Real Wedding Album: The Bookstore Nuptials

Photo: Georgina Richardson

Robyn Lewis and Brandon Greer, both attorneys, met at the University of Michigan Law School in 2006. “Brandon had also been an undergrad there, and he won me over with a guided tour of Ann Arbor,” recalls Robyn, 35. The two dated for five years before Brandon proposed in the summer of 2013 on a walk along the Bosphorus during a vacation in Istanbul. The following spring, the couple got hitched at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, which they chose for its homey vibe. “It felt removed from the hectic city. It was like a sanctuary, in a way,” says Brandon, 32. Robyn’s younger brother walked her down the aisle, and a reverend from Brandon’s family church in Montclair, New Jersey, officiated. Personal touches included a reading from the Taylor Mali poem “How Falling in Love Is Like Owning a Dog.” Later, everyone retreated to the front of the store, which had been transformed into a dance floor with votive candles and paper flowers constructed from old newspaper. (For centerpieces, the couple borrowed hardcovers from the shop.) A three-piece jazz band played standards while guests ate sweet-potato-and-shrimp fritters, buttered asparagus, and lemon-flavored wedding cake from Baked. “Getting married in a bookstore,” says Brandon, “ended up being everything we wanted.”

The Details:
Officiant: Gina Jacobs-Strain
Flowers: W Floral Design
Dress: Martina Liana
Music: Sly Scott Trio and DJ Carver
Makeup: Rouge New York
Hair: Neal Farinah Salon
Photographs by Georgi Richardson

*This article appears in the Winter 2015 issue of New York Weddings.

Photo: Georgina Richardson

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, May 17, 2014

“Getting married in a bookstore ended up being everything we wanted.”

Photo: Georgina Richardson
Photo: Georgina Richardson

“We didn’t know if we’d be able to find an affordable venue in New York that felt special. Everyone kept saying, ‘I had no idea you could get married at Housing Works.’ ”

Real Wedding Album: The Bookstore Nuptials