Secret Garden
Reminiscent of a fabled romance, Heather Oppelt and Austen Gray's first encounter at a friend's birthday party
was love at first sight. And in keeping with the fairytale, Austen chose to propose to his bride during a horse and
carriage ride through Central Park. They wanted their wedding to take place in less than a year (during the same
weekend they had first met), and in Manhattan - no small request - so Heather and Austen went right to work.
"From the first minute we got engaged we started planning," recalls Heather. "We wanted to have a city wedding
where we both lived and met." Inspired by their engagement, the bride and groom sent out wedding invitations
adorned with a gold horse and carriage motif. The invitations set the grand, storybook tone for the celebration that
began in a Renaissance-style church and continued at the legendary Waldorf=Astoria Hotel. Designed around an
English garden theme, the decor infused a fragrant and manicured lushness into the formal spaces of the church
and hotel in shades of white and green. The overall look of "a country wedding in a ballroom" was a nod to
Heather's upbringing in bucolic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as well as her life in New York City with Austen.
Moss renditions of the initials "H" and "A" hung on the church doors, greeting guests as they arrived for the
traditional Catholic ceremony. Heather will never forget the excited anticipation she felt as she rode to the church
in a limo with both of her parents. She daydreamed about finally walking down the aisle, which was lined with
candles and clusters of hydrangea linked by swags of greenery. The groomsmen wore small bunches of
hydrangea as their boutonnieres, and the bridesmaids carried matching bouquets of hydrangea in various shades
of green. Heather's bouquet was made of white hydrangea accented by chocolate brown and green lady slipper
orchids; the same orchid adorned Austen's lapel. A choir sang as the mothers of the bride and groom assisted
Heather and Austen in lighting a unity candle, symbolically bonding the two families together. And as the newly
proclaimed husband and wife exited the church, all 300 guests stood on the sidewalk ringing tiny bells attached to
celadon ribbons. A horse drawn carriage waited to take the newlyweds down Park Avenue to the reception,
stopping so the couple could pose for portraits along the way.
Guests arrived at the hotel, which had been transformed by the smell of gardenias and the unexpected garden
feel lent by large topiaries. Escort cards were nestled in a carpet of moss and surrounded by vases of white
orchids and candles. Once everyone was finished enjoying sushi and signature martinis at the cocktail hour, the
ballroom doors opened to reveal dinner and dancing in what resembled an outdoor paradise. Long tables seating
twenty guests were decorated with overflowing potted topiaries, branch-like candelabra, low arrangements of
white garden flowers, and candles placed in silver shell votives. Large trees also flanked the tables, and the backs
of the chairs were decorated with hydrangea blooms and antique gold ribbons (mimicking the color of the sashes
tied around the bridesmaids' dresses). Each individual place setting featured green and white china, a piece of
lavender tucked inside the napkin, and a place card personalized for each guest. Overhead, the forty-foot ceiling
was lit by a pattern of branches, lending a mystical effect to the entire room.
Capping off the multi-course wine pairing dinner was the wedding cake designed by Sylvia Weinstock. It was
bursting with both real green hydrangea and white sugar flowers and boasted two kinds of filling, each a favorite
of the bride and groom. The eighteen-piece orchestra did such a successful job of filling the dance floor that the
club-like after party in an adjacent salon was exactly what was needed to continue the celebration. Heather
changed from her Vera Wang gown into a short Bill Blass tulip dress, and Austen donned his grandfather's green
velvet smoking jacket for the late night festivities. In between bites of miniature burgers and grilled cheese
sandwiches, everyone took turns in the old-fashioned photo booth set up in honor of Heather's occupation as a
photographer. Strips of candid photos were split between the newlyweds and their guests as wonderful mementos
of the night. The lucky attendees also left the party with sweet and symbolic gifts: apples covered in chocolate
tuxedoes (for the men) and wedding gowns (for the women). The tag on each favor read, "Thank you for joining
us in the Big Apple."
JACQUELYN KISKER