This New York City Elopement, Which Featured a Vow Exchange in the Middle of The Met, Felt Like a Classic Rom-Com

Olivia Vickers and Rebekah Whittle met on Hinge in March of 2021, but they almost missed each other entirely. Olivia had previously swiped left (for the online dating novices, that's a bad thing) on Rebekah’s profile on a different app, so they both almost bailed on the midweek happy hour drink they planned as their first date. “We figured we’d just grab one drink and call it,” Rebekah says. “That one 'courtesy drink' turned into an eight hour first date!”

Two years later, on August 8, 2023, Rebekah proposed to Olivia at a local spot called Junes in their hometown of Austin, Texas. “We both knew we’d be changing our last name to June and I thought it’d be a sweet way to ask Olivia to be my 'Mrs. June,'” she says. “I brought a little box of things that commemorated moments from our relationship and unveiled that to her with the ring.” Olivia later planned her own proposal at a Taylor Swift concert in Dublin, popping the question during "Love Story."

They decided to tie the knot in their favorite city, New York, on October 24, 2024, exchanging private vows at The Metropolitan Museum of Art before heading to Washington Square Park for a ceremony underneath the iconic arch. "We really loved the idea of having such a sacred ceremony in such a public place," Rebekah says. "It was so beautiful because we’ll always be able to go back and visit and be in that moment together again." After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their 26 guests went to Palma for a courtyard dinner reception with a secret garden aesthetic, then headed to the iconic Stonewall Inn for an evening of dancing. "This was our first time seeing all of our friends in New York and it was so surreal having everyone in this room together," Olivia says.

Even though Olivia works in the wedding industry as the owner and lead baker at Olive+Aries, where she regularly makes wedding cakes for other couples, she and Rebekah both consider themselves nontraditional brides. "No walking down an aisle, no bridal parties, no sweeping ballroom entrances," Rebekah says. "When it came to our day, we craved something deeply intimate, intentional, and a little unconventional." With such a clear vision in mind for their big day, the brides decided to take on the entire wedding planning process themselves. Here, every stunning photo of Olivia and Rebekah's fall wedding, which guests said could have been lifted straight out of a classic rom-com, in the photos by Sarah Lord.

The brides did more than just plan the big day: They even organized a number of the smaller details themselves. Case in point? Rebekah designed the invitations, menus, and other wedding-day paper on her own. The pink invitation suite included a booklet that said "This is our love story," which explained how they met, why they chose New York City as the backdrop for their wedding, and how they decided to share a new last name, June. "June was a way to honor Olivia's grandmothers whose middle names were Jane and Jean," Rebekah says. "Most last names are passed down by the patriarch and it felt aligned to us to have our surname to come from a woman's name."

Rebekah pushed Olivia to have a first look on the morning of the wedding so they could take in each other's bridal looks before the celebration got underway. "Neither of us saw the other’s dress until this moment and it was so exciting," she remembers. "It was special and beautiful to share together."

Olivia envisioned a bridal look inspired by one of the marble statues at The Met. She wore an outfit from Anthropologie Weddings that included a corset top and skirt. "I don't love having to try dresses on, so when I found the two-piece at Anthropologie, I knew I could work with a seamstress to customize it to my liking," she explains. She accessorized with gold earrings and a gold necklace, both of which were family heirlooms she received from her grandmother. "She is no longer with us, so I wore her jewelry to keep her close by," Olivia adds.

She had a red manicure to match her shoes and spritzed on her everyday fragrance, L'eau Sezane, because she knows Rebekah loves it.

Rebekah also found her bridal look at Anthropologie. She chose a gown with a slit, high neckline, and billowing sleeves, then added sheer fabric and buttons to customize it. "Make sure you have clarity on what you’re looking for and then be open to what could surprise you!" she says. "If you’re too uncertain you won’t know how to ask for help and if you’re too lasered into one style you might miss the perfect dress." She accessorized with red Sam Edelman shoes, drop earrings from Etsy, and a layered pearl necklace. She had a light pink manicure with red tips to match the day's color scheme and wore her everyday fragrance Abbott The Cape. 

Although Olivia and Rebekah didn't have a traditional wedding party, they asked their best friends to witness their private vow exchange at The Met, one of their favorite museums in New York City. "It was important to us to have someone there for each of us who knew our story, our love, and could ground us in the moment," Rebekah says. "It felt intimate and sacred, and having them there made it even more special."

The pair wrote their vows two days before the wedding, and each bride, unaware of what her soon-to-be spouse was working on, penned three pages of promises that included a selection of Taylor Swift lyrics. "It was very surreal and a little nerve wracking to be standing in The Met while having this very intimate moment with just us, and two of our closest friends," Rebekah says.

After they swapped personalized vows in the museum, Olivia and Rebekah were whisked away by their photographer, Sarah Lord, to take photos throughout the building and in nearby Central Park. Walking through the park in their wedding dresses, the brides explain, ended up being one of the biggest highlights of the day.

"Throughout the day, our friends kept telling us it felt like they were inside a classic New York rom-com. The walk through the city, the garden dinner party, the dancing at Stonewall—it all felt cinematic," Rebekah says. "That was the magic we wanted: a day that felt real and romantic and very us."

After taking photos around the city, the brides headed to Washington Square Park to meet up with the rest of their guests for the ceremony, which was officiated by their best friend, Megan. "Washington Square Park just felt right," Rebekah says. "The arch. The fountain. The chess matches. It all had pieces of us and we felt like walking up to get married under the arch was perfect. We also really loved the idea of having such a sacred ceremony in such a public place. It was so beautiful because we’ll always be able to go back and visit and be in that moment together again."

The brides walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk on their way to the arch, treating Washington Square Park like their very own wedding ceremony aisle. In addition to their guests, passersby stopped to watch the brides exchange vows and cheered during their first kiss. A friend captured footage of the big day on a vintage Super 8 camera.

The couple's dinner reception took place at Palma, a restaurant Olivia and Rebekah stumbled upon one day at brunch. "The food was incredible but more than that, the garden courtyard just felt a secret in the middle of the big city that just felt like all our own," Rebekah remembers. "It needed to be a balance of beauty and whim without compromising on incredible food, which is exactly what Palma is!"

Everyone was seated in the restaurant's courtyard, where the retractable roof was covered in greenery and string lights. A single table was dressed with a white tablecloth and decorated with centerpieces of pink and red flowers. Taper candles, tea lights, and scattered fruits, including apples, grapes, and dates, further enhanced the look and feel of the reception. "The beauty of booking with Palma is that they handle the florals, table settings, and in house décor, which made the process feel seamless and cohesive," Rebekah says, which was a major plus for the two brides who were planning the wedding on their own from afar.

In addition to creating their wedding invitations, Rebekah also designed the evening's dinner menus, which featured red ink and a vellum overlay with custom illustrations. Each place setting featured white dishware, gold flatware, and white cloth napkins finished with red place cards with velvet ribbons and a single rosebud.

One of the hardest parts of the planning process for Olivia and Rebekah was choosing the evening's family-style dinner menu, and that was simply because Palma had too many decadent options. "We wanted food that would excite our guests and leave a lasting impression, so the lamb chops were a must!" Rebekah remembers. "I still have friends text me just to remind me how much they loved our reception dinner party."

Couples are constantly asking Olivia what her own wedding cake might look like one day (after all, she an expert on big-day confections as the owner and lead baker at Olive+Aries), but when it came to choosing her nuptial dessert, she knew just one thing: She didn't want to make her own wedding cake. In the end, she realized she didn't want wedding cake at all.

Instead, the couple worked with Dominique Ansel to create pastries and desserts including chocolate cake éclairs, tarts, and peaches and cream puffs. "Olivia wanted something playful, unexpected and still visually stunning and Dominique Ansel was the obvious choice," Rebekah says. "Their pastries brought that perfect mix of creativity and indulgence and it felt refreshing to do something different from what people might expect." They added macarons from Ladurée and tiramisu from Palma to round out the dessert menu.

After dinner, the couple said goodbye to their parents and took their friends and brothers to the historic Stonewall Inn for an after-party. “We danced to Chappell Roan until three in the morning!” Rebekah says.

The couple spent their honeymoon in Connecticut, a plan that Rebekah surprised Olivia with on the morning of their wedding. The newlyweds remind other couples to make sure they get to enjoy the entire day. “If you need to set boundaries with people (you will), do it,” Rebekah says. “Make sure you’re setting up the day so that you get to fully enjoy it.”