Ericka + Caleb

A Fall Wedding at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Tell us about your wedding day look...How did you know this Martina Liana dress was 'the one'?

My earrings were Rachel Comey. Because my dress was strapless I had envisioned wearing long earrings with pearls, something that almost grazed my shoulders. I looked and looked and looked and the Rachel Comey "Shiso" earrings with rhinestones and freshwater pearls were absolutely perfect. My shoes were an outsider pick for bridal footwear, and one of my absolute favorite things about my wedding, grass green satin platform sandals by Rochas. I'm very petite and have always been a fan of 70s style platform heels, they're super chic and fun and have been my spirit shoes since I was a teenager. They gave me some height and were comfortable to wear all day long. The handbag I used on my wedding day was my mother's vintage gold Whiting & Davis evening purse. Just the right amount of sparkle for our all day New York City party. Inside of the purse was something else of hers; a vintage handkerchief embroidered in baby blue. On my right hand I wore my grandparents wedding band, a piece that I wear everyday since they passed.

WHAt other fashion accessories did you choose for the day?

"Once I saw Ericka, everything felt right and calm."

Prior to meeting Ericka, Caleb had spent many nights at Baby's All Right because of its live music. However, on this special Saturday, he arrived much earlier than usual dressed to impress with a tuxedo t-shirt on under his suit. He had the honor of officiating two of his best friends' wedding ceremony, so the bar was full of friends and love was in the air. After the "I Do's", some of his favorite bands performed beautiful solo sets and the good times and High Life's flowed. As the afternoon wedding party came to a close more and more lovely people entered the bar including Ericka with a group of mutual friends. It was the perfect evening of live music, good friends, and that extra special spark you always dream of finding.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW SHE WAS 'The ONE'?

When I met Ericka, I was preparing to ride my bicycle across the country, 4,000 miles from Times Square to San Francisco. Finding my future wife was not necessarily on my mind during my training, but it happened 2 months before I set out on a 2 month tour. I did not fully recognize "The One" feeling at first but when I returned from that incredible journey I remember seeing Ericka for the first time in months. That welcome-home hug was something I never wanted to end. We dated exclusively for two years before I decided to move into her Brooklyn apartment. A short time after the move was the moment I knew I could spend the rest of my life with her. We got engaged a year later in New Orleans, making "The One" feeling that had been growing in me so much deeper.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR COUPLES GETTING MARRIED?

The rush of tears that came as we were reciting our vows to one another is something I'll never forget.

YOUR CEREMONY IN FOUR WORDS...

Scenic

Intimate

Warm

Hopeful

Did you have any readings at your ceremony that you would like to share?

We had an E.E. Cummings poem from 1926 that we chose to share along with our vows, "Love is more thicker than forget," read aloud during the ceremony by Caleb's sister Anna. Very modern. It shows the different sides of love, how love is mad and sane at the same time. For us it was the perfectly adroit ballad poem to describe our love for one another- that our love is several things all at once, but at the same time certain and expansive like the sky and the sea mentioned in the poem.

love is more thicker than forget
more thinner than recall
more seldom than a wave is wet
more frequent than to fail

it is most mad and moonly
and less it shall unbe
than all the sea which only
is deeper than the sea

love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive

it is most sane and sunly
and more it cannot die
than all the sky which only
is higher than the sky

what were your vows like?

They were simple and straightforward promises that we shared with one another.

We had originally planned on getting married at Ericka's childhood home in Tennessee. But as we began the planning process there, we quickly realized how much would be involved in a home wedding, and that it was more than we could handle. Our next and most obvious choice was to get married in the city where we met. Most of our friends live in the city, and our families love visiting (Ericka's mom and dad met in NYC as well in 1980).

WHAT WAS YOUR VISION FOR THE DAY?

"Because New York City was the place where we both met, we wanted the city to speak for us on our wedding day. We wanted the wedding to have a metropolitan feel, but to also have an intimacy that was reflected in us holding the nuptials in Brooklyn as opposed to Manhattan. We both love the art, design, culture and fashion of 1960s/ 70s New York, a time during which so much creativity came from this place. That era was a big part of our vision for the wedding - we wanted elements of it to have the sophistication of the big apple but with a slight grittiness too. That dichotomy is one of the things that makes NYC such a special place to us."

Tell us about your dinner party before the reception...

The dinner was one of our favorite parts of our wedding day. The food was amazing, the drinks flowed, and we actually got to eat! The Wythe Hotel's Cooper Room, where our dinner was held, was cozy, intimate and beautiful, lit up with candlelight, flowers and good music. We did the toasts th ere as well and they were unforgettable.

CALEB, what was one of your favorite memories from the day?

Our grand entrance into our afterparty reception at Cafe Erzulie. Just everything about that whole evening was magic. The vintage cab ride in, our arrival at the party with all of our friends and family there! Our first dance. It was all so fun and so perfect.

After dinner at the wythe, you moved locations...tell us more!

Cafe Erzulie had a Brooklyn feel that reflected Caribbean culture, with a cool millennial feel. We loved the combination of the two.

"Slamming wedding cake in Caleb's face was something I was looking forward to for a very long time."

The Super 8 Film