A Bridgerton inspired wedding at the Prospect Park Boathouse

Drawing on a lot of inspiration from the Bridgerton series and specifically the Regency Era in England, Alexandra and Gary focused on soft pastel colors and vintage plates to bring the whimsical and romantic feel. Captured by Philadelphia wedding photographer KATIE TRAUFFER, the wedding was held at the PROSPECT PARK BOATHOUSE, which for this New York based couple felt just right with it's historic and intimate vibe. Home to some of Brooklyn’s most elegant affairs, the BOATHOUSE offered a breathtaking natural setting and a stately backdrop for their celebration overlooking the scenic Lullwater Bridge,

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR VENUE? Gary and I met when we both moved to New York City after college, we have been in New York ever since. It felt right to get married in the city where our love and relationship grew and when we toured the Boathouse we fell in love. The boathouse is located in Brooklyn, but it felt removed from the hustle and bustle of city life—we loved how it was quietly nestled in Prospect Park.

HOW DID YOU MEET? Gary and I met on the dating app “Coffee Meets Bagel”, we met up for coffee as a first date and could not stop talking, everything felt so natural and exciting.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Gary told me we were heading to his company’s holiday party-so we got dressed up in our fancy clothes and headed out. Before we left he told me he had arranged for his friend to swing by after work and take some pictures of us, we lived by the Hudson River so we walked to the water for photos and Gary took me by surprise and got down on one knee! After the proposal he surprised me even more by taking me to the Top of the Rock (my favorite spot in the city) and our parents were there waiting for us! I cried so many happy tears that day—everything he did made the proposal so special and perfect for us as a couple.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS/ATTIRE: My mom and cousin flew in from Los Angeles for a long weekend and we went to SO many dress shops. On the last day we went to Lovely Bride in Tribeca and as soon as I saw the dress I knew I loved it. Once I tried it on it just felt right and I could see my vision for a Bridgerton/ Garden party wedding coming to life. My mom loved the dress instantly and we all cried when I said “yes”.

DID YOU HAVE ANY DIY ELEMENTS? My mom and I made the table numbers from dried flowers and picture frames—it was such a special touch because we had a blast making them and they turned out perfect! On top of it now all our family members get to keep the table number they were seated at as decoration.

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Our florist, Natalie, from Ember Floral Co. did an amazing job with the flowers—and our ceremony felt like walking into a botanical garden. She took a lot of inspiration from the Bridgerton series and did a colorful and full Chuppah with the most perfect pastel colors and intricate shapes. We also had flowers lining the aisle as well as centerpieces on the table.

FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: One of my favorite details was the wedding favors—we ordered cookies from our favorite cookie spot in the city-Chip City-and placed a photo of our dog-Ruby-with the phrase “thanks for celebrating my humans!”. We wanted to make sure Ruby was included in our big day too!

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Take a deep breath, it will all be perfect on the day of! We were supposed to get married outside but instead of the sunny and beautiful spring day we had imagined, it rained two inches and Prospect Park totally flooded! Leading up to the wedding I was so worried about having to the ceremony and cocktail hour inside but it ended up being even better than I imagined. Now when Gary and I look back on the day we say it turned out even more beautiful and intimate because we had it all inside.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? The rain was pretty spectacular. We went back and looked at the old farmers almanac for weather reports and it turns out in the history of weather keeping it had never rained as much as it did on April 29th, 2023. In fact in the last 200 years prior it had only rained twice on that day! Gary and I also wrote our own vows and getting to read those to each other made the day feel incredibly special.

WHAT ASPECT OF THE WEDDING WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU BOTH? We wanted our ceremony to be a celebration of our love, story, and commitment to one another; because of this we wanted it to play a big part in the day of. We worked with our officiant Hope Mirlis of a “More Perfect Union” to plan out a ceremony that felt really true to us. She also helped us write our vows and tied the vows we wrote into the ceremony as well! We also wanted to prioritize getting special photos of our day of, and Katie absolutely made that happen. Even with all the rain and last minute changes Katie kept us feeling calm and excited. When we got our photos back I could not believe how beautiful they were and how perfectly she had captured the day. Everyone always tells us that we have the most beautiful wedding photos they have seen and I just happen to agree.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HONEYMOON: We went to Europe for two weeks and traveled to Paris, Florence, Sorrento, and London. It was spectacular getting to walk the European streets together. We ate so much delicious food and saw all the monuments and beautiful architecture and nature each city had to offer.

Thank you to Philadelphia wedding photographer KATIE TRAUFFER for sharing this beautiful wedding with us. Katie has a passion for telling your love story! With a background in literature and a keen eye for detail, her goal will always be to capture your most precious moments in a way that authentically tells your story for years to come. "I'm a natural light photographer who loves bringing out the gorgeous colour of life. My work is airy and bright while embracing vibrant hues and the natural beauty around us. The images we create will be natural, romantic, full of emotion, and most importantly a timeless celebration of your happiest days." See her portfolio to see more of her work.