The bride didn’t have much in mind for a dress, save for one important detail: “I always wanted to do something colorful,” says Rachel, who describes her everyday wardrobe as simple pieces in muted tones. “The vibe was so bright [in Menorca], and I was never going to do a traditional ceremony, so I was gravitating towards a bright and colorful dress.” But she soon discovered a roadblock that not many brides face. “It’s hard to find something that’s colorful but still feels like it’s your own wedding dress,” she says. Of her preliminary options, she thought, “That’s just a really nice dress to wear to someone else’s wedding.”
Días de Vino y Rosas
Días de Vino y Rosas
Rachel even considered giving up her dream of a colorful wedding dress, going as far as to buy white dresses at various vintage markets around New York City. (“I have seven to 10 vintage wedding gowns in my home,” she says.) But she kept returning to an archival yellow tulle Ralph Lauren dress—look 48 from the spring 2015 show—on Shrimpton Couture’s website. “I kept thinking of it and going back to it,” she says. “I would keep going back and checking, and it still hadn’t been snapped up.” So even though the dress wasn’t returnable, Rachel took the plunge and bought it.
Rachel turned to several close friends for sign-off, including fashion journalist Alina Cho, whose endorsement gave her the confidence to go forth with the sunny dress. Though Cho was a new friend, she became something of a fashion fairy godmother to Rachel. “She was so involved, she was texting me like, ‘Rachel, I’m stressed about your wedding attire, what’s going on?’” Rachel recalls. “Because of that, she ended up coming and making final tucks and adjustments on the day of the wedding.”
Días de Vino y Rosas
Días de Vino y Rosas
Días de Vino y Rosas
Despite the heterodox wedding dress choice, Rachel wore white throughout the weekend. For their welcome party at Hauser & Wirth, she chose a draped, open-back Kallmeyer dress. Keeping with her spontaneity, it was a last-minute decision. “I had a whole other dress planned,” she says. But the week before she left for Menorca, Rachel’s friend, jeweler Nina Runsdorf, hosted an event with Daniella Kallmeyer. “I went and tried it on—Nina put this long diamond chain down the back, and I was in love with it,” she says.
Días de Vino y Rosas