An Epic, Pink Disco Carnival Wedding at 501 Union

As seen on TheKnot.com

If someone asked me to start describing my dream wedding, it probably would look a little something like Molly and Andrew’s pink disco wedding. When their inquiry first rolled into my inbox, they explained that they were theater lovers with an adorable rescue French bulldog puppy, and I knew we were about to be fast friends. After a nearly 2 year journey of working together, we crafted up the most epic, pink, disco-carnival wedding. And it will likely live on rent-free in my brain forever.

Funny enough, when we first started talking about wedding design, they were thinking about a dark academia, moody, fall vibe. Which is gorgeous! And we started going down that route and ended up booking 501 Union with this in mind. However, as we continued, something just wasn’t feeling right. I remember clear as day the moment Molly text me with a video of a mismatched all pink wedding party with the words, “I was leaning more neutral and now I’m like…. but I love pink?”

My exact words were “Don’t tempt me with a good time.”

And thus the most epic pink disco wedding ever was hatched.

The assignment was PINK, and even if you’re new around here, I think you can tell I was born for this. To start, we knew we needed to make a statement and really lean into the pink without it feeling childish. We opted for a funky, disco carnival vibe that felt authentic to Molly and Andrew’s fun-loving energy. One of the biggest design ideas we had was bringing in pink ghost chairs. In a dark, moody space like 501 Union, this made a huge impact and really popped.

We then mixed shades of pink in the linens and in the florals to add dimension and texture. The head table featured pink sequin linens from BBJ La Tavola- the square shaped sequins nodded to the texture of a disco ball and were perfect. Olivia Howard created the funkiest, fluffiest pink flowers with hand painted accents and lots of glitter to bring the space to life.

The Fits

Normally, I don’t get to have much say in the outfit styling for the wedding day- but Molly and Andrew trusted my fashion degree and I got to have so much fun styling both of them. Molly had already selected a gorgeous WONA gown for her ceremony, so we paired that with an epic Madison Chamberlain veil for some “pop”. We decided the two of them should be in all white to contrast their wedding party, so Andrew wore a modern white suit with sequin accents from ASOS. To finish off his look, he found the most perfect pink sparkly loafers.

Now with a wedding this fun, we of course needed an outfit change. After a lot of “girl math” and deliberation, Molly ended up getting a custom reception dress from Rachel Burke, complete with iridescent fringe and hot pink tulle. Continuing the white and pink theme, Andrew opted for a toile suit from ASOS. Finally, they paired their second looks with matching hot pink Nike Air Force 1’s. These were such a hit that the photographer, myself, and my assistant, Emily, ended up all getting them to match. We’re a pretty cute bunch!

The Cocktail Hour

If you can’t tell, this was not your every day wedding. We knew we wanted the experience to match the vibes, so we opted to do things a bit differently. For cocktail hour, we had a Filipino food truck bring in bites as an homage to Andrew’s family. We also had a popcorn and cotton candy station, where popcorn was served in pink buckets and cotton candy came with champagne. At the bar, Molly’s signature drink was a sparkly pink margarita (complete with pink edible glitter) and guests could add this extra sparkle to any drink of their choosing. Once cocktail hour finished, Molly and Andrew shared their first dance. Instead of traditional parent dances, they opted for a “dance off” between the families. Molly used to participate in competitive dance, so she choreographed an epic battle that had everyone cheering.

The Reception

By this point, dinner was served. Outside for guests, New York Pizza Truck was waiting with fresh pizza served in custom pink pizza boxes designed by Molly’s maid of honor. The boxes featured their adorable pup, Chloe, who made a few more appearances throughout the day. After pizza, DJ Allison Kinney got the dance floor going again where everyone danced under the NYC sky and a huge disco ball.

For those that didn’t feel like dancing, we also brought in their favorite activity, skee ball. This ended up being a huge hit! Another surprise we had in store for guests was a glitter artist! Zima Sparkles created “rave makeup” looks for guests to get everyone in the sparkle spirit. To close out the night, we brought in their favorite dessert, Levain Cookies, with Chloe’s stamp of approval. We also had an epic espresso cart complete with pink coffee cups for a late night boost.

I can’t express how wonderful it was to work with these two. They trusted me and all of my seemingly crazy ideas to a tee, and we ended up having the most magical pink disco wedding. It was so cool seeing a couple embrace their fun side and guests couldn’t get enough of it. Thank you Molly and Andrew for putting your faith in me and for becoming lifelong friends.