Our wedding had two themes: Fantasy, like the heavy-bowed fruit trees of my childhood and the unicorn tapestries at the cloisters, and reality, like the very real city of New York, our home.
At the ceremony I wanted to be barefoot, walking on a soft carpet of grass, under the cathedral-like trees, light filtering in through the canopy of fruit bearing trees, a crown of flowers on my head, surrounded by loved ones. We visited local farms and orchards, rooftop gardens, and every spot offered by the NYC Parks Department before we discoveried the ancient cherry tree groves of Pilgrim Hill, in Central Park. The weather was beyond perfect, and after shooting some photos we escaped Central Park in a pedi-cab.
The reception was held at a downtown video game gallery called Babycastles. The decor was an explosion of color: a broad selection of freshly cut summer flowers, ribbons strung from the ceiling, and gigantic, hand-made paper flowers on the walls – white ones all over the venue, and a “selfie wall” with the colorful show-stoppers, made by our artistic friends.
At the reception, guests were invited to combine two custom beers from separate kegs, with the tagline “better together”. They also took home ready-mixed bottles of Bitter Bear (IPA) Creamy Bear (cream ale).
I took special interest in the cake, and designed all aspects of it, including the toppers. We did tastings all over town before choosing a vanilla-orange cake with fondant toppers from Empire Cake. At the top of the cake, flowers that signal warming weather – snow drop, crocus, peony, forget-me-not. At the bottom, a foundation of reality – a view of the George Washington Bridge from Fort Tryon Park, and Central Park with skyline peeking through. Connecting them, a mythological layers with magical creatures and trees bearing heart shaped fruits.
We developed the “Wedding Run” game at the global game jam earlier this year. For the cabinet at the reception we added a high score, so the player with the highest score would claim their antique “unicorn” bell.
Our collateral went out months before the event: The save-the-dates had our stylized faces on opposite sides of heavy weight uncoated cards. For the invite we got more traditional, adding flowers and hearts and lots of white (and our cats), all from Moo.
Resources: Laila’s Florist, Babycastles, Empire Cake, ComputerLunch games,
