Alison Roman and Max Cantor’s Wedding Was a Love Letter to New York City—And Its Many Restaurants
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Alison Roman and Max Cantor’s romance began with an Instagram comment, circa August 2022. “I was on a solo trip through Italy and naturally posting a lot of photos of my vacation…and also myself,” Alison says, laughing. “There was one in particular I took while drying off on a rock after a swim, captioned ‘back to my silly little rock.’ Max felt compelled to respond with ‘Good for you. Good for the rock.’ We both agree it wasn’t 100%, but nevertheless I was instantly charmed.” When she returned to New York, a date soon followed—and then another, and another, and another. Within a month they knew they wanted to get married.
In April 2023 Max, a director and producer, made that feeling official. Food writer and chef Alison, who was on a two-month book tour for her New York Times bestselling cookbook Sweet Enough, had four days in New York City before she flew to Australia. When she walked into her apartment, she found Max perched over their stovetop, making her favorite matzo ball soup to the sound of their joint Spotify playlist. She started crying immediately. “[It] might not sound remarkable, but when I say the man doesn’t cook, I truly mean the man simply does not cook. To me, it was the ultimate gesture of, ‘I see you. I love you,’” she says. “To me, proposing in our home we were sharing and building together, something sweet and genuine and just for us, was the most wonderful thing in the world. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” (Oh, and that matzo ball soup? Roman says it was perfect.)
They wed on September 8 at City Hall in New York City. Alison wore a two-piece silk set by Rosie Assoulin with puff sleeves and pearl buttons. She accented it with a pair of pearl Jimmy Choos and a light-pink pearl necklace from Rosie herself. “She was wearing it and gave it to me during our final fitting after seeing the shoes—I thought she was kidding, but she wasn’t,” Alison says of her something borrowed. Afterwards, their two families gathered in Alison and Max’s hotel room at Nine Orchard for a quick cocktail hour, complete with wines from Alison’s favorite wine shop, Discovery. (It was a more intimate space than they’d intended: “I originally booked the room for the lush, vibey balcony. I thought, The balcony is the perfect place for a cocktail reception before dinner—the light will be simply perfect, the weather divine! I even went there one evening a few months before to make sure the light would be nice for photos, because I was a chill and relaxed bride,” she says, laughing. “Anyway, it rained almost the whole time we were there and we had to all hang out inside the hotel room.”
Then, it was off to Chef Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune for dinner. Alison admits she emailed Gabrielle to see if Prune was available even before Max proposed. “It was the first step in everything—and to me, the most important step. It’s my favorite restaurant of all time, Gabrielle is my favorite chef, my favorite cook, my favorite writer,” she says. “When I think of Gabrielle herself cooking for us on our wedding weekend, I almost start to cry because I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
On Saturday, September 9, the two exchanged vows at the famed Keen’s Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan, another one of Alison’s favorite restaurants. Originally, Alison thought she wanted to have a slinky, Carolyn Bessette-inspired dress. But, after a few fittings at Shareen Bridal, she went with a gown with a fitted corset top and flared, mermaid-style bottom, which she paired with a long, dramatic veil. “I ended up with a dress way more bride-bride than I thought I’d be into, but reader: I loved bride-bride,” she says. Vogue photographer Hunter Abrams, a friend, connected her with Briony Raymond, who lent Alison classic diamond jewelry for the occasion. Max, meanwhile, wore a navy-and-black Gucci tuxedo.
After a coin toss, Max gave his vows first. “Not that it was a contest, but his vows were much better than mine—he’s an incredible writer—I cried through the whole thing,” Alison says. After she gave her own, their respective fathers and best friends stood up to give speeches. “We told everyone to keep it under five minutes…my dad went for 19. My brother timed it,” she says.
Then, it was time for the main attraction: dinner, planned with help from Melissa Sullivan of Studio Sully. Guests drank vodka from an ice luge shaped like Milton Glaser’s famous “I Love New York” logo, and heaped generous servings of prime rib and creamed spinach onto their plates. Moody florals from Fox Fodder Farm added to the ambiance.
For dessert, Alison and Max decided on a location change, heading to Temple Bar, the Art Deco-esque speakeasy in Noho known for its caviar bumps and martinis. The restaurant gave everyone cups of bodega coffee before they all joyfully crammed into a double-decker bus bound for downtown. In Temple Bar’s famously dark room, the wedding party danced, scarfed hot dogs, and enjoyed tiramisu by Michelin-starred chef Fabián von Hauske. It was, in more ways than one, a quintessential New York night—exactly as Alison and Max had intended. “We are both so hopelessly in love with New York,” she says. (And, well, each other.)
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Chantal Anderson1/41Our obligatory City Hall photo. I rented the plastic calla lilies for $9 and they were perfect.
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Chantal Anderson2/41I wanted one pair of shoes for both days—never did I think I was a Jimmy Choo–pearl–wedding–shoe person, but boy was I. The confetti outside City Hall was not ours, but we appreciated it.
