Floral Fantasy: Modern Garden Wedding in Long Island, New York

See all of the details from Emmanuela and Gaetan’s magical wedding with a modern take on a garden theme featured in our Winter 2021 magazine!

It was Emmanuela’s sushi-making skills that caught Gaetan’s eyes. While they met in 2014 while attending a boat party, it wasn’t until Emmanuela posted her surprisingly successful attempt at making sushi on Facebook that they officially connected. Gaetan saw Emmanuela’s pictures on his Facebook feed and messaged her about her sushi-making abilities. The conversation led to Gaetan being invited over to test out Emmanuela’s sushi skills in person…don’t you love the power of social media!

When he was ready to propose, Gaetan headed to the Diamond District in NYC to have a custom ring created based on Emmanuela’s descriptions of her dream engagement ring. He then seized the opportunity to propose during one of their frequent couple’s dinners with friends. Gaetan reserved the private room with a TV screen, so a video that he edited with all of their pictures could play when he was ready for the big moment. Emmanuela never saw it coming.

For their wedding, the couple decided to put a modern twist on a garden wedding. Lovers of vibrant colors, they created a whimsical purple and pink floral print design that was woven into every aspect of their decor from the aisle runner, to their custom circular dance floor and luxurious acrylic menus. Every detail added to the feeling of being enveloped in a magical, floral fantasy.

See the details below.

Couple: Emmanuela Alcee & Gaetan Alcee
Occupations: Emmanuela (Registered Respiratory Therapist & Registered Nurse)
Gaetan (Fed Ex Courier and Currently a full time student in Nursing school)
Wedding date: 8/9/2019
Wedding location: The Somerly at Fox Hollow in Long Island, New York

Quick Facts

Bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts:
- Bridesmaids: personal makeup totes bags, robe, slippers, personalized shot glasses and wine glass, earrings and jewelry set for the day of the wedding
- Groomsmen: tie, personalized shot glasses with our logo
Guest Gifts: Individually personalized pictures on slate stone tablet
Gifts for one another: Emmanuela received a custom wallet and tiffany bracelet, CREED Love in White perfume. Gaetan received CREED Love in White cologne
Ceremony entrance song: We flew in a singer named Brian Nhira who sang Leela James “Fall For You”
First dance song: “Never Letting Go” by Conner Duermit

Wedding Style

The wedding was classic, elegant, romantic and magical. Guest were asked to dress in formal attire. There were candles and an abundance of flowers and soft drapery to set the scene.

From the day Emmanuela accepted Gaetan’s proposal, Emmanuela knew she wanted the day to be as close to perfect and memorable as possible for both her and Gaetan. Sheltering these thoughts and wanting to be the most beautiful bride for Gaetan added more pressure to the dress shopping experience and made her so indecisive and nervous. In October, Emmanuela and her planner Carine of Spectacular Affairs went to RK Bridal. That was the first day to shop for the wedding dress. Emmanuela tried on over 20 dresses and took pictures of each but Emmanuela did not say yes to any of the dress selections she tried that day. After speaking to her Maid of Honor and sharing the pictures they both decided to take another trip to RK Bridal and try on one of the dresses again. This time Emmanuela tried on 4 dresses and said yes to one of the dresses she had originally tried on from the last time she visited RK Bridal. Emmanuela wore a sheer lace and beaded mermaid dress by Essence of Australia.

Gaetan: Gaetan and Emmanuela went shopping for Gaetan’s attire together at Black Tie Tuxedo by Sarno in Farmingdale, NY. Gaetan wore a cobalt blue tuxedo with black lapel with an ivory tuxedo shirt custom altered to fit his stature.

Memories: What is your best memory from your wedding?

Emmanuela: Gaetan’s reaction during the first reveal is the best memory. He was emotional and it in turn made me emotional.

Gaetan: Emmanuela’s walk down the aisle and seeing the ceremony space and all of our families was the best memory from our wedding.

Advice: What is the best wedding advice you can give to engaged couples?

Emmanuela: My advice is “you get one night to plan the biggest platform to express your love for one another and it should be as magical and memorable as possible. There will be many opinions and suggestions from individuals however, the night should be a reflection of the vision of the two individuals who will matter most that day.”

Gaetan: My advice is “the night of the wedding take a moment to look around and take it all in because there is so much that goes into the planning and it goes so fast.”