Gucci PR Director Margo Schneier is forever thankful one of her closest friends swiped right on Mike Lukach’s profile on a dating app on her behalf. Her pal insisted she “had a good feeling” about Mike and insisted Margo go out with him.
After a first date at Union Square Café during a heatwave across New York City and nearly two years together, Mike proposed to Margo on his birthday. “Even though it was his birthday, he knew it would be the most special gift for me,” she recalls. With planner Ashley Peraino’s assistance, they began planning their wedding at the two-star Michelin restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns for Friday, October 13, 2023. “It’s a date others might have shied away from due to superstition, but we leaned into it!” Margo notes. “We didn’t believe in bad luck.” Judy Pak photographed the event, and Nick Collingwood documented everything on vintage Polaroids and Super 8mm film.
The six-month countdown to the wedding date only added to the pressure of finding the perfect dress. “Working in fashion for the last 12 years also added a layer of pressure,” Margo says. Nevertheless, she booked her bridal appointments and kept an open mind. The moment she tried on her Monique Lhuillier dress, though, she knew her search was over. She accessorized with special pieces from Alison Lou, paired with a ring made by Mike’s childhood best friend’s family’s jewelry store, Joyce’s Jewelry.
“I am lucky to say that my best friends from high school are still some of the most important people in my life, so I immediately turned to one of them, Brigitte, to borrow her perfect Monique veil,” Margo confesses. Several of her other friends have also borrowed it, effectively making them members of “the sisterhood of the traveling veil.” She felt so special to have something so beautiful connect her to those women on her wedding day. Willow House Beauty applied her glowing makeup.
As a huge Todd Snyder fan, Mike trekked to their Flatiron flagship near their apartment. Together with Margo, they found a peak lapel black tuxedo off the rack that was tailored to perfection. “Of course, he completed his look with a classic pair of Gucci smoking slippers,” Margo smiles. He added a Rolex Submariner watch, a gift from his bride-to-be, to finish off his outfit.
Guests gathered for the outdoor ceremony, which was adorned with florals by Denise Fasanello. “I always knew I wanted my older brother, journalist, and critic, Matthew Schneier, to marry me, so as soon as Mike popped the question, we got to work locking him in,” Margo shares. With Matthew secured for the ceremony, he conducted an hour-long on-the-record interview to properly share Margo and Mike’s love story with their guests. “We heard from so many of our guests that they didn’t want his ceremony to end,” Margo says. “He was the perfect balance of familiar, witty, charming, and poised. We both felt so lucky that he stood at the altar with us on our special day.”
Family was key throughout the day. After, Margo’s twin brother, Jon, gave a reading from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Mike’s older sister, Becky, and younger brother, Dave, read a passage from Our Town and intermingled it with love letter excerpts that Mike’s late father, Bill, had written to his Mike’s mother, Patty during their early years of courtship.
“Mike has always told me that Dave is so similar to their father, so hearing him recite the love letters Bill had written for Patty truly brought every guest to tears and made us all feel like they were there with us,” the bride explains. While Margo knew that Becky and Dave would pay such a beautiful homage to their parents, Mike did not. “It made it all the more special to see how touched he was to have his parents included in this way.”
The couple worked closely with the team at Stone Barns to craft a menu that was based on what was in season but also felt true to what they love. Guests enjoyed honeynut squash tartar, followed by the most divine lobster ravioli and grass-fed beef with polenta and creamed spinach. Every bite was more delicious than the last and perfectly complemented by Blue Hill’s wine pairing and seasonal cocktail offering. “The team at Blue Hill are complete masters at service, it was the chicest dinner, and we were so happy to see everyone we loved enjoying it as much as we did,” Margo recalls.
Instead of a traditional wedding cake, they served passed desserts like s’more semifreddo, spruce tip chip ice cream cones, salted chocolate tarts, and black raspberry and hazelnut ice cream sandwiches. Margo laments, however, “We both regret not prioritizing eating the desserts more because they were truly out of this world!” Mike oversaw the music selection and enlisted New Orleans-based DJ Lonz and instrumentalists to play a blend of Motown, jazz, and hip hop. Margo’s father kicked off toasts for the evening with words Margo will always cherish.
The groom, being from Pittsburgh, wanted to partake in the city’s beloved wedding tradition: the cookie table. The couple went all out to create their own version in the Hudson Valley with homemade treats baked by his aunt, Marlene. Guests picked up a cookie bag to fill it with their favorites for a late-night snack after dancing the night away.
