Saja: How did you meet?
Diana: We met through friends. My best friend and Matt's brother were interning together and became friends and that's how we were introduced. The firs time we met was over brunch at Essex in the Lower East Side during Memorial Day weekend five years ago!
Saja: How did he propose?
Diana: We were at Storm King Sculpture Park in the Hudson Valley. It is one of the most unique places either of us has ever been to and we used to love taking day trips out of the city to go up there. It was Spring and it was the first really nice, warm day of the year and we decided to take a trip up. Matt had to wait all day for the perfect moment to propose, he almost gave up because we kept getting interrupted or the moment wasn't right. Some of our friends also happened to be headed there that day and so we ended up meeting up with them which was fun to surprise them with the news!
Saja: Where did the wedding take place? What made you choose there?
Diana: We had our wedding at ICI restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It's about 5 minute walk down the street from our old apartment and a place we walked by all the time. It's in an old brownstone with a small yard, just like the apartment we were living in. We loved the idea of doing it in our beloved neighborhood and keeping everything super local. We used a florist, Saffron, in the neighborhood that we LOVE as well. They own a small boutique/shop in Ft Greene that we would always stop into any time we needed gifts or flowers or were just passing by. We had sort of become friends with the owners so it was special to have them do our flowers.
Diana said, "We just recently left NY to move to LA. When we found out we were moving, we decided we wanted to get married in NY, where we met and where our life and friends were, thinking it would be part celebration and part goodbye party and just a nice way to close that huge chapter in our lives. We planned the wedding in about 8 weeks, so ICI was actually one of the only venues we could book on such short notice! We originally wanted to have a Saturday wedding but given our compressed timeline it just didn't work out...so we ended up with a Sunday wedding, and somehow all the stars aligned and we got married on our engagement anniversary, it was totally unplanned but that's just how the dates worked out! Our wedding date is also sandwiched by our mothers' birthdays. Matt's mom's birthday was the day before our wedding, my mom's birthday was the day after. As you can imagine, it was a really happy weekend!!"
Saja: What was your favorite part of the day?
Diana: The vows and the speeches were probably the most emotional and I loved them. But I also loved dinner, and getting up and visiting all our tables and seeing everyone! Things were relaxed but not too crazy yet and the light in the garden was magical. I loved it all though- it really does go by so fast, just like everyone says!
Saja: Which of the photos is your favorite? Why?
Diana: I love some of the dancing photos because you can see how much fun everyone is having, we didn't even have a DJ, just an ipad! But I actually really love the photos of the paper cranes we strung up. They were strung into garlands across the entry into the back garden where our ceremony was held. Several of my closest girlfriends decided to take that on. They spent hours folding paper cranes and then set them up for the wedding. It was such a generous and beautiful gesture. I was really moved by their dedication and enthusiasm. Lucky me to be so loved!
Diana said, "Choosing a dress on such short notice was really stressful (I guess I brought it on myself!). We planned the wedding in about 8 weeks and before we decided that, I had no idea that many places can't even order you a dress in that short of a time frame! I was so naive about wedding dress shopping! I went to so many places where the people didn't seem to really have an opinion or care, or they just wanted to move you along for the next appointment. or they just didn't really seem to get me or my style. It was so different at Saja. I felt like I had known you guys for years and it really felt like you two were fairy godmothers taking care of me and helping me along with everything from choosing what to do, what strapless bra to get, or helping fix the alterations! I truly appreciated the honesty too! The dress ended up being perfect for the venue too. It really captured the spirit of the venue and our wedding, simple and sweet. Thank you so much again for your help and care...It truly means so much to me!"
Vendors:
Photographer: Karen Kristian
Flowers: Saffron
Hair and Make-Up: Ami Chibana
Cupcakes/Cake: Baked NYC
Venue/restaurant: ICI Brooklyn
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