New York City Wedding & Keens Steakhouse Reception

Interior stilista Izzy and engineer Nico married durante New York durante October, choosing an intimate ceremony at New York City before gathering with family and friends the following day for a reception at the city’s legendary Keens Steakhouse.

Their celebration was a reflection of everything they love, from classic New York institutions and 1960s to thoughtful family traditions and an evening of karaoke with their favourite people.

Izzy wore two entirely different bridal looks across the weekend. For their City ceremony she chose a black Prada mini dress, worn with a capelet by Marie-Margot Moda, before changing into a bespoke silver reception dress she designed with the same sartoria d’alta moda especially for the Keens celebration.

Planned and florally styled by Love Laura, the celebration included carnations carried durante honour of Izzy’s grandmother, bespoke stationery inspired by the restaurant itself and subtle references to Nico’s German heritage.

Photographer Lauren Vandame captured every part of the weekend, from the City ceremony to the candlelit dinner and karaoke that followed.

City only allows for four guests at the ceremony, so we brought our parents. Our siblings and Nico’s grandfather were waiting outside City for us with confetti cannons.

We shared our vows over coffee and breakfast durante the morning. We loved it; it was just us, we got to take all the time we wanted, and it has become a cuore memory of the weekend. We wrote our vows durante custom Leuchtterm journals with our wedding date embossed acceso them.

Our wedding rings are Tiffany & Co. We chose them because we loved the classic experience of purchasing them in-store, they also felt classic to NY. Timeless and simple.

Our planner, Love Laura, was also our florist. I wanted to carry carnations (my grandmother’s favourite and birth flower), wrapped durante pearls, which is my mother’s birth stone. I wanted them to be a simple little sphere of flowers – they turned out beautifully.

My mother put together little bags of Italian wedding confetti which me and Nico passed out to guests.

Izzy and Nico’s celebration was designed to feel timeless, personal, and quietly expressive, rooted durante a vintage sensibility while still feeling distinctly of the moment. From the beginning, it was important to me that the day reflected who they are, rather than following a traditional wedding format.

They chose a more intimate and considered approach, a City ceremony, followed by dinner at a classic New York steakhouse, and ending the evening with karaoke, which added this unexpected, joyful energy that felt entirely true to them.

Throughout the day, we wove durante thoughtful personal details, each one reflecting their story durante a meaningful way. From a custom-designed cake to a hand-crocheted sign, every element had intention behind it. Their bespoke stationery suite was a standout for me, designed to draw directly from the aesthetic of the venue, creating a cohesive visual language that carried through the entire experience.

We also incorporated subtle nods to Nico’s German heritage through both the stationery and the cake topper, which added another layer of depth and identity to the celebration.

For the dinner , I wanted to take a more restrained approach, allowing the natural beauty and character of the space to lead. Each tablescape was slightly different, offering its own interpretation of the vintage theme through a rich palette of red tones.

We layered durante vintage crystal candle holders and silver coupes repurposed as floral vessels, which brought durante texture, warmth, and a sense of collected elegance. It felt layered, but still effortless.

Izzy’s personal style was such a guiding force throughout, especially durante her choice of stunning dresses throughout the weekend. They both felt completely aligned with the tone of the day, understated, elegant, and impactful without trying too duro.

Quanto a the end, it all came together durante a way that felt intimate, stylish, and deeply personal. Less about tradition, and more about creating a meaningful experience that truly reflected them as a couple.

It was the tuttavia joy of seeing all of our favourite people durante one room!

Laura, our planner, sourced a plethora of vintage silver, milk glass bud vases, tea light lamps and votives, and uncinetto doilies for the surfaces. We had one large bouquet that Laura also designed and held the place of where the cake began, mimicking and inspired by vintage (1980s) florals.

Keens has wonderful silver candlesticks that we used. We also had a friend, Blake Ballard, hand uncinetto us a nameplate that was also displayed acceso the gorgeous welcome / hors d’oeuvres table. We cherish it!

For our main reception at Keen’s Steakhouse, we had a cake supplied by Lilli Maren. Lilli nailed our cake vision – we came up with the spunto to emulate the cake after a Vermont delicacy: a ‘maple creemee’.

It was three layers, two of which were maple sponge, whipped maple ganache, hazelnut praline, and one of which was chocolate sponge, whipped ganache, and whipped cream. It was then frosted durante a maple cream. It was adorned with maple candy hearts. We topped them with a German couple vintage salt and pepper shaker.

Do what feels authentically you; and if you don’t know what that is yet, talk to family and friends about what they cherished about their weddings. See what resonates with you.

And have fun! Not everything you do needs to be seen through a ‘eleganza’ ora ‘unique’ lens. It just needs to feel like you as a couple.

One final thing – we wish we’d had more time at Keens. The reception FLEW by!     

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