CINQ bridal designer Macye Wysner and architect Collin Cobia have different interpretations of how they first met. Collin prefers to say he rescued her while lifeguarding in their sleepy little beach town. Macye claims she slid into his Facebook messages after seeing a photo of him with a “mysterious” mustache.
Five years of dating later, the two creatives were far away from that beach town and currently reside in Los Angeles. Collin brings out Macye’s previously latent adventurous streak, but there are times when she would much rather go glamping. Their hike through Zion was one of those times. Exhausted and sweaty, she yelled, “I can’t believe I am doing another one of these f*&^%&! hikes without a ring on my finger!” Within the next five minutes, Collin was on one knee with a ring and wedding proposal.
Being from the south, the couple knew they needed a central location to introduce their L.A. friends to their Florida posse. There could be no better place than New Orleans. Macye actually shot her first bridal collection at Hotel Peter and Paul and fell in love on the spot. “New Orleans already has this electricity to it, and the hotel really amplifies that,” she shares. Formerly an old Catholic school, the hotel is situated beside a once-abandoned church. The first time Macye walked inside, the venue nearly took her breath away. With Sharime Kayla’s floral designs, they suffused the space with soft grasses and Queen Anne florals to make it look as if a meadow were growing in the church.
The couple enlisted a local planner, Kate Clark of The Smaller Orchid, to help plan the event. Chris Scheurich photographed the day, while Pevee Cobia snapped a few behind-the-scenes film shots and all of the bridal tea shots.
Being a bridal designer meant that Macye would inevitably have to curate every single one of her bridal looks. “My friends joked that this was my Met Gala,” she laughs. She agreed, though, and referred to her wedding as such. For this Met Gala, she designed four different outfits. “All of my looks consisted of pin-tucked silk tulle, lace, broomstick pleats, and loads of textural elements with freshwater pearl accents,” she shares. “I took inspiration from vintage silhouettes and modernized them with the fabrics that were used and the overall styling.” The bride accessorized with freshwater pearl earrings from Completedworks and comfortable kitten heels from Zara.
For her wedding dress, Macye looked to historical clothing for inspiration and wanted anything that “screamed theatre!” She browsed through the Met Gala fashion archives and sketched all of the historical clothing until something felt interesting and captivating. “That’s how I ended up with my gown!” Macye says with a flourish. “The gowns I designed for my wedding are now available as the newest collection for CINQ. I knew while designing these special pieces I would want to share them with the world and my brides!”
“I have worked in the bridal industry for seven years, and one of the big beauty takeaways for me was that I wanted to look like myself,” Macye states. Jacqueline Reynolds applied Macye’s effortless, natural makeup look she sought. Courtney from Paris Parker Salon was Macye’s “miracle worker” who helped her hair navigate the New Orleans humidity.
Collin meanwhile worked on a custom-made black linen suit in downtown Los Angeles. He relished the process from start to finish and became close with his suit-maker, Sal.
To her bridesmaids, Macye gave these strict instructions: have fun with picking out an outfit. “In a city that celebrates originality and personal style, you can’t really tell people what to wear,” she posits, and her bridal party delivered. Macye’s sister wore a gorgeous black beaded gown from their favorite vintage shop in L.A., Chelsea Vonmach. Macye’s good friend and bridal stylist Hope LaVine wore a voluminous green ball gown with a bow in the back.
On June 25, 2022, 78 of the couple’s closest friends and family convened in church and watched the bride walk down the aisle to Sufjan Stevens’s “Mystery of Love.” Macye’s father kept telling her to slow down because she was making a beeline for Collin at the altar. “We had waited nine years for this moment!” she grins. Collin’s father officiated, and Collin’s brother presented the couple with their rings. Macye laughs, “He handed me Collin’s ring to which I told him quite a few times that was not my ring, and it took me a little too long to realize I was supposed to put the ring on Collin’s finger!”
After exchanging vows, the newlyweds launched into the second line reception that was awaiting them outside. Everyone danced around the block and then returned to the church for a seated dinner catered by Boucherie with a side of emotional toasts from the couple’s nearest and dearest. Perhaps Macye’s favorite part of the night, though, was her husband’s beautiful speech. The couple then cut into Collin’s mother’s famous carrot cake.
The Louisiana heat was a surprisingly welcomed guest at the wedding. The couple’s friend, Hanna, from Los Angeles tenderly noted that the humidity “felt like a warm hug.”
Collins and Macye surprised everyone with a trolley to the after-party at the Seraphim House, a historic New Orleans home-turned-venue with a signature purple door. The Big Easy Brawlers played jazz, and everyone danced until midnight.
