Sarah & Mark | Brooklyn Botanic Garden | Brooklyn, NY

Absolutely Gorgeous

I have been best friends with Mark’s little sister, Jakelyn (Jaki), since seventh grade. Oddly enough, Mark and I never really talked or got to know each other. After Jaki and I graduated college and Mark graduated law school, I spent a lot of time at their house and Mark and I realized we liked each other. On New Year’s Eve that year, I finally mustered up the courage to tell him how I felt and we started dating shortly after that.

Four years later, Mark took me to the Highline by Chelsea Market, one of our favorite places in the city. We had delicious lobster rolls from a street vendor and sat down on lawn chairs to relax. Then Mark got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Of course, I said yes!

When looking at venues, we wanted one with a skyline view of the city. All the venues we saw were either too expensive or only supplied the space and you had to provide the furniture and food. We both work too much to organize all that; I am an operations manager and Mark is an insurance underwriter. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden was absolutely gorgeous and the staff had everything under control. Emily Piuggi, the event coordinator, gave us all of the prices, dates, and choices upfront so we had time to plan everything. She put us at ease and made the whole process completely painless.

On the morning of our wedding, due to heavy rain, everything had to be moved inside. The entire staff knew exactly what to do and did it seamlessly. The ceremony was relocated to the reception space inside the Atrium. Our florist did an incredible job of improvising with the décor to still achieve the look we wanted. We had a beautiful flower arch and scattered flower petals around the floor. The décor looked like that was how we had planned it all along!

Our cocktail hour was moved to the visitor center, another great indoor spot at the garden. Butlers passed hors d’oeuvres such as crispy avocado fries with tomato chutney, glazed Korean-style BBQ short ribs, Long Island oysters, and more. We also had two action stations: an Artisanal pasta station with classics like penne caprese and rigatoni in braised short rib sauce and Spanish tapas like empanadas and shrimp paella. Everything was incredible.

At the entrance to our ballroom, we had cookies in copper baskets, our guest book, and mini Paris suitcases for seating cards, as a tribute to our honeymoon. We kept our décor simple with pops of watercolor and copper and small floral arrangements on the tables. Our DJ did a great job of understanding our musical tastes and following the vibe of our guests. The night was all about dancing and the dance floor was never empty.

For dinner, we had an appetizer of grilled asparagus with gribiche sauce. For the entrée, guests could choose from Skuna Bay salmon in coconut puree, porcini-rubbed filet mignon in a red wine demi-glace, or a vegetarian option of wild mushroom ravioli in a tomato confit. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing. For dessert, we had our lemon wedding cake with strawberry mousse, as well as assorted mini sweets, coffee, and tea.

This day would not have been possible without our parents, families, and friends. Thank you to all our vendors, and a special shout out to our hair stylist Lindsey for her extra hard work. Thank you to Emily at Patina Events at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, for turning this rainy day into the best day and night of our lives.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225
718.307.7133, www.patinaevents.com