Pink Peonies, Personal Vows, and a Weekend Nobody Wanted to End: Rachel & Shaan's Wedding at Gurney's Resort Montauk
- Author: Natali Grace Levine
- Wedding date: 06/13/2026
- City: New York City
Love Story
“We matched on Hinge and then met up for drinks on the Upper East Side in November 2023. It was an immediate connection, and we’ve been inseparable since!” Rachel is a breast surgical oncologist; Shaan works in Power & Utilities Investment Banking. They are, by most measures, two people with very full lives - which is perhaps why, when the connection was immediate, they both recognized it for what it was and didn’t waste time.
Rachel had originally planned to spend only one year in New York City for a surgery fellowship before returning to Los Angeles. She stayed. The proposal came in June 2025, on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art - nearly derailed by a rainy morning that temporarily closed the rooftop entirely. Shaan had recruited Rachel’s best friend, Nova, and her husband, Tyler, to keep her distracted inside, which they accomplished by feigning an intense interest in Monet. Eventually, the rooftop reopened. The moment arrived. They celebrated afterward with lunch at Tavern on the Green and a surprise engagement party at Clover Club in Brooklyn, one of their favorite cocktail bars, that Shaan had been quietly planning all along.
About Your Wedding
One hundred and forty guests, one year of planning, and a venue that Rachel had never set foot in until a menu tasting two months before the wedding. The vision was clear from the beginning: classic and beautiful, with a touch of whimsy, overlooking the ocean. Rachel had always imagined getting married by the sea, a nod to her Southern California roots. Shaan wanted to honor his Indian heritage, so the weekend carried elements of a fusion celebration - a dhol player, a maiyan ceremony, and a DJ who understood the assignment.
What mattered most to both of them was the guest experience. Montauk is not the most easily accessible destination, and they knew that. They wanted everyone who made the journey to feel genuinely welcomed - to discover the town, run into each other at their hotels, and reconnect with old friends over the weekend. The color palette was shades of green and pink, with bright anthurium and peonies bringing vibrancy to a setting that barely needed the help. Watercolor day-of stationery added the whimsy. “We wanted everyone to feel loved and appreciated for the time and effort that it took to celebrate with us.”
Morning Details
A hotel room at Gurney's, the ocean outside, and the people who matter most inside. Rachel designed the wedding invitations herself, bringing the same careful attention to detail that would run through every element of the day. For the day-of stationery, she worked with Mette Beierle, whose watercolor art became the visual thread running through the entire celebration - custom bar signs, a welcome sign, escort cards, menus, and personalized cocktail napkins that guests kept as souvenirs without quite meaning to. Displayed near the guest book were wedding photos of Rachel and Shaan's parents and grandparents, a quiet detail that said more than most speeches do.
Bride Getting Ready
It took five stores and a few months - and then Designer Loft in NYC had the answer. The dress was Pollardi, found after visits to roughly five boutiques across several months of searching. Rachel completed the look with a veil, pearl-detailed high-heeled sandals, and a bouquet from her florist, NT Designs, built around anthuriums and peonies. "Her bouquet was absolutely stunning, as were all of the flowers. N.T. Designs was our florist, and they did an incredible job of bringing our vision to life," Rachel says. She spent the morning in her Gurney's hotel room with her mom and her matron of honor, Nova, the two women who had been with her through most of what had led to this day.
Groom Getting Ready
Shaan got ready in his own space at Gurney’s, surrounded by his dad, brother, and cousins - the particular kind of morning that belongs to the men in a wedding party, quieter in texture if not always in volume. His suit was from Suit Supply, chosen with the same clean instinct that runs through the rest of his decisions. Outside, the Atlantic was already doing what it does on a June morning in Montauk, and the day was beginning whether everyone was ready or not.
First Look
The first look happened on their hotel balcony at Gurney's, with the beach spread out below and the ocean beyond. Shaan's first thought when he saw Rachel: "How effortlessly beautiful she looked." Rachel, for her part, was struck by "how handsome he looked in his tuxedo." Sometimes the most honest moments are also the simplest ones, and the balcony above the Atlantic gave them a few minutes of just that - before the ceremony, before the guests, before everything else that the day had waiting for them.
Photoshoot Before The Ceremony
A beach, a resort, and the last quiet hour before everything began. Gurney’s sits directly on the Montauk waterfront, which means the pre-ceremony portraits happened with the Atlantic as an unrehearsed backdrop - the kind of setting that photographers adjust to rather than style around. The light on the water in June does its own work, and the hour before a ceremony has its own particular quality of stillness that doesn’t last and doesn’t need to.
Ceremony
The ceremony took place on a deck overlooking the beach, with the ocean behind the officiant and the guests facing into it. Rachel walked down the aisle to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis, played live on piano. The flower girl was Jiya, the daughter of Shaan's best friend Jessie.
Shaan's sister, Parveen, officiated - a decision that turned out to be one of the most meaningful of the day. "Parveen did an amazing job of officiating, which meant a lot to both of us. A lot of guests said they loved the ceremony," Rachel recalls. They read personal vows to each other in front of everyone they loved - and one detail that landed unexpectedly: "Guests appreciated the thank you cards we hand-wrote to each of them, which they opened at the reception." A small gesture that turned out to matter more than anyone anticipated.
Photoshoot After The Ceremony
Just married, with the Atlantic still there and the whole evening still ahead. The post-ceremony portraits kept them close to what had just happened - the same Montauk light, the same water, a few minutes carved out from the celebration to simply exist in the fact of it before the reception pulled everyone back together. Montauk in June has a particular quality of light in the late afternoon that photographers travel specifically to catch, and the timing, as it turned out, was exactly right.
Wedding Venue & Decor
"We couldn't get Gurney's off our minds, and after looking at multiple venues, we decided that nothing compared." The story of how they chose the venue is almost as good as the venue itself: about a month before they got engaged, they stopped at Gurney's for pre-dinner drinks during a weekend in Montauk with friends. They saw a wedding happening. They remarked on how beautiful it was. They got engaged, couldn't stop thinking about it, booked it without a formal tour, and didn't see the space properly until a menu tasting two months before their own wedding. "Luckily, our intuitions were correct, and it was the perfect place for our wedding," Rachel says.
The palette was green and pink - shades chosen to complement rather than compete with the coastal setting. Bright anthurium and peonies appeared everywhere, arranged by NT Designs with the kind of confidence that comes from a florist who genuinely understands a couple's vision. The watercolor stationery by Mette Beierle threaded through every paper detail. The tent, the lighting, the rentals - all of it assembled into something that felt, as intended, classic and beautiful with a touch of whimsy.
Reception
The first dance was to What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - a song that earns its reputation every time it’s actually used for something. Signature cocktails named after their respective roots set the tone: the Angeleno for Rachel, a spicy cucumber margarita named after her Los Angeles roots; the Canuck for Shaan, an espresso martini named after his Canadian heritage. The black cod from Gurney’s catering was, according to an unusually large number of guests, particularly remarkable.
The dhol player, the DJ, the handwritten thank you cards placed at each seat for guests to open during the reception - every detail contributed to the feeling the couple had been working toward all along. “We had incredible vendors, and we are so appreciative,” Rachel says, with a particular mention for the photographer, hair and makeup artist, and florist. The weekend was, by her own account, honestly perfect. “We wanted everyone to feel loved and appreciated for the time and effort that it took to celebrate with us.” By all indications, they succeeded.
Wedding Team
- Venue Gurney's Resorts
- Photographer @alessandraparksphoto
- Planner @finallymayemma @finallymayevents
- Videographer @jamesliufilms
- Florist @n.t._designs
- DJ @dnaeventsusa @djdeepnyc
- Dhol Drummer @ob1.sounds
- Ceremony Music @danfogelpianist
- Hair and Makeup @pallabeauty
- Tent @magnifatentli
- Rentals @bbjlatavola
- Lighting @mattmurphyeventlighting
- Signage @art.mette
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