Get to Know: Merci New York – New York wedding stylist and blogger

Welcome back to my series: Get to Know. I have the beautiful, Jacqueline Weppner from the popular and oh so chic New York wedding blog, Merci New York. Merci New York also does event and wedding styling.

This series is a way for me to share with you all the people I know and love getting to work with. I hope these are helpful when making your decisions about your wedding. I enjoy getting to know my clients and making everything personal and authentic to them, so why not share the people who help create these amazing wedding moments.

You have a great eye for fashion and what chic new yorkers getting married are looking for, what is your background?

I have a BA in journalism and fine art, and a corporate background in the fashion industry.  I’ve worked in fashion design, merchandising and marketing – and eventually resigned as Director of Sales and Marketing at a popular resort wear company in order to begin Merci New York.

My most enjoyable professional duties were always fashion styling (look books and catalogs), managing my companies’ Web sites and marketing collateral, and planning corporate events.  Reflecting on that (with 20-20 hindsight, of course), I now realize that Merci New York was a natural progression.

Your blog and styling is very popular among chic and fashionable New York wedding couples and wedding industry, how did Merci New York come about?

It all began when I was planning my own wedding. Having leaned on several New York City fashion, event and social sites during my time in Manhattan, I assumed I’d quickly find a similar site for the citybride… essentially, a site that showed her the ins and outs of how to create a fashionable New York Wedding.  I also hoped to find a company or resource that would help me create the lust-worthy details found in all the luxury-market wedding magazines, (since as we all know, working a corporate job in NYC leaves no time for DIY).  Ultimately, my search came up short.  The web was packed with crafty DIY tutorials for a very different bride, so I scouted everything out on my own.

After our wedding was published in The Knot magazine, I inadvertently began fielding wedding questions from friends and acquaintances in the fashion industry and beyond.  A light bulb went off! I decided to start what my friends and I were all looking for – a chic and stylish resource for the busy city bride (the blog) and a styling company that helped create memorable details.

What exactly does Merci New York do?

Merci New York is a chic, boutique styling house offering fashion, event and prop styling for weddings, special events and editorial projects. Our goal is to make your wedding {and all the events surrounding it} their beautifully-styled best.

We are able to do this because we are seated at bridal market, viewing all the collections for you – months before they are in the ateliers.  We are forging connections with all the bridal magazine editors, chatting with them about what’s hot, hip, new and still unpublished.  We are translating the trends you do see  (vintage, vineyard, barn-side rustic) into your Manhattan (loft, ballroom, restaurant) venue.  We are also the wedding correspondent for the Plaza Hotel, Rent the Runway and was a keynote speaker at Maddy K’s Bridal Boudoir event in Montreal {a role previously filled by Marcy Blum in 2009}. Ultimately, Merci New York is helping the city bride weed out the cheese and create a beautiful, modern, elegant New York wedding.

As your personal bridal stylist, we can:
-help you find “the” dress, as well as perfect, sought-after accessories
-join you on your big day to dress, bustle, button and pin you to perfection
-guide the choice and coordination of all bridal party attire
-manage your engagement session wardrobe, location and aesthetic
-assist in honeymoon wardrobe, registry and gift shopping
-make sure your reception decor is perfectly styled down to the last detail.

Why do you feel there is a need for this service?

Most New York City brides are very busy ladies.  They manage challenging careers, hectic (yet fun) social lives, hobbies, friends, family… and their wedding.  They know fashion.  They know style.  But they don’t have the time to put it all together, and they certainly don’t have time to DIY.

What they want is a chic, polished, elegant wedding worthy of a magazine tear-sheet.  Merci New York is the one-stop solution to making that happen.  We style a city bride’s wedding to perfection, make sure she is her picture-perfect, fashionable best on her wedding day, and collaborate with her vendors and photographer to make sure her high-style wedding is placed within the top wedding publications.

Does a bride need to book Merci New York for their entire wedding experience or can they pick and choose based on what they need?

Merci New York’s menu is structured in a la carte format so each bride can select the specific services she needs.  We firmly believe that every wedding (and every bride’s style) is unique, so we pride ourselves in creating custom-tailored quotes that specifically approach our clients’ budgets.

There is also a pre-conceived notion that styling is only accessible to the jet-set socialite.  Not true!  While we are thrilled to work on comprehensive projects, Merci’s stylists are also available to jump in wherever you need an extra hand (or stylist’s eye).  Because we understand the importance of small details, there is no project too tiny for our team to tackle.

Do you have any tips for a bride wanting to make her photos, WOW! ?

Here are a few tips that can help you chose your engagement (Get to Know You) shoot wardrobe:

–       Think color —  Everyone looks better in it.  You do yourself a disservice by limiting your wardrobe to monotone neutrals.  Color makes your photos interesting.
–       Don’t match, don’t clash, coordinate —   You are not looking to “match” but you are looking to wear colors that compliment each other and do not clash.  Make sure your fashion shares a cohesive look and tone.
–       Have at least two outfits on hand – Like an editorial shoot, your fashion should fit with the mood.  If you are moving all around the city in the same outfits (and let’s face it, there are only a handful of poses you can really stick), your shoot just looks like a tourist’s travel book.  Yes you covered a lot of ground, but that’s not what this shoot is about.  Think of your shoot like an artist’s composition; what outfits suit the locations you are visiting and why?
–       Don’t ignore your personal style—That said don’t take this as an opportunity to go off the deep end.  Make fashion choices that you are comfortable with, and don’t use this opportunity to take risks.  Your GTKY shoot  should showcase you and your fiancé as the people you are.

My big secret—ladies, accessorize BIG.  As a general rule, the camera shrinks your jewelry.  Make accessory choices that border on big and bold, and in photos they will appear cohesive, and to scale.

Here are some pics of Merci New York owner, Jacqueline Weppner, at work.
Dressing the bride and pulling elements that go with the inspiration board for the event

all photos by Sofia Negron Photography