A Haitian Garden Party in Brooklyn: Laetitia & Yves-Marie’s Wedding at Hamilton Loft
- Author: Natali Grace Levine
- Wedding date: 06/20/2026
- City: New York City
Love Story
“We met on Hinge, but that’s only part of the story.” What started as Laetitia messaging Yves-Marie to tease him about his old secondary school turned into a conversation neither expected to keep going. Looking back, the couple realized they’d crossed paths for years without knowing it: the same New Year’s parties in Haiti, fathers who’d known each other since Yves-Marie was a baby, mutual friends through his younger sister. Two ships passing in the night, close enough to touch more than once, until Hinge finally brought them together for good.
About Your Wedding
On June 20, 2026, Laetitia Duperval and Yves-Marie married in front of 160 guests in Brooklyn, closing out a planning process that took only a couple of months from start to finish. The day drew from the couple’s Haitian heritage as its central theme, an overall Haitian garden party atmosphere layered over a color palette of soft neutrals, champagne, warm beige, burnt orange, and gold, elegant without ever losing its warmth. There was a looseness to the whole afternoon, the kind that comes from a couple who planned every detail but still left enough room for the day to breathe on its own.
“We wanted the day to feel effortless. More than anything, we hoped our family and friends would feel the same joy we were feeling,” the couple shares about their approach to planning. From the music and food to the speeches and dancing, they aimed for a night filled with laughter, great conversation, and a packed dance floor.
Morning Details
Laetitia spent the morning sipping mimosas with her bridesmaids, laughing through a calm, peaceful few hours before the day properly began, sunlight coming in softly through the windows while the rest of the city carried on outside. Yves-Marie had the opposite experience, running between locations to keep everything on schedule, checking timelines and coordinating with vendors while his bride-to-be enjoyed one of her signature slow mornings across town. Neither of them saw the other side of that contrast until much later, comparing notes long after the reception had wound down. By evening, everything had fallen into place, and both sides of that split morning met in the same joyful place they’d been heading toward all along, the calm and the chaos folding into a single, shared celebration by the time the sun went down.
Bride Getting Ready
Laetitia’s dress, from Azazie, was built around a vision she describes as timeless, romantic, and effortlessly elegant. Delicate pearls and floral details accented the gown throughout, while a flowing arm cuff added an ethereal touch that completed the look entirely, catching light every time she moved her arm to laugh or reach for another glass. The bride got ready at Hamilton Loft, the same historic space that would later host the reception, the gown hanging in a doorway for most of the morning like it already knew it was the day's centerpiece. Choosing Azazie meant the gown itself became one more thoughtful decision folded into an otherwise relaxed morning, romantic without feeling overworked, exactly the kind of balance Laetitia had described wanting from the very beginning of planning.
Groom Getting Ready
Yves-Marie got ready separately at The Lodge Red Hook, with his groomsmen by his side while Laetitia’s bridesmaids stayed with her at Hamilton Loft, the whole neighborhood still quiet in the early hours before the day picked up speed. The two locations gave each side of the wedding party their own space to settle into the day, jokes and last-minute checks on one side of the river, mimosas and easy laughter on the other, before everything came together in the same place by afternoon. Where Laetitia’s morning ran slow and unhurried, Yves-Marie’s stayed in near-constant motion, double-checking vendor arrivals, confirming timing with the photographer, making sure nothing slipped through the cracks before the ceremony even started. That contrast, one bride sinking into the calm of the day and one groom racing to protect it, ended up defining the whole morning in hindsight, each of them working toward the same afternoon from completely opposite directions. By the time they reconnected for the first look, neither version of that morning mattered anymore, only the fact that they’d both made it there.
First Look
The first look took place at Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the Brooklyn Bridge and open water behind them, gulls circling overhead, and the whole park still quiet before the afternoon crowds arrived. The groom was overcome with emotion, stunned by how the bride looked as their eyes finally met, months of planning and every quiet worry about the day folding into that one, simple moment. It’s the kind of scene that photographs itself: real water, real skyline, no need for anything staged or added on top of it. Choosing a public park over a private, curated space meant strangers walking past in the background of nearly every frame- joggers, cyclists, other families out for the afternoon- an honest reminder that the couple’s biggest moment happened inside a completely ordinary Brooklyn afternoon rather than a bubble built just for them.
Photoshoot Before The Ceremony
Portraits before the ceremony took place at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline framing the couple and their full wedding party against the water, sunlight bouncing off the river hard enough to catch in every shot. The bridesmaids’ warm beige and burnt orange gowns and the groomsmen’s classic black tuxedos played directly into the day’s color palette, even before the ceremony itself began. Bringing the entire wedding party out this early, before a single vow had been exchanged, meant the couple got a genuinely relaxed set of images: no rush, no clock ticking down before guests arrived, just the bridge, the water, and everyone who mattered most already gathered in one place. The location did most of the visual work on its own, the kind of backdrop that needs nothing added to it beyond good light and the right group of people standing in front of it.
Ceremony
The ceremony took place at Sacred Heart & St. Stephen in Brooklyn, stone and stained glass holding the light in a way that made the whole room feel hushed before a single word was said. Walking up the aisle and standing side by side, it felt like so much weight had lifted off their shoulders, the months of planning fading into the background the moment they saw each other at the altar. What remained was simpler than any checklist, a lifelong commitment made in front of the people they loved most.
Photoshoot After The Ceremony
“We had our first look and photo session at Brooklyn Bridge Park; the park against the beautiful city view was just perfect in itself.” The same skyline that framed their first look earlier in the day returned for portraits after the ceremony, the light considerably warmer by then, the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline doing quiet, consistent work across the entire day’s photography. Returning to the same location twice gave the gallery a real sense of continuity: morning light and afternoon light on the exact same bridge, the exact same water, now with rings on and vows already spoken. It’s a detail easy to overlook in the moment, but it shows up clearly once the full set of images comes back, with the park serving as a single thread running through the day rather than one stop among many.
Wedding Venue & Decor
Yves-Marie chose Hamilton Loft, and the moment they walked through the space, they pictured an indoor-outdoor wedding they could fully make their own. Personal touches ran through every corner of the reception, a neon sign featuring the couple’s new last name glowing above the bar, paired with a custom-designed bar displaying it as well. An authentic Haitian menu, prepared by Ruddy Chapoteau of Soumie Restaurant, honored the couple’s roots directly, while every floral arrangement across the venue was handcrafted by Laetitia’s mother, who spent weeks researching designs on Pinterest before bringing each piece to life by hand, soft neutral petals and burnt orange stems tying the whole room back to the same palette running through the entire day. Having a family member design the florals rather than an outside vendor meant every arrangement carried a genuine personal signature, the kind of detail guests may not have consciously noticed but one that gave the whole reception a warmth no professional florist could quite replicate.
Reception
The couple’s first dance opened with “Toi et Moi” by T-Vice; the room dimmed just enough for the moment to feel private, even with 160 people watching. Their reception continued with Haitian food, music, and celebration. DJ Ted Bounce kept the dance floor packed all night with a mix of Haitian classics and crowd favorites, while guests who’d traveled from as far as Malawi filled the room with exactly the kind of joy the couple had hoped for from the very beginning. “Every single thing I would repeat the same way, having everyone and sharing the moment with my special person.”
Wedding Team
- Lead Photographer Leonard Okpor
- Associate Photographer @jojowestpixz
- Videographer @asm_filmz
- Venue @hamilton.loft
- DJ @tedbounce
- Bridal Dress @azazieofficial
- Beauty @mayaloops
- Bakery @ladybirdbakery
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