The Bride Wore a Lily of the Valley Dress and Her Mother’s Veil for Her Backyard Wedding in Bellport

They married on September 21 in the bride’s backyard—the last day of summer. Charlotte knew she wanted to wed surrounded by blooms. “Flowers are one of my favorite things on this earth,” she says. Yet she didn’t just mean in terms of decor: The couple asked their guests to wear “flowers and colors”—and no one took the dress code more seriously than Charlotte herself, who wore a green-and-white Lily of the Valley dress by Monique Lhuillier. She accessorized with colorful jewelry to match green tourmaline and diamond earrings from LA–based jewelry brand Retrouvaí, an Irene Neuwirth ring, a signet ring from Kinn Studio, as well as her grandmother Jackie’s amethyst cocktail ring. The final fashion touch? “My mom’s veil that she wore when she married my dad over 33 years ago,” says Charlotte. Waiting at the end of the altar was Jim in a white suit and a 1944 Patek Philippe watch that his grandfather and father also wore on their wedding days. “It was the most vivid 30 minutes of my life,” Jim says of their ceremony. “When I close my eyes I can still feel my feet on the grass and the sun on my face and Charlotte’s hands in mine.”

Afterwards, guests headed to cocktail hour on their neighbor’s lawn, sipping Aperol spritzes under a trio of pine trees. Then, it was time for what Charlotte describes as a backyard dinner party. “My mom loves to host dinner parties in Bellport and has done so with such expertise for as long as I can remember, and in many ways, our wedding felt like an extension of that,” she says. Food was served family style, while Jim’s sister designed all the paperie. Even the entertainment was intimate—while the couple had a band, the groom surprised the bride with a performance of “Brown Eyed Girl” in front of all their family and friends.

The bride changed into a custom cocktail dress by Alexandra Pijut for the occasion, embroidered with more lilies of the valley. “The embroidered lilies of the valley were a perfect continuation of the lilies of the valley from my wedding dress, and I loved getting to create something so special with Alexandra,” says Charlotte. For their cake, the couple opted for an apple cinnamon sponge confection with peach jam and mascarpone filling, and cognac tonka bean buttercream decorated with seasonal flowers by Aimee France.

Afterwards, it was time for an after-party back at the Diamond house. Charlotte put on a vintage Roberto Cavalli party dress from Happy Isles—but only for 15 minutes, as the bride and groom decided to go for an impromptu midnight swim. “Jim and I jumped into the pool to kick off the festivities—much to the chagrin of one well-heeled guest who screamed, ‘Not the Cavalli!’” Charlotte says, laughing.

Now that it’s all over—and the Cavalli dress has been dry-cleaned—Charlotte notes that she and Jim are still riding a high. “It feels like being on vacation with your best friend,” she says. “There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side.”