Minimalist Color Block Wedding in an NYC Warehouse

Not gonna lie, this minimalist color block wedding in a NYC warehouse made us cry a river. Aside from the epic design details (like that totally unique fabric art installation!) and the bold, vibrant fleurs, this couple had pure joy that truly could not be contained. And we are HERE for this raw emotion! This gallery from Ruffled member, Forged in the North, is all things artistic with innovative portraits, romantic detail shots and candid captures that are just plain unforgettable. Jove Meyer’s expert eye for color, balance and all the modern details in between brought this unique vision to life, and the kaleidoscopic blooms from Buds of Brooklyn are breathtakingly f-r-e-s-h. Did we mention the groom is the artist behind the graphic design elements too?! This. Couple. Is. GOALS. See all the sweet moments and design elements from Kristen + Jonathan’s day unfold joyfully below! 

• 

• 

• 

• 

From the bride, Kristen: We first met in late 2007, mostly seeing each other only in group settings with other friends. After graduating from college the following year, Jonathan found himself with an extra room in his Harlem apartment for the summer and I was in need of one. As roommates, we naturally started spending more and more time together. After about three months of living together, we decided to find their own apartments and officially start dating!

Jonathan pulled out all the stops for our engagement on January 27, 2018—first proposing in Transmitter Park in Greenpoint just a few blocks from apartments we both lived in for many years there. He hired a photographer to capture the moment secretly from a hiding place in the park, giving me a tiny but thrilling taste of what it’s like to be chased by TMZ paparazzi. Jonathan followed that up with brunch at one of our favorite spots, Glasserie, where he’d also planned a surprise musical serenade, flowers, and Bloody Marys waiting for both of us. It didn’t stop there—he’d also booked a room at the Wythe Hotel, bought a new dress for me to wear to dinner at the location of our first ever date, and somehow smuggled a bottle of our favorite wine in under his coat.

I said yes.

• 

• 

It was important to both of us that our wedding reflect our relationship—thoughtful, bright, and fun. Having spent 11 years together in Northern Brooklyn, both living on our own and together, we naturally wanted to find a venue close by. We spent our wedding weekend in our former neighborhood of Williamsburg (having moved to Crown Heights last year) and had a rehearsal dinner at Aurora. Though not in North Brooklyn, Sound River Studios in Long Island City shared a similar view of the city and was very close to some of our old apartments in Greenpoint. The space was a blank slate we could customize. It had the drama of high ceilings, city views and it was on the water—something special for our out of town guests.

• 

• 

• 

Our combined backgrounds of event production and design made Jonathan and I ambitious and excited to hand-pick every element that came into the space at Sound River Studios. Overall, we wanted to balance traditional notes with modern ones. We decided to lean into the fact that the space was white box, and for that reason we also both wore white. We chose modern chairs and clean tables without linens to streamline the aesthetic and mirror the tone of the space. Not having a set color theme was important—we opted to sprinkle in a variety of color with an array of floral and napkin colors, which coordinated with the invitations and other day-of elements designed by Jonathan. The vast space at Sound River was begging for something to be suspended from the ceiling, and after some brainstorming with planner Jove Meyer, we landed on draped colored fabric to run the length of the space, emphasizing the height and span of the room while guiding your eye outward to the water and city view.

Our processional was to Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap, and the recessional was to This Must be the Place by The Talking Heads —both performed by Sterling Strings who continued to play during Cocktail Hour. A highlight was seeing our friends realize they were hearing a string rendition of The Thong Song. So many string quartets are sad-sounding at weddings, so serious, so we wanted to find a group that could play our favorite upbeat hits with their classical training… and boy did we. Fun and joyous.

• 

• 

We like things to be thoughtful, clean and joyful. We’re still pretty in love with New York (after living here for 15 years), so we wanted to make sure we dressed her up and gave her a prominent role too. The biggest eye-catching feature of the wedding was the fabric draping that guided everyone to look at the skyline, making the city quite hard to ignore. We did her right!

We also like color more than your average New Yorker, though we are more frequently sporting black in our day-to-day attire, we wanted the event to be bright a joyful but balanced with respect for traditional elements.

• 

• 

• 

The invitations were intended to balance a contemporary and clean aesthetic with a crisp and formal white aesthetic. Invitations were a combination of black foil printing and letterpress. The invitations and save-the-date edges where also painted, each side with a different color. Each guest received a different inner and outer colored envelope. The addresses on the envelopes where set in all- caps block letters in order to not be so serious.

• 

• 

• 

My gown from Margaux Tardits featured an embroidered tulle long-sleeve top with cut-out detailing at the waist, a scoop neck at the back and a supple tulle wrap skirt gathered at the waist, lined in satin. It was handmade in Paris! I knew it was the one because it made my mom yell, “KRISTEN!” which generally means she’s impressed.

Jonathan wore a white shawl lapel dinner jacket with pearl buttons, black tuxedo pants, a spread collar shirt with a covered placket (and the our initials sewn into the cuff), black bowtie, and patent leather shoes with grosgrain trim.

• 

• 

Dinner was served family-style. Our caterer was phenomenal and nailed our preference for delicious, comforting dishes. We started with House Ricotta and Sullivan Street Bakery Bread, then a Grilled Endive and Stone Fruit Salad. Main courses were a Heritage Smoked Chicken with caramelized onion puree and salsa verde, Roasted Arctic Char with crispy skin, sauce verte, watercress and shaved fennel, and Summer Cavatelli with pumpkin oil and microgreens. Sides were Charred Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.

We decided on a four-tier white fondant cake with modern ruffles to compliment the overall modern and clean aesthetic. Bright pops of color in the sugar flowers. The flavors we chose were Chocolate cake layered with mocha buttercream and Lemon cake layered with lavender buttercream and fresh raspberries.

Kristen lovingly dubbed this color block wedding aesthetic Art Gallery meets Funfetti Cake… and we couldn’t agree more! So now that you’ve witnessed some epically colorful wedding decor, check out some of our favorite colorful wedding dresses next. Pigment is one detail that never ceases to wow!