Kate &and Allan

On your day, what was your first thought when you woke up in the morning?

Kate: I had many thoughts within a very short period of time the morning of our wedding.

My first thought was, I can’t believe I woke up at 4 am and ate all those potato chips leftover from the rehearsal dinner. My second thought was, OMG it looks sunny out! We didn’t have high expectations for the weather as the forecast had predicted rain. We really lucked out. My third thought was, I wonder if Allan is hungover from the rehearsal dinner? My last thought: I cannot wait to see Allan as he always finds a way to calm me when I am anxious.

Allan: I got out of bed and went straight to the window to see if it was still raining. I knew Kate was really looking forward to taking photos outside in Central Park. I was so glad that there were blue skies all around!

When and how did the two of you meet, and what is most memorable about your first meeting?

Kate: Allan and I met in August of 2014. I was hanging at PJ Clarke’s on 3rd Avenue sipping martinis with my friend (and future bridesmaid!) talking about how we had to be more “approachable to men”. I suggested we needed to smile more as to not be so intimidating. I turned around and smiled at the first guy I saw. Allan approached me a few minutes later, Australian accent in full gear, and the rest was history.

Allan: Kate and I met on August 1st, 2014. I was with a couple of former colleagues at P.J. Clarke’s (Midtown East) having a few Friday after work drinks. Kate checked me out from half way across the bar, so I walked over and introduced myself. She was sitting with her friend Miriam drinking martinis and eating oysters. After approximately ten minutes of speaking with Kate and Miriam, I had asked for Kate’s number before I politely excused myself from the conversation and joined my colleagues. My most memorable part of our first meeting was how Kate was wearing workout clothes although she didn’t even work out earlier.

What was on your wedding day wish list?

Kate: We wanted everyone to dance, drink and dance some more! Allan and I had attended our first wedding together in 2015 where we saw Dane Wright Band perform. We both agreed they were incredible. As soon as Allan proposed, we discussed booking them for our wedding. So many people have reached out to us saying they are the best wedding band they have ever seen.

Allan: I’d say that I had three things on my wedding day wish list. 1) For Kate to have the best day of her life, 2) For all of our guests to have a fantastic experience filled with dancing, eating, drinking, and more dancing! 3) For me not to spill anything on Kate’s wedding dress 😉

Were there any funny moments that especially stand out?

Kate: Allan wanted his friend, Dmitry, to drink from the wine glass during our ceremony. However; he never told him. Our rabbi had to call out Dmitry’s name 3 or 4 times before he realized we were asking him to come up to the Chuppah. Everyone started laughing as it was obvious Allan hadn’t given him the heads up or he just wasn’t paying attention. I thought it was fitting and the perfect comic relief.

Allan: Kate and I wrote a short one-page speech thanking our friends and family for all their support. When it was my turn to present, I realized that Kate had combined both her section and some of my section into her part of the speech, obviously causing me to lose my words! There was only one thing I could do: I jokingly blamed Kate for saying my section and awkwardly skipped the next two sentences. I think you had to be there…

Did anything surprise you?

Kate: I was surprised that everything ran on time. We actually started the ceremony 15 minutes early!

Allan: Anyone that knows me would say that I’m a little emotionally dramatic, so when I didn’t cry under the Chupah I think some people (including myself) were on the other side of that bet!

What did you base your choice of location on?

Kate: Allan and I live in the Upper West Side. Since Allan grew up in Sydney, we knew we would have many guests traveling from overseas so we wanted to choose a central location, preferably close to Central Park. I always envisioned my future husband and I would take photos in the park and nearby 5th Avenue. I had never heard of or been to The Metropolitan Club, but my father and a friend suggested we check it out. The outside courtyard and Great Hall sold us instantly. We booked a few days later!

Is there anything you would do differently?

Kate: Absolutely nothing!

Allan: No, not at all.

Describe any specific family or cultural traditions that were important to you during your wedding planning.

Kate: Allan and I knew we would be combining many different traditions when planning our wedding day. We had to figure out a way to incorporate Australian, Russian, Jewish, Catholic and American rituals. By having both a Priest and a Rabbi officiate our wedding, we felt like we were commemorating both of our family’s traditions. We also wanted the hora to kick off our reception. Allan’s family and friends’ Russian-Jewish background really came to life at this moment. I don’t think most Americans had ever seen a hora like this before. This definitely set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Allan: Kate and her family are from the States, and my family and I are from Australia. On top of that, Kate’s family is Catholic, and my family is Jewish. Kate and I wanted to make sure that we brought together customs and traditions from both families. We had a priest and rabbi co-officiate us, we signed both a civil wedding document and a ketubah, and we drank wine and lit unity candles, all under a beautiful Chupah.

What is the most valuable thing that you have learned from each other?

Kate: I am always thinking about the future and worry how things will turn out. Allan has a very “live in the moment” mentality. I think we balance each other well.

Allan: Communication. We think it is vital for us to both be open with one another and express our thoughts, feelings and concerns as soon as they suffice.

What do you hope your guests remember most about your wedding day?

Kate: I hope our guests remember the feeling of love that was palpable throughout the day. However; I think our guests will actually remember the incredibly insane hora and my father’s speech. And the band, they will definitely remember the band.

Allan: The band. We saw The Dane Wright band play at a friend’s wedding a couple years ago and we made sure that they were available on our wedding day. Every guest at our wedding, whether they were a New York native, an Israeli expat or an Australian local said that the band that played at our wedding was “the best band they have ever seen at a wedding!” We hope guests will remember our wedding as the one with the most dancing, the best tunes and the sexiest bride in New York 😉