WellWed in the Hamptons

There aren’t many places less romantic than the departure terminal at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, but that’s where Karen Yau and Scott Smith met. They were on a recruiting trip for the same company, and Karen definitely caught Scott’s eye. After they returned to New York, Scott kept dropping by Karen’s floor to ask her out for lunch and coffee dates.

But it wasn’t until almost two years later, visiting Hong Kong on separate business trips, that things really clicked. One balmy evening, they went out for champagne and ended up dancing till dawn. Being more than 9,000 miles away from their lives in New York made them more uninhibited, but almost as soon as their planes touched down back home, Scott told Karen he was falling in love with her. The feeling was mutual.

One perfect day in April, Karen went into the garden to see why Scott was taking so long clearing out the flower bed, since he’d promised to take her out to brunch as soon as he was done. As she came to his side, he dropped to one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. Karen, who knew without a doubt they belonged together, beamed and said, “Of course.”

“Scott was so nervous, he didn’t even put the ring on me,” Karen says. “I had to hold my hand out so he would know what to do.” The late brunch turned into a joyous champagne celebration.
Karen and Scott love the quiet beauty and uniqueness of the Hamptons, so it was a logical setting for their wedding.

“We very much wanted to avoid the cookie-cutter hotel wedding in the city,” says Karen. They were drawn to the beautiful beaches, rustic farm stands, and colonial churches, as well as the air of warm tranquility that pervades the area.

For Karen, a classically trained pianist and violinist who holds a degree in classical composition, the music for the ceremony was clearly a key element of the wedding, and she had a wonderful time choosing Rachmaninoff for the prelude and recessional, Delibes for the bridesmaids’ walk, and Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” for her own walk down the aisle. The music, performed by a soprano accompanied by a string quartet, reverberated through the church. In turn, Scott took over planning music for the reception, where he intended to keep the dance floor hopping.

Karen and Scott also wanted to use peacock feathers wherever they could: engraved in the antique chinoiserie wallpaper motif of their invitations, spilling extravagantly from an arrangement in the foyer, and carefully positioned on the plates of all the female guests. “We didn’t know it, but we discovered that peacocks symbolize endless love and fidelity, which made us even more smitten with the design,” says Karen.

The reception glowed with the silver and gray palette borrowed from Karen and Scott’s bedroom. Against the oak-paneled walls of the Stanford White–built room, the floating candles, silvered branches, lush white flowers, and dripping moss shimmered like a Gilded Age dream. Walking into the room, Karen and Scott had to catch their breath at the loveliness of it all.

“It was all very romantic and decadent and seemed like a scene right out of an Edith Wharton novel,” says Karen.
Karen and Scott helped their guests make room for the bistro-inspired five-course dinner by having a round of dancing between each course. There was plenty of food, including a sophisticated riff on the Egg McMuffin made with quail eggs, wild boar bacon, and truffles that Karen and Scott’s friends still talk about today. The dancing (and the extra heaters) also helped keep their guests warm on the coldest day of the year.

Special Touch: Karen & Scott created signature “his” & “hers” cocktails for their reception.

Photography: Monika Broz - www.monikabroz.com

Other Professionals: Calligraphy: Nanette Deluca | Catering: Olivier Cheng Catering & Events
Entertainment: Soul Connection Of Elan Artists | Classical Quartet And Opera Singer Of Elan Artists
Gown: Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier | Hair & Make Up: Hiroko And Team Of Space Salon
Transportation: Elite Transport