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This Couple Got Married Underneath Studio 54’s Original Disco Ball in the West Village

By Shayna Seid | Photography by 

Khaki Bedford Photography

|Planning by 

Morton Street Weddings and Events

Two-and-a-half years after meeting on Bumble, Noah B. Howe proposed to Rebecca Urbelis with his mother’s platinum dinner ring from 1913 while walking their chihuahua, Lulu, in Central Park. “Becky said yes, tourists applauded, and Lulu was completely uninterested,” Noah remembers. 

Since Rebecca lived in a “small but charming studio apartment” on Jane Street when she met Noah, they really wanted to get married in the neighborhood and relive those wonderful early memories. The Jane Hotel is only a few blocks from her old address, so it was perfect for their September ceremony. And Ramscale Studio, with a terraced view of the Hudson, was booked for the reception. To help plan everything, the couple hired Anita Pandian of Morton Street Weddings and Events.

For her wedding gown, Rebecca had trouble finding a designer with the vintage and dramatic aesthetic that she was searching for. “I found Leanne Marshall’s Darcy dress merged my aesthetic desires with my family’s request for a more traditional wedding gown,” the bride reveals. On the day-of, she paired the dress with her mother’s pearl earrings, a Miu Miu satin headband, and Gucci mules. And Rebecca’s beauty look was inspired by an iconic bride, Priscilla Presley, and Lily Collins’s makeup from the 2019 Met Gala.

For dancing after the ceremony, the bride found the brand Sahroo via Vogue.com and fell in love with the label’s kaftans. Sahroo’s creative director Sarah Abbasi personally fitted Rebecca for her second look—the Diana from the Spring 2020 collection. I knew the outfit would be completely different from anything my guests had seen on a bride before,” she says. “It was an added bonus that it is an environmentally conscious brand that plants 10 trees for each order made.”

Noah knew from the outset that he wanted to wear a velvet tuxedo jacket at the altar. Encouraged by his fiancée, he found a great Ralph Lauren Purple Label tuxedo jacket, pants, and suspenders. On a last-minute shopping trip, he added a Paul Stuart tuxedo shirt, cufflinks, and studs, “which matched the ’60s vibe of Rebecca’s gown and look.” And in an homage to The Jane Hotel’s eclectic vibe, Noah finished off the look with Magnanni velvet smoking slippers.

As guests entered the ballroom on September 21, 2019, they found their seats facing the fireplace and the original disco ball from Studio 54 twinkling above them. Porcelain Vine Floral designed a beautiful floral installation on the mantlepiece, as the ceremony backdrop. Then, Rebecca walked down the aisle with her parents—“something I had seen at other weddings and loved,” she shares.

The ceremony was officiated by two of the couple’s closest friends—Noah’s childhood best friend and Rebecca’s former roommate and wedding planner Anita. “The hard part for me was over,” the groom says of his feelings during the service. “I was a lot more nervous proposing and even at my last tuxedo fitting than I was at the ceremony!” After reciting their own vows, they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife to “Kodakrome” by Paul Simon.

Cocktail hour started immediately after with champagne and passed hors d’oeuvres. Guests then walked to Ramscale Studio and were greeted on the terrace by the sunset, more champagne, and the couple’s signature cocktail—a Meyer lemon gin fizz named “The Lulu.”

“My parents had attended many receptions with typical wedding food, served lukewarm, so it was important to us that we work closely with our caterer, Union Square Events, to make sure everything was orchestrated perfectly,” Rebecca explains. After the ricotta ravioli with brown butter hazelnuts and mushrooms and a choice of roasted salmon or beef tenderloin, the newlyweds cut their tiered chocolate and pumpkin wedding cake. Guests were also offered brioche doughnuts with milk chocolate creme, thin mint ice cream sandwiches, and labneh cheesecake with black walnut streusel that satisfied any lingering sweet tooth.

Following the meal, the dance floor opened with Silver Arrow Band, and Rebecca and Noah had their romantic first dance to “Late to the Party” by Kacey Musgraves. Once the reception came to a formal close, the wedding party and a few close friends headed to a private room at Karaoke Boho, where they sang all their favorite ’90s pop songs until the wee hours of the morning.

Because of COVID-19, their honeymoon to Japan has been postponed, but hopefully they can stop dreaming of world-renowned sushi, ramen, and sake soon and head overseas!