Jessica Harter & Mark Kleinknecht
New York Public Library
March 29, 2009
If Jess and Mark’s relationship has a theme, it’s that no gesture is too grand. “We were on vacation in Whistler when I proposed,” Mark reminisces. “We were waiting for the chairlift and I delayed and delayed so that we could ride by ourselves— I kept asking what time it was, like an idiot—and then when we were halfway up, I got down on one knee.” Jess was thrilled … until they got off the lift. “I was so worried about the ring!” Jess says. “People tell you not to wear it when you’re exercising, and here I am skiing down a mountain.” Back in New York, they settled on the library’s Celeste Bartos Forum as the site for the reception and filled the neoclassical space with plush seating, a dramatically lit ice bar, and banquet-style tables to host a four-course dinner for 200. The ceremony—including a performance by a Harlem choir—took place at St. George’s Church, near the couple’s East Village apartment; they then travelled uptown in an antique Rolls-Royce. “There were all these tourists outside the library screaming and taking our picture,” Jess recalls. “It was our fifteen minutes of fame.”
THE DETAILS
Bride’s Gown: Carolina Herrera
Groom’s Suit: Paul Stuart
Wedding Planner: Fête
Caterer: Sonnier & Castle
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew
Band: Marianne Bennett Orchestra
D.J.: Dina Regine
Jessica Harter &
Mark Kleinknecht
The couple’s first dance at the New York Public Library.
Photo: Shawn Connell at Christian Oth Studio
Jessica Harter &
Mark Kleinknecht
“When it was time to direct everyone to dinner, we had a really cool escort-card table set up”Lucite, with grass on top, and the cards in black with neon writing. Mark’s eyes glaze over when I get into this, but the girls all loved it.”
Photo: Shawn Connell at Christian Oth Studio
Jessica Harter &
Mark Kleinknecht
Photo: Shawn Connell at Christian Oth Studio
Jessica Harter &
Mark Kleinknecht
“Our ceremony was very simple and traditional. Jess walked down the aisle to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and we walked out to ‘Oh Happy Day’.”
Photo: Shawn Connell at Christian Oth Studio
