Kate and Mitchel

Occupations Kate is a social worker; Mitch is an attorney

Wedding date May 28, 2023

Number of Guests 175

Number of Attendants Six groomsmen, eight bridesmaids, two flower girls, a ring bearer, and one dog of honor.

How You Met Mitch and I met on a Jewish dating app in 2019. Mitch says he was about to give up on the dating apps when he saw our match and decided to give it one more go.

Our first date was a lunch date at Mamas on the Half Shell. Both of us were in our final month of graduate school—law school for him and social work school for me—so we were both working on studying for finals and lunch was the best time for Mitch to take a break in his studying.

Prior to this first date, I had shown my best friend who I was planning to go on a date with, and she shared that she knew who he was as she went to Sunday School with him. She shared that he was a “bad kid” in Sunday school, so I went into the first date thinking this wouldn’t work out and was very skeptical.

Once we got to know each other we learned that we had many mutual friends, including Mitch’s roommate who also happens to be my second cousin.

Mitch and my dog, Maggie quickly bonded and I knew we were meant to be.

The Engagement Mitch knew that I had two requirements for getting engaged. The first was that I wanted to be completely surprised (even though I was confident I’d figure it out) and the second was that I wanted my family to be there.

We were engaged on July 8, 2022 when Mitch popped the question on a random Friday in our apartment. He knew that if he had planned any type of date, that I would have immediately known what he was up to, and the surprise aspect would be ruined (I really should have suspected something was up when he randomly cleaned our whole apartment). Once I said yes, I turned around and looked at the door and my whole family including my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces from upstate New York were there. Needless to say, he definitely met both of my criteria, and I was fully surprised.

It was so nice to be surrounded by family at such a special moment.

The diamond in my engagement ring came from my grandmother. She passed away a year before I was born, but I grew up with my mom speaking of her so frequently that sometimes I forget I never got to know her. In creating the ring, Mitch learned that the diamond is over 100 years old and came from Europe. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to find out the back story on how my grandfather got it.

Wedding Design Inspiration With a spring wedding, I wanted to have something light, airy, and with a lot of colors. I mostly looked at Pinterest for inspiration and went based off of what I knew I loved—but lots of colors for flowers but also for it to be simple and not seem “over the top.”

What Was Unique and Special About Your Wedding Day We are both obsessed with our dog, so she was incorporated into many aspects including our invitations, welcome sign, and even a small figurine of her on our wedding cake. She even walked down the aisle and sat listening to the whole ceremony.

Favorite Details I loved how our florals turned out. Our florist really understood my vision. I also loved how gorgeous my bridesmaids looked together.

Piece of Advice Don’t sweat the small stuff! It’ll all come together and it’s definitely not going to be perfect, but it’ll be perfect for you and your spouse. The most important thing is that you’re marrying the love of your life and are so lucky to have your favorite people with you to celebrate.

Prior to getting married, someone had given me the advice to stand outside of the tent to our reception and take a moment to soak it all in—see all of the guests that made it to celebrate you and how many people love you. Mitch and I did just that and it was a really nice moment to reflect.

BEAUTY The Brushing Bride (hair); Makeup by Kaitlin C (makeup) BRIDESMAIDS I had each of my bridesmaids decide on their own dress by giving them a palette of pinks that they could choose from.  Some bridesmaids wore florals, and some wore solids, they all looked amazing together. CAKE Brittany Brendel CATERER Rouge Catering FLORAL Marigold Sisters Floral GROOM AND GROOMSMEN Tuxedo House HONEYMOON Cruise in the Mediterranean INVITATIONS Letter Art LOCATION Clifton Mansion, especially Natrina Lee the wedding coordinator. MUSIC Spectrum Band OFFICIANT Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg PHOTOGRAPHER Erica Lynn RENTALS Elite Tents and Events TRANSPORTATION Thoroughbred VIDEOGRAPHER Fordham Films Wedding Dress Betsy Robinson Bridal Wedding Planner 1423 Events

(The planner we worked closest with was Heather Ruane who passed away in June from cancer. She was incredible to work with and made my day so stress free. She thought of things I never would have thought about and made sure to take care of things before they became an issue. I am eternally grateful for her help in the process, and I hope her family knows how much of an impact she made on so many.)