Cootiebanini

Location: Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Picking the location and date were the most important parts of wedding planning. We got married on the Ocean Lawn, with cocktails in the Fleur de Lis, and the reception in the Fontaine ballroom. 

Catering: Fontainebleau Miami Beach. All of the food was provided by the venue. We offered six appetizers, a macaroni and cheese station, a salad, choice of entree, and two desserts (creme brulee and wedding cake). 

Wedding Planner: Eric Trelles. The venue required a wedding planner which we thought was strange, but it was absolutely worth the money. I would hire five Erics if I could.

Officiant: Rabbi Cheryl Jacobs. She incorporated Catholic, Filipino, and Jewish traditions in a breezy 20 minute ceremony under a chuppah.

Invitations: Paper Source. This was an unexpectedly large expense. Since our wedding was black tie, we wanted to have formal invitations. Formal paper is expensive. 

Additional Stationery: Save-the-dates, thank you cards, and escort cards from Minted. We went with the gold foil and script theme for almost everything because it was easy.

Wedding Dress: “Edith” by Augusta Jones from Kleinfeld. My mom and sister really wanted to have a “Say Yes to the Dress” experience, so we went to Kleinfeld. I wasn’t expecting to buy my dress there, but my mom cried when I put my dress on, so we had to buy it.

Bride’s Accessories: Veil, hair comb, and shoes. My mom insisted that I wear a cathedral-length veil. Oh, moms.

Groom’s Tuxedo: Suit Supply. He bought his tuxedo from Bloomingdales.

Groom’s Accessories: Cufflinks and studs. Bling bling.

Wedding Bands: Tiffany and Co. We had a personal shopper (shout out to Debbie at the 5th Avenue store) and she made everything really easy. We also learned that the champagne served on the second floor is nicer than the champagne served on the other floors.

Photographer: Stacey Ambrosio. She’s based in Miami, but was able to come to NYC for an engagement session. All that advice about doing an engagement shoot with your wedding photographer is legit.

Flowers and Event Production: Al Davis of Agency BE. Al is some kind of wizard. He did the flowers, centerpieces, lighting, chairs, couches, linens...everything.  We met with him twice and everything magically appeared.

Hair and Makeup: Styles for Miles and The Look by BJ. Both were recommended by @foshosfy and made everyone look beautiful.

Ceremony Music: Strings by Don Wilner and Federico Britos. I walked down the aisle to La Vie en Rose and our recessional was All You Need is Love.

Cocktails and Reception Music: The Chase Band. We never even considered a DJ. The room we were in demanded a live band, so we went for a ten-piece band with a horn section. Why not.

Photo Booth: Capture Pod. I’m so glad we got a photo booth. We won’t get our professional photos for 4-6 weeks, but we have these to hold us over. All the guys wanted to wear the Batman mask because they were wearing tuxedoes. Makes sense.

Favors: Bow tie cookies from Chez Bon Bon. Our original favors (black and white cookies from Zabars) never arrived due to the snow storm in NYC that week, but these were better. It all worked out.

Welcome Bags: Canvas tote bags filled with snacks, water, sunscreen, first aid items, postcards, an orange, champagne, and some personalized stuff from Etsy.

Cocktails and Brunch: We hosted cocktails on Friday night, and a farewell brunch on Sunday. We had a big turn out for both, and it was nice to have these extra opportunities to talk to our guests.