Art quietly shaped nearly every chapter of this couple's relationship long before they began planning their wedding. David Nathan Kimmel's proposal began inside The Museum of Modern Art, where he surprised Elizabeth "Ellie" Lee Kimmel, who arrived expecting to meet her grandmother for an exhibition opening. "Once the shock subsided, he walked me to one of Monet's Water Lilies triptychs—the ones that feel like they never end—and proposed," Ellie says. The museum closed its doors to the public, allowing the newly engaged couple an hour to wander the galleries alone before celebrating with both of their families.
Looking back, the moment feels even more meaningful. "This September we'll be visiting them again in Giverny on our honeymoon," Ellie says. "Our engagement started in front of Monet's water lilies at MoMA, so it feels fitting to end our wedding season by visiting the originals together."
Their love story, however, began years earlier while attending the University of Michigan. Although they knew of each other through David's older brother, they officially met while walking from one party to another. They spent nearly eight years together, including periods of long distance while Ellie studied abroad in Cape Town and David lived in Barcelona before eventually reuniting in New York in 2020.
When it came time to plan their wedding, another New York institution became part of their story. An avid reader, Ellie had long dreamed of marrying inside the New York Public Library, where she regularly borrowed books. "The venue was truly a pipe dream turned reality," she says.
To bring that vision to life, the couple enlisted OTM Directory Planner In Any Event, opens in a new tab after seeing one of her celebrations at the Domino Sugar Factory. Together with floral and event designer Mikey Rosandich of Rosandich Studios, opens in a new tab, they built a wedding inspired less by trends than by the worlds Ellie has always loved inhabiting. "I love color, whimsy, romance, and art," she says. "I also love the combination of chocolate and raspberry and, by virtue of that, brown and red."
Rosandich helped transform those references into something immersive. Rather than a traditional floral chuppah, Ellie envisioned one draped in fabric. "My planner, Leslie, came up with the idea of making it my 'something blue,' and I immediately fell in love with it," she says. Throughout the reception, richly layered shades of raspberry, blue, and violet, hand-designed wallpaper, individually placed rugs, and a handmade yarn backdrop created an environment unlike any wedding the couple had attended before.
The artistic point of view extended to the event's details as well. Working with renowned stationer Bernard Maisner, opens in a new tab, the team designed fabric menu scrolls tied with ribbon, inviting guests to reveal each course themselves—a small but memorable interactive detail that reflected Ellie's desire to surprise people throughout the evening. Olivier Cheng, opens in a new tab catered the dinner and Simon Cake, opens in a new tab created desserts that echoed the wedding's signature palette, including chocolate raspberry cake.
To document the weekend, the couple enlisted Heather Waraksa, opens in a new tab. "Her photos speak for themselves," Ellie says, "but she is the most wonderful person to spend the day and experience with."
Fashion offered Ellie another opportunity for self-expression. A lifelong vintage collector, she found a pink polka-dot Rodarte runway dress from Spring 2018 at Double Happiness Bridal for the rehearsal dinner, pairing it with Reformation heels, a vintage Gucci clutch, and the watch her mother had given her father on their wedding day.
For her ceremony dress, Ellie knew she wanted the romance of a ballgown but without the weight. After narrowing her search to two dresses, her planner suggested one more appointment—this time at SEPT by Sarah Seven. Shopping alone, Ellie slipped into an unworn two-piece look featuring a structured corset and bubble-hem skirt.
"That was it," she says. "I started thinking about how I could easily wear ballet flats—my favorite invention on earth—since the bubble would cover, and that I could swap the corset for my second favorite invention, a Hanes white tank top, for my after-party look. It was kismet and perfection. I was comfortable and floating all night."
She completed the look with Jamie Haller flats, diamond studs borrowed from her mother, her mother's wedding-day handbag, and perhaps the most meaningful accessory of all: a veil borrowed from her best friend, who had worn the heirloom piece at her own wedding one year earlier.
For beauty, Ellie trusted people who already knew her best. Hair stylists Renee Cohen, opens in a new tab and Vennela, opens in a new tab collaborated on the look. "We didn't even do a trial because they know me so well," Ellie says of the beauty team, which also included makeup artist Katrina Barrion Alexandre, opens in a new tab. "I trusted them completely."
David wore a custom Billy Reid tuxedo featuring a hidden Buffalo Bills insignia inside the jacket, along with his grandfather's watch and cuff links.
The wedding ceremony on March 21, 2026, began with a private exchange of letters and vows before the ketubah signing—a decision Ellie now considers one of the best they made. Inside the Rose Main Reading Room, she surprised David by walking down the aisle to a vocalist performing Paramore's "The Only Exception." "We were absolute puddles," she remembers.
Their rabbi led a ceremony that honored both family tradition and those who could not be there. David's late mother Dana's necklace hung from the blue chuppah throughout the ceremony before David wore it during the reception. Seven family members and friends stepped beneath the chuppah to offer blessings, and when David broke the glass, Ellie remembers experiencing "a swell of joy" unlike anything she had ever felt.
If the ceremony belonged to quiet reflection, the reception belonged to celebration. Sound House of Elan Artists, opens in a new tab kept the dance floor packed, beginning with a hora that seemed to include nearly all 230 guests. Later in the evening, the newlyweds skipped a traditional first dance altogether. "Neither of us love to dance or be in the middle of a dancing circle," Ellie says with a laugh. We did a lot of jumping to make up for it."
There was also crowd surfing during "Misery Business," an unforgettable rendition of "Everlong," heartfelt toasts from both fathers, Ellie's best friend Emily, and David's brother Jack, and countless moments where Ellie simply stopped to absorb the room she had spent months imagining.
After the reception concluded at one in the morning, guests crossed Bryant Park carrying spiked hot chocolates to the Bryant Park Hotel, where DJ Choppy, opens in a new tab kept the celebration going until sunrise. As daylight returned to Fifth Avenue, the couple found themselves standing on the library steps, watching the sun come up outside the very building where they had exchanged vows only hours before. Like so much of their relationship, the ending felt beautifully full circle.
