Exclusive: Gabrielle Korn and Wallace May's Brooklyn Elopement

Gabrielle Korn didn't travel far to meet the love of her life. In fact, all she had to do was walk downstairs. In fall 2015, the author and editor moved in above a coffee shop owned by her best friends in the Bed Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. Wallace May, an artist and musician, lived just down the street. "We met at the coffee shop and were friendly acquaintances for a few years," share the couple. "In the summer of 2017, Wallace (finally!) asked Gabrielle out over DM."

On New Years Eve before the start of 2020, it was Gabrielle's turn to ask a question. "At dinner that night, Wallace asked Gabrielle if she had any New Year's resolutions," they reminisce. "Gabrielle replied that she needed to think about it. Once they got home, Gabrielle asked Wallace to come sit down and said she was ready to share her resolution. She'd put the ring between the couch cushions, and after fishing around for it for a few confusing seconds, gave a little speech and asked Wallace to marry her."

While Gabrielle and Wallace knew they wanted to tie the knot, they weren't sure what they wanted their wedding to look like. "The problem was, we didn't have a vision! Neither of us really grew up yearning for a wedding, and when we sat down to try to plan one, we didn't know where to start because there was nothing in particular that we wanted," the brides explain. "We did know that we wanted the ceremony to be private and intimate."

The couple had recently moved to L.A., but knew eloping in Brooklyn—where they met and fell in love—felt right to them. "We decided on a city hall wedding, because that seemed like the easiest option. But apparently, at this point NYC makes it really difficult to get an appointment and we couldn't pull it off," they share. "We still wanted to elope, though, and Wallace found Eloping Is Fun online. [They] handled all the details, which was amazing, because basically all we had to do was pick what we wanted from a list of options, and then show up."

For their venue, the couple picked a spot in Williamsburg with an eclectic aesthetic. "House Of Collection immediately caught our eye because it's so different and unique. We loved the history of it and the fact that it's used as a community arts space," note the brides. "There's so much to look at inside, and we really liked that it didn't feel like a traditional wedding venue. It was even more beautiful than we could have imagined."

For their reception dinner, Gabrielle and Wallace simply made a reservation. "There were only so many restaurants in the area who would accommodate our party size and various dietary restrictions, so I think I searched for about three minutes on Resy before I found Le Crocodile, which is the restaurant in the Wythe Hotel," they share. "So, we ended up staying there as well."

With a tiny guest list including the brides' parents, siblings, and the two friends that introduced the couple, the brides said their "I do's" on November 23, 2021. Ahead, check out Gabrielle and Wallace's beautiful and intimate Brooklyn elopement, planned by Eloping Is Fun and photographed by Krisanne Johnson.

The couple credit Eloping Is Fun for helping bring together their special day so quickly. "All of their options—officiants, venues, photographers—were lovely, so we knew we couldn't go wrong with any of them. But, we were also immediately in agreement about which ones we preferred based on their samples online," the brides say. Gabrielle adds, "I don't know how people plan actual weddings. It all came together really quickly—within two weeks of deciding we wanted to do it this way, it was done."

Before the ceremony, Gabrielle and Wallace donned their coats and took to the streets of Williamsburg to take portraits with their photographer Krisanne Johnson. While they were able to score some amazing shots, it also was quite the memorable experience for the brides.

"It was one of the coldest days that week and also incredibly windy," they recall. "While we were all freezing—especially us in our attire—we were still laughing, because it was objectively hilarious to be trying to look glamorous instead of like ice cubes. We also have gotten soft from our cushy L.A. weather life, so it was extra funny to realize we simply cannot deal with cold anymore."

Since the ceremony was very low key, the brides didn't plan any additional décor touches for their venue. In fact, they picked up their bouquets at a local florist on the drive from Gabrielle's parents home on Long Island. "We left the florals to the last minute, which was maybe a mistake," the brides share. "We tried two different florists the morning of the wedding before we found somewhere open. It took 30 minutes (which in hindsight is nothing), but had a series of small heart attacks while we waited for them."

The only DIY project the brides took on was their beauty looks. "I did both of our makeup. After working for 10+ years as a beauty and fashion editor, I know my way around my own face," shares Gabrielle, who is the former Editor-in-Chief of Nylon and current lead of Netflix's LGBTQ+ social media platform. "Wallace also likes a very specific touch with her makeup and it's just easier for me to do it than try to explain to a makeup artist."

For Gabrielle's beauty look, she wanted an elevated version of her normal style with big hair. "I don't like the way my hair looks up, so I tried to make it look fancy but still down," she remarks. "I put a bunch of bends and waves in it with my curling iron and then added volume with dry shampoo and hairspray." The bride also donned a bold red lip using Sephora's Cream Stain Liquid Lipstick in Red Velvet. Gabrielle adds, "For work, I've tested hundreds of long-wear formulas, and this is the best."

As for Wallace? "I typically wear little to no makeup day to day so I didn’t want anything too over the top. I let Gabrielle do my makeup (as I always do when we get dressed up) because she knows how I want it to look," she shares. "Also, she’s the one that has to look at me so I knew she wouldn’t do me dirty." Gabrielle kept Wallace's makeup neutral with a light smokey eye using Tom Ford eyeshadow and Glossier Boy Brow.

The couple also both swear by Augustinus Bader's Rich Cream to prep their skin for the day. Wallace adds, "Gabrielle introduced me to it and I refuse to use anything else because I can’t imagine anything making my skin look better than that product does."

The brides didn't walk down an aisle. Instead, they gathered inside the House of Collection with their guests as their officiant played "La Vie En Rose" on the accordion.

Gabrielle and Wallace actually found their stunning bridal looks in an "emergency trip" to Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills a week before their wedding. "Neither of us wanted to wear a traditional wedding dress so we were on the hunt for nice white clothes," they share.

Wallace chose ankle-length Brunello Cucinelli pants and a unique lace Phillip Lim top with diagonal stripes for her wedding day attire. "I had always imagined wearing some kind of lace dress but came to realize that while I loved the idea of lace, the dress part didn’t feel like me," explains the bride. "When I saw this top, I immediately knew it was the one." She accessorized with black leather shoes by Feit and her mother's pearl necklace. "Pearls are not something I would typically wear but I ended up loving how they looked," Wallace adds.

"There were only a small handful of white dresses in stock to try—like literally five, I think—and this was the best one," says Gabrielle of her white crepe Proenza Schouler dress with a gold-button front. "I didn't want to spend my whole life looking for ‘The Perfect Dress.’ This one was great, and fit well. I texted a photo to my group thread (my sisters and my mom) and they liked it, too. I mostly just tried not to overthink it."

To top off her look, the bride wore a Chanel necklace she received as an engagement gift and "the most amazing knee-high gold faux leather Tibi boots that I've already worn three times since."

Wallace and Gabrielle kept the ceremony personal to their lives as a couple. They each read vows they wrote themselves and finished with a reading from Gabrielle's favorite book, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. "We knew it was happening ahead of time and we both still sobbed," the brides say.

"There's nothing that says a wedding HAS to be stressful," reflect the brides. "If it is, what's the point? We loved our simple, easy wedding because it was guilt-free and very romantic."

After making it official, Wallace and Gabrielle celebrated with their small group of family and friends in attendance. "We're going to do a big dinner party this summer for extended family and friends, but we're not even really calling it a wedding, just a post-elopement dinner celebration," the newlyweds share.

While their elopement may have been small, Gabrielle and Wallace felt no shortage happiness and love on their special day. "While at dinner, we just kept whispering to each other, 'We’re married!' We were so overwhelmed with joy," the brides reminisce.