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There is a certain magic that comes with New York City weddings.  This magic comes in as vast a variety as the many cultures & diverse peoples which inhabit the area.  When you think NYC wedding your mind goes directly to a metropolitan backdrop filled with skylines and urban flair.  Thoughts of a Brooklyn wedding can be just as vast, however there is a certain down home charm to Brooklyn that any Brooklyn defender will tell, is exactly how it is… home.  Much like Manhattan has Central Park, Brooklyn boasts its own acres filled sprawling retreat in the form of Prospect Park.  Before Stephanie & Vance became engaged, on a walk through the park, the couple stumbled upon Prospect Park Boathouse, a gorgeous historical building that set off all the bells & whistle’s in history major Stephanie’s heart, knowing a Brooklyn wedding here, was nothing short of perfection.  The couple sought to inject a subtle wedding style into their already picturesque surroundings, working to infuse vintage wedding details with pops of purple, green and gray.  To bring in a true old Brooklyn feel, the couple opted out of table numbers and ran with historic places of Brooklyn old.  From Ebbet’s field to the Brooklyn Bridge, couples were invited on a tour down memory lane, Brooklyn style.  To match the couple’s lighthearted and vibrant style, New York City wedding photographer Cassi Claire Photography was enlisted to capture each perfect memory with her signature bright style.  The beauty to Stephanie & Vance’s Brooklyn wedding is how they embraced the charm of Brooklyn’s past lives while celebrating the history of it all, all while starting a new history of their own.

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Novella…

Vance and I actually picked our venue months before we got engaged, so that part was easy! We moved to Brooklyn in May of 2013 and started walking our dogs through Prospect Park on the weekends. During our walks we would wander over the foot bridge across from the Prospect Park Boathouse. I was awestruck by how beautiful the setting was. It was classic, grand and intimate all at once, and absolutely fit with my love of vintage, historical places and objects. One
day when we were walking by I just blurted out, “When we get married, I want to get married
here.” Vance, wonderful man that he is, just calmly said, “OK.” So, of course, when Vance proposed in August of that year my *first* order of business was to call the Boathouse and find out when they were available.

I wanted to focus the design on Brooklyn because the borough has been so essential to our relationship. We met in Prospect Park, ended up at a late-night Williamsburg dance party on our first date, and bought our first apartment together in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Vance, a longtime devotee of Brooklyn, even converted me, originally a staunch Manhattanite. Once we picked the Boathouse, it was almost easy (almost). It is such a beautiful historical setting and everything flowed naturally from there. I have a master’s in history, and I think that influenced a lot of my choices. I wanted vintage items and historical touches to be a part of our day. Though I had the postcards printed, the images themselves are real vintage postcards. The favors were the product of hours and hours scouring ebay. I also had a fantastic support group; my sister, step-mother, mother and aunt were incredible. They talked things through with me, we bounced ideas around, and had epic group text messaging feeds of pictures and feedback and opinions.

They talked me off the ledge on a few things, too. At one point, I was dead-set against displaying the cake until my sister talked me into it. The moment I found the little duck bride & groom cake-toppers on Etsy I was supremely happy she did. Those things were freakin’ adorable. In the end, all I can say is it was perfect. I’m honestly still not even sure how it all happened, but I couldn’t have imagined an evening any more beautiful, more fun, or more essentially Steph & Vance.

Vendor Love

Photography: Cassi Claire Photography | Wedding Planner: Ara Farnam of Rock Paper Scissors Events | Venue: Prospect Park Boathouse | Bride’s Dress: BHLDN | Shoes: Betsey Johnson via BHLDN | Men’s Attire: Black Lapel | Hair & Make-Up: Parlor Brooklyn | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Menu Cards, Table Signs, Stickers: love, m. | Flowers: Alley Scott | Catering + Cake: Movable Feast Catering | Officiant: Vince Anderson | DJ: 74 Events – Duane Harriott | Ice Cream Cart: Blue Marble Ice Cream | Transportation: Romantique Diamond