I was so incredibly honored to photograph The Knot Dream Wedding last year.  Every year The Knot Magazine picks one couple and gives them the wedding of their dreams and it was such a joy to photograph it this year for, Amanda Clifton and WNBA player Elena Delle Donne, the first same-sex couple ever picked as the recipient! The incredible day was straight out of a fairy tale.  It was planned by Jove Meyers at the historic Hempstead House on Long Island and Mimosa Floral decked out both the inside and outside with greenery and thousands of white roses.  See more from the day and read their whole story in print in Us Weekly and The Knot National Spring Summer 2018.

Venue: Hempstead House
Planner: Jove Meyer Events
Floral Design: Mimosa Floral
Cake: Nine Cakes
Catering: Phillip Stone Caterers
Videography: Mckenzie Miller Films
Paper Goods: Whimsey Greenville
Dresses: BHLDN, Ersa, Pronovias
Rings: Benchmark 
Escort Card: Fourteen Forty
Suits: The Black Tux
Music: Luminous Sounds, Element Music
Photo Booth: We Love Photobooths
Rentals: Party Rental LTD, Patina
Lighting: Fusion Lighting
MUAH: Beautini, Kristina Ruggerio

Jenna and Shane wedding week continued…..See part one, the welcome dinner, on the blog here and the entire wedding on Martha Stewart Weddings.  Jenna and Shane were married on October 20, 2016 surrounded by 24 of their closest friends and family at the historic Villa Cimbrone, an 11th Century Manor on the Amalfi Coast, in Ravello, Italy.  The bride always dreamed of getting married by the sea and chose her sapphire engagement ring as the blue reminded her of the ocean, and of course of Princess Diana’s ring, which she was in love with as a child.   The bride kept the styling for the day very classic and fashion forward choosing a simple white silk dress with leaf embroidery on the bodice and accessorizing both herself and her groom in touches of black velvet in both his and her shoes, the ring box, his jacket, and black velvet was later used in the ceremony seating and the runner on the wedding banquet table.  The bridesmaids (the bride’s sister and best friend) both wore structural black gowns and the groomsmen wore black tux’s and black bowties, contrasting with the groom’s white tie.  Lotta of Mint Design created a large oversized bouquet of green and white with trailing black ribbons for the bride and smaller versions for the two bridesmaids.  The couple had their first look on the famous infinity terrace that overlooks the ocean followed by portraits around the property.The ceremony took place under the vaulted arches of the Crypt while the bride’s childhood friend April Kry, just named one of Country Music’s top 5 rising artists, sang to them.  Instead of a stage, Mint Design created a wild semi circle floral installation for April to perform in.  Instead of traditional chairs the guests were made to feel cozy and intimate with black velvet couches and ottomans, which later doubled as lounge furniture during the reception.  The aisle was lined with black candles in clear hurricanes and wrought-iron candelabras dripping in greenery, which also creeped up the pillars.  The bride and groom did not want a particularly religious service, but made it personalized by writing their own vows in Velvet Raptor vow books and by lighting three candles to represent the joining of their two souls, while also remaining strong independent people.  The bride had promised her late grandfather a front row seat at her wedding years ago before she was even engaged, so to honor his memory and the memory of others they had lost, they left an empty seat for photographs wrapped in silk in the front row and light a candle during the ceremony in their memory.  After the ceremony the bride and groom enjoyed a few moments alone to walk around the property and take in the magnificent sunset while guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with champagne and local hors d’curves typical of Ravello including mini jars of fresh octopus.

After sunset guests were welcomed back to the Crypt, which had been transformed into a romantic candlelight banquet dinner.  A long black velvet runner ran the length of the table with cut crystal bud vases and tea light holders scattered in between oversized crystal candelabras and large marble vases overflowing with eucalyptus.  Instead of escort cards the bride had Written Word Calligraphy create custom envelopes with each guests name written on them with the menu placed inside, which were placed over grey silk napkins on the table.  The bride and groom sat in the middle of the table positioned so they could look out at the incredible view of the Amalfi cliffs and had the table set so no one was sitting directly across from them to give themselves an unobstructed view.  For dessert guests enjoyed a buttercream cake and of course more limoncello and champagne.  April sang the night away as guests danced into the wee hours of the morning.  View Part III the Engagement Session in Positano.

Location and Catering: Villa Cimbrone
Event planning: Ebb & Flow (event stylist); Honey and Cinnamon Wed (event coordinator)
Flowers: Mint Design; Flower Sourcing by Domenico Ruggiero of Capri Flor
Officiant: Rosa Pauli
Stationery and calligraphy: Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy
Music: April Kry (singer and guitarist); Weddingmusic (string quartet, pianist, and Neapolitan quartet)
Rentals: R&nt Venice
Bride’s attire:  Elizabeth Fillmore
Bride’s shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Hair and makeup: Manola Spaziani
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Neiman Marcus
Groom’s suits: Hugo Boss
Menswear: The Black Tux
Groom’s accessories, Tom Ford bowtie; Salvatore Ferragamo loafers
Bouquet ribbon and gray silk napkins: Seidenband
Vow books, Velvet Raptor
Film Lab: Richard Photo Lab