Margaret Knowles and Cassie Coste first met during welcome week at NYU, but theirs isn’t a college romance. “We had a mutual friend, and while we didn’t start dating until years after that, we appreciate that we have known each other and been in each other’s lives for so long,” Margaret says. “We dated briefly at the end of college but came back together later.”
Five years after they actually started dating, Cassie proposed in Beacon, New York, the midway point between Brooklyn and Hudson, where they were each living at the time. “It was the holiday season, and Cassie had gathered several beautiful matching boxes,” Margaret remembers. “She told me that the theme of her gifts was ‘Twelve Days of Christmas and Twelve Years of Us,’ as it had been 12 years since we met in college. Each of the twelve gifts was an item that represented a meaningful place, activity, or phase of our relationship. The twelfth box was the ring!”
Margaret and Cassie booked Over The Moon The List Planner Jove Meyerright away to help hone their aesthetic. “Going into it, we had no idea what we wanted in a venue,” Margaret says. “Jove took us around on a marathon day to tour 16 venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn. While so many of the places we saw were special, we felt a strong connection with The Bowery Hotel. When we first got together, we were both living in the East Village, and it felt very representative of our origin story. It also felt very classic New York, and very us!”
They also felt connected to 74 Wythe, a revamped Williamsburg venue that used to be a nightclub they both share many memories of. “While the Bowery felt perfect for the wedding, we loved the idea of having a welcome party the night before at 74 Wythe,” Margaret says. “The vibe of the night was a little more playful, with magician Karl Koppertop roaming the crowd, music by one of our favorites, DJ Louie XIV, and a special performance by drag Dolly Parton from Screaming Queens Entertainment, a nod to my Tennessee roots.” Photographer Afrik Armandowas there to capture both events.
On July 20, 2024, Margaret’s mother helped her into the very first wedding dress she had tried on, a strapless Reem Acra rendered in abstract jacquard. (It was just the first of three stellar dresses she’d wear that day, to be followed by a sleek Vivienne Westwood and finally a sparkling Vera Wang mini-dress.)
“Cassie always knew she wanted to get a custom suit made,” Margaret says. “After some research, she landed on The Tailory for her handmade suit and shirt. While Cassie kept it minimal in terms of jewlry, I wore a pair of Sophie Buhai earrings that my best friend had worn at her wedding (something borrowed), a lapis ring from my mother (something blue), a diamond and pearl ring that my dearest friends gave me the day of the wedding, and a necklace bearing the monogram of my late father.” Willow House Beauty provided hair and makeup.
The ceremony was held beneath a colorful floral arch, inspired by the hues of a Maja Dlugolecki painting, and officiated by Margaret’s brother. “He delivered a beautiful speech about how opposites attract,” she says. “Readings from our favorite books, The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson and All About Love by bell hooks, were given by my cousins and Cassie’s mother. Cassie’s father led a passing of the rings while vows were read.”
At the terrace cocktail hour—which featured a raw bar dedicated to Margaret’s father, who loved the sea—the couple popped Champagne. “We poured a Champagne tower—a longtime dream of mine—while a jazz trio played,” Margaret says. Then it was inside for dinner, where long king’s tables were adorned with whimsical florals by A.P. Bio. “The aesthetic really evolved out of a combination of my tendency toward a more modern, clean feel and Cassie’s love for little sparks that add character and sparkle—with a heaping dose of Jove’s creativity and guidance."
There was no first dance, but there was a grand entrance, as Margaret and Cassie were presented for the first time as a married couple to Robyn’s “Stars Forever.” “At dinner, a welcome toast was given by my mother and speeches were delivered by two of our best friends,” Margaret says. “Then, guests were invited to watch the cake cutting and hit the dance floor, DJ-ed by Amber Valentine, known for providing the soundtrack to the best queer parties in New York!”
Late-night, guests moved to the hotel’s front bar for the after-party. “The tater tot bar was a big hit with the guests,” Margaret says, “and the celebration went on into the night, with partygoers retiring upstairs to an after-after-party in a hotel suite.”
