The Wedding Library

Pas de deux

Highline Hotel
New York City

Charlotte Jenks-Lewis

Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild’s wedding was one of the most celebrated events of the year in NYC. The full Martha Stewart’s Wedding team was in force, designer Mark Zunino flew in to fit Tiler’s gown, Olivier Theykens for Theory dressed Robbie and attended – not to mention the ballet and theater royalty who were there to dance the night away and fete the gorgeous couple. Planning this wedding was an honor and a pleasure; being able to provide a magical day for a couple that has provided ballet magic for so many was a treat!

When I met these NYC principal ballet dancers at a luncheon hosted by Martha Stewart Weddings at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center with forty other top NYC wedding planners, I dreamt of helping Tiler and Robbie with their wedding. Over a year later, I happily watched from the first row as they took their first dance steps together as husband and wife!

The Highline Hotel in NYC’s Chelsea is a home of an Episcopalian Seminary – the romantic gardens were once a 17th century apple orchard. The Chapel is on the grounds of this secret garden, where Tiler and Robbie tied the knot.

The stationery, created by Design Corral for the Wedding Library, used the omnipresent quatrefoil pattern found on the grounds of the hotel and seminary. We love the charcoal ink and gold foil stamping.

The bridesmaids wore an assortment of Wedding Library Monique Lhuillier gowns in ballet-slipper pink – the elegant party includes NYC Ballet principal ballerinas.

The bridesmaids’ bouquets picked up the subtle pink, peach, dusty rose and green of the wedding palette, and included peonies, garden roses, veronica, lady’s-mantle, scabiosa and peppermint geraniums.

A long-standing ballet tradition is to pass down a garter from dancer to dancer to wear on her wedding day. This one has been shared with ballet legends since 1951. Tiler and Robbie’s classic letterpress invitation reflects the traditional, elegant nature of the wedding.

The trio of Martha Stewart Wedding Editorial Director’s daughters were beyond thrilled to be flower girls. Their adoration of their ballet idols was clear as they took their tasks very seriously.

Griz and Cali, the couple’s adored pups, were happy to be a part of the big day (and even had specialty cocktails named after them)!

We loved executing the beautiful greige and gold palette and quatrefoil pattern in different ways – here we die-cut the motif on the program cover. The pattern is shown repeatedly on the church aisle floor, in mosaic.

The happy bride and groom recess with guests facing them in the small chapel – once on the lawn the photographer captures a moment alone with them, basking in a sunbeam.

The bridal party takes time for photos and a glass of champagne before an outdoor cocktail reception. We love the cocktail napkins filled from edge to edge with the quatrefoil motif.

Escort cards were on Wedding Library ballet-slipper linen covered boards. The guest book was hand-foiled with the Design Corral for Wedding Library motif.

The Highline Hotel’s retro-chic vibe is carried through to their guest bicycles. In order that no guest lost their way we created these subtle, hand cut directional signs.

We carefully laid out the long banquet tables in the seminary’s refectory to make sure we had plenty of room for dancing. The place settings include one of my favorite rental plates, Wedding Library votives and our own custom cloth collection, including shimmery linen cloths in ballet-slipper pink and natural, hand-painted napkins.

The oversize refectory chairs were gorgeous, but almost doubled the amount of space needed for each place setting. I sourced silver trumpet vases to punctuate the (very) long tables. The delicate arrangements in the floral designer’s small silver containers worked perfectly with our votives, linens and china.

Filled with guests as the sun began to fade, the light pouring in to the refectory’s old glass windows was magical.

The bride’s mother, a dance instructor, had a marvelous time. Each place setting and Design Corral for the Wedding Library table number and menu card melded perfectly with the overall design.

A delicate sweets tray was on offer to guests throughout the dancing portion of the evening. Design Corral for the Wedding Library even designed a little crown for the wedding cake – all on our delicate linen. Note the hooks for the seminarian’s robes that surround the perimeter of the room.

Perfect little sweets were in abundance. We could resist a ballet double entendre. The delicate motif with its gold foil accents.

I was inspired by the Paris Opera House trompe-l’oeil curtain to commission a monochromatic canvas version for the couple’s old-fashioned photo booth. With help from Design Corral, we came up with this version that absolutely no one could resist posing in front of. Note the ballet dancer legs!