Lilian Bard and Brian Zilberfarb’s love story is “a testament to the modern age.” While their paths first crossed on a dating app, it turns out they lived three blocks within each other without ever meeting. “We believe that love is a combination of the right people at the right place and the right time,” Lilian affirms. “For us, these elements perfectly aligned at the best time in our lives, and we are forever very grateful that we both swiped right!”
After a year-and-a-half of dating later, the couple was preparing for a getaway trip to Mexico, but Brian suggested they make a quick stop in San Diego to visit her family. What seemed to be a serendipitous stay with her loved ones ended up being part of Brian’s thoughtful and carefully planned proposal. Lilian, of course, said yes.
Immediately, they began planning with Tara at Dream Makers NY. The couple knew they would marry in New York with a ceremony that highlighted the buzz of the city with a calm outdoor garden element. What better place than the Brooklyn Botanic Garden? “The main risk was that we knew that we were most definitely subjecting our guests to extreme New York summer weather: intense sticky heat, potential for a freak rainfall, or most likely both,” Lilian confesses. “That’s just August in New York!” While hesitant, they booked the venue. Shockingly, the weather ended up being perfect, resembling something closer to a crisp autumn day than a sweltering summer afternoon. Loreto Caceres photographed the picturesque event.
Lilian is surprised to admit that the most difficult part of planning ended up being her wedding dress selection. The head of PR for Celine muses, “Maybe I was hyper critical because of my work background, but it was a lot of trial and error.” She anticipated wearing an ethereal organza number but realized this wasn’t what she really wanted after all. After trying on approximately 60 wedding dresses from every bridal atelier in New York City, she returned to the second dress she ever put on—the one her mother predicted she would choose. “I guess I needed to go through the process of trying on 59 other dresses to be sure of it,” Lilian laughs.
With removable sleeves and a cascading blush veil, the Romona Keveza dress from Bergdorf Goodman was everything Lilian ultimately wanted. She slid into Manolo Blahniks and the vintage tennis bracelet her mother bequeathed to her. The bride hoped to look and feel like herself on her wedding day, so she enlisted Andie Mark-Byrne and David Carlos Cruz to create her true-to-self makeup look around her signature NARS red lipstick and naturally curly hair.
Brian was a supportive groom, going with whatever his bride-to-be wanted. His one request, however, was that he’d like to wear a white tuxedo. “So we had to give him that,” Lilian smiles. His custom suit was embroidered with their wedding date, and he paired it with his father’s heirloom IWC watch.
On August 18, 2023, guests gathered for the floral-filled ceremony. The chuppah and aisle were lined with bouquets of bright orange, yellows, blues, and pinks—like a “summer sunrise,” as Lilian says about her Efflorescent Flowers. Brian’s childhood friend, Alex, officiated the ceremony and stole the show, despite only having finished his speech the day of the wedding. The bride’s brother, coincidentally also named Alex, was her “Man of Honor” and read from the couple’s ketubah.
After saying “I do,” it was time for the couple to celebrate. The bride changed into a short sequined Vivienne Westwood dress with Celine Triomphe heels. She and Brian intended on dancing to “Moon River,” but the night before the wedding, Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are The Best Thing” appeared on their Spotify playlist. It just felt right. They jettisoned their choreography to the old standard and ended up sharing their first dance to LaMontagne instead.
Union Square Hospitality Group catered the reception, bringing the couple’s favorite New York restaurant flavors into the fold with a Blue Smoke BBQ station. The band and DJ Gio were spectacular, keeping the dance floor in constant use throughout the night. Speeches from the father of the bride, the man of honor, the groom’s best man, and Lilian’s two best friends brought the audience to tears and laughter. Then, it was back to the dance floor! The deejay closed with the very fitting “New York, New York;” the party continued at the Ace Hotel with plenty of cocktails and Joe’s Pizza to go around.
