Pleasantdale Chateau Wedding – Elina and Eric

December 11, 2019

What an incredible time we had photographing Elina and Eric’s amazing Pleasantdale Chateau wedding! There’s so many wonderful details to tell you about. If you’re planning a wedding of your own, we hope they will inspire you.

It was love at first swipe!

Elina and Eric matched on Jswipe on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving of 2016. They had both just returned from vacations with their families. After a day of non-stop messages, they went out on their first date that same night. By the end of the first week, they had already been on three dates! Ever since, they’ve been together non-stop.

Details about this gorgeous Pleasantdale Chateau wedding

Once they got engaged, Elina and Eric wanted their Big Day to represent them as a couple and the things that they love and value. From the start, they knew the day was going to be centered around a really fun party with great people and good food.

They locked down the fun party part right away with AffinitiNYC. They had seen AffinitiNYC live several times, and had talked about booking them long before they even got engaged! Knowing this made the venue selection process really important, and Pleasantdale Chateau was the perfect fit. They were able to customize all of the details of the wedding and understood the couple’s love for food and drinks (and lots of it)! Pleasantdale also afforded great indoor photo options for a winter wedding, complete with a pool and botanical garden. The couple was lucky enough to have a warm enough December day for some outdoor photos too.

The bride looked stunning in a Pronovias Atelier Runis gown. There’s a wonderful story behind it too…

Elina had several wedding dress appointments around New York City with her family and friends. Her goal was to find a “really simple” dress. The first shop she visited recommended a gown that they had just received. It was unlike anything Elina had expected, and far from “simple”. But there was something about it that she really loved. She went to her second appointment saying that this was the dress to beat! After trying on several others, she ended up back in the same gown. Finally, when she went to her last appointment at Designer Loft, she showed them the gown. They too had just gotten it in. She ended up back in the gown for a third time and finally realized that this was the dress! Her favorite details were the unique beading design, the deep-v illusion and the incredible train.

For the ceremony, she added off the shoulder straps made from excess lace from hemming at the bottom of the dress. She also had spaghetti straps built-in for the reception so that she could dance freely all night.
The couple’s wedding style was inspired by their loved ones. Elina and Eric wanted the celebration to bring together all of the people they loved, so they began the ceremony in a circle, surrounded by all of their family and friends. It was also important for Elina to include her Russian heritage, so they made sure there were small touches throughout the venue. From caviar at the cocktail hour and bottles on the tables, to the Russian nesting doll favors – the couple was able to bring together all of the best elements of a Russian-Jewish-American wedding.

Their color scheme throughout was black, white and gold. They kept the colors to a minimum so they did not clash with the designs throughout the Chateau.

Elina and Eric planned their wedding with lots of wine and lots of spreadsheets! Elina does strategic planning for a living, so you could say wedding planning came pretty naturally! They planned the wedding themselves and selected all of the individual vendors and details. One of their friends designed their wedding logo that was used throughout the programs, menus and on the cake topper.

The couple’s parents also helped with a few DIY additions like the tissue boxes at the ceremony, their marble tile seating cards and the hotel gift boxes. While there were stressful moments and small things inevitably went wrong, it was so amazing to see all of the details and months of planning come together. Elina and Eric were fortunate to have selected a venue that executed on their vision, with staff who removed all of the stress on the biggest day of their lives!

Elina and Eric, Thank you for allowing us to capture these incredible moments for you. We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!