A Cozy Fall Wedding in Brooklyn

There was no way Lauren Fry and Doug Shribman wouldn’t have met as freshmen at Bucknell University. "We lived in the same dorm, were in the same freshman seminar, and Doug played baseball while I played softball–meaning we practiced on adjacent fields," she says. "It was hard to miss each another!” They hit it off quickly, and dated for nine-and-a-half years before Doug popped the question. “We were in Puerto Rico with two of our best friends, and went for a hike in the El Yunque Rainforest," Lauren recalls. "After swimming beneath a waterfall, we walked out onto a bridge overlooking the falls and Doug proposed.”

After nine-plus years of dating, the couple set a date for just nine months later, on October 7, 2017. Luckily, finding a venue was easy: “A few of our friends had attended weddings at the Wythe Hotel and had an amazing time, so we knew we had to check it out,” says the bride. After a tour and brunch at the hotel’s Reynard restaurant, they knew it was exactly what they were looking for. The couple calls the venue "classic Brooklyn," i that it pairs historic and industrial accents like hardwood floors, exposed beams, and bare brick walls. “Our goal was to make the room feel warm and inviting, while still letting the bones shine,” Lauren says. When the couple realized they needed help with the décor decisions, they hired Two Kindred Event Planners to help them develop their aesthetic and put together a killer team of vendors, including Ryon Lockhart Photography. Blush and gray accents added depth to a cream-and-white palette, with touches of gold and lots of candlelight to warm up the space. “We loved how the light palette popped against the rich wood in the venue,” says Lauren.

Keep reading to see how this fall wedding came together!

“Shopping for a dress was incredibly stressful for me, and this Monique Lhuillier gown was the first one that made me feel comfortable,” Lauren recalls. So much so that her friends raved that she was finally smiling and her aunt asked why she was even looking at anything else! The winning design was a simple sheath dress with a lace bodice and a tulle skirt.

Lauren carried a soft bouquet of quicksand roses, cosmos, ranunculus, scabiosa, and tulips, accented with eucalyptus. Instead of corsages, the mothers wore clusters of blooms affixed to gold cuff bracelets.

The bridesmaids carried smaller versions of the bridal bouquet, which popped against their charcoal gray dresses.

Doug donned a classic black tuxedo, and for a few moments even wore the top hat that has been worn by four generations of Shribman grooms.

“Our minister, Dennis, has known me since the day I was born,” says Lauren. “When I was six, I asked him to be the one to marry me to my future husband, so during the ceremony he joked that he’d known he would be marrying me longer than Doug did!” The minister wove Jewish elements, honoring the groom’s family, into the Baptist ceremony, which took place beneath a modern chuppah. The black iron design was topped with a white cloth and finished with cascading pink roses.

Signature cocktails included an old fashioned, a Moscow mule, and a chihuahua (vodka paired with grapefruit juice), but the newlyweds opted for beer for their first toast to each another.

The reception design all started with glossy farm tables, but the couple added accents chosen to contrast with their dark base. These included gauzy white linen runners, centerpieces of blush roses and creamy ranunculus, and white taper candles in brass candlesticks. Place settings were also accented with a pineapple-shaped bottle openers as favors for guests.

A creative meal was crucial to the couple, who served beef tartare, crispy quinoa, and arctic char with roasted beets, faro, and horseradish cream. Dessert included flourless chocolate cake (topped with potato chips!) and miniature fruit crumbles.

Lauren and Doug shared their first dance to “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?” by Thompson Square before the bride’s father took to the stage for his moment in the spotlight. “He spent months practicing the drum portions of a Beatles medley, then played songs like 'Golden Slumbers' and 'Carry that Weight' with our band!” says Lauren. “Everyone was singing along–he crushed it!”