An Intimate Wedding Under the Stars in New York City

Setting: 620 Loft and Garden (Rooftop Garden)
Location: New York, NY
Wedding season: Late summer
How long did the couple plan the event: A little less than one year
Amount of guests: 26
Wedding theme/style: Classic, timeless, romantic, elegant NY

A unique wedding venue is so much more than a room to have a great party in – it can also help set the tone for a truly unforgettable event. Set on top the roof of 620 Loft and Garden overlooking St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the gorgeous Megan and Alex exchanged their vows and had an intimate dinner with 26 guests under the stars and candleligh. An absolutely stunning and romantic garden oasis in the sky.

Alex swiped right, Megan swiped right, it was a match made in *bumble* heaven! Alex’s work ethic is par none, so it shouldn’t surprise you that he was late to their first date coming from the office. Luckily, there was an entertaining bartender to keep Megan preoccupied as she patiently awaited his arrival. Once Alex arrived, they hit it off immediately! Between talking about their beloved hometown of Kansas City, their passion for being successful and the love they felt for the families; they quickly realized that one date was not going to be enough. Alex asked Megan out for a second date on the spot.

The second date was when they “knew”. Alex had recently moved to the West Village and coaxed Megan into helping him carry (it’s NY after all, no one has cars) some items to Goodwill- she agreed thinking “aww, what a kindhearted guy”. They walked around his new neighborhood and eventually settled on a place to grab a bite to eat (it served burrata and small plates, so Megan was automatically a fan). After that, they somehow ended up venturing to three more places and Megan meeting a number of Alex’s closest friends… the rest is history!

Megan and Alex have been staying with Megan’s parents down in Naples, FL for the majority of 2020 and 2021. Initially in May of 2020, they planned to stay there for two weeks. Well, two weeks turned into two and half months.

In August of 2020, Megan and Alex started the two day drive back up to NYC, with a short stop overnight in Kiawah Island, SC with Alex’s Aunt Barb and Uncle Leigh. As Megan and Alex were driving into Kiawah after completing Day 1 of their road-trip, Alex suggested they go for a walk on the beach in the morning before departing for NYC. Megan provided him with all the reasons why that wasn’t the smartest idea (that would delay their start time for an 11 hour drive still ahead of them, she hadn’t packed accordingly, etc.), but Alex offered up all of the reasons why it would be a great idea, and Megan agreed.

The two went for a leisurely, early morning walk on August 9. After about 20 minutes of walking, Megan, being the “time police”, told Alex they needed to cut their tranquil walk short and turn around. As they were almost back to the boardwalk, Alex turned to Megan and said all of the sweet things while simultaneously getting down on one knee and pulling a beautiful ring out of his pocket. Megan was in total shock and initially responded “wait, what?!” when Alex asked her to marry him. Once Megan came to her senses and realized what was happening, she giddily responded “yes!”. They immediately FaceTimed some family while still on the beach and the remainder of the drive back to NYC was filled with memorable calls to family and friends who shared in their excitement!

Megan wanted a classic black tie wedding that would never go out of style as she looked back on pictures in the years to come. The color palette of the wedding was predominantly white and gold, with lush arrangements of white flowers from the ceremony arch to the dinner party table and throughout. Louis Sherry chocolates were placed at each guest’s place setting.

Wedding hack from Loli Events, the planner: if you are ordering aisle arrangements for your ceremony, you can later repurpose them at the ends of the head table or the facade of your sweetheart table for another eye catching floral moment in the reception.

The couple had to downsize their wedding to a total of 26 guests in the midst of Covid uncertainty. So, they decided to host a Welcome party the night before to include their NY based friends in addition to their wedding guests. The welcome party took place on the Manhattan II yacht, which included a sunset cruise around the island, a special toast from the groom, dinner service and plenty of scenic picture opportunities.

Also, the couple prepared welcome bags in guests’ hotel room: custom NYC themed bags with snacks, beverages, and cookies featuring the “big apple”, taxi with custom license plate, wedding cake modeled after their actual wedding cake.

As for the wedding look, bride’s dress was Yuki Katsura from designer loft bridal, shoes Jimmy Choo, perfume Bond No. NYC, earring gifted from the bride’s mother, garter borrowed from the bride’s mother, handkerchief gifted from the bride’s mother. It had bought during a trip to Venice in hopes to one day give to her daughter on her wedding day.

Megan stayed at and got ready at the Lotte NY. Bride and mother started getting their hair and makeup done together in the morning just the two of them to spend some special one on one time together before the busyness of the day began. They asked the rest of the wedding party, as well as the bride’s grandmother and groom’s mother, to join them a few hours later to get ready in the bridal suite together. Hair and makeup were made by Beautini. Megan wanted a natural, glowing look. Groom wore a tux by Brooks Brothers.

Bridesmaids wore matching blush dresses (were gifted matching earrings). Groomsmen allowed to select their own black tux (were gifted matching pocket squares, bow ties and socks).

Guests were greeted with a string quartet and champagne as they waiting for the ceremony to commence. For all guests at the ceremony, there were custom wedding bells to ring and “wish well” once the ceremony concluded.

Since the couple’s original wedding plans were downsized, they felt very strongly about still somehow including people that made an impact on their life and would have otherwise been invited if they had a larger wedding, so they decided to invite approximately 200 of their closest friends and family to join in on a livestream the wedding. Those guests were shipped bottles of champagne the week of the wedding with instructions to pop the champagne and join in a toast with the bride and groom immediately following the ceremony. The virtual guests were able to watch the ceremony, then immediately following, the bride and groom made a special toast thanking those joining virtually and the livestream concluded.”

From Megan: “Having such an intimate wedding and not feeling “obligated” to make the rounds was fantastic. Conversation was seamless and we just had the best time!” Bride’s father’s toast that made everyone laugh, cry and wanting lessons on how to give such great speeches.

The couple had a choreographed first dance, which took place during the cocktail reception in the indoor space. Post the cocktail reception, guests were ushered back outside to transformed dining party under the stars and city lights. Everyone’s word to describe the experience was “magical”.

Following dinner, guests were ushered back inside to partake in a dance party with a DJ from Hank Lane music, as well as enjoy a candy and ice cream bar provided by Abigail Kirsch.

Some advices from the couple:

• Hire Loli Events! They made the whole process seamless and we didn’t have to worry about a thing on the wedding day (everyone kept saying how calm I seemed, which I was thanks to their incredible team)

• Take all the “mental pictures” you can – the day really does fly by

• Look around the room and take in the fact that everyone is there to celebrate your love and how infrequently such a special group of people will all be in one place and how blessed/loved you are.

• Take time with the details to ensure your guests feel welcome and thanked, in turn, it makes the overall experience that much better

• Have fun! The planning process can definitely be stressful, but in the end all the hours of guest list making, vendor, attire, décor, etc. decisions will be well worth it.