Claudia walked down the aisle arm in arm with her parents as the string quartet played La’s “There She Goes.” However, despite being surrounded by a group of
people, “I could only see Kyle,” she said.
Kyle huddled together in a Ralph Lauren tuxedo and Claudia reached for the flower-encrusted gown. He didn’t let go until the rabbi officially announced their union. After the glass shattered, the two walked back along the aisle to “September” in “Earth Wind Fire”. “I’ve never been happier than in that moment,” Claudia recalls.
Then, it’s time to party.
They started small, sharing a celebratory tequila in a private room. Next, the couple headed to Cipriani’s Fondamenta Terrace for cocktail hour. At dusk, with the lights of Venice twinkling in the background, guests ordered champagne from the bar, which was wallpapered with Milton & King’s spring landscape wallpaper.
The reception was held in a huge brick ballroom with several long ballrooms. The dining table is decorated with Murano glass lamps, floral arrangements of roses and peonies, and taper candles that bathe the room in a soft glow. Most eyes, however, are directed toward the ceiling, where a suspended trapeze twirls among crystal chandeliers. As Claudia and Kyle entered, she removed her foot-long train and performed Sebastian’s “Run for Me” in the spotlight.
Once the music started, it never stopped. The Phly Boyz dubbed themselves the “International Party Band” and performed tableside throughout the dinner. “At the end of the dinner, no one could sit still,” Claudia recalls. “Our friends put us in chairs when the Phly Boyz performed Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ – one of our favorite throwback songs.”
Dinner Afterwards, guests headed to a second ballroom, transformed into an Italian discotheque, with pink velvet lounge seating, a mirrored bar, a ceiling covered with disco balls and dancers wearing Venetian masks. By then, Claudia had already changed into a custom beaded minidress by Clio Peppiatt. Its decoration depicts the story of their wedding night in Venice. “It took about a year for the dress to go from initial discussions to delivery—Clio and her team are incredibly talented,” says Claudia. “She even added our new initials, CR and KR, to the moon on the back of the dress, along with our wedding date on the gondola. These personal details make the dress feel more like a work of art than a costume. ’ She let her hair loose into waves and borrowed a pair of mother-in-law pearls.
The waiter handed out truffle fries, ice cream sandwiches, and tarts (Kyle’s favorite). The dance continued for the next four hours, which is a long time by any standards. Yet for Claudia and Kyle, the night — and the entire weekend — felt like a fleeting moment. “If we could suspend time, we would,” she reflects. “It was a complete and total dream and we are so thankful to our family for making it happen for us.”
