The Bride Wore a Three-Piece Gown for Her Surrealist Wedding at Her Family’s Sculpture Park in Amagansett
.jpg)
In 2008, eighth grader Gaby Novogratz did something bold: she friended Zach Spohler, a cute boy from another New York private school, on Facebook. For nine months, they scrolled through each other’s tagged photos and wrote on each other’s “walls.” Finally, after what Gaby calls some “expertly orchestrated high school scheming,” they met for the first time outside the Pinkberry on 82nd Street and 2nd Avenue. Then, they promptly kissed around the corner.
Their official first date, however, happened as seniors in high school. Zach asked Gaby to dinner at Bubby’s in Tribeca. They both ordered the burger...despite the fact Gaby hadn’t eaten red meat in years. (“I was so nervous that I told the waiter, ‘I’ll have what he’s having,’” she says, laughing.) Soon after, they had another date back at Pinkberry—where Zach asked Gaby to prom.
Fifteen years later, Gaby, the founder of digital shopping encyclopedia The (Shop) Archive, and Zach, cofounder of cannabis aperitifs brand Artet, flew from their home in Los Angeles to visit family in New York City. On a warm spring night, Zach asked Gaby if she wanted to get a drink with his brother uptown. As they walked up 2nd Avenue, Zach stopped her in front of a heart-shaped floral installation. It’s then Gaby realized they weren’t just on 2nd Avenue—but on 82nd and 2nd. Zach got down on one knee right in front of the old Pinkberry. “I felt a lot more relaxed this time compared to the first two times I had propositioned Gaby,” Zach says.
In June 2024, the couple threw a three-day wedding at the bride’s family home in Amagansett, planned by Melissa Sullivan of Studio Sully. It began on Thursday with a rehearsal dinner in the Novogratz’s backyard, where Gaby wore a 1999 Chanel runway gown sourced by Tab Vintage. “It is objectively the coolest dress I have ever worn,” she says. The groom, meanwhile, opted for a custom white suit from Bode with embroidery that told the story of their relationship. (“Dare I say that Zach almost out-dressed me on our wedding weekend,” Gaby says.)
After the speeches, guests boarded buses to local dive bar Stephen Talkhouse—another special place to the couple, as it’s where their parents first bonded over tequila shots. The bride changed into a strapless dress from The Row so she could dance well into the morning.
On Friday, they transformed the Novogratz pool into their own beach club, complete with striped red-and-white cabanas and an Artet bar. Gaby wore a bikini under a sheer lace maxi dress by tailor Bill Bull, a friend of Gaby’s who she also describes as her “most intimidating fashion critic.” They served pizza and wine—which came with a custom label that said “Gautier Clyde”.
“We both have middle names that we love, but never really had any good use for—which I guess is a common plight for middle names everywhere,” Gaby explains. “At some point, we started using ‘Gautier Clyde’ in little places around the wedding like pool towels, matchboxes, and such. You could say that it became our little cheeky wedding brand.”
The next day, the couple married among the wildflowers in their sculpture park designed by Bas Smets. “He meticulously walked the landscape with us, carefully choosing the perfect clearing where we could create our ‘chapel en plein air,’” the bride says. “Surrounded by so much natural beauty, the park had an atmosphere that was both intimate and expansive. It felt like the perfect place to host such a meaningful day in our lives.”
Gaby walked down the aisle in a custom three-piece drop-waist gown with a bubble hem by Danielle Frankel to “Gigue 6.6,” Peter Gregson’s modern cello recomposition of Bach’s final suite. (Both the bride and groom played cello growing up and have maintained a strong love of classical music ever since.) Zach waited for her in a Ralph Lauren tuxedo and a vest made from Dior scarves under an Alexander Calder–inspired chuppah. “Since we were getting married in an art park, the idea of incorporating a piece of art into our ceremony felt so fitting. It wasn’t just a backdrop, but a unique structure that added to the overall experience, blending art and nature in a way that felt deeply personal,” says Gaby. “The chuppah symbolized not only our connection to one another, but also the creativity and intentionality we wanted to weave throughout the day.” Zach’s triplet, Lindsay, officiated their ceremony as their family and friends watched on from abstract floral chairs as well as wire and wooden benches. After a ceremony where Gaby felt that “time stood still,” the two kissed as the soft golden-hour sun shone overhead.
Afterwards, they threw a “surrealism-meets-nature” reception that evoked Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. Guests received their seating assignments from ticket booths before wandering through a tunnel hung with glowing lights. Finally, they entered a striped circus tent adorned with giant flower sculptures by artist Petrit Halilaj.
On the tables were embroidered dragonflies, bees, and other insects illustrated by the couple’s friend, Eliane Le Roux (who also served as a general creative consultant on the evening’s decor). Meanwhile, florist Emily Thompson built towering epergnes overflowing with delicate blooms. “It kept with our surrealist theme of playing with scale and brought the outside nature into the tent in a way that felt both whimsical and intimate,” says Gaby. For dinner, the couple served an Italian feast complete with fried calamari and “his and hers” pastas for entrées—spaghetti al limone for Gaby and rigatoni all’amatriciana from Zach. “It wouldn t have felt like our wedding if we didn’t have a reason for parmesan,” says Gaby.
The new couple danced for the first time across a mirrored floor to a personalized remix of “Latch” by Sam Smith Disclosure, which began as an acoustic version and crescendoed into EDM. “It was the perfect mix of nostalgia and playful romance, and set the tone for a really fun night,” says Gaby.
Once the dance floor started, it never stopped–even as they changed locations for the after-party. “Our after-party was inspired by my (slightly toxic) obsession with the ballroom scene in Titanic and Prohibition-era partying,” says Gaby. “We transformed an old house with velvet and lace curtains, added little vintage details, and made sure to carve out room for a speakeasy Champagne bar.” The bride changed into a John Galliano for Dior dress, which she sourced from Persephone Vintage. She paired it with a crochet and lace headpiece from Les Fleurs Studio. “I definitely wanted to embrace a more vintage vibe for the after-party,” she says. Chicken nuggets and drinks were served on silver platters as guests stayed up until six in the morning.
“The entire wedding weekend felt like a fever dream,” Gaby adds.
Photo: Días de Vino y Rosas1/93The first night, we hosted an intimate rehearsal dinner in my parents’ backyard. After more than 10 years together, it felt pretty surreal to finally see our many aunts, uncles, and cousins in one place. I’m still so in love with Zach’s look—a white Bode suit with subtle embroidered details.
Photo: Días de Vino y Rosas2/93This was both my and Zach’s grandmothers’ favorite look of the whole weekend. The 1999 Chanel runway gown I found at Tab Vintage was easily the coolest thing I’ve ever put on my body—I truly felt like a piece of art.
.jpg)