Real Weddings: Elizabeth & Andrew
Friends insisted that Elizabeth brooks had to meet Andrew Parks —shouldn’t Texans transplanted to New York City stick together? And sure enough, when Elizabeth and Andrew met one summer in the Hamptons, they clicked. Andrew asked a friend for more details about Elizabeth and announced his plans to ask her out immediately after the party, but it took him almost three weeks to actually invite her to join him for dinner at a restaurant near her Upper West Side apartment. Dinner turned into drinks, and Andrew quickly pinned down Elizabeth for a date the next weekend — and the next, and the next. By the time summer ended they were inseparable, and on a Labor Day weekend in the Hamptons, they strolled along the beach confessing the depth of their feelings for one another. “We knew from that moment we were going to be married,” says Elizabeth.
Still, Elizabeth was surprised when Andrew proposed just five months after their first meeting. They’d gotten together for a pre-holiday gift exchange to celebrate Christmas as a couple before Elizabeth flew home to her family in Houston, and she was thrilled when Andrew handed her an enormous box as her final present. Inside the box was a smaller box, then another, smaller one, and after opening the seventh — a tiny ring box — Elizabeth saw that it was empty. She looked up to find Andrew on one knee in front of her, a gorgeous ring in his hand. He swept her away to dinner at the Joël Robuchon restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, where Elizabeth’s sister and brother-in-law surprised her with a champagne celebration, followed by a delectable seven-course dinner for the couple. Later, Elizabeth discovered that the proposal had been touch and go: Her ring had to be flown in from Dallas, with Elizabeth’s sister rushing to New York’s LaGuardia Airport to pick it up the afternoon before the proposal.
The couple had met in the Hamptons and loved spending time there, so it seemed like a natural location for their September wedding. “We knew that we wanted to be married in a place that meant a lot to us, and the Hamptons are so beautiful,” Elizabeth says. Elizabeth chose a palette of autumnal colors — warm deep purple, intense blue, and rich green — and let her bridesmaids choose their own dresses in those colors. Because their faith is important to them both, Elizabeth and Andrew decided to have their wedding at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton before the nearby reception. Along with her bouquet, Elizabeth carried a small Bible that her grandmother, mother, and sister had carried on their wedding days. She also carried a handkerchief from her paternal grandmother that her sister had carried for her wedding, too.
Instead of a soloist, Elizabeth and Andrew had a pianist play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” one of Elizabeth’s favorite pieces. They also chose two prayers that had personal significance: the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, which Elizabeth had said every day while attending Episcopal school, and chapter 13 of First Corinthians, which had been the prayer of Elizabeth’s Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
At the reception, guests made themselves comfortable at tables named for Elizabeth and Andrew’s favorite restaurants from their dating days, decorated with plates and glasses chosen for their seaside feel. Elizabeth’s florist, Claire Bean, pulled wildflowers and greenery from the beach to bring a little of the natural setting into the flower arrangements.
Elizabeth wanted the celebration to be one big dance party, and she got her wish. The guests, including Elizabeth’s 98-year-old grandfather, who’d flown in from Houston to join the celebration, stayed until the very end, enjoying the delicious food and great music. Even the weather cooperated, giving the two former Texans a perfect autumn evening for their first night of married life.
Special Touch: During the ceremony a pianist played “Clair de Lune” by Debussy, one of Elizabeth’s favorite songs.
Other Professionals: Cake: Blue Duck Bakery | Calligraphy: Calligraphy Company, Inc. Glorie Austern | Caterer: Robbins Wolfe
Coordination: David Reinhard Events | Nicky Reinhard | Entertainment: Eturnity Band
Floral Design: Claire Bean Floral & Event Design | Invitations: Stationers Engraving & Printing Co.