Alex Kuznetsov may not have won the Australian Open while competing in the tennis tournament in 2010, but he did meet the love of his life. Loren Roberts was in Melbourne to support a college friend who was also a professional tennis player, and was quickly smitten after meeting Alex. They exchanged email addresses and then had frequent phone conversations over the next three months. The duo finally had their first real date when Alex flew Loren from Texas to Florida, where they enjoyed a visit to Disney World.

After several years of dating, the couple took what seemed to be just another one of their annual trips to New York for the US Open. Despite their yearly journey to the “Big Apple,” the pair had never walked the Brooklyn Bridge, so they decided to do so at sunset. “I was getting near the middle section of the bridge under the archways, and he started slowing down. I wasn’t going to wait for him, so I started snapping pictures because the sun setting was beautiful,” Loren explains. Suddenly, he told her to turn around. With a hired photographer hidden among the crowd, Alex got on bended knee and asked his beloved to marry him.

Having studied fashion in college, Loren has a passion for design and took the reins in terms of planning for the big day. “I never pictured a white airy wedding for myself because that is just not who I am,” she confides. “I love color and especially fall colors with the moodiness and sexiness of them.” For the reception, they chose not to use the standard soft cream or blush tent, instead finding one in a deep burgundy hue. “It looked incredible with all the candles, the five chandeliers, and soft uplighting,” muses the bride. A variety of tablescapes were incorporated into the design. Long farm tables had navy velvet runners underneath a garden of eucalyptus and scarlet peonies, as well as candles on gold stands. Round tables had sequined linens in rose gold from Nüage Designs with Manzanita branches emerging from floral centerpieces.

The tone was set with the invitations, commissioned from a company based in Australia in order to honor where Loren and Alex met. The watercolor stationery set featured a blend of colors that would fill the day: burgundy, deep fuchsia, and navy. “When it came time for our cake, we wanted something small in size that reflected our invitations,” Loren notes. Thus, one tier was based on the watercolor look to tie everything together.  

The bride wouldn’t change a thing about the big day and advises couples planning their own nuptials to “stick to your plans and try not to give yourself too many choices, or else you’ll never decide on anything!”