Erika and Jason held an intimate ceremony and celebration early in the new year and I am beyond thankful to have been a part of their day. They planned their wedding around a "vintage-style, at-home elopement" theme, and invited only a handful of close family and friends to witness their exchange of vows at Buffalo's City Hall. Their intimate ceremony was then followed by a cocktails & hors d'oeuvres reception at Hotel @ the Lafayette with more family and friends joining to celebrate!
My favorite part about this wedding is that Erika and Jason decided to throw all the extra traditional stuff out the window. They opted not to do a formal "First Look," skipped the bride and groom introductions at the reception, and didn't even do the decades old cake cutting. Instead, they and each of their guests had the chance to take in the day for exactly what it was: a celebration of Erika and Jason joining their lives together and committing to one another as husband and wife.
Seriously, it was truly an honor and a great pleasure to share in these moments with them, and I'm so very happy to now share some of my favorite images from the day!
––– VENDORS–––
Ceremony Venue: Buffalo City Hall
Reception Venue: Lafayette Hotel, Crystal Room
Officiant: City Clerk Gerald Chwalinski
Photographer: Dawn M Gibson Photography
Florist: Woyshner's in Lafayette Hotel
Caterer: Classic Events Catering
Cake/Bakery: Butterwood
DJ/Band/Entertainment: Spotify playlist
Invitations: Graphic Poetry by Elizabeth Rose Designs
Hair & Makeup: Friend
Bride's Dress: Boden USA
Shoes: Born shoes
Hairpiece/Veil: Owl la Mode
Groom's suit: Brooks Bothers
Bride's engagement ring & wedding band: Buffalo Custom Jewelers
(The wedding band was re-purposed from the bride's grandmother's wedding band)
Groom's wedding band: Stonebrook Jewelry on Etsy
Bride's favorite memories from the wedding: The walk to City Hall. So much more fun than walking down an aisle! It was a beautiful day: no snow, a little sun and a sweet little parade of our friends and family walking with us. Also, The Council Chambers where we had our ceremony. I had NO IDEA it's so gorgeous!! We hadn't planned on having our ceremony there, but if you have more than a few people, it makes it easier to fit everyone in.
Groom's favorite memories from the wedding: When we were taking photos in front of City Hall and the women in the truck rolled down the window to congratulate us. Also, the walk back to the hotel after the ceremony: just us and Dawn. I enjoyed the intimacy of just the three of us talking and posing for photos. I didn't feel awkward about any of the poses, and it was nice to have people on the street comment and wish us well (especially since we weren't dressed as a traditional bride and groom).
Recommendations for future couples planning a City Hall wedding: Make sure they can accommodate you if you have a specific date and time. Information on the website is not as clear as we wanted it to be and we hit a few snags in the process. The City Clerk was so helpful and accommodating, though, and helped us through the process.
