“Brandon likes to joke that given my design career, I am very good at ‘shopping online,’ so it was fitting that I picked out my husband while ‘shopping’ on Bumble,” event planner and interior designer Alexandra Elizabeth Howard says of how she and Dr. Brandon Zachary von Tobel first connected. “All kidding aside, we hit it off immediately.” Shortly after matching, the two met at The Bowery Hotel, and three and a half years later—to the day—Brandon proposed.
Seven months into the pandemic, Alexandra found herself amidst an at-home redesign (as interiors experts do) and sold much of their furniture in preparation for the new. “We were officially couch-less New Yorkers, spending our evenings watching Schitt’s Creek on the floor with our puppy,” she smiles. “On the proposal date, I was on the floor playing with Chewie, and Brandon had just prepared a lovely lunch when Chewie erupted into a barking fit. I looked up to see what set her off and found Brandon on one knee holding out the ring.”
Once Alexandra said, “Yes,” the design-centered bride-to-be took to all the wedding planning herself. Initially, she and Brandon expected to host the lively affair at her family home in Charleston, but the two quickly realized their guest list superseded the available accommodations. “Walking down King Street one day, we found ourselves inside the Charleston Library Society picking up some books we had reserved, and we instantly knew that we had found our venue,” the bride says. After the ceremony, everyone transitioned to The Gibbes Museum of Art’s Lenhardt Garden for the exquisitely emerald reception.
“Alex knew Anne Rhett from childhood, but I met her in her King Street office years before our wedding was anything more than an amorphous idea,” Brandon shares “Given the intimacy that great photography requires, we knew that Anne was the only option for our wedding week.” Alexandra then enlisted Stephanie Fishwick and Ellen Weldon Design to create the stationery for the day-of—the artists’ intentional floral and fauna elements especially flattered the bride. “When I was cultivating my inspiration board, I kept returning to the special significance of the design behind my engagement ring which set the ‘jewel’ tone for the entire weekend,” she says. Each event catered to a carefully selected paper goods motif that communicated each theme.
On Thursday, March 16, 2023, family and friends gathered in the Tack Room at Circa 1886 for the first of many spirited pre-wedding festivities. “I was perusing my Instagram feed, and one of my favorite vintage dealers, Katy Kane, posted a vintage sapphire sequined celestial zodiac bolero jacket. It was so spectacular that I could not pass it up,” Alexandra says of her first look. “I knew I needed something timeless to balance the jacket, and nobody understands empowering a woman’s aesthetic like Patricia Voto of One/ Of.” The designer created an ivory silk slip that Alexandra accessorized with Jimmy Choo sandals and classic diamond studs.
Fuchsia tablescapes and pale pink azaleas decorated the lawn of the Wentworth Mansion on Friday morning’s Alice in Wonderland-inspired bridal luncheon. To this, Alexandra donned a custom Markarian sequin wrap coat detailed with pink feather cuffs, a 1920s silk chemise by Illisa’s Vintage Lingerie, and The Attico pink satin sandals.
That evening, close family friends gathered at the Peninsula Grill for a “still-life” soiree in celebration of Brandon’s favorite memory of Alexandra. “We both agreed that our New Year’s to the Netherlands some five years prior was one of our favorite trips. The Dutch have a longstanding appreciation for flowers and still life paintings, so we set out to create our own still life evening,” Alexandra explains. “The central fountain was adorned with red pagodas bursting with cherry blossoms and a giant gold gorilla sporting a ruby party crown. We do not take ourselves too seriously, contrary to the elevated level to which we aim to entertain.” After dinner, everyone noshed on an Ikebana style groom’s cake by Ron Ben Israel. All the while, the couple looked dashing in a custom Naeem Khan dress and a navy Brioni suit.
Following what Alexandra calls “a very un-bridal shower” and Brandon’s east-meets-west Dutch-inspired groom’s dinner, Saturday, March 18th finally arrived—the wedding day. “I worked with Reem Acra to design my custom lily-white Chantilly lace gown complete with a high neck, long sleeves, button back and peplum waist. It was me personified,” Alexandra notes. “For the veil, I commissioned a cathedral-length English silk tulle veil from Patricia Voto, who flawlessly blends understated elegance with exquisite craftsmanship. My veil, while simple, was a true work of art.”
The bride dressed in her custom Reem Acra and put on a pair of Cellini diamond orchid-lily earrings, gifted by Brandon. “For my wedding day hair and makeup, I showed Alexa my ensemble and let her take it from there,” she says of the makeup and hairstylist who was with the bride throughout the weekend. “True to her artistry, my makeup was flawless and my intricate bun a true work of art. When she finished my hair, she delicately placed my great grandfather’s sapphire and diamond stick pin on the side of my bun as my something blue.”
An archival Roberto Cavalli slip dress caught Alexandra’s eye at Happy Isles. The piece served as a sleek second look complete with an antique blue sari. “My father was born in India, and three generations of my family resided there, so it was a fitting nod to Howard family history,” Alexandra explains. “Patricia delicately beaded the collar as if to add a little bit of fairy dust for the end of the night.”
On the day-of, as guests gathered at the Charleston Library Society, Alexandra and her father hopped in a vintage ivory ride—fit for the day. Checkered marble floors and historic arched windows detail the ambiance of the ceremony space. Cascading garden roses and lilies by Putnam Flowers lined the walls, and Veil Charleston drapery accented every open area.
The bride and her father processed to Ludovico Einaudi’s “Experience,” played effortlessly by Peter Kiral of Kiral Artists. Alexandra and Brandon exchanged personal vows, and to the surprise of everyone but the groom, a choir emerged from the draped balcony. “One by one, in a perfectly timed choreography, musicians bearing brass instruments began to sprout up from the audience to serenade us. Brandon had one more surprise up his sleeve, and this time, it was a choir singing ‘All You Need Is Love’ by The Beatles, teleported directly out of our family’s favorite holiday movie Love Actually,” Alexandra recalls. “It was remarkable as we clutched one another and danced in the aisle.” Once the serenade came to a graceful stop, church bells rang through downtown Charleston—“it was the ultimate ending to an unforgettable ceremony.”
“The exterior entrance to the tent was designed to evoke a circus, because when is the blending of two families not a spectacle?” The bride notes of the reception space. “The interior of the tent was designed to evoke a dilapidated French greenhouse. Imagine the back courtyard of the 40 Rue Jacob shop of the Parisian interior designer and antiques dealer Madeleine Castaing.” Inside, the head table dined on hand-painted passion flower plates and fluted Baccarat crystal stemware.
“After we acquired our hand-painted passionflower plates, from Talmaris, we were on the hunt for napkin rings that would be worthy of the high bar we had set for our tablescape,” Alexandra shares. “We turned to renowned English embroiderer Jenny Adin Christie, who graciously accepted the commission to hand embroider matching passion flower napkin rings while she was in the process of completing work for King Charles’s coronation.”
Cedar plank salmon and seared beef tenderloin by Cru Catering delighted every guest, before the newlyweds cut into their Ron Ben Israel Hermès scarf-inspired wedding cake—a nod to the scarf Alexandra’s grandmother gave to her before she passed. (They also realized later that the scarf was released the year the bride was born.) The chocolate confection with an orange buttercream filling—another ode to the bride’s late grandmother—made its way around enjoyably.
Then, Alexandra and Brandon danced to David Gray’s “Be Mine,” and everyone met on the dance floor. Kiral Artists served quality rhythm all night long as guests celebrated the newlyweds, churros and cocktails in hand. “It was drizzling rain when we left the reception. Awaiting us outside the museum was a blue convertible Bentley that Putnam Flowers had filled with calla lilies…It was the most elegant send-off,” the bride reminisces. “We drove in absolute silence, both out of fatigue and absolute bliss. There was nothing more to say. We had the wedding of our dreams!”
