Stacey Kaplow, director of e-commerce for Reformation, and Brian Lee met at a Klingande concert in New York. “Once the electric sax started, it was all over from there,” she recalls. After five years together, Brian proposed on a boat in Greece—and almost dropped the ring in the sea!
The engaged pair originally planned for a November 2020 wedding at an orchid farm in Santa Barbara, but that September, they made the decision to cancel and eventually shifted to a more intimate, backyard celebration at Stacey’s aunt’s home in the Hamptons. “We went through so many different ideas throughout 2020 and 2021,” Stacey explains. “We thought about keeping our original plan but doing it the following year, then we thought we would elope in Big Sur; at one point, we were going to have the wedding at Brian’s old summer camp. My aunt had been begging us to use her backyard for a full year. We finally realized how lucky we were to have this as an option and went for it!”
To help them plan for their June 25, 2021 micro-wedding, Stacey and Brian hired Scarsella’s Flowers to handle the logistics, decor, and florals for the day.
“The good thing about postponing our wedding so many times was that it gave me time to collect a very extensive—and maybe unnecessary—wedding wardrobe,” the bride says. For her bridal shower, Stacey chose a Fanm Mon dress, exclusive to Over The Moon, and Zimmermann seashell shoes. The day before the wedding, the bride-to-be wore a vintage dress from Womenfolk, Rebecca de Ravenel earrings, and Reformation shoes. And on the morning-of, Stacey got ready in OTM’s Sleeper Party Pajama Set.
At a Monique Lhuillier trunk show that Stacey attended before the pandemic started, she found her printed gown and knew it was “the one.” With the label’s boutique on Melrose Place, the bride made the sleeves removable, so she could more easily dance. Stacey also completed her look with vintage pearl earrings, her mother’s pearl bracelet, and her nana’s beaded purse from the ’50s.
For her bridal beauty, the bride let her wavy hair down and placed pieces of baby’s breath throughout her tresses. “My hair stylist Chrissi Ford was so determined to make sure the baby’s breath would stay that she even taught a hot yoga class with the flowers in her hair just to test it out,” Stacey explains. And Alexa Rae Makeup gave Stacey a natural makeup look.
Brian wore a suit from Suitsupply at the end of the aisle. “I think he picked it out one week before we left for the wedding,” the bride jokes. After the ceremony, his shoes came off, and he remained barefoot for the rest of the day.
Overlooking the water, fully vaccinated guests listened to a string trio play “Bittersweet Symphony,” as Stacey walked down the aisle. Brian’s one-year-old and three-year-old nephews were the ring bearers, and they hilariously rolled down the walkway before the bride. During the ceremony, the couple were “so happy.” The bride adds, “We were surrounded by all of our loved ones and so excited to finally get married. It felt so special to us.”
Once announced as husband and wife, mini Casamigos margaritas were served at the cocktail hour. And 20 more of the couple’s friends arrived for the tented reception dinner, catered by Hamptons Art of Eating. “Our favorite part of every wedding is when the band plays ‘Shout’ by the Isley Brothers,” Stacey explains. “Our band—from Around Town Entertainment—did a 25-minute rendition of ‘Shout’ at the end, which consisted of me on the mic—not something anyone should ever have to experience—Brian on the tambourine, and another crazy dance party.”
Looking back at everything now, Stacey and Brian wouldn’t change a thing about their wedding day. “We had the most perfect day, surrounded by everyone that we love,” she says. “We feel extremely grateful.”
