“In 2018, I matched with a guy named Karl on a dating app who joked that we had the same name,” says Carly. It caught her attention and, after meeting up IRL, the two quickly fell in love. A year later, they got a dog; during the first year of the pandemic, he proposed with his grandmother’s engagement ring. Carly and Karl ended up getting married over lunch with friends and family at Cafe Spaghetti. Here, Carly tells us about their unforgettable day…

“It was so nice to have the wedding in our Brooklyn neighborhood — in the backyard of Cafe Spaghetti. Before heading down to see everyone, the staff made an Aperol Spritz for me and an Old Fashioned for Karl. We had a sip together before walking in. We were nervous!”

“We said our vows in front of friends and family. I was getting choked up and absentmindedly said ‘shit!’ My little nephew piped up and said, ‘Hey, there’s kids here!’ Everybody started laughing, and it broke the ice.”

“Our wedding wasn’t super traditional, but there were two things we wanted to do: the breaking of the glass and the lighting of a unity candle. When we finally kissed, everyone clapped and cheered.”

“My nephews were so excited to wear suits. They talked about them for months leading up to the wedding. My younger nephew, in front, has a birthday the same month we got married. He asked his parents for a motorcycle, but my brother and sister-in-law were like, ‘Nope.’ So, he was thrilled to show up and see this Vespa parked in the restaurant’s backyard!”

“Wedding food can be bland, but because we did ours at a restaurant, it was so good. The eggplant was outstanding, but it’s hard to choose a favorite thing because it was all so delicious.”

“At your own wedding, you can get caught up saying hi to everyone, and then suddenly you realize you haven’t eaten anything. So, Karl and I made a pact with one another to sit down and enjoy the food.”

“I went to Cha Cha Linda for a vintage dress. I wanted to shine and didn’t care about wearing white. This sequined 1970s disco dress was perfect. Since my mom doesn’t live in New York, she wasn’t able to come dress shopping with me, and she felt a twinge of sadness about that. So, when she next came to visit, we went back to Cha Cha Linda to find her an outfit, which she’s wearing here. I was like, ‘Someone has to wear white!’ She looked fabulous.”

“Guest books can be expensive, so for their wedding, my brother and sister-in-law picked out a coffee table book they liked and had people sign each page with a Sharpie. They chose a book on architecture; we went with one on New York graffiti. Guests had fun picking which page they wanted to sign.”

“We served homemade desserts by the owner Sal’s father, including tiramisu, cannolis and gelato. There was so much food that the staff packed to-go boxes and left them by the exit, so our guests could take home leftovers.”

Thank you so much, Carly and Karl! What a beautiful day.

P.S. Four NYC City Hall weddings, romantic proposal stories, and which wedding dress would you choose?

(Photos by Thalia Nino.)