W Union Square Hotel Wedding: Congratulations Lauren and Todd!

November 7, 2013

Lauren and Todd had a modern, elegant, and very fun wedding at the W Union Square Hotel.

They both got ready in rooms at the W and then met for the first look in Union Square.

Todd’s favorite moment from the wedding day was right after the first look, “Before the first look Lauren was the bride and I was the groom, but once that was all done, we were just Todd and Lauren again. Everything was normal and I knew the rest of the day would go off without a hitch because even in our wedding attire, we were still ourselves.”

Todd shares, “Lauren and I met at the New York Sports Club on 15th and Irving. She taught the Monday evening spinning class, which I dutifully attended each week. After months of small talk and flirting before and after class, Lauren mentioned to me that she was teaching on the Upper West side that weekend, so I trekked from Brooklyn to the UWS early on a Sunday to be there. After class we grabbed some breakfast, which finally gave me the courage to ask her on a real date. The rest is history.”

“I moved to LA in November 2010 and Lauren followed in February of 2012, but we will always be New Yorkers at heart. During the 1 year plus that we were doing long distance, the Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier was always our safe place. The place we went just to forget about the fact that we lived 3,000 miles away from each other and have fun. So that is where I proposed.”

Lauren and Todd stopped to share an iced coffee at the hotel’s Todd English Bar, Olives, just before the ceremony.

Todd and Lauren designed their wedding with one goal in mind: for everybody to have fun. Todd continues, “We designed our wedding so WE could enjoy it. This was our big night out in NYC and our chance to show our friends from all over the world–Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, Detroit, and Cleveland–how we throw a party. We figured if we were having fun, everybody else would feed off of us.

“We aimed to keep the mood light the whole way through, from our bridal party entrance music (I walked down to the Hulk Hogan theme!) to our joking around during the ceremony… we made sure to enjoy every moment. The goal was to be classically Manhattan without being pretentious. For this, the W was the perfect choice as the room had the beautiful gold ceiling while the rest of the hotel had a very modern feel.”

The FUN continued right into the reception.

Congratulations Lauren and Todd!

For more photos check out the slideshow:

Special thanks to all the vendors:
Venue: W Union Square
Officiant: Rev. Annie Lawrence
Florist: Greenworks
DJ: Star Talent DJ
Cake: Provided by the W Hotel
Groom’s Suit Designer: J. Crew
Groomsmen Suits: TheBlackTux.com
Engagement Ring: Custom-designed
Bridesmaids’ Blue Bracelets: Made by Lauren!
Invitation: Vera Wang
Slideshow song: Nothing Here But Love by Lenka
Photography: Jessica Schmitt Photography with Eric Swartz and Brandi Toole