Katie and Alexa: Enchanted Romance at New York Botanical Garden

Kate and Alexa Wedding – Bridal Portrait – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

After matching on Hinge, Katie and Alexa had their first date at the height of the pandemic –sitting on a blanket in Madison Square Park, sharing a bottle of wine from six feet apart. As they talked, they discovered their connection went back further than they realized – Alexa had met Katie’s brother, Matt, on the very first day of freshman year at the University of Miami. After graduation, they both moved to New York City, where Katie was already living, and worked at the same company for several years. Matt would often text Alexa while dog-sitting for Katie, asking, “Want to hang out with my sister’s dog?” – knowing how much she loved pups. “My dog was a huge part of my life,” Katie shares. “Sadly, he passed away before we actually met. But the fact that Alexa had known and loved him while he was alive was deeply meaningful.” Their relationship deepened over the following months through frequent texts and a handful of in-person dates, as Alexa was dividing her time between New York and her parents’ home in Massachusetts. After she moved to NYC permanently in late summer, it was only a matter of weeks until they became an official couple.

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Fitgerald Jewelry Engagement Rings – New York Botanical Garden- Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa decided early on that their engagement would be mutual. They even collaborated on designing their rings – custom-designed pieces by Fitzgerald Jewelry in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “They did an incredible job creating something unique for each of us,” Katie says. “We wanted our rings to share certain similarities while still reflecting our individual styles.”

The planned event happened in October 2024 during the Wellfeet Oyster Festival in Cape Cod, a place deeply meaningful to them both. “Both Katie and I had family there and visited often throughout our childhoods. It’s also where we celebrated our first New Year’s together,” Alexa shares. The two proposed to each other in an intimate exchange of vows – paired with champagne – on their balcony at Chatham Bars. “We spent the next evening lying on the beach, calling friends and family to share the news, surrounded by the cool sun and salty air,” Katie remembers. The engagement came as a surprise to everyone. “Only we knew it was happening that weekend,” Alexa adds. The day ended with a stop at the oyster festival to celebrate over beers and fresh-caught seafood.

When it came time to plan their wedding, the couple sought a New York City venue that could comfortably accommodate their large guest list without sacrificing charm or elegance. With its lush, picturesque surroundings and expansive dining space, the Garden Terrace at the New York Botanical Garden checked every box. “We had fallen in love with NYBG the summer before our engagement,” Katie shares. “After our tour, we knew it was exactly where we wanted to get married.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Venue Atmosphere – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Fashion marked a turning point for the collaborative couple, as both brides chose to search for their gowns independently. “I knew I didn’t want a classic dress,” Katie says. “I also wanted something that felt just as special from the front as it did from the back.” She found exactly that at Lovely Bride. Blending timeless elegance with modern romance, her gown – The Clement by Saint Bridal – featured a draped organza halter neckline and a plunging open back accented with four cascading strands of pearls. “The pearls could be styled in a variety of ways, and I didn’t decide how to wear them until I was getting ready with my mother and best friends.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Bridal Portrait – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Wedding Dress Detail – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Alexa also gravitated toward a fashion-forward look, ultimately choosing a gown by Eva Lendel. “The moment I tried it on, I felt overwhelming joy,” she recalls. “I fell in love with the back detail – two cascading pieces of silk, which I called ‘my wings,’ flowed from the neckline and could be styled in different ways.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Bridal Portrait – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – First Look – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Remarkably, the brides managed to keep their attire a secret until their first look. When they finally saw one another, they laughed over their mutual adoration for open backs and intricate detailing. “Our dresses complemented each other in a way that perfectly reflected how in sync we are,” Katie notes, “while still expressing our individuality.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – First Look – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

For beauty, the brides embraced a modern-romantic aesthetic. Bespoke Beauty & Bridal perfected their soft-glam makeup to match their effortlessly elegant hairstyles by Vanessa Ocando and Anna Maystrenko. Their jewelry and accessories carried deep personal meaning – Katie wore her mother’s necklace and tennis bracelet as her “something blue,” paired with Christian Louboutin sandals and her grandmother’s purse. Alexa also incorporated sentimental heirlooms, wearing her mother’s earrings and kept on hand an embroidered blanket overlay sent from her grandmother in Greece, who was unable to attend. Their bridal florals beautifully balanced one another in both style and color. Each bouquet featured calla lilies, ranunculus, roses, and amaranthus, while Katie’s arrangement included cascading phalaenopsis orchids for an added touch of drama.

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Bridal Bouquet – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Heirloom Purse – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Heirloom Blanket Overlay – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa married on October 4, 2025, in a heartfelt ceremony that thoughtfully honored their cultures. Surrounded by family and friends, the brides exchanged vows beneath a breathtaking chuppah adorned with lush, romantic blooms. “We had both fallen in love with the ‘free spirit rose,’ and wanted to center our colors around its coral-peach-pink sunset shades to complement the garden’s natural landscape,” shares Katie. To represent Alexa’s Greek-Armenian heritage, the brides wore crowns. “Traditionally they are gold, but we wanted to do our own spin by wearing flower crowns to go with the theme of our wedding,” she notes. “Katie hand-made the crowns herself! And our niece delivered them to us during the ceremony.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Chuppah – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Chuppah Detail – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Brides Embracing – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – First Kiss – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Brides Celebrating – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

After cocktail hour, guests made their way into the Garden Terrace Ballroom, where they were welcomed into an enchanted setting. Towering manzanita branch centerpieces anchored the tablescape, adorned with roses, phalaenopsis orchids, delphiniums, ranunculus, and stock in romantic hues of peach, lavender, red, light blue, purple, and white. “We loved the idea of tree-like centerpieces with moss and hanging candles to create a fairytale garden ambiance,” Katie shares. Additional tables featured burgundy, pink, and white cymbidium and dendrobium orchids alongside calla lilies submerged in glass cylinder vases and topped with floating candles, adding a soft glow throughout the ballroom. “We worked with our friend to create the stationery, menus, and table signs,” Alexa says. “It was so fun – and felt incredibly personal – to collaborate with her on fully customizing these pieces so they flowed seamlessly with our wedding theme.”

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Manzanita Tree Centerpiece – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Manzanita Tree Centerpiece Detail – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Submerged Flower Centerpiece – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Submerged Flower Centerpiece Detail – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Sweetheart Table – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

Katie and Alexa Wedding – Custom Menu – New York Botanical Garden – Susan Stripling Photography

The couple remembers their wedding as a dream come true filled with unforgettable moments – many captured by their photographer, Susan Stripling. “After our ceremony, we exchanged personal vows and had a glass of champagne from a bottle we brought back from a trip to France,” Katie says. As the evening unfolded, the dance floor became the heart of the celebration – exactly as the brides had envisioned. “We had dancing from all three of our cultures during the reception,” Alexa shares. “It was incredibly special to watch both sides of our families dancing to one another’s cultural music – and doing their best to learn all the moves!”