After dating for three years, Melanie Herman and Jason Kravitz were ready to get married. However, Jason’s sister had just gotten engaged, and he wanted her to fully enjoy the spotlight. So the month following her March wedding, Jason was well prepared for his own proposal. He phoned Melanie’s mother to ask for her blessing, but it turned out to be a formality. “When I called and asked her mom if she wanted to go to lunch, she replied, ‘I give you my permission,’” Jason laughs. With his father in tow to help him shop, the hopeful groom searched for three perfect rings: one for his beloved and two for her twin daughters, Olive and Paige. “Any proposal needed to include them,” he confirms.

One day, Melanie arrived home with her daughters after their art class. Though all she had to carry were some papers, Jason met them at the car to help. He then asked them to head upstairs, which to their delight had been filled with candles and roses. A diamond ring – set in the middle of two heart-shaped gemstone rings – was displayed on the ottoman. “He made sure they said yes, too,” Melanie smiles of the sweet memory.

Planning began quickly, as the families of the bride and groom came over to celebrate the proposal and a wedding date was picked that very day. Selecting a professional consultant was easy, as Jason’s best friend is married to a very talented event planner: Allyson Levine of Bob Gail Special Events. “I decided that I wanted a very modern look; I didn’t want lace, pearls, or gold,” Melanie shares.

Pale blush tones were used in the florals, and initially the bride thought she would want those hues for the reception as well, but a meeting with the team at White Lilac Inc. proved that dark pink blossoms better suited her contemporary vision. “We decided that the wedding would have an ombré effect as guests shuffled from space to space throughout the day – the ceremony starting with white, cream, and blush, moving to more medium pinks for cocktail hour, and finally culminating the look of the reception with full vibrant pinks,” reveals Melanie.

“We decided that the wedding would have an ombré effect as guests shuffled from space to space throughout the day.”

Honoring the heritage of both the bride and the groom, the couple was wed in a traditional Jewish ceremony. Six bridesmaids in rose-colored gowns preceded Melanie down the aisle, while her two maids of honor – her young daughters – were clad in darling dresses with tulle polka-dotted skirts. They carried the same lush bouquets as the bridesmaids so it would be clear to guests they were not serving as flower girls.

To start the reception, Olive and Paige made a grand entrance, followed by the newlyweds. “I love the fact that they felt they were the most important part,” gushes the bride. Melanie and Jason swayed together to “Today Was a Fairytale” by Taylor Swift while the girls danced around them.

The modern vision of the bride was evident throughout the reception space, but it was most apparent with the confection. “How many people can say they had their wedding cake suspended from the top of a chuppah with no table underneath?” asks the groom. Pink lighting helped the structure match the vibrant reception décor, and the floating confection featured an intricate fanned design for a unique look. A live band entertained guests until after midnight, when a DJ took over for the late-night crowd. “The dance floor was packed from the moment the doors opened until the end of the night!” exclaims the bride.

To stay looking picture-perfect the whole event, Melanie had her makeup and hair touched up between each part of the day. She also had a day-of seamstress, who kept her bridal gown clean after outdoor photos dirtied the skirt. “I highly recommend having a seamstress on hand,” she notes. There was nothing she would have done differently, though Jason admits to one thing he’d fix: “I would have proposed sooner.”