An Enchanted Garden-Inspired Wedding At The New York Palace in New York, New York

Having met during their freshman year at Cornell University, Jessica Schisano and Kyle Reidy were college sweethearts. Kyle, however, was on the football team and away games kept him off campus for most weekends. It wasn’t until their senior year that they reconnected and they’ve been inseparable since then. “I remember being overwhelmingly excited on our first date,” Jessica says. “I learned that having ‘butterflies in your stomach’ was a real feeling.” 

Seven years later, on a windy Sunday morning in November, Kyle proposed at home in their West Village apartment. He surprised Jessica by decorating the apartment with pictures, handwritten notes, and memories from the past seven years of their relationship.

“We were out to Sunday brunch and when we got home, I saw the apartment set up with flowers and pictures everywhere,” Jessica shares. “I then spotted a ring box next to a note from Kyle. That’s when I realized what was happening and immediately started crying ‘Yes’!”

New York City made the perfect backdrop for their wedding, as it is where they moved to start their lives together after graduation. “We supported each other during job interviews and in our transition between college and the real world,” says Kyle. “Being there for each other through different stages of our lives made our relationship stronger.”

Jessica and Kyle were married on Saturday, April 18, 2015 by Reverend Joseph G. Marina at the Church of Saint Francis Xavier in downtown Manhattan. The following reception was a black tie affair, held at the New York Palace. 

For the reception, the bride was inspired by gardens and wanted guests to feel like they were surrounded by an enchanted springtime forest. “Gardening was a big part of my growing up, and I wanted to incorporate flowers found in my mother’s garden at my wedding reception,” says the bride. To bring her vision to life, the floral décor included Spanish moss covered tables, pear blossoms, peonies, hyacinths and orchids–all in white. 

Aside from lush floral designs, the couple’s main goal was to create an environment where guests would feel comfortable enough to let loose and have fun. They even encouraged their live band to get guests on the dance floor early in the evening, so they could keep the party going all night.

Jessica says one of her favorite wedding day memories was the alone time the couple spent together as guests were being seated for dinner. It was at this time that they were whisked away by the New York Palace wedding planning team to a private room, with a spread of every item served during their cocktail hour–and of course, lots of champagne. “It gave us the opportunity to take in the moment and spend a few minutes alone as newlyweds.”