Lorenza & Pete: Winter Magic At The New York Botanical Garden

Heading into the holiday season, we couldn’t think of anyone better to have as our featured bride for December than Lorenza. She and Pete celebrated saying “I do” on an enchanted winter’s day at the New York Botanical Garden. Here, Lorenza shares the first part of their love story.

Proposal & Planning 

In a time when casual dating via social apps is like a sport, Lorenza wanted something with more substance. Looking back, she says, “It was the busiest time of my professional career. I was a producer at CNN covering the 2016 election. Despite my busy work-life, I knew I was ready to meet someone special.” So upon the suggestion of a colleague, she joined, with some apprehension, the paid dating website, Match.com.

Within a week, Lorenza connected with a guy named Pete from Hoboken, New Jersey and they made plans to meet. She was still feeling uneasy about everything up until the day of their date, and even tried to cancel. But Pete offered to meet closer to her apartment. Finally, she decided to just go for it.

Their first date went refreshingly well and many followed. They had a lot in common including a love for travel. A year after meeting, the couple took a trip to Italy. Lorenza sensed that something romantic was brewing. “Pete told me that if he ever took a girl to Italy, he would propose,” she says. After touring the Vatican one morning, they had lunch a few miles outside of Rome. That was when Pete started acting a little odd. “The next thing I knew, Andrea Bocelli began playing on a loudspeaker system. Pete had taken me to see Bocelli just months before.” While they danced, Pete told Lorenza he loved her and wanted to take care of her. “Then he got down on one knee and pulled out a beautiful emerald cut diamond ring. The next day, we left for a weekend on the Amalfi Coast. He truly spoiled me.”

Lorenza reflects on how she knew that Pete was ‘the one.’ “To this day, he still has me intrigued. For us, our love matured more and more with time, respect, and trust. He is still the only person that has ever given me a nonstop ‘I need to be around you more so that I can know everything about you’ type of feeling.”

The first to get the wonderful news were Lorenza’s parents. “They were really excited for us. No sooner had we told them than my mother started talking about the perfect venue – the New York Botanical Garden,” Lorenza says with a laugh. Her mother did a little digging to find that the only available date was in early December, just six months away. Lorenza felt it was way to soon to even think about a wedding and just wanted to enjoy the rest of her Italian vacation with her new fiancée. A couple days later, her mother called back and said,” “I’m going to put a down payment on this because I really think you are going to love it. I’ll do all the work. I may lose the down payment, but I have confidence that this is where you’ll want to have your wedding.”

A week after Lorenza and Pete returned back home to New York, her parents flew out from California to walk through the New York Botanical Garden. “I didn’t look at any other venues,” she says. “The space and grounds were so beautiful. I pictured it in the winter and couldn’t think of any other place more perfect for my wedding.” The New York Botanical Garden expresses the beauty of every season through its breathtaking natural landscape. Reserved for special events, the Garden Terrace Room is marked by soaring ceilings, sparkling crystal chandeliers, and views of the picturesque garden. “The staff was so accommodating from the start,” she says. “I was like ‘Great, let’s do it.’”

Lorenza kept this ‘go on instinct’ mindset throughout the whole wedding planning process. “There were so many amazing choices with regards to a venue, dress, and hairstyle. I knew if I just committed to something that immediately appealed to me and didn’t look back, I was going to be happy.”

Lorenza knew that she wanted a black-tie affair, but left styling and floral decor to her mother. “ She took every detail that I’d ever given her about my dream wedding and made it come to life. I told her that I wanted a red bouquet with wintry flower arrangements. She worked with Bride & Blossom to create the most dreamy, white, festive day that people still talk about a year later.”

Stay tuned for next week for Part 2: Gown & Personals when Lorenza talks about her beautiful Pnina Tornai dress and the special touches she incorporated into her wedding day.

Couple’s Vendor List

Venue: New York Botanical Garden
Photographer: The Hons
Videographer: NST Pictures
Planner: Vision Event Co.
Bride’s Dress: Pnina Tornai
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Groom’s Tux: The Black Tux
Hair: Laura Burns
Makeup: Jennifer Wobito
Caterer: Starr Catering Group
Cake: Everything LuLu
Rings: Sako Diamond Corp (Bride) + David Yurman (Groom)
Invitations: Shine Wedding Invitations
Music: DJ Longfellow (Scratch Weddings)