Sarah Slutsky’s wedding took place over a magical week in Manhattan before the in-demand stylist got swept up into the world of film festival red carpets. But her perfect backyard celebration, featuring no less than three chic bridal looks, was just the beginning of her two-part marriage to Ryan Tooley. Originally designed as an intimate family affair, before the couple’s official party in the Catskills in 2023, the personal nuptials turned into something more than Slutsky ever imagined they could be.
The brief was simple: obtain a wedding licence at City Hall, exchange vows in the garden, and host a simple but memorable meal for their parents and siblings. Then came the sweet personal touches. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, which might have felt overblown for a party of 15, Sarah’s cousin Dan got the family tickets to a Yankees game. The mood? Beers and baseball jerseys in the stands, rather than champagne and speeches Uptown. “We really wanted it to be about starting our life together as a family,” explains Slutsky. Sarah’s brother Andrew would go on to sing Van Morrison’s “Sweet Thing” as she walked down the makeshift aisle surrounded by plants.
Then came the fashion. The celebrity dresser chose a white bralette and pencil skirt by One Of for the courthouse part of the day. The NYC brand, which fashions limited-run pieces from vestiges of heritage houses, is, in part, backed by the jewellery company Shiffon – a pinky-ring pro which donates part of its profits to female-backed companies. (Shiffon, for whom Slutsky consults, made the couple’s wedding bands.) With Malone Souliers heels and a Loeffler Randall bag – the fruits of friendships within the industry – Slutsky was set to wed in fashion that stands for something.
For stage two – the garden ceremony officiated by her other brother Matt, who managed to bring almost every member of the family into his speech – Sarah knew it had to be Emilia Wickstead. Specifically, the Birch dress. The off-the-shoulder cloqué midi looked complete when Jimmy Choo invited her into the shoemaker’s bridal suite to pick out a pair of bow-embellished heels that nodded to her childhood passion for ribbons. Then it was up to longtime collaborators hairstylist Jacob Rozenberg, who used a Brock Collection bow, and make-up artist Rebecca Restrepo to make her truly feel like a bride. Sarah’s one stipulation? “I just didn’t want to be a stylist for a day.” The Walker Hotel in Greenwich, where they started the day lunching and arranging their bouquets with dog Chumley, brought polish to the proceedings.
