Nicole and Brandon are both huge music fans so they wanted to incorporate music into as many details of their wedding as possible. From the invitations which were record and cassette tape designs, to the flowers made from sheet music and even the centrepiece which were all instruments. The favours were guitar picks, magnets, buttons and stickers and were set up like a merch table and the music that played throughout and the reception was a combination of guest requests (which they asked on the RSVP cards) and their own favourites.
The day was held on Coney Island, at Gargiulo’s Restaurant. “Coney Island is such an iconic place that many of our friends had never seen”, Nicole told us, “it was great to be able to share one of our favourite places with our favourite people. The all-Italian never-ending food was definitely unique. Our DJ was very unconventional and created a great flow from the ceremony into the Italian Goodfellas-esque cocktail hour, energetic intros, and eclectic dance party. The punk rock after party definitely surprised the guests and took the event to a different level. We got so many complementary messages from our guests about the details and unique experience.”
“We did so much DIY,” she continued, “I collected things for months! I got two-foot tall sign letters from an old store called the Music Box and we put paper flowers and lights in them. I collected over a dozen globes which we hung from the altar. We repurposed the globe stands for the centrepieces, adding small guitars and banjos. One of my sisters painted personalised watercolour paintings which we had made into buttons and stickers for the favour merch table. I also painted a giant Ferris Wheel cupcake holder to match the Coney Island Wonder Wheel and we added battery powered tea lights. I got a vintage jukebox and created the seating cards out of the song inserts.”
Their venue and the food was their biggest expense but they loved that their day was hosted in such an iconic venue – one that has been in business since 1907! “The food was next level incredible and we both agreed that we had never been to a wedding that was all Italian food. The cocktail hour had brick oven pizzas, seafood towers and mountains of antipasto. We also had extra bars added and handed out hot pretzels to the guests as they left.”
They saved in other areas though, with the bride’s dress being a total steal, found on sale for only $99! “Do what you want to do” Nicole advises in conclusion”. Don’t feel like you have to settle for a cookie cutter wedding. Make it your own and make it amazing!”
