Lauren Perez Wore Vera Wang for Her Miami Beach Wedding
Creative consultant, strategist, and entrepreneur Lauren Perez met David Waltzer, an executive and partner at Electric Feel Entertainment, in New York City while she was visiting her best friend Maria in 2014. At the time, David and Maria both lived in New York, and she wanted two of her best friends to meet. “Sure enough, after we hung out, he asked Maria if I was single,” Lauren remembers. “The timing wasn’t perfect—but we kept in touch over the years.”
In 2018, David ended up at dinner with Lauren’s brother Joseph. “Joseph recognized a potential spark and told David he should ask me out,” Lauren says. “David had always had a crush on me, so getting Joseph’s approval made him feel comfortable enough to ask. I love that David had my best friend’s and my brother’s approval before we even went on our first date. Something about that made it super special. Kind of old school, but I was into it.”
In December of 2019, Lauren and David traveled to New York for a friend s wedding. “I was not expecting or thinking about a proposal, even though I knew I wanted to marry him,” Lauren recalls. “The day after the wedding, we were in bed at the Mercer Hotel, a tad hungover, when he pulled out a pave diamond band, got on one knee, and joked, ‘Did you think I d propose?’ I instantly replied, ‘No, but you have eight months. That’s long enough for you to get your shit together and will spare me bugging you about when you ll ask.’ At that moment, David jumped on the bed, kissed my cheek, placed an engagement ring to the right side of the pillow, and asked me to look over. When I saw the little box, I still wasn t sure what was happening and told him this wasn t a funny joke. But when I opened the box and saw my beautiful ring, I was crying so hard that he had to ask me what my answer was. It was obviously yes!”
Three months later, the pandemic hit just as the couple was about to start planning. They decided to take a year off to see what would happen, and during that time, they changed their wedding date about three times. “We also had issues with vendors and deadlines,” Lauren admits. “Ultimately, our invites got sent out two months before the wedding!”
November 11, 2021 was the final wedding date, and the couple worked with David’s sister Meredith Falk of Gldn Events Co to plan everything. “Meredith was amazing, but it still got super stressful at times,” Lauren says. “This was my first foray into planning any type of event, so I definitely learned a tremendous amount. My favorite parts were—of course!—the dress shopping and selection process, working with my brother on designing the merch, and then all of the areas where I was able to collaborate with David and our wedding planner on the small but important creative details—from florals to decor to lighting.”
And while Lauren loved searching for a dress, initially she had no idea what she wanted. “I knew what I didn t want,” she says. “But, I walked into Vera Wang pretty clueless. The saleswoman asked me, ‘What are you looking for?’ I remember telling her, ‘I know I want it to be simple but special. Something to make me feel like a bride and have my moment without feeling like something is wearing me.’”
The winning dress made Lauren feel like “a bride, a princess, but still simple and totally me.” Once that was settled, she called Jacquie Aiche for jewelry. “I went to her office and tried on a bunch of stuff with her team. They helped me choose the perfect pieces to go with my outfits for the whole weekend.” The bride’s makeup was done by Mary Phillips. “She was a dream,” Lauren says. “My bridesmaid knew I needed the best for my special day and helped set it all up!”
