This New York City Wedding Began With Golden Unicorn Dim Sum and Ended With Katz’s Deli Knishes
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Jenna Rubenstein and Benjamin Mayer’s wedding hora dance took place exactly where their relationship first began—on the chilly winter streets of New York City. Jenna, a music executive, matched with NBC Nightly News producer Ben on Hinge during a major Covid resurgence in December 2021. “I am a germaphobe to my core and insisted our first date be outside, where we both sat shivering over pasta in the West Village,” shares Jenna. “We were joined intermittently by a very brazen mouse scurrying across tables.” Despite the not-so-ideal environment and Jenna going against her own dating rules by wearing Uggs due to a foot injury, the two hit it off and “couldn’t stop talking once,” Jenna says. “After dinner, Ben kissed me and walked me home as I hobbled, Southern gentleman that he is.”
When Ben proposed in 2024, he recalls it was a “wonderful moment during an intense summer.” A few weeks before, he asked Jenna’s father for her hand over dinner. “Just thinking of the two of them being nervous in Midtown while eating New York strips together meant so much to me,” she says. While Ben initially was coming up with elaborate proposal ideas, he felt as if he had a “hole burning in his pocket” from the moment he picked up the ring. “One night a few days later, we had ordered in Chinese and I just couldn’t wait anymore,” he says. Jenna recounts, “Just as I was about to chow down on a steamed veggie dumpling, Ben reached into my purse and pulled out the ring. I was so stunned, wondering how on earth he snuck the ring into my bag without me knowing. (I later discovered it was when I got up to get a refill on seltzer, naturally). Right next to the kitchen counter where we still eat most of our meals, Ben got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”
So, how would Jenna and Ben describe their wedding planning process in a nutshell? “Fast and furious,” they say. “Ask us if we had locked in a venue even three months before our wedding date and we’d tell you no. We looked at a ton of spots, and they all just felt a bit too ‘wedding.’” The to-be-weds didn’t even intend for the wedding to have a traditional sit-down dinner. “We wanted our wedding to feel like a party we actually wanted to go to, and for people to feel very comfortable, whether they wanted to dance, chat, or be a wallflower,” they describe. When they came across The Ned NoMad, the hotel felt like the perfect fit. “The space is just beautiful—you feel it the moment you set foot in the lobby. We both looked at each other—almost immediately—and said this is it,” the couple share. The only problem? With a scheduled renovation on the horizon, January 25 was the only possible date they could choose. “We loved the space so much, the rush felt worth it."
One small hiccup with their dream venue? “There wasn’t one room big enough for our ceremony,” says Jenna. “In a deep panic, I did what any native New Yorker would do. I walked one block East, West, North, and South from The Ned Nomad searching for a last-minute, walkable solution until I stumbled upon the Virgin Hotel, whose giant 38th-floor ballroom was somehow free that evening. I asked if we could use it ‘for a quick hour,’ and the rest was history.” A final booking was made at the iconic Golden Unicorn Restaurant for a dim-sum-filled rehearsal dinner the evening before, and their plans were underway.
All hands were on deck to bring the celebration to life with guidance from planner Laura Remmert. “My mom, Susan Simmons, was my other wedding planner, pouring over every single color, napkin, and plate size until we got it just right,” says Jenna. “I am not afraid to admit that I’m a complete control freak and cared about literally every single part of this wedding—down to the size of the forks for the small passed plates of rigatoni. My mom has an eagle eye for detail and I felt very lucky to have her…always, but especially during this wedding.” The couple also worked on quite a few DIY moments for their wedding, from hand-tying 120 ribbons onto chopsticks to scouting blooms to add to their arrangements by Doan Ly of a.p. Bio just two days before the wedding. “Some of the actual flowers we selected made it to our day-of florals, down to a giant lichen-covered branch my mom spotted in one of the flower shops, which magically appeared interwoven into our bar arrangement at The Ned,” says Jenna. “It made me laugh when I saw it in action.”
With such a short timeline, Jenna didn’t have the typical experience of choosing her wedding wardrobe. “Most people looked at me with a face of complete horror when I said I needed a wedding dress in less than six months,” she recalls. “‘You’re getting married when?’ ‘You want what?’ Timeline aside, I really wanted the experience of trying on wedding gowns, especially with my mom.” Her first stop was at Oscar de la Renta, where she found a not-so-traditional long-sleeved nude gown with silver beading that she would end up wearing at the reception. “What is it that they say? If you’re still thinking about it after you leave the store, go back and get it? Because that is exactly what happened with this dress, and then some,” says the bride. “I was completely obsessed. The second I put it on my body, I knew. The 3D flowers. The movement of the fringe—everything about it was just it. And while it clearly wasn’t a ‘wedding dress,’ it also felt like the kind of dress you’d only wear on your wedding day, and I knew it needed to be part of mine.” She paired the look with Aquazzura pom pom shoes she found at a sample sale a few years prior. “I actually loved the idea of wearing something on my wedding day that had just been sitting in my closet waiting for its moment,” says the bride.
