Every wedding vendor team is created a little differently. In this series we explore how and why each couple selected the right wedding vendor team for their wedding day.
During the last week of 2018, Trevor and Jahnna flew to Mexico for a vacation where they explored the ruins of a Mayan pyramid. After hiking to the top, Trevor asked a bystander to take a picture of them, then got down on one knee. Everyone around them began cheering, and the rest of their trip was spent celebrating their newly engaged state.
Shortly after returning to New York City, they began planning—knowing that the city they call home would be the ultimate setting for their wedding. Also knowing that wedding venues in the Big Apple can book up quickly, they wanted to get the foundation of their wedding in place. So they found and secured a venue for a May 2020 date—which of course had to be rescheduled (in their case, twice) due to the pandemic. While their engagement period grew longer than the length of time they’d dated, they persevered, and moved forward with a September 17, 2021, date.
While their wedding was not technically a destination wedding for the couple, it was for the vast majority of their friends and family, who are spread across the country. Jahnna and Trevor sought out a place that would encapsulate what they love most about New York City: its glamour, energy, architecture, and culture. They also knew they wanted to throw an amazing, over-the-top, and memorable party for all of their loved ones. Looking at nearly a dozen options across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, it was the first event space they looked at that won out: Gotham Hall. Its Roman architecture, 70-foot stained-glass ceiling, and elegant and opulent mood was perfect for both the vibe they wanted to create, and the impact they wanted to leave. That the venue’s team was gracious, organized, and seemingly just as excited as the couple made it even more clear it was the right move to make.
Because the venue works exclusively with lighting designer Bentley Meeker, this wedding vendor was confirmed pretty early on, though the full plan for lighting wasn’t designed until closer to the wedding. It was an instrumental part of bringing it all together, creating a balance of mood and texture with dramatic lighting as well as candlelight. As the venue also handles catering in-house, that was also another vendor taken care of early on, with the menu being decided later into the planning.
All signs kept pointing the bride and groom towards one particular planner, Pejy Kash of Pejy Kash Events, who then helped assemble the rest of the vendors and started bringing the vision to life. Around the same time, Jahnna was trying on over 50 dresses at boutiques throughout the city, hoping for something with a wow factor. Her Yumi Katsura gown, with its beaded bolero was the showstopper she wanted, and the inspiration for all of Pejy’s designs for the wedding details.
“Pejy was recommended by our venue, our initial photographer, and my friend’s sister-in-law. We were looking for someone passionate, creative, organized, assertive, well-connected within the industry and familiar with our venue. I wanted someone who could troubleshoot, be our advocate, and a problem-solver. Pejy was the entire package. He was able to take our ideas and transform them into art and emotion. When my maid of honor’s zipper broke off an hour before the ceremony, Pejy was able to get her dress to a seamstress for a new zipper with 20 minutes to spare. Choosing Pejy and his team was the best decision we could have ever made.” —Jahnna, bride
“I feel so incredibly blessed to have my clients trust me as much as they do, which allows me to get as creative as I want with our designs. Also, to be able to partner with such talented vendors to create unforgettable experiences that will last a lifetime. We, here at PKE, only want to work with vendors who love what they do. The reason for this is because that love of their work always shines through in the finished product. That energy translates to both clients and guests.” —Pejy Kash, planner
Once they’d found and fell in love with their venue and planner, Jahnna and Trevor considered different entertainment options, as every epic party needs an incredible band. They booked Blake Band from Starlight Productions as one of their early decisions.
When their original wedding photographer was no longer available due to the date change, Pejy was able to recommend someone the couple loved just as much. Jahnna and Trevor wanted someone to bring them out of their shells and really make them feel comfortable, and who also captured plenty of candid moments and raw emotion. In looking at Afrik Armando’s work and talking to him, they were more than happy to have him as their new wedding photographer.
“We found the personality and energy of the photographer to be the most important deciding factor, and Afrik is vivacious, fun, and comforting, which helped bring out our confidence. Afrik made us laugh, pointed out our best angles, and captured the beauty and sophistication that Pejy and the team created.” —Jahnna, bride
With the look and feel of the celebration heavily influenced by Jahnna’s wedding ensemble—as well as her wardrobe in general, which is almost all black clothing—the palette was strictly black and white, with a dash of sparkle. Pejy envisioned a chuppah dripping with delphinium orchids, stock, garden roses, spray roses, and other white orchids, paired with strands of beads, rhinestones, crystals, and pearls. Having a florist on board who understood that vision and was excited to create without using color was key. And when the couple’s original florist fell through due to schedule conflicts, Pejy once again came through with a spot-on suggestion, this time in Ivie Joy.
“The ceremony was the one consistent element of our design, from the very beginning. I sketched the inspiration for the chuppah and expressed to Jahnna what I had in mind. She fell in love with it and agreed with every single strand of glitz. It truly was the inspiration for the rest of the room.” —Pejy, planner
For Jahnna to achieve an Old Hollywood glam style with a bit of edge, all the while still looking like herself, she had trials with and booked her hair and makeup team: Hair by Azra and The Beauty Suite New York. Pejy always hires a glam team as early as possible, as they are limited to one wedding per day.
Pejy took Jahnna’s design insights and put his own spin on them, evolving them into details that packed a punch. One key way he did so was in selecting high-impact rental items from Nüage Designs, Inc. and Luxe Event Rentals.
“Pejy brought the look from [just] romantic elegance to romantic elegance with an edge and funk that really reflected our personalities more—for example, striped and masked chairs.” –Jahnna, bride
Swell Press had designed the couple’s initial wedding invite (below, middle) but were sadly unavailable to design and produce invitations for the rescheduled date. Shine Wedding Invitations was able to accommodate and once the look and feel of the rescheduled affair was established, they began working on the new stationery suite. The final invitation hinted at the sleek black and white event awaiting guests, alerted them to the black tie dress code, and filled them in on the other events surrounding the wedding day. Come wedding day, Love Stories by Polk Paper was brought on to handle pieces like the menus, which were accented with gold leaf.
Video was originally not a priority for Jahnna and Trevor. However, after finalizing the wedding concept and full design, they knew they wanted to capture it on video, so Brittany Manheim of B.Manheim Film Co. was brought on as the final vendor partner, and she truly captured the essence of the event.
