Emma Tucci and Christopher McCormack knew each other during college at Duke University, but it wasn’t until a mutual friend’s party in Brooklyn years later, when their friendship turned into something more. “Chris had just recently moved from Ohio to New York City—it was really fun to fall in love in our favorite city,” she says.
After two years together, Chris proposed in their Brooklyn apartment with flowers and candles. And once engaged, their friend kindly offered up their Southampton property to host the festivities. “We wanted something tented, outdoors, and on the water—it was perfect,” Emma says. The couple originally set the date for October 10, 2020, but due to Covid, they postponed to October 2, 2021 and enlisted Claire Bean as their planner to guide them through the ups and downs of organizing a wedding during a pandemic. Fat Cat Paperie set the tone for the day with an elegant invitation suite.
To help curate an elegant wedding weekend wardrobe, Emma enlisted the help of Over The Moon’s head stylist, Anny Choi. For the rehearsal dinner, Anny and Emma chose a beautiful layered halter-neck dress from Happy Isles, Chan Luu earrings, Manolo Blahniks from TheRealReal, and Bardo Collective’s Via bag. Anny also curated looks for the bride’s sisters—one wore a blue Markarian dress with Loeffler Randall heels, and the other was in a Theia Couture dress with Sophia Webster shoes.
When it came to her ceremony look, Emma wanted something elegant, timeless, and romantic. Elizabeth Fillmore’s Freesia gown had everything she was looking for. And she completed her look with the Sylvana heels from Loeffler Randall, a diamond bracelet gifted by her mother, and Jennifer Behr earrings, borrowed from her best friend and Over The Moon’s Director of Business Development Amanda Jones Vaughan, which she wore on her own wedding day.
On the morning-of, Emma got ready with a glam team from Elite Bridal Beauty: hairstylist Jessica Lillie and makeup artist Cherise Lorèn. Anny styled looks again for the bride’s sisters, while Amanda helped style the rest of the bridal party in a mix of dresses from Galvan London, LoveShackFancy, Self-Portrait, Anna October, Stella McCartney, and Shona Joy and Needle & Thread. “It was a fun process to be able to work with all of my bridesmaids to find their dresses, and it ended up looking incredible all together,” the bride says. “The palette was a warm mix of rose gold, sequins, blush, chocolate brown, and metallics.”
Chris looked handsome in a custom Todd Snyder white dinner jacket, black bow-tie, gray tuxedo pants, and Stubbs & Wootton slippers.
Emma walked down the pampas grass-lined aisle, designed by Arthur Golabek, with her father to the altar. “After many months of social distancing, it felt extra special to be able to share this moment with our friends and family,” the groom remarks. “One of our closest family friends, Jennie, was our officiant, and she did an amazing job. Her remarks were thoughtful and incredibly touching—it was the perfect testament to our relationship as a couple.”
After Emma and Chris were announced as a married couple, guests moved to the tent, from Sperry Tents Hamptons, for the reception dinner. The couple made their grand entrance and immediately went into their first dance to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with their band, The Starlight Orchestra, before sitting down to eat.
A fall harvest apple salad with freshly baked bread and herbed butter—catered by Sterling Affair—was served as the starter, followed by miso glazed cod and a carved thyme filet. Dessert was the newlyweds’ chocolate wedding cake with semi-sweet chocolate cream filling, created by Gail Watson.
After cutting their confection, Emma changed into a long-sleeve Galvan London sequin look, styled by Anny. “I loved the high-neck and open back,” the bride says. “It was the perfect party dress.” And after the reception came to a formal close, the after-party continued into the early hours with more dancing and late-night bites at Union Burger Bar.
