Emily and Steven’s Park Hyatt New York Wedding is Featured in The Knot!

I am SO excited to be sharing Emily and Steven’s gorgeous Park Hyatt New York wedding! This beautiful couple’s wedding day is currently featured in The Knot New York Magazine as one of their Real Weddings! Read on to get a behind-the-scenes look at the style and grace of this iconic NYC-inspired wedding, with details and tips from bride Emily herself!

How They Met

Steven likes to say that we met on Mustlovepets.com, but that isn’t true. I (the bride) went to visit a college friend in Boston for the weekend.  I picked up my friend and his friend (the groom) in my car to go to a party. So we met in my car, and the rest is history.

Falling in Love with The Park Hyatt New York Wedding Venue

We loved our Park Hyatt New York wedding! We knew from the second we walked into the ballroom that this is where we should be married (it was only the second venue we saw!). The Park Hyatt New York is the epitome of modern elegance. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. The walls are white onyx and there is a giant antique mirror that I was in awe of. Plus, the carpet was pretty (why do most wedding venues have horrible geometric carpets?!) Not only was the ballroom beautiful, but the whole venue space is very unique. It is set-up like a home, with the area outside of the ballroom called “the residences”. It was also a huge plus that the wedding team at this venue was fantastic. They are respectful and knowledgeable. We looked at other venues after seeing the PHNY, as it was at the top end of our budget, but none of them stood up.

Classic New York Style Wedding

We wanted a classic New York City wedding. When we walked into the Park Hyatt, we immediately thought of my grandfather who was a stone engineer. The PHNY uses a variety of natural stone in the walls and floors and we were inspired! We paid homage to my (Emily’s) grandfather and used agate and geode elements to tie together the theme and the venue.

Our theme colors were black and white with touches of light pink. The bridal party outfits were black and white, the groom wore black and white, and the bride wore white and pink. Our flowers were also of this color scheme, with the main flower being an anemone (white with a black center). Our wedding invitations, rehearsal dinner invitations, menus, programs and save the dates were all black and white. The dance floor was black, while the walls were white onyx. The gift bags were also black and white, as was the cake!

Saying Yes to the Perfect Dress

My wedding dress is my favorite thing I have ever owned! It is a BERTA BRIDAL gown, purchased from Saks Fifth Avenue. It is a mermaid style in white, with pink overlay that gives it a light pink/blush color. This strapless, floral lace dress has very light beading and a train that goes forever. I wore a beaded belt, as well. For the ceremony, I wore a pink and white tulle skirt with just a touch of shimmer over the dress. I said I wanted something show-stopping, unlike what anyone else wears, and I think I accomplished that while still remaining true to my own personal style.

Emily’s Bridal Style

My veil was borrowed from my best friend – it is a white tulle veil with a simple, white trim. I wore my grandmother’s broach on it as a veil weight. Holding my veil in place were vintage navy blue sapphire bobby pins from Etsy.

My jewelry was from Henri Bendel. I wore floral sparkly drop earrings, a matching ring and a matching bracelet. I also wore my engagement ring. Tied to my bouquet was my Nefertiti necklace, which is a family heirloom. It was bought in Saudi Arabia by my grandfather. All of the women in my family have one. My grandfather told us that “Nefertiti was the most beautiful woman in the world, just as his women are the most beautiful women in the world.”

My shoes were Vince Camuto Imagine. They matched my dress almost perfectly. They have pink floral lace on the toe, back, and heel. The style is called Victoria Pump. They were so comfortable! I really love shoes and was ready to drop a pretty penny on fancy designer shoes, but once I saw these, I knew they would be perfect.

My hair was worn long, down, and in loose curls. I wanted it to look as much like me as possible, plus Steven loves when my hair is curly. I didn’t want my hair to be the focus. For my makeup, I also wanted to look as natural as possible.  I just wanted eyeliner and a matte lip, everything else I left to my makeup artist. I had eyelash extensions on, which I recommend to everyone!

Steven’s Groom Style

The groom wore a Hugo Boss shawl collar tuxedo with a bow tie and a white pocket square (he loves a pocket square). He wore braces under his tux. His shirt was a Brooks Brothers shirt and his shoes were by Hugo Boss as well. He wore a Cartier Santos watch, given to him by me on our wedding day. His cuff links were monogrammed and matched his groomsmen’s.

 

Bridesmaids in Black

I had one Matron-of-Honor (my best friend), one Maid-of-Honor (My 11-year-old niece), and seven bridesmaids. They all wore black to match our black and white color scheme. I wanted them to look classic and to be comfortable. The dresses were black chiffon, by Bill Levkoff. The bridesmaids had a beautiful chiffon flower on their chest and my maid and matron-of-honor had chiffon flowered straps. These dresses were great because they were flattering on different body shapes and sizes. All the girls wore matching necklaces from Karla’s Jewelry in McAllen, TX, given to them by me as a thank you.

City Streets, Park Views

I loved doing pictures in Central Park and on the streets of Manhattan! I love the contrast between the two and how they can be captured in one afternoon.

Park Hyatt New York Wedding Ceremony

Our Park Hyatt New York wedding ceremony was perfect! We didn’t go overboard decorating the aisle, because we wanted to focus to be the Chuppah and the room is already so stunning. We had a white runner with flower petals and candles on the sides. We were married in front of the antique mirror. We also placed pictures of our deceased grandparents in the front to “reserve” seats for them and to honor them.

Flower Girl Fashion

Our flower girls were my cousin’s daughters (Jillian age 9, Olivia age 6) and our ring bearers were my husband’s nephews (Jackson age 6, Mason age 4). The flower girls picked their own dresses after seeing ones they liked in a store window. The boys wore tuxedos to match the groomsmen.

Olivia originally didn’t want to walk down the aisle, but she did great with the help of her sister! The flower girls carried vintage wooden baskets with flower petals. Jackson and Mason were excited to walk together and they held a glass jewelry box with a “W” on it with the rings inside. Inside the box was Steven’s grandmother’s favorite flowers.

Special Traditions

We had a few special traditions to honor my Jewish heritage. We both stomped on the glass at the end of ceremony before being announced husband and wife. Why should the groom have all the fun? We also signed the Ketubbah with our whole family and bridal party, instead of just our parents and the witnesses. We wanted everyone to be a part of it.

Our ceremony was partly a traditional Jewish ceremony, but because Steven is not Jewish, we did not make religion the center of the ceremony, and it was more cultural than religious. We were married by my Uncle who is a retired Supreme Court Judge. He did an unbelievable job combining the Jewish culture and religion with personalized words to us. It was very special to us to have him officiate.

The Groom, and bridal party walked down the aisle to Perfect by Ed Sheeran (Electric Violin version by Eduard Freixa) and I walked down to Only Us by Dear Evan Hansen (instrumental version). After the ceremony, we walked out to You’ve Got the Love by Florence and the Machine.

Wedding Day Advice

Right after you are pronounced husband and wife, but before you walk back down the aisle, stop. Stop and look out at everyone there and at each other. Take it all in, because it goes too fast.

 

Welcoming the Guests

We wanted our guests to be excited as soon as they walked into our Park Hyatt New York wedding. For seating, we chose to do an Escort Mirror with decals for the names and table numbers instead of cards. The mirror is now hanging in our home and we can always look back to see who was at our wedding.

Cocktail Hour

We loved our cocktail hour. SUCH good food! We had a variety of passed hors d’oeuvres and stations (Dim Sum, Peeking Duck, Pigs in a Blanket, Meatballs, etc.). We each had a signature drink- the Bride’s was a Salty Dog and the Groom’s was an Old Fashioned. The PHNY has the best cocktails.

We had a band for cocktail hour too (Platinum Stars Entertainment). We had two musicians who played guitar and sang. They played everything from pop to acoustic versions of old school hip-hop songs.

Park Hyatt New York Wedding Reception

For our Park Hyatt New York wedding reception, we had family style and traditional style tables and seating. I wanted the main focus to be the dancing! I wanted the tablecloths to match the overall theme, and thank goodness the linens used by the PHNY were just what I wanted. I also loved that their chairs were not traditional. We had beautiful, over the top flowers and candles. We used agate bookends for table numbers to tie in the Agate/Geode theme. 

Blooming Wedding Florals

My primary choice for flowers was an anemone, because of the coloring. I wanted all fluffy white flowers for the Park Hyatt New York wedding reception, with touches of light pink. We had flower letters on the back of our chairs that I loved. My favorite part of our florals was our Chuppah. We had the most amazing cherry blossoms. It was tall and luxurious. I think it was the highlight of all of our design choices- it felt like we were married in a cherry blossom forest. 

Something Sweet

YUMMMM! Ron Ben Israel created the most delicious and beautiful wedding cake. It was designed to look like black marble (to match our theme!) and had sugar flowers that matched the reception flowers of our Park Hyatt New York wedding. Inside our cake were vanilla “Funfetti”, chocolate, and cookies ‘n cream layers with salted caramel filling. The outside was black fondant marbled with white & gray.

Love in Every Detail

Our first dance was to Adele’s One and Only. This is the first song we ever danced to (on our second date) and the song that was playing when we got engaged. Steven and I sang it right before we got engaged and he began his proposal by saying “We should dance to this song at our wedding. Will you marry me?”

A Night to Remember, a Love to Last a Lifetime

Emily and Steven’s gorgeous Park Hyatt New York wedding was truly a night to remember! I am so thrilled to have shared in this special day with such a lovely couple.

Emily and Steven, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your Park Hyatt New York wedding! Sending both of you lots of joy as you relive your perfect wedding day in The Knot New York Magazine!

The Team: Photographer- Amy Rizzuto Photography, Reception- Park Hyatt New York, Planner- Daniela Grafman (Vision Events Co.), Hair Stylist- Angela Callisti (Beauty Social Salon), Make-up Artist- Makeup by Liz, Invitations- Minted, Florist- Metro Florals, Second Photographer- Mekina Saylor, Third Photographer- Cassady K Wedding Dress- BERTA Bridal, Wedding Dress Salon- Saks Fifth Avenue, Bridal Shoes- Vince Camuto Imagine, Engagement Ring- Dalia Diamonds, Wedding Rings- Dalia Diamonds and David Yurman, Bride’s Jewelry- Henri Bendel, Bridesmaid Dress- Bill Levkoff, Groomswear- Hugo Boss, Groomsmen Attire- SRG Fashion, Escort Mirror- Wade Trefethen, Videographer- Shutter + Sound, Cake- Ron Bean Israel, Favors- Donation made to The Sam Fund, Cocktail Hour Music- Platinum Star Entertainment, Reception Music- Diamond Cut Entertainment, First Dance Song- “One and Only” – Adele

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Want to see more pretty images of Emily and Steven’s Park Hyatt New York wedding? Check it out in The Knot New York Magazine, on stands now.

Looking for more New York City wedding inspiration?  Check out Margaret and Ryan’s Central Park Boathouse wedding and follow along with Amy on instagram and facebook!

Amy Rizzuto is an NYC wedding photographer

who specializes in capturing the authentic joy of adventurous couples in love.

For more information visit www.amyrizzutophotography.com!