It was Labor Day weekend of 2015, when Nathalie Weiss, a registered dietitian and the founder of Nutrition By Nathalie (an integrative nutrition counseling practice), and Matthew “Matt” Rhone, a vice president at Tailwind Capital, got engaged in the shady garden patio of their Greenwich Village home. Nathalie was sporting her usual workout attire while Matt was in a sharp suit and accompanied by their spunky pup, Brady (who ended up being a pivotal member of their bridal party).
The proposal wasn’t even a question for Nathalie—the couple had been dating ever since they first started AIM chatting at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Nine years later and still going strong, marriage felt like the logical next step. The rest of the long weekend was filled with a celebratory stay-cation, complete with Wolffer rosé, U.S. Open Tennis matches with both of their respective families, and a luxurious night at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The perfect end to a truly romantic summer.
Planning commenced immediately afterward, and the couple set out to find the perfect venue for their long-sought after (and talked about) beach ceremony. “Since we were kids we dreamed about having a beach wedding,” explains Nathalie. Scoping out venues in the Hamptons proved to be a bit harder than imagined, and to their surprise, they fell in love with the modern, chic vibe at the Parrish Art Museum in Watermill. “We couldn’t get ourselves to give up our dream beach wedding though,” Nathalie reminisces with a chuckle.
Cue wedding planner extraordinaire, Billy, of Billy Evers Creative, who, along with his assistant, Courtney Komlo, (who has since become a close friend of the couple’s) came up with a genius plan to marry the modern aesthetic of the Parrish with the romance of a beach wedding. The solution? The ceremony was held on the beach at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, N.Y., where guests sat on lucite chairs, which tied in well with the more modern feel of the reception, held at the Parrish.
Similarly, Nathalie ended up in a dress that was the total opposite of what she had envisioned herself wearing. Vera Wang’s “Fawn” wedding dress was the first gown she tried on. “I actually told my maid of honor that I thought I wanted straps and was pretty sure I wouldn’t choose anything in the mermaid-cut family. After a month of trying on gowns, I ended up going back to Vera Wang, put ‘Fawn’ on again, and completely fell in love.” To accompany her gown, Nathalie chose natural makeup (by Landy Dean) and tousled hair by Jess Gillin at Marie Robinson Salon. For jewelry, she wore diamond studs, a diamond band Matt gifted her the day before their wedding, and her trusty Cartier rose gold Love cuff bracelet.
The sandy ceremony was complete with ocean spray and seven bridesmaids and groomsmen sans-shoes which lent an authentic beachy-feel to the proceedings. Every detail was thought of, even incorporating the couple’s miniature Australian Shepherd, Brady, as the flower girl. To honor her father who had passed away in 2008, Nathalie and Matt released a huge white balloon into the sky, while her Father’s favorite song, “Fly Me To The Moon” by Frank Sinatra, was played on the acoustic guitar. Immediately following the ceremony, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour at Maidstone’s Beach Club and indulged in lobster rolls, truffle mac and cheese, and an overflowing raw bar.
After cocktails, guests were whisked away to the Parrish Art Museum for the reception. Kicking off with another cocktail hour (featuring tuna tartar over crispy rice cakes and mini avocado toasts), guests were given time to roam around the modern space and take in the incredible Herzog & de Meuron architecture and the collection of modern art. Being the foodie (and licensed dietary nutritionist) that Nathalie is, the dinner menu was topnotch. Guests were escorted outside the museum for the seated meal, which started with an amuse bouche of tomato gelee served in a golden egg, lobster salad with fennel, grapefruit, avocado and for the entrée a citrus cured black cod served with brandade, chanterelles, roasted toybox tomatoes and favas. (Nathalie knows her good for you but still flavorful cuisine, and has recently launched her own nutrition practice, Nutrition By Nathalie, in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood.)
After their al-fresco dinner, everyone reconvened on a hidden dance floor a few steps away, to watch Nathalie and Matt’s first dance to “The Way You Look Tonight” by Frank Sinatra. The live band Ground Control went on to play 70s club favorites into the wee-hours of the night as guests danced off the sugar-highs they’d gotten from the (custom gluten free) Momofuku Milk Bar dessert. The icing on the proverbial (wedding) cake? Mini egg McMuffins, French fry cones, and chicken and waffles were served just before the sun came up.