One Couple Treated Their Guests to the Best of New York City With Skyline Views, Pizza Slices, and Concrete Details

Though Amaiya Davis and Matthew Wynter first met when she was a freshman and he was a senior at the University of Maryland in 2012, it took them several years to become a couple. “We both ended up moving and working in New York City post grad, so we would hang out in group settings for a few years,” Amaiya says. “Eventually, he came out with me and my friends in January 2016 and the sparks flew from there!” In the summer of 2023, Amaiya began to suspect that a proposal might be coming: Matt asked her to take an impromptu trip to Miami, saying that his cousin wanted the pair to meet her new boyfriend. Alarm bells didn't ring at first, but when Matt started making no not-so-subtle suggestions that she might want to get a manicure, she became suspicious. To throw her off the scent, he told her he was planning another trip to Paris, where he first asked Amaiya to be his girlfriend, so that they could watch his favorite soccer team play. With a more dramatic trip on the horizon, Amaiya assumed the Miami getaway was innocuous, and she showed up to the surprise sunset proposal without a speck of makeup on her face. After, the couple celebrated with their closest loved ones at a nearby restaurant.

As the couple started planning their wedding, they wondered whether a hometown celebration in New York or a far-flung destination event was the right choice. "I'm half Puerto Rican and half Black, and Matthew is Jamaican, so we were heavily contemplating getting married in Puerto Rico or Jamaica," Amaiya notes. But with most of their 151 loved ones living outside of the city, the couple ultimately decided to welcome their guests to the Big Apple, highlighting the very best of New York throughout their day. The duo set the date for October 12, 2024, booking Ravel Hotel’s rooftop in Long Island City as their venue. They enlisted Honey Bee Weddings & Events to source diverse vendors and bring their vision to life with décor in a fall color palette with touches of black and gold.

From the snow that fell as a nod to the couple’s new shared last name, Wynter, to the live music inspired by the bride’s profession as a music publicist, you won’t want to miss any of the personalized elements of Amaiya and Matt’s wedding, photographed by The DV Image.

Amaiya made her first wedding-dress shopping trip a solo experience, choosing to use it as an opportunity to narrow down what she did and didn't want before bring loved ones into the mix. “I had no idea what type of dress I’d like, and I wanted to get a sense of it before I went with my mom and sister so I could at least let the bridal shops know what style I liked,” she explains. “This ended up being super helpful and I am glad I did it without having other’s opinions.” Amaiya was pretty sure she found "the one" all on her own: When she tried on an A-line gown made of sparkling tulle with floral appliqués designed by Stella of Designer Loft  Bridal, the bride-to-be had a sneaking suspicion that she'd be back to buy it with her loved ones in tow.

The bride-to-be want to do her due diligence, though, so she explored other shops with her mom and sister before returning to the very first salon she visited. There, she modeled that special A-line wedding dress for her family, and they enthusiastically agreed that there was nothing better out there. “It was important that my dress felt appropriate for our venue and fall," Amaiya says. "The dress almost had a floral-like embellishments that just felt perfect.” She accessorized with a ring she borrowed from her mom, jewelry from Nadri, a pair of Charlotte Mills shoes, and a handmade veil with crystal embellishments she found on Etsy. For her bridal beauty look, she asked for her signature winged eyeliner and a wavy hairstyle.

For his part, Matt wore a bespoke ivory custom tuxedo with a satin butterfly bow tie and white satin pocket square. “I had my name embroidered on the sleeve of my tuxedo shirt and the date in Roman numerals embroidered on the inside of my neckline,” he says. “The Hermes cuff bracelet that I wore was a wedding-day gift from my wife.” He also wore black Gucci shoes, a “W” broach for their shared last name, Wynter, and white and gold cufflinks.

Amaiya held a bouquet of silver seeded eucalyptus, smilax, moab roses, orange and peach roses, colored cymbidiums, orange and purple dahlias, and a few butterfly ranunculus. “My mother also got me my something blue, which was a sweet handkerchief that I put around my bouquet,” she says.

The couple’s ceremony took place on the rooftop of the Ravel Hotel, where the SilverCup Studios sign and New York City skyline served as their backdrop. An open arch was covered in fall-toned florals.

Great wedding music was a priority for the couple, beginning with their processional. "Music is a big part of both of our interests but especially for me, as I work as a music publicist," Amaiya says. The couple brought in a string quartet from Sterling Strings then tapped David Michael Wyatt to sing alongside them, creating what the couple says was "a beautiful music experience."

Matt walked down the aisle to “Sure Thing” by Miguel. The bridal party and the couple's parents walked down the aisle to “Still in Love (Kissing You)" by Beyonce. Finally, Amaiya entered and walked down the aisle with her father to “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele. The couple enlisted their family friend, Norman Earl Parker III, to officiate the ceremony. They wrote their own vows, including promises to watch each other’s football teams and "half watch" each other’s favorite shows. 

They closed their ceremony out on a high note. "We wanted to nod to Black culture and tradition, so jumped the broom at the end of our ceremony," the bride explains. Then, a faux snowfall fell over guests as a nod to the couple's new shared last name. The newlyweds recessed back down the aisle to a recorded version of Snoh Aalegra's “Find Someone Like You.”

When guests first arrived at the ceremony, they were greeted with Champagne and an issue of a faux newspaper calledThe Wedding Times, which Amaiya and Matt on the cover. It also doubled as their ceremony program. Before heading into their reception, the couple took a few moments to pose for portraits using the fun prop.

At the cocktail hour, the couple had Tyrone Benjamin perform. Guests found their table assignments at a vinyl inspired seating chart. They also served "his" and "hers" signature drinks and set up a Caribbean station with food from both Jamaica and Puerto Rico, including beef patties and mofongo, as a nod to their cultures.

As Amaiya and Matthew started planning their wedding, they quickly arrived at what they didn't want: a classic ballroom wedding. Instead, they planned a New York-focused event with as many nods to the Big Apple as possible. Bringing that vision to life began with their venue. "The venue was perfect because it has a stunning view of New York City and we had the option to have the roof open, so it felt like we were dancing under the city's lights," the bride says.

As for the evening's actual décor, the couple wanted to pair the space's more industrial elements with softer, more romantic details—a dichotomy so like the city itself. Guests were seated in black velvet chairs around long tables that had been decorated with brown velvet linens and caramel velvet napkins. As another nod to New York, also known the concrete jungle, the couple and their planners brought stone elements into their tabletops. "It was fitting that the dinnerware was reminiscent of smooth, freshly-laid concrete surrounded by the glamour of the gold, uniquely designed flatware, etched glassware with peachy hues, and the flickering candles,” the bride says. “The combination of round, black mirror glass top tables with lush florals in autumnal tones and long tables with a garden of florals sprawling down the center, made their reception undeniably charming.”

Amaiya and Matt sat at a half circle head table displayed in front of the ceremony arch and decorated with candles at varying heights and lush flower arrangements in cream, orange, blush, and purple tones.

Guests enjoyed a caesar salad and a duet entrée of branzino with herb caper sauce and herb roasted french cut chicken breast with rosemary fingerling potatoes and haricot verts. For dessert, they served slices of their two-tiered wedding cake. The lemon cake featured a guava filling and Swiss buttercream, all decorated fresh flowers.

Instead of a traditional guest book, guests wrote notes of advice to the couple. As late-night snacks, the bride and groom treated loved ones to slices of New York Pizza and mini cans of soda. Everyone too slices of Jamaican black cake home as wedding favors. 

Mid-way through the reception, Amaiya and Matt changed outfits and joined guests on the rooftop dance floor. “I feel like once we changed our outfits in the middle of the reception, party Amaiya and Matt came out and it was amazing,” the bride says. Amaiya wore a white mini dress and Matt changed his pants and suspenders. They both wore matching custom Nike Air Max 97’s with "Wynter" embroidered on them.

After the wedding, the couple enjoyed a minimoon in the Catskills, which they say was the perfect way to reset. In early December, they enjoyed their honeymoon in Kenya and Zanzibar. To couples planning a wedding right now, Amaiya recommends setting weekly meetings with your partner to go over to-do list items. “It can be very overwhelming and consuming with regular life (life doesn’t stop for wedding planning!), so planning weekly syncs can help go over the to-do items and can help with not causing so much stress every day,” she says.