1. Real Weddings

Jordana & David: A Formal Wedding in New York, NY

The motto Live, love, and laugh were the inspiration for Jordana and David's wedding, but they're also words the couple will live by beyond their wedd

The motto Live, love, and laugh were the inspiration for Jordana and David's wedding, but they're also words the couple will live by beyond their wedding day. THE BRIDE Jordana THE GROOM David THE DATE May 9 To remember the good, to enjoy life, to love as much as possible, and laugh as much is possible is how Jordana describes this philosophy. An events planner, Jordana, 30, credits this outlook as the driving force that helped her get through losing her father and several friends on 9/11. By focusing on the positive, she and David, 37, a portfolio manager, were able to plan an exuberantly festive and celebratory day. The couple met in her apartment through mutual friends -- he was her best friend's boyfriend's best friend. A good friend said I would never meet anyone sitting on my couch ..., Jordana says -- but the friend was clearly wrong.

The Hair
Packets of tissues printed with live laugh love were handed out before the start of Jordana and David’s ceremony.
Jordana and David married at the awe-inspiring Gotham Hall, mainly so that they could have the ceremony and reception in one place. But they were also drawn to the uniqueness of the space -- an old art deco bank building with a vast stained-glass ceiling. It's different yet wonderful with lots of character, the bride says. Four aisles led to the ceremony in the center of the oval room -- the central aisle reserved for Jordana and her bridal party -- giving the guests views of the bride and groom from various vantage points.
Eggplant cotton underlays and iridescent blue/wine dupione runners covered the tables, set for 210. Containers of white spring flowers punctuated with deep wines and the palest of pinks ran the length of each table, creating a lyrical still life across the landscape of the dining room.
The Couple
The Accessories
The Couple
The Escort Cards
The Bridal Bouquet
Carrying white flowers, Jordana wore an oyster and ivory Vera Wang dress with a trumpet hem that had ribbon detailing below the bust line and ribbons in a V pattern on the skirt.
The bride and groom's first dance was to Louis Armstrong's My One and Only Love, but what Jordana refers to as the real song that they danced to for the second-to-last song of the night where everyone rocked out was Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations.
After the cocktail hour on the balcony overlooking the main room (which was hidden behind curtains as the room was reorganized), the curtains dropped and revealed the reception setup -- long rectangular tables in various lengths filled the room, which was aglow with blue glass votives.
Along with the four-tiered vanilla and mocha buttercream cake adorned with red and pink sugar roses, the couple also asked the caterers to make and serve Jordana's famous brownies, a specialty of the bride's since fourth grade. She says that David teases her that when I made them the first day we met ... he fell in love with me.