Learn How TO
THROW A SIMPLE, SUSTAINABLE, STUNNING MICRO-WEDDING

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM BLOOMIST

Story by Mark Welsh / Photography by Cynthia Chung and Troy House

2020 and 2021 have been tough years for love. With the untimely arrival of an unwelcome guest (you know who) legions of lovebirds were suddenly met with a conjugal conundrum: to put their dream weddings on hold indefinitely (love is patient) or to seize the moment and reimagine the entire occasion as a small-but-safe micro-wedding. Bloomist Director of Operations and Merchandising, Catherine Wright Lopiano and her (now) husband Drew Lopiano, quickly pivoted to Plan B, and invited Bloomist along for the romantic ride.

Engaged in January 2020, Catherine and Drew planned to wed in a rustic barn in Vermont during early November and had sent ‘Save the Dates’ to 100 of their closest friends and family all over the country. “We’d imagined an easy, fun weekend with lots of friends and family doing what we love in Vermont - visiting micro-breweries, farm-to-table food, gorgeous autumn leaves”, recalls Catherine. But when Vermont started issuing tighter restrictions and travel limitations, romantic notions of friends and family traveling on planes and mingling in barns were off the table.

Pictured: Making a natural entrance at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. The couple were attracted by the Hotel's sustainability focus and abundance of greenery. Iconic views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan and a farm-to-table menu also helped!

“Our parents and all our friends told us to just get married and don’t worry about a big party”, says Catherine. So, with safety top of mind, the couple canceled the Vermont-barn-beer scenario in August and pivoted to Plan B, a small, safe, intimate wedding in New York City. ‘Change the Dates’ for late October were promptly sent out to just 20 family and close friends, and the fearless couple threw themselves into finding a new eco-friendly venue in New York.

Pictured: A rustic, salvaged wood wall designed by local artists for 1 Hotel using native greenery and reclaimed materials.

Whoever said ‘love conquers all’ hasn’t tried finding a wedding venue during a pandemic. Between August and October, Catherine and Drew considered 6 different spots including the park outside their building in Battery Park City, neighborhood restaurants, a friend’s backyard, and a boat. But when they saw the penthouse restaurant at the eco-friendly 1 Hotel – with its jaw-dropping views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan, and private spaces in which they could get married and throw an intimate sit-down dinner - the couple was smitten.

Pictured: Catherine kept components of the Vermont vision, like fresh meadow flowers by her florist in Craftsbury, VT, Eva Alexander at Blossoming Bough Flowers.

"WE ARRANGED SINGLE STEMS OF DRIED BOTANICALS IN THE BUD VASES, AND MIXED FRESH, DRIED, AND ECOFAUX HEIRLOOM ROSES (MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES) IN THE MORE RUSTIC VASES."

With just 3 weeks to plan, Catherine and her tiny team of Bloomist helpers sprang into action, pulling together vases, flowers, candleholders, and candles, a.k.a. the essential elements of an intimate micro-wedding. Catherine kept components of the Vermont vision, like fresh meadow flowers from her florist in Craftsbury, VT, and enhanced the natural, sustainable theme with “simple, beautiful objects that you could use at home.”

A cluster of rose-hued Little Gem vases by Gary Bodker hold single stems of Dried Nigella Pods, Dried Spray Millet, and EcoFaux Scabiosa.

Simple, hand-written place cards (it's all about the color!) nestle on a bed of fresh moss along with a romantic mix of fresh, dried, and EcoFaux botanicals in a charcoal Gary Bodker vase.

On the bar, a hand-thrown pitcher by Bob Dinetz holds a Vermont-inspired mix of fresh and EcoFaux.

On the tables, gold votives with pure Beeswax Votive candles by Greentree Home cast a warm glow and infused the air with a subtle natural beeswax fragrance.

“We arranged single stems of dried botanicals in the bud vases, and mixed fresh, dried, and Ecofaux Heirloom Roses (my absolute favorites) in the more rustic ceramic vases.” The room glowed with a mix of handmade Alabaster candleholders from Egypt (“the creamy light is gorgeous!”) and natural Beeswax tapers by Greentree Home. “Later in the evening when the candles had burned down a little the room looked and smelled so beautiful.”

Fresh meadow flowers by Catherine's florist in Craftsbury, VT, Eva Alexander at Blossoming Bough Flowers

"EVERYONE SAID WE'D BE SO BUSY THAT IT'D ALL JUST BECOME A BLUR, BUT IT WAS QUITE THE OPPOSTIE. WE GOT TO SPEAK TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON. WE GOT TO EAT EVERY SINGLE BITE OF FOOD."

At the end of the day – and night - how did the couple’s chic micro-wedding stack up against the more traditional (read, big) dream? Married friends had cautioned them not to expect to remember much about the big day, but Catherine and Drew recall every moment vividly.

“Everyone said we’d be so busy that it’d all just become a big blur. But it was quite the opposite. We got to speak to every single person. We got to eat every single bite of food. We facetimed with people all over the world from Slovakia to Hawaii. We were safely together with our closest friends and family in this incredible place on this amazing day. We just felt so fortunate.”

MICROWEDDING

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