Photo: Hannah Thomson1/47We asked our two friends, both illustrators, to help with the invitation. Joana Avillez drew the peach, the branch, and the leaves. The handwriting was Ilya Milstein’s. I told Joana how much I liked the plant drawings by Ellsworth Kelly. I wanted something that felt simple, youthful, and easy.
Photo: Hannah Thomson2/47Our rings were made by Gillian Conroy, an independent jeweler based in downtown Manhattan. She is so creative and talented.
Photo: Hannah Thomson4/47I also incorporated this Jennifer Behr pearl headpiece, thanks to Risa Hirayama of Dress Hair Salon, who normally cuts my hair—I guess I was drawn to a pearlescent vibe.
Photo: Hannah Thomson5/47Emily Thompson, who did the flowers, gave me these individual orchids that Risa wove into my hair.
Photo: Hannah Thomson6/47My dress was by Simone Rocha. I love everything Simone makes. I asked Ai Yokomizo to do my makeup—really simple.
Photo: Hannah Thomson7/47My friend Sue Chan got us a suite at The Standard, High Line where we could get ready together. Here I am with my sister, Annaliese.
Photo: Hannah Thomson8/47Annaliese also helped make sure everything was perfect, including the many little bows with which the dress was embellished.
Photo: Hannah Thomson9/47Here I am putting on my glitter Miu Miu slingbacks for a little bit of something blue, but I felt more like Dorothy, clicking her heels.
Photo: Hannah Thomson10/47Will came to meet me before. His suit was made by Paul Marlow. It was nice to have a quiet moment together before the big event.
Photo: Hannah Thomson11/47Then we took a cab to Houston and walked up Second Avenue. People are so happy to see a bride in the wild!
Photo: Hannah Thomson12/47The Marble Cemetery before the ceremony. It’s hard to explain how open it feels once you walk inside. Emily Thompson built the centerpiece bower.
Photo: Alida Zimmerman / Hannah Thomson Studio13/47A detail from the bower Emily made. We ate the fresh fruit afterwards!
Photo: Hannah Thomson15/47My friend Nadja Spiegelman is wearing a flower crown made by her friend Sara Rahman—I wanted some way to tie together all the people in our various families who were there that day, so we asked them to wear these crowns. And Nadja is like a sister to me.
Photo: Hannah Thomson18/47My bouquet, which Emily fashioned after the all-orchid bouquets of the 1940s. She added geraniums and rattlesnake grass. I told her I liked the color chartreuse and I didn’t want an over-the-top bouquet.
Photo: Alida Zimmerman / Hannah Thomson Studio19/47Will’s parents both walked him down the aisle—here he is with his mother, Penny.
Photo: Hannah Thomson20/47And here I am with both my parents. I’m so happy they both could do that with me.
Photo: Hannah Thomson21/47Nadja’s mother Françoise Mouly officiated. I love that she wore her corsage around her bicep.
Photo: Hannah Thomson23/47Thomas Gebremedhin and I met at graduate school at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has perfect taste in literature. I asked him to read a poem, and he suggested Frank O’Hara’s “Having a Coke With You.”
Photo: Alida Zimmerman / Hannah Thomson Studio27/47I think the look on our faces is relief.
Photo: Alida Zimmerman / Hannah Thomson Studio29/47My friend Stephanie Jenkins and her brother Reid are both talented musicians and they led our guests a few blocks away to where dinner was held at the home of Izhar Patkin.
Photo: Hannah Thomson31/47During cocktails, everyone went up to the roof terrace of Izhar’s house. Thank goodness it didn’t rain.
Photo: Hannah Thomson34/47Drawings and cards were added to the guestbook that Will’s friend Tynan Kogane made for us.
Photo: Hannah Thomson35/47We had two rooms downstairs where the dinner was held. We asked Anat Sror of Dishful Catering to cook a Moroccan feast.
Photo: Hannah Thomson37/47Ilya drew the table numbers—I thought it’d be fun if each number was composed of people. Anat made the most lush centerpieces.
Photo: Hannah Thomson38/47My wedding band and engagement ring (which is a design by Gillian that is sold at Erie Basin) alongside my nails by Vanity Projects. Those are dried flowers pressed into the enamel.
Photo: Hannah Thomson39/47I posed for a few pictures after the cocktails and I think I look more relaxed!
Photo: Hannah Thomson40/47At the last minute I was convinced to have a little bag to carry some lipstick and my phone—this one is by Ganni.
Photo: Hannah Thomson41/47Sue, Nadja, me, and Joana. The most wonderful friends a girl could ask for.
Photo: Hannah Thomson42/47Thomas and Gabriella Karefa-Johnson having a laugh in the living room of Izhar’s mazelike home.
Photo: Hannah Thomson43/47My sister, me, and Will at dinner. We must be listening to the speeches our friends Lily Bernheimer and Rob Frantzeskos made.
Photo: Hannah Thomson45/47Our cake was by Betsy Thorleifson of Nine Cakes. I liked her frosting technique, it reminded me ever so slightly of the way the plaster walls are painted in Italy.
