The Bride Wore a Dress Featuring Hand-Painted Flowers for Her New York City (and Country) Wedding
Klara Nedrelow and Matt Karo met in college in 2016, and soon found themselves falling for each other in a “quintessentially Morningside Heights love story,” as they now call it.
She was a sophomore at Barnard; he was a junior at Columbia. “One night out with friends, I spotted a group of boys in matching khakis and polos,” Klara shares. “Matt caught my eye, and in true Barnard fashion, I marched right up to him and asked why he was dressed like Jake from State Farm.” Despite the burn, “Matt kept his composure, explained that he and his matching friends were on the baseball team and had just come from practice, and then he complimented my outfit.” She was impressed.
“Klara was striking,” says Matt, remembering that first encounter. He soon realized that he had a class right before her in the same classroom, which presented a golden opportunity. “I spent the rest of the semester staying late to ask the professor questions, just so I could say hi to Klara,” he admits.
On their first date, they ended up talking for so long that they closed the restaurant down. “From the start, I felt like we never ran out of things to say to one another and could constantly make each other laugh,” Matt says.
In the years since, they have navigated school and the early stages of their careers, supporting each other through it all. As Klara puts it, “Matt and I truly grew up together.” (Klara graduated from the NYU School of Law in May and now works at a law firm, while Matt is a portfolio manager at a hedge fund focused on investing in healthcare companies.)
In February 2024, Matt suggested that they get drinks near their apartment in Dumbo to celebrate their seventh anniversary. While walking there, he stopped by the water in front of the Brooklyn Bridge and proposed. “I was speechless,” Klara says. Afterwards, he led her to a neighborhood bar, where they celebrated with friends and family.
For the wedding location, the two quickly settled on New York—the place where they went to college, met, and built their life together. Wanting to give their guests a “well-rounded New York experience,” they held a multi-day celebration in September that included events in Lower Manhattan and Westchester County.
To start off the weekend, they hosted a Shabbat dinner at Parcelle in Greenwich Village for their wedding party and family. Klara wore a custom Bode linen double-breasted blazer dress, paired with an Olympia Le-Tan book clutch—A Pigeon’s Guide to Fine Dining in Paris—which was a reference to one of their favorite memories. “During our first trip to Paris, a pigeon flew into the café where we were eating lunch, and the maître d’ casually caught it mid-air, tossed it outside, and shrugged as if it were routine. The moment still makes us laugh, and when I saw the clutch, I knew it belonged in my wedding wardrobe,” Klara explains.
Matt opted for Bode looks throughout the weekend as well, including a three-piece Nelson suit paired with suede brown loafers from Drake’s, and a custom tuxedo inspired by a runway-only look from the Bode Recreation 2025 collection. On Saturday, they welcomed their entire guest list to Manhatta, enjoying the view of the city from the 60th floor. For the occasion, Klara wore a blue tulle dress from the spring 2008 Jil Sander collection by Raf Simons, sourced from Tab Vintage.
Working with planner Bethany Pickard of Modern Kicks, Matt and Klara decided on Sleepy Hollow Country Club as their wedding day venue. For the reception tent, they chose custom carpeting that matched the baby blue color of the first piece of furniture they bought together: a 1970s suede Ligne Roset Togo chair. As an additional special touch, they embroidered each guest’s initials on their napkins. “It was a labor of love—my mom, sister, Matt, and I spent hours wrapping menus and hand-pressing all 210 napkins,” Klara says.
For her wedding dress, Klara worked with the Danielle Frankel team to make a semi-custom look, featuring a silk wool bodice from one dress with the linen organza skirt of another dress, plus lace and hand-painted flower appliqués. Matt wore a custom Tom Ford single-breasted, peak-lapel tuxedo, with a Victorian diamond brooch sourced with the help of their jeweler, Lauren Addison.
Klara walked down the aisle to a string rendition of Dr. Dog’s “I Saw Her for the First Time.” They exchanged vows under a chuppah—designed by Nicolette Camille—and were married by Cantor Chayim Frenkel, who was Matt’s cantor for his bar mitzvah.
“When the strings started playing Dr. Dog and Klara began to walk down the aisle with her parents, it took me back to when we first started dating and all of the nerves I would get trying to talk to her,” Matt says. “Her vows were perfect. I laughed, I teared up, and I felt her love. Things that happen every day in our relationship.”
Following the ceremony, the couple and their guests enjoyed dinner and dancing in the tent. “Our band, On the Move, had everyone on the dance floor the entire night—Klara and I hardly ate anything because we were too busy dancing,” Matt says.
Later, they returned to the city to finish the night with an after-party downtown at Jean’s. Fueled by espresso martinis and carajillos from their reception (the coffee was catered by Joe Coffee, in a nod to the place where they had their first coffee date in college), and chicken tenders, fries, and chocolate chip cookies, they danced “well into the morning,” Klara says. “My feet have never been more sore! It was totally worth it, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Photo: Joel Justyna1/64So excited for our wedding weekend!
Photo: Joel Justyna2/64One of the best parts about taking street photos in New York is that no one cares!
