A Fashion Publicist’s Chic Wedding in New Jersey

Juliette Schwab, a fashion publicist, and Brett Caspi, a real estate broker, have known one another for years, bumping into one another as they gathered with their big group of friends in New York City, but it wasn’t until 2010 that they really “met.” Says Juliette, “I moved into Brett’s apartment building in Chelsea—and onto his floor!” It was there, on the 23rd floor, that the pair really hit it off, and the number 23 has become a special one since. Six years later, Juliette was in St. Barths with her family when she heard Coldplay’s “Full of Stars” start to play and felt a hand on her shoulder. “Brett flew in to surprise me, and proposed right there in the restaurant,” she remembers. They spent the night celebrating with Juliette’s family, then the happy couple stayed on for a week to really enjoy the moment.

Brett and Juliette wanted the feeling of a destination wedding without the hassle of long-distance travel, so they visited a number of venues outside New York City. “We’d heard about Natirar and had dined at the property’s restaurant, Ninety Acres, before, but it was being renovated while we were planning,” says Juliette of their New Jersey wedding venue. And while they originally wrote it off, the property’s wedding coordinator was persistent and invited the couple for a visit to share the renderings in person. “It looked like it was going to be right out of a Ralph Lauren photo shoot, with cathedral ceilings, steel casement windows, and dramatic fireplaces,” says the bride. “We were sold!”

The couple spent just over a year planning their September 9, 2017, wedding, ultimately inviting 150 guests to the sprawling estate for an elegant, all-white wedding planned by Amy Shey Jacobs of Chandelier Events and photographed by Jonathan Scott of JSP Studio. Keep reading to see one of the first weddings at the renovated property—we'd say this New Jersey wedding perfectly embraced the bride’s “farm-to-fab” aesthetic!

Working in the fashion industry, Juliette says she was open-minded when it came to choosing her wedding gown (and was hoping to buck tradition). “I wanted something really unique,” says the bride. Luckily, at the Vera Wang trunk show in December 2016, she found her dream dress: a fitted gown with a lace turtleneck neckline.

The bride works with a number of talented jewelers and turned to them for her accessories. Her earrings and cuff bracelet were whimsical H. Stern designs, which she accented with “something blue” stud earrings from Alison Lou.

“My matron of honor gave me an Edie Parker clutch with my new last name on it, which I carried all evening!” says the bride.

The ceremony took place beneath a lush chuppah made of over 1,000 white Tibetan roses. “The setting was so gorgeous, we could have been in Napa Valley or Europe,” Juliette says. The ceremony was strategically timed to take place just before sunset, making the most of the view.

Brett wore a textured peak lapel tuxedo from Matt Imparali for the outdoor ceremony, where he and Juliette exchanged vows they’d written themselves—“the best part of the ceremony, in my opinion!” says the bride.

As guests made their way back to the patio for cocktail hour, waiters passed Aperol spritzes and glasses of champagne. “I’ve always been a fan of cocktail hour and wanted to make sure our guests had a chance to enjoy the farm-to-table cuisine,” says Juliette. Cocktail hour offerings included mini lobster rolls, a raw bar, and the bride’s favorite: a tequila and taco station!

Instead of escort cards, guests’ names and table numbers were displayed on an oversized escort wall, draped in greenery. “It was a total conversation piece,” says the bride. As a personal touch, the head table wasn’t one but 23—a nod to the floor Brett and Juliette both lived on in their apartment building when they started dating.

Each table was draped in a pin-tucked champagne tablecloth and topped with glowing candles in crystal candelabras. Centerpieces combined white dahlias, hydrangeas, and calla lilies with vibrant green leaves, while alternating tables were topped with overhead arrangements of palms. And as a finishing touch, Juliette and Amy placed a white ostrich feather on top of each menu.

After dining on rice noodle-crusted black bass and duets of short ribs and ribeye, everyone flooded the dance floor. “The party was nonstop, so instead of pausing the action to cut the cake, our planner wheeled the cake onto the dance floor and we cut it there!” says Juliette.

And, boy, did Vali Entertainment put on quite a show! “Bon Jovi’s violinist, Lorenza Ponce, joined the band and was absolutely incredible,” says Juliette. Toward the end of the night, the bride and groom snuck away to change. Juliette slipped into a feathered dress by Joanna Mastrionni, while Brett swapped his tux for an all-black ensemble—and they donned Venetian masks. Adds the bride, “We wanted to add some drama and give the party a Gatsby flair, so waiters handed masks out to all of our guests!”