ELLE digital director Claire Stern Milch found love right under her own roof. She first encountered her now-husband David Milch, the founder and principal of Green Jacket Ventures, a real estate investment, development, and operating company, in the hallway of their building in downtown Manhattan, and quickly realized they’d both studied on the Columbia University campus six years prior. Because of their shared New York roots and mutual distaste for destination weddings, they wanted to get married close to home—in fact, all the venues they considered were within walking distance of their West Village apartment, two blocks from where they met.
The couple wound up with a series of classic locations, including Buddakan, The Standard, High Line, The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, and Porchlight, each only a 10-minute walk from the other. They also got lucky with unseasonably warm weather for March. “We wanted to give everyone a very New York wedding,” Claire says, noting that their parents both got married there: hers at the Church Center for the United Nations, his at the Pierre Hotel. For the bride, that meant wearing all local designers (Khaite for the rehearsal dinner, custom Andrew Kwon for the wedding, and Markarian for the after-party), asking Dani Luv from Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse to do the hora, and serving Joe’s Pizza at the end of the night. Everything was well-documented, thanks in large part to a content creator, Lauren Ladouceur, who she hired after ELLE published a piece on her.
Above all else, Claire and David’s nuptials celebrated everything they love, from their shared Jewish faith to her affection for Sex and the City.
The Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner was held at the large communal table at Buddakan, mirroring the rehearsal dinner scene from the Sex and the City movie. A tasting menu was served, and Claire wore an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved minidress from Khaite and a Rebecca Minkoff leather jacket. David wore a navy blue J.Crew velvet blazer and gray suit pants. “We arrived 15 minutes late so everyone could greet us from the stairwell, just like in the movie,” she says. “As if that’s not corny enough, I asked him for the last single-girl kiss before we left.”
The Morning Of
The day of the wedding, the bride got ready with her mother at The Standard, High Line. She had her makeup done by Benoit Dumont from Dior, the artist who typically works with models at the house’s haute couture shows in Paris. Since she doesn’t wear makeup often, “I looked like myself in the best possible way,” Claire says. “He even sprayed my body so it didn’t contrast with my face too much—a true pro.”
The Dress
When designer Andrew Kwon dressed Regina Hall for the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards, Claire wrote about it and became fast friends with him. “We were seated together at the CFDAs last year, and after a couple of vodka sodas, he agreed to make my wedding dress on a very tight timeline,” she says. She was clear on the direction—something that felt both timeless and new—and he fully understood. With a full skirt, strapless corset-style bodice with a mesh back, and sweetheart neckline, it was everything she had envisioned. Her shoes were blue Manolo Blahnik Hangisis, the same style that was memorably used for Mr. Big’s proposal in the film.
Inside the Wedding Dress Fitting
The Tuxedo
For his part, David wore a tuxedo the bride borrowed from Ralph Lauren and Del Toro loafers adorned with tassels. “It was the nicest tuxedo I’ve ever worn,” David says. “Sadly, I had to return it.” The groomsmen wore corresponding Del Toro slippers with suits from The Black Tux. Claire’s bridesmaids wore mismatched dresses by Markarian and pave diamond Stone & Strand initial charm necklaces. Later on, Claire changed into a white sequined Markarian minidress for the after-party and matching Nike Air Force 1s with the groom.
The Ceremony
The ceremony took place at The Lighthouse just before sunset, and was led by Jed S. Rakoff, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a family friend. Claire and David were impressed by the fact that of the 83 weddings he has officiated, there have only been three divorces. “That’s a pretty good track record,” Claire admits. They were married under a draped chuppah, recited a modernized version of the seven blessings, and sipped Sancerre from a kiddush cup.
“Our officiant really surprised me with his humor—he broke out in song not once, but three times, even chanting the blessings in Hebrew,” David says. On his favorite part, he shares, “Breaking the glass gives the people what they want, that was a lot of fun. Fortunately, I got it on the first try.” The bride’s man of honor, Stefan Doyno, recited a poem from the hit HBO show that Carrie Bradshaw reads during a friend’s wedding at the Plaza.
The Décor
Claire and her mother worked with florist and event designer Sora Lee of Visions Decor, who, like them, is Korean. She created the chuppah and aesthetic of the room, on top of the flowers, in an all-white palette that was simple, elegant, and understated. “The tea lights hanging from the ceiling on the dance floor were a nice touch,” Claire recalls. “Someone said it felt like we were dancing under the stars.”
The Menu
Things kicked off at cocktail hour, with Mediterranean and Asian food stations. Dinner, which was catered by The Pier Sixty Collection, began with a Caesar caprese stack, followed by passed granitas on the dance floor. The main course was an option between filet of beef au poivre with charred broccolini and French fries or Mediterranean citrus branzino with grilled polenta, charred endive, lemony broccolini, and crispy sunchokes. The wedding cake was from Billy’s Bakery, the bride’s favorite, and Joe’s Pizza was the surprise late-night snack.
The Dances
Claire and David entered the reception to “New York Groove” by Ace Frehley; they had seen KISS perform on one of their early dates. Claire’s uncle, Mike Choi, took the mic for the first dance, father-daughter dance, and mother-son dance. For their song, the couple chose “The Longest Time” by Billy Joel, and took dance lessons with Simone Assboeck at Dance Together NYC to prepare. “I’m a huge Billy Joel fan and took Claire to see him at Madison Square Garden on Valentine’s Day last year,” David says. “We’ve been listening to him ever since. I harnessed his Strong Island strength to do the lift.”
The father-daughter dance, Claire’s favorite part of any wedding, required her father to break his no-dancing rule. She picked “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, a song that she feels an attachment to, due to the fact that her mother was living in Jamaica when she met her father. “We travel there at least once a year as a family and are all big Bob Marley fans. That song will forever remind me of my dad—‘everything is gonna be alright’ is a recurring phrase he says to me whenever I’m stressed out, which is often,” Claire says. David and his mother danced to “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel.
Dani Lubnitzki, a.k.a. Dani Luv, the resident lounge singer and pianist for the beloved Lower East Side restaurant Sammy’s Roumanian, which is slated to reopen this month, acted as the one-man klezmer band.
The After-Party
After the impromptu pizza party, guests grabbed gift bags of Clarins lip oils—a subtle riff on the bride’s name—and walked from Chelsea Piers to Porchlight to continue the festivities. The night was capped off with bottles of wine and, of course, Cosmopolitans. A highlight? “I got to control the aux cord,” Claire says.
Claire Stern Milch and David Milch’s Wedding
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
