On a Saturday in New York City, Roger Alexander Peikin invited his sister, Ari, and her friends to come to Common Ground in Manhattan. Food stylist and chef Madeleine Victoria Lavelle was among the group of girls, and, while they had known of each other for years, when she and Roger met, they instantly hit it off.
After a year-and-a-half together, Roger proposed on the roof of their apartment. The day before, Madeleine agreed to cover for someone on a shoot the next day, which messed up Roger’s original plans, but it all worked out. Before dinner at their favorite restaurant, Altro Paradiso, they went up to the roof to have a drink, and Roger got down on one knee. “He had a bottle of Champagne, [and] his sister, Ari, and my sister, Gabrielle, [were] waiting downstairs in our apartment to celebrate!” Madeleine exclaims. “We canceled our dinner plans, ordered pizza and more wine, and had a dance party with our sisters instead. It was perfect.”
Since Madeleine grew up vacationing on Cape Cod and she has so much family history there, there was no better place to host their wedding. “As for my wedding aesthetic, I wanted something beachy but still very upscale and elegant,” the bride explains.
To help bring Madeleine’s vision to life, the couple hired Sarah Crowell of Mavinhouse Events. The goal was to showcase coastal tones of the area without it feeling trite—soft blues, buttery yellows, and greenery with shades of sand were highlighted. A plethora of texture and Bahamian-like touches were incorporated as a nod to the bride’s former vacation home. Julie King Studio set the tone for the day with a captivating invitation suite.
“I would say that I have classic New England-inspired style,” Madeleine says of her wardrobe. “I had always been obsessed with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s wedding dress and was looking for a similar, structured but elegant dress.” On a whim, the bride-to-be and her sister, Gabrielle, headed to Lovely Bride in Tribeca, and they ended up finding “the one”—the Colette dress by Alexandra Grecco. To complete the look, Madeleine paired the gown with Manolo Blahnik Carolyne slingback heels and later changed into Loeffler Randall’s Camellia Bow heel in Pearl.
The bride’s “something borrowed and something blue” was her mother’s sapphire diamond ring. And Madeleine also sported her gold signet pinky ring that all the daughters in her family received from her mother’s parents on their 16th birthdays. Madeleine quips, “I have never taken it off!”
On the day-of, the bride got ready with makeup artist Dani Wagener and hairstylist Tamara DeFelice. Bridesmaids complemented Madeleine well in dresses of their choosing from Ulla Johnson, Brock Collection, Khaite, Agua by Agua Bendita, Needle & Thread, and Paco Rabanne. And everyone held luscious bouquets with Queen Anne’s lace, snapdragons, dahlias, and anemones, crafted by Semia Floral Design.
Since it was a Catholic church wedding with a reception following at Madeleine’s family’s home, the bride wanted Roger to have a formal, but not too stuffy, look. He opted for an Irish line custom suit from P. Johnson, which featured her new initials embroidered under the left lapel, and Ferragamo driving loafers.
On August 14, 2021, Father John Dolan delivered an incredibly special ceremony that left everyone in tears. “After such a difficult year-and-a-half, it was an honor to get married in our church and have our closest friends and families witness how much we mean to each other,” the bride shares. “Another bonus was that the church had AC and on a record-breaking day on Cape Cod—it was 98-degrees—it was needed!”
After being announced as husband and wife, the cocktail hour began at Madeleine’s family’s home with a margarita bar, oysters, and more. “As a professional chef and stylist who works and thinks about food every second of the day, it was so important that we have a delicious offering,” Madeleine explains. “Erica from The Catered Affair hit it out of the park with a raw bar filled with local Chatham and Wellfleet oysters and littlenecks; passed apps were crab cakes, pistachio crusted lamb bites, and scallops with sunchokes and lemon aioli.”
Dinner was served family-style to prompt fun conversation amongst guests. “We had farm-fresh salad with goat cheese fritter to start and both pan-seared halibut with truffle butter and leeks and beef tenderloin with chimichurri as mains,” Madeleine so expertly shares. “Sides were roasted fingerlings, cauliflower gratin, which was a massive hit, and grilled vegetables.”
After cutting the wedding carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, Radiance of Wilson Stevens made sure no one wanted to leave the dance floor. The reception formally ended at 10:30 p.m., but the party continued with beer pong, dancing, and night swimming until the early hours.
