderful vendors, we went largely by word of mouth. Thank goodness for friends with good taste!

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The Special Touches

When we decided to start planning the wedding, every decision we made was based on wanting our wedding to be as true as possible to who we are as a couple. We set out to craft an organic celebration of our love with everyone we adore. With that in mind, we asked those closest to us to have a hand in making our day extra special.

My husband designed the invitations and bilingual wedding signage. My aunt hand-wrote our seating chart, and our midnight snacks were empanadas prepared by my grandmother’s longtime friend and neighbor. My father officiated the ceremony, while one of our cousins read us a quote on love by Maya Angelou.

My then 3-year-old niece gave an impromptu speech during the middle of our ceremony on the importance of listening to your parents and loving puppies, which is still one of my favorite memories!

We also incorporated a memorial table with photos of JM’s father and my grandfathers. It was our special way of making sure everyone we love was present.

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Advice For Other Couples

For on the day advice, I say to let go and completely trust your vendors. They are professionals and will allow you to truly relax before the wedding and enjoy the day.

As for budget tips, I suggest shopping around to compare prices. It will also give you a better sense of what you want / need for your wedding day. For example, I was able to work with my florist on finding budget friendly flowers to be able to bring my vision to life.

As for apps, I absolutely loved the app by The Knot. It literally walks you through every detail of planning your wedding step by step, and has a very handy and adjustable timeline.

I also loved Zola’s registry app. I was able to update registry items on the go, which was so convenient!

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The Honeymoon

We planned a last minute honeymoon to Spain after our wedding. I only had a few days off and we wanted to explore a new place together. We had a wonderful time in Madrid and Barcelona, exploring the sights, eating amazing food, and enjoying the wine!!

We loved the leisurely atmosphere of Spain’s culture and can’t wait to go back and explore the rest of the country!