Real wedding · Brooklyn, New York
Alexis & David
Brooklyn Grange
Sunflowers, a brass band, and Manhattan across the river from a rooftop farm
- Venue
- Brooklyn Grange
- Location
- Brooklyn, New York
- Setting
- City & chapel
- Season
- Summer
- Photographs
- 23 selected
The signage said it all before anyone reached the roof: watercolor lemons, radishes, and scallions painted around the date, 8.25.18. Downstairs, friends in bright summer dresses sat at a long table covered in flowers, and a few of them were wearing crowns of greenery by the time the bride came down. Alexis descended a narrow white stairwell holding up her skirt, and the hugs started right away. A hand-lettered sign with a chicken drawn on it pointed everyone the rest of the way to the farm.
The ceremony happened right in the planting rows. Guests filled the paths between beds of herbs and sunflowers, and from above it looked like a crowd standing in a vegetable garden with warehouse roofs and the East River beyond it. The groom walked in along the garden path, and Alexis came through the sunflowers beside a woman in red lace. After the kiss, a drummer in a flat cap led them out along the parapet with the Empire State Building and the Williamsburg Bridge lined up behind them. I didn't have to arrange a thing.
Cocktail hour belonged to a brass band that played right between the sunflowers, trombone angled at the sky. As the sun dropped, guests drifted to the roof edge to watch the skyline turn pink and gold. Dinner ran down long wooden tables under a pergola, with striped linen napkins, blue glass bottles, bread wrapped in paper, and jars of zinnias. By dark the city had lit up behind them, and Alexis fed David a bite of a naked cake topped with fresh flowers while he laughed.
Getting ready
Details
Watercolor produce on the signage, striped napkins, and blue glass bottles kept everything close to the farm.
Ceremony
Guests stood right in the planting rows, so the herbs and sunflowers became the aisle.
Portraits
Celebration
A brass band on the roof, then dinner under the pergola as the skyline came on.
Planning a wedding like this?
Rooftop farms get full sun with very little shade, so a late-afternoon ceremony saves everyone from squinting and gives you warm light across the skyline. Wind is stronger up high, which is great for veils and hard on tall centerpieces, so keep arrangements low and weighted. Save 20 minutes near sunset for portraits along the roof edge, when the city starts to glow.
