For flight attendant Tara and pilot Nick, a TWA Hotel wedding was a dream come true. They knew they wanted the feeling of a destination wedding – a big party where people could just walk down the stairs to start the day and stumble back to their rooms at night. When they found out that the TWA Hotel does weddings, they were sold. This New York wedding venue was a perfect match all around.

A TWA Hotel Wedding

Nineteenth century designer and architect Eero Saarinen designed the TWA Hotel. He’s an icon of modernist aesthetics, and you can see why when you look around this hotel at JFK Airport. Built in the early 1960s, it’s a perfect example of Mid-century Modern architecture. The hotel’s current iteration opened in 2019, but its interior decor leans into that 1960s feeling with attention to every detail. Filmmakers even used it as a set for the fifth season of The Marvelous Ms. Maisel.

A TWA Hotel wedding is so otherworldly because it feels like you’ve really stepped back in time. There’s so much color. Geometric wallpaper compliments the arm wood paneled walls and orange couches. That iconic TWA red pops up everywhere from carpets to walls. The interior decorators even found vintage movie poster, records, and vintage cars to make the whole place feel like the most carefully crafted movie set.

Another great thing about getting married at the TWA Hotel is that you really can do everything indoors. By looking at these pictures, you’d never know that the remnants of Hurricane Ian were hitting New York City that same day. We took advantage of all the incredible spaces for a huge variety of portraits. The lines, colors, and vintage decor made for fun, artistic wedding photos. Even the ceremony in the Sunken Lounge felt so dreamy. The vintage board changed to display Tara and Nick’s names with hearts. It was the perfect touch.

This New York wedding venue offers different packages that start at $20,000. Typically, TWA Hotel wedding packages range between $29,000 and $34,000 for weddings of 100 guests during peak season. The hotel itself is really large and includes over 500 rooms. Tara and Nick wanted their wedding weekend to feel like a huge sleepover, and they could definitely achieve that here.

Vintage Details and Straightforward Fun

In addition to being a flight attendant, Tara does graphic design. She created the invitations and signage for their TWA Hotel wedding. I love the way she made parts of the invitation suite and place cards look like old school plane tickets. The font and colors complimented the Mid-century Modern venue perfectly.

You can check out even more vintage-inspired details at this feature on Green Wedding Shoes.

From the start, Tara and Nick picked a hotel as their wedding venue because they wanted their wedding to be a fun, relaxed experience for guests. They cut out the traditions that interfered with any sense of joy so they could optimize time on the dance floor. Their vintage-style audio guest book fit so well with the theme and atmosphere they wanted to create.

A Few Favorite Moments

For Tara, her first look with Nick ended up being one of her favorite parts of their TWA Hotel wedding. They decided to do it on the cool bridge that spans the main lobby. What they didn’t know was that another event was taking place in the Sunken Lounge below. When Nick and Tara arrived for their first look, they had a whole crowd cheering them on. “When Nick turned around,” Tara said, “it felt like a movie.” The emotions hit Nick even more than he expected, and the whole moment felt like magic for both of them.

Nick and Tara’s first dance was just as magical. Tara is a diehard Swiftie, so they had their first dance to “Lover.” They had a stunningly choreographed dance that left me with goosebumps. Since so much of their wedding focused on giving guests a great time, this sweepingly romantic moment really stood out.

Would you like me to photograph your TWA Hotel wedding? I’m a New Jersey wedding photographer, and I’ll document your wedding with lively, colorful photos. Inquire with me here!

Thank you to all the vendors who made this wedding unforgettable:
Venue and Catering: TWA Hotel 
Photographer: Luna and Lark
Planner: Petite Planning Co. 
Florals: Julia Testa 
Videographer: James Liu Films 
Band: New Power Soul 
Gown: Enzoani from Seng Couture
Hair: Hair by Samantha Cox 
Makeup: Makeup by Allison LLC 
Cake: Paige DeSimone 
Officiant: Harris Bloom 
Guest Book: After the Tone