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.
Although Andrea and David got engaged atop a mountain in Aspen, Colorado, the Miami-based couple wanted to tie the knot closer to home. So soon after their 2019 engagement, they began looking for venues. In theory, they were planning for a particularly large wedding (600 guests) and needed a large venue—which they found with the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. But due to the pandemic, they postponed five months, downsized their guest list to one-sixth of its original size, and moved it even closer to where they live, with a venue that could accommodate an outdoor ceremony.
Throughout the entire process of planning a wedding in one location, and replanning another in a different city and state entirely, the couple was guided by their wedding planner, Stephanie Esquenazi of D’Event, and Jassi Lekach Antebi of Jassi&Co. Creative, who designed and produced the event, included creating all of the florals and decor.
“I help couples visualize the big picture and define what their visual and experiential goals are—asking what the most important elements are and what they’ve always dreamed of having at their wedding. Based on that, I help assemble a team of vendors who can best carry out that vision for the couple. The vision for this wedding was romantic with a modern edge. We made sure to incorporate some elements inspired by the original venue, such as twinkle lights amongst beds of pampas grass at the ceremony that was reminiscent of the lightning bugs in North Carolina. Andrea and her mother, Rosy, were open to pushing the boundaries in design too. For instance, they have always found bouquets to be quite silly, with people awkwardly holding them, or the bride covering her whole dress. So when we were thinking of how to reinvent the traditional bouquet, we were greatly inspired by the Rodarte Spring 2018 collection, and created a unique way of each bridesmaid ‘wearing’ the bouquet alternatives which ranged from crowns to shawls to bracelets and necklaces.” —Jassi Lekach Antebi, wedding designer/producer
Another vendor who had been secured early on for the initial wedding in North Carolina was TPD Design House, who designed everything from the wedding website and invitations to the welcome gifting and day-of paper goods, including the menus and wedding favors (which both sported the couple’s modern monogram).
When Andrea and David had to decide whether or not to postpone and downsize, there were near daily calls with Stephanie and Jassi about what to do and where and when. Andrea’s grandmother has a beautiful home in Jupiter, Florida, which was a natural fit for the Shabbat dinner the night before the big day. And the Norton Museum of Art happened to be closed to the public at that time, which made it an ideal space to host a wedding—not to mention the mother-of-the-bride has an inspiring modern art collection that Andrea grew up with, so it felt like even more of a great fit. With the new venues in place for the wedding weekend, it was then time to start assembling the full dream team of vendors.
Photography was a major priority for the couple. They had booked a photographer for their original wedding, but with the date change, they were no longer available. Vanessa Kreckel of TPD Design House suggested Corbin Gurkin, and Andrea was blown away by her portfolio. Alagua Weddings was suggested to document the day in motion because of the beautiful and cinematic quality of their films, and how they tell a story with emotion.
“The day can be perfect—from the aisle, to the table, to the weather. But at the end of the day, all you are left with are the memories and pictures. From the second I met Corbin, we instantly clicked. She was a true pleasure to work with.” —Andrea, bride
Up next was the glam squad. A pair of local artists, Patty Zrihen Makeup and Silvia Di Nocco, who’ve worked on many weddings in the Latin-Jewish community of Miami (the bride and groom have Colombian and Mexican backgrounds), and whose work Andrea was more than familiar with, were brought on board.
Music was important to the mother-of-the-bride, who wanted to make sure the evening hit different tones. Talent from Aragon Artists accomplished just that. Starting off with classics at the ceremony, the soundtrack progressed to more lively music played by The Social Dance Band throughout dinner, and then a DJ for the afterparty. A special touch was the first dance song—John Mayer’s cover of Beyoncé’s “XO”—as the couple saw him in concert during the same trip where David proposed.
Known as the premier kosher caterer and kosher bakery in town, respectively, Nathalie Cohen of Nathalie’s Catering and Ktering Desserts worked together to create delicious meals for the wedding weekend. Ktering also collaborated with TPD Design house to fashion cool dessert bento boxes that were served to each guest at the reception, with four different sweets inside.
“Latin Americans are known for their over the-top-displays of desserts, but in the height of Covid, we had to reimagine this element into something extravagant and individually packaged.” —Jassi Lekach Antebi, wedding designer
While Jassi began designing once the wedding venue was set, specific rental pieces weren’t selected until a bit later as great care was taken in curating the selection, which included vintage silver and cut crystal pieces from The Mix Dish and Atlas Event Rental. She also sourced napkin rings from Kim Seybert for the perfect finishing touch. A mix of seating from Nüage Designs, Inc. came into play too, with velvet chairs and rounded banquets adding more visual interest to the room.
As the exclusive lighting and power provider at the museum, Frost Florida was an easy vendor to pick, but they also happen to be very talented. They lit the post-sunset garden ceremony outside in a way that focused on the couple and their extraordinary chuppah setup, as well as provide ambiance, while the reception space similarly allowed the decor to shine while giving the great hall an overall glow.
