How They Met

Nicolas and I met about 10 years ago when we were both 16 years old and were a part of a mutual friend's Sweet 16th birthday court. We never realized we went to the same high school until we started attending dance rehearsals for the event. During the months before the birthday party, we developed a friendship; and then at the party, we fell into an unexpected fairytale romance. We danced the night away and couldn't stop talking to each other. About a month later, after many late-night conversations, phone calls, texts, and walks home, Nicolas and I finally made it official and we've been together ever since.

The Proposal

Right around the time of my birthday in August 2019, we took a big family trip to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida. Little did I know that Nicolas had been planning to propose during the trip and that my family was in on the secret the entire time!

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and we had planned to go to the Harry Potter theme parks. As we were running around, jumping from ride to ride and store to store, we got to a spot in front of Hogwarts Castle and stopped to take family photos. Then, everyone moved out of the shot so Nicolas and I could take a photo of the two of us holding the Harry Potter wands we had just purchased. When I opened the box, I noticed a giant, shimmering ring around the wand. I started crying and shaking, and Nicolas got down on one knee and proposed. By that point, a crowd had gathered around us and everyone was cheering. I jumped into his arms and said "Yes!" Once I was able to fully process the amazing proposal that had just happened, I saw that Nicolas had gotten my engagement ring custom-made with different Harry Potter symbols, which just made everything even more special.

Wedding Venue

We knew we wanted to have a smaller wedding at a more untraditional venue, which led us to a few different spots around Long Island and New York City. After coming across the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn during one of our online searches, we knew we had to go for a tour and immediately fell in love with how unique the space was, as well as the gorgeous location surrounded by nature, beautiful architecture, and wildlife.

WEDDING AESTHETIC

Since our wedding date was in October, we chose warm, autumnal colors: peach, rust orange, olive green, sage green, eucalyptus, gold, rose gold, and burgundy. And for our overall wedding theme, we went with an autumnal boho look with some Harry Potter touches, of course.

THE CEREMONY

Our ceremony was held in front of the Prospect Park Boathouse, on a small dock overlooking the lake and bridge. The aisle was lined with lanterns, the entrance to the aisle had greenery and flower petals, and the altar was decorated with a curving arch filled with greenery and autumnal flowers, as well as large lanterns with candles.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Some of my favorite wedding-day accessories were: the flower crown made by my mom, my Betsey Johnson rhinestone booties, and my purse, which my mom also made using some extra lace from my wedding dress.

WEDDING STATIONERY

We saw some commercials for Minted on TV and after some research of various options online, we loved the variety and quality of invitations Minted had to offer. We chose “Botanical Edge” by Susan Moyal in the all-in-one invitation style—we thought they were very unique in how they opened like a letter, with the RSVP card attached to the bottom. Plus, the invitation colors and rose-gold foil perfectly complemented our autumnal boho theme. We also added wax seals to give our wedding invitations the look of a letter from Hogwarts, sticking with the Harry Potter theme.

VOW EXCHANGE

Our longtime family friend Sr. Margaret Roache is a nun in the Catholic community and officiated our Catholic ceremony. Nicolas and I exchanged vows we had written ourselves, and we incorporated a family tradition of holding a blessed set of my mother's white-and-gold rosary beads, which she passed on to us.

COCKTAIL HOUR

Following the ceremony, cocktail hour was held by the lake, just outside of the boathouse. The menu included our signature cocktails: the "Love Potion" (rum sangria, rosé, berries, and cranberry juice) and “Liquid Luck” (Bee’s Knees gin, lavender simple syrup, honey, lemon juice, and lavender garnish).

THE RECEPTION

After cocktail hour, guests moved inside the boathouse for dinner. Each reception table was decorated with a garland of eucalyptus and fall-toned flowers, a small bird cage containing ceramic owls, gold candlesticks, "potion bottles" filled with honey, and stacks of Harry Potter books. We also had a Harry Potter-themed dessert table with jars of candy and treat bags so guests could help themselves to the sweets. We had some of our favorite candies, as well as chocolates shaped like frogs, which Nicolas and I made ourselves.

The Minted Experience

Working with Minted was by the far the smoothest and stress-free experience of the entire wedding-planning journey. We were able to design and review our drafts with ease; shipping and delivery was right on time and everything looked even more beautiful in person!