Mimi and Kelvin decided that their wedding would not have traditional elements such as gifts from guests and a first dance. They did everything the way they wanted — dressed up to spend the evening surrounded by family and each other in an atmosphere of total love. Find out more about organising an intimate NYC wedding in the interview with the bride below.
Tell us a little about yourselves. How did you meet? What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies?
My name is Mimi, I am newly a full-time content creator, and my husband Kelvin works in Digital Marketing. We met through mutual friends in university. After graduating and spending a little time in Virginia, we moved to New York, into our first apartment in Brooklyn. A year later, we decided to get a dog together named Arthur that we’re absolutely obsessed with (he’s turning 5 this year!). Random fact about us — we both love horror movies, so we spend a lot of time watching them together (initially what we bonded over when we met and led us to our first date, watching a horror movie in theaters). Lastly, we got married on June 7th on our 6th anniversary so we didn’t have to remember another anniversary date!
Can you share your engagement story?
Kelvin and I go running almost every morning, and he knew it'd be too suspicious to get me to dress up. So, he decided to propose on a run with Arthur (our dog), and my sister took iPhone pictures of it. The weather was drab and gray, so there was no beautiful sunrise as usual on our runs, but it was still such an unexpected surprise. Later in the evening, Kelvin coordinated a dinner at Celestine DUMBO and my closest friends surprised me by showing up from out of town!
Where was your wedding? Why did you choose this venue?
We chose to do a very intimate civil ceremony in Manhattan because so much of our love story happened here. We're both pretty relaxed people when it comes to planning, so we opted for a small, chill event with our families only. We talked about weddings a year or two before getting engaged, and agreed that as beautiful as larger ceremonies are, we knew we only wanted our immediate family with us to celebrate our day.
What was the concept behind your wedding and how did you find your inspiration?
Concept was minimal, classic, and practical. I’ve always loved pinning weddings on Pinterest, so I was able to look through my wedding board and pulled some inspiration from there. When I say practical, I was able to decorate my dinner table at Vinegar Hill House with beautiful glass cups and vases we already owned and brought flowers that I received from a few brands just days before the wedding and I reused them as our center pieces along with my wedding bouquet that I designed (shoutout to Merit for the stunning anthurium bouquet).
How long did it take to plan your wedding? Did you encounter any challenges during the planning process?
Maybe 3 months? Again, we knew we were doing a civil ceremony, so it didn’t take very long to plan. I went dress shopping a couple times with my sister then ultimately went and bought a dress by myself at Nili Lotan. Jennifer Behr kindly gifted the headpiece I wore, florals were from a local florist in DUMBO, jewelry was loaned from Dorsey which really added something special as my dress was very simple.
How many guests did you have? And what was the seating arrangement at the wedding like?
11 people in total. It was immediate family only; seat yourself. Seriously super unfussy. Our intimate dinner was at Vinegar Hill House, no one stayed in their seats the entire night, we moved around and mingled with each other. We ended up having such a great time we hardly took any photos.
Tell us about your outfits. How many different styles have you tried?
Kelvin got fitted at The Black Tux, he had purchased a few suits from there in the past and always loved the fit and service, so he went with a very classic black tux. I tried on maybe 8 dresses in total? From Staud to Khaite — I really wanted to avoid traditional bridal dresses. I ended up going to Nili Lotan in Tribeca and purchasing a beautiful silk slip dress which paired perfectly with a headpiece from Jennifer Behr their team gifted me.
Did you have any special performances or entertainment?
Just Kelvin making everyone laugh all night as usual — did we mention it was super low key?
What was the most memorable moment from your wedding day?
If you live on the East Coast, you’ll remember the smoke from the Canadian fires. The day it smelled like smoke and the sky was orange, that was the day we got married. Luckily we had our ceremony early enough that it wasn’t terribly smokey in the photos! It was definitely a day to remember!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
It was really important to have the right photographer who knew us so we could feel comfortable in front of the camera on such a big day. My sister is my best friend, has taken pictures of me all my life, knows my angles, and has always had an aesthetic eye. Being in a corporate tech job, she didn't get to flex her creativity in a way I've seen her do growing up. I trusted that she'd be the perfect person to shoot our day, and she truly was. And fun fact, our elopement ended up being her sign to switch careers to doing wedding and fashion photography full time! It’s serendipitous that as much as she was part of my milestone, I was part of hers, which makes our wedding even more special to me.
Did you have any special or unique elements (such as a signature cocktail or a fragrance) at your wedding?
My favorite part was going to Kitchen Cô Ût (really great Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown) right after our ceremony with my siblings all dressed up. I also had a fun little outfit change for my dinner into a Jacquemus dress and paired it with fun pink heels from Staud! I think the most special element about our wedding was how relaxed it was, no expectations, no fuss, just an excuse to dress up and spend time with family!
What helped you cope with the anxiety before the wedding?
Not sharing any wedding details with anyone. I planned everything myself — it was small (so not much to plan), but I was able to avoid any input from anyone, making it a very easy process that didn’t give me any anxiety.
What advice would you give to couples who are currently planning their wedding?
Stay true to yourself and don’t get caught up listening to friends and family about what you should do. It’s your day, so do whatever you want! Have fun with it!
Bride: @mimixn
Groom: @kelvinleeee
Photographer: @studiothao
Florals: @lacatrinanyc
