One of the great beauties to New York City is the oasis called Central Park which is located smack in the middle of one of the most bustling metropolitan areas around.  For those that crave a spot of nature with their concrete jungle, the 840 acres that makes up the rectangular park find it to be a haven, an area of solace & reprieve from its exterior counterpart.   Rominna Lim & Jeff Laraia wanted a wedding day that would provide them with the opulence of a stunning church but the quiet beauty that is Central Park!  Wanting to keep things classic yet bright, the couple decided on a palette of bright pinks & bold greens to playfully connect with the plaid ties that the groomsmen wore.  Rominna herself donned a stunning lace wedding gown that even utilized the same lace that was in her own  mother’s gown, some 30 years ago!  I must point out, by the way, how incredibly cute is our gorgeous bride’s dad?!  Utterly beaming from ear to ear in each image…. I am pretty sure I have a Father of the Bride crush on how adorable & proud he is!  Rominna & Jeff’s day is a wonderfully bright & light hearted affair all while being perfectly elegant & chic.  Central Park is a such a lovely place to share with your friends and its easy to see why it was the perfect fit!

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Novella of the Bride… 

Wedding Buzzwords: Summer Chic, Perfect, Family Oriented, Classic, Religious & Elegant
Specialty Cocktail: Rum punch ~ Malibu Coconut Run, Pineapple Juice, grenadine, & Club Soda Finished With Myer’s Dark Rum

The tale of Rominna & Jeff {in 3 parts}

STAGE 1– “Just Friends”
The couple’s journey to their engagement began 12 years ago without either of them knowing it. Their lives became more and more intertwined throughout the years. Rominna and Jeff began their relationship in college at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA as strangers beginning a new phase of their lives. They first became acquaintances since Jeff had a Filipino roommate who was involved in the Asian student group with Rominna. During their freshman and sophomore years they transitioned from being acquaintances to friends. It would appear that their relationship might have ended there when Rominna decided to study abroad in Seville, Spain for her junior year. However, even when they were thousands of miles apart, the two friends still kept in contact with each other through the magic of email during that year. When they returned to college for their senior year, Rominna and Jeff may have been a little more focused on trying to figure out where their lives would be heading in the somewhat uncertain future.

STAGE 2 – “More than Friends”
During the first months of senior year their conversations became more romantic and they started spending a lot more time together. After a successful date to Nancy Chang’s Chinese Restaurant Jeff was able to convince Rominna that their relationship was meant to be. They began dating in October of 2004 and thus the story officially begins. Rominna and Jeff were nearly inseparable during their senior year and their relationship grew stronger. They made it through the steps of meeting each other’s families and had many mutual friends.
After graduation the young couple was met with yet another one of life’s decisions. Rominna had been given a job working for L’Oreal USA in New York, and Jeff was able to find a job in White Plains. This kept the couple fairly close together and they managed to adjust to not seeing each other everyday by spending nearly every weekend together. As fate would have it, Jeff moved to New York in 2007 as he began his graduate school program at Teachers College, Columbia University. For 2 years Rominna and Jeff lived in the same city and this brought them closer. In 2009, Jeff graduated and moved back to White Plains. Their long distance relationship resumed for another 3 years.

STAGE 3 – “Seduced by Chocolate”
From very early on in their relationship both Rominna and Jeff could definitely see a life together. Exactly when that would happen was never precisely planned out. One Wednesday in June of 2012, Jeff made an excuse to come to New York and insisted that Rominna meet him for lunch in Bryant Park, near her office. The weather refused to cooperate with his plans for a picnic lunch so they shared a romantic moment eating sandwiches huddled under an umbrella. Rominna had realized that Jeff had been carrying a box of cupcakes from Magnolia’s and throughout lunch kept trying to skip to dessert. Despite her persistence Jeff would not let her near the cupcakes until after lunch.
After they finished their sandwiches and had enough of the rain and wind, Jeff got down on one knee, told Rominna that he would love her forever and asked her to marry him. He opened the box of cupcakes to reveal one cupcake with the word “NO” written in the frosting and another chocolate cupcake with the word “YES” as well as a diamond ring. Knowing that Rominna would not be able to turn down a chocolate cupcake, Jeff’s plan was successful and Rominna accepted. Their engagement began with Rominna immediately changing her facebook status to engaged.

I am a city girl at heart and absolutely love the city. However, I also love the serene nature.  I love to run and constantly escape to central park to run every morning.  My husband is a country boy at heart, eagle scout tried and true.  Central park boathouse and overlooking the lake was the most perfect place to have our wedding.  Having it during the day in the summer sun was absolute icing on the cake and gave us exactly what we wanted. The last thing that we wanted was to have a stuffy black tie wedding in a hotel or banquet hall.

We wanted something very summer chic & elegant with a color cue from the boys’ gingham plaid ties in tan and green with hints of pink.  We also hyped things up a bit with the rayban sunglasses that we gave to our bridal party.  We still kept it classy and elegant though with the vintage rolls royce as well as the massively ornate and beautiful church which had an amazing organ and music during the mass.  For the reception things were a bit more casual elegant with our wedding at the boathouse, and our gondola ride on the lake and our summer cocktails!

My father was an absolute guardian angel. This has always been his dream to plan my special day and give me everything I’ve always wanted, and he delivered ten fold. My MOH and bridesmaids were all helpful of course, but one person that stood out unexpectedly was a new friend, now a best friend, who wasn’t a bridesmaid because I met her after Jeff and I got engaged.  My friend Ashley who was by my side every day and almost every moment leading up to my big day. She was my rock and all star who stepped in and helped tirelessly, and unconditionally.  I love her for that and will always be thankful.

Bride’s Favorite Moment: “All the days with our family, friends and loved ones leading up to the day and days after.  One of my most special moments for me personally was the father daughter dance when my brother sang “The Way You Look Tonight”. With my 2 favorite men on the day, I married my newest favorite man.”

 

Vendor Love

Ceremony: Church of St. Ignatius Loyola  | Reception: Loeb Central Park Boathouse  | Wedding Dress: Victor Miller Design | Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale  | Shoes: Jimmy Choo  | Hair: Vidov Salon  | Makeup: Lancome  | Groom’s Attire: Jos A Bank  | Invitations: Kalijo Works  | Transportation: Luxor Limo~Vintage Rolls Royce  | Music: NJs Best DJs  | Baker: Silk Cakes | Florist: Stefan Event Decor | Wedding/Event Planner: DT Creatives | Photographer: Esvy Photography