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Who exactly is responsible for Celine Yousefzadeh and Jonah Lazowski’s match-up is still up for debate. A mutual friend introduced them, but the groom’s sister, jewelry designer Jesse Lazowski, the founder and designer of Marlo Laz, likes to take credit too. Glass Greenhouse
Celine, who is the founder of CY Kitchen—a culinary events and custom caviar company—and her friend Cassandra were both working on a project to raise funds for restaurants and charities at the start of COVID. Cassandra brought Jonah, who runs an advertising company called A Lot Media, to one of the Zoom calls in June of 2020, and they followed each other on Instagram soon after.
A few months later, Celine got a call from Cassandra telling her that she’d found her husband. “She said, ‘Do you remember that guy Jonah? He’s your person. I’ve never introduced you to anyone because no one has ever been good enough. But he is,’” Celine remembers, noting that she was hesitant at first as they lived on opposite coasts. “Being the good friend that she is, Cassandra pushed Jonah and I into conversation, and we immediately hit it off. Texts turned into phone calls, which turned into many several hours of FaceTiming a day.”
After several months of FaceTime dating, Jonah finally traveled to L.A. for their “first date” in real life. A few months after that, he built a closet for her in his Brooklyn apartment. Celine moved in quickly after that. “How could you not?” she jokes.
Jonah eventually proposed in 2022 on his birthday in the couple’s apartment in Brooklyn. “He used the day as a cover, and while we were out getting his favorite bagels at Russ & Daughters, he had our siblings fill our apartment with white roses and photos of us,” Celine recalls. “When we returned home, Jonah opened the door and I saw the flowers lining our hallway… I was so caught off guard that the first thing I said in a whisper was, ‘Jonah, I’m in a sweatshirt!’ He then assured me it was just us and no one else. It was very sweet and intimate. Just us in our own home in our sweatshirts!” Dinner had been ostensibly planned to celebrate Jonah’s birthday later that night, but in actuality, it was a small engagement party that Jonah’s sister Jesse had organized in the private room at Nine Orchard.
The wedding, which took place in October 2023, was held at Celine’s dream location: Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy. “I remember Jonah asking me where I imagined getting married,” Celine says. “And I brushed it off because I felt that what I had dreamed of would never be possible. After a few times of him asking, I confessed that I had always imagined getting married at Villa d’Este ever since I visited there when I was 20. I had been living in Milan for a few months and took a day trip to Como specifically to see the property. I’ll never forget looking at the mosaic garden for the first time and thinking this would be the place I would get married.”
Italy has been a special destination for both Celine and Jonah since the start of their relationship. After traveling there as a couple and discovering the best tiramisu in Portofino—as well as taking a family trip to Villa d’Este in the winter of 2022—they were firm that it was their dream wedding destination. And after just one call with Emily FitzRoy of Bellini Travel and Liz Linkleter of Liz Linkleter Events, Celine and Jonah knew they were the perfect partners to plan the wedding. “Emily‘s incredible knowledge of Italy, and especially her deep understanding of the food and hospitality, was really key for me, and Liz truly understood our taste and vision and knew how to bring it all to life,” Celine explains.
The overall brief was to create a wedding weekend that felt like a “very chic Italian adult camp,” and throughout the weekend, in a nod to Celine’s heritage, there was a Persian tea table with sweets for guests to enjoy as well as a game room across the hall with custom cards and backgammon boards. “It’s impossible to host Persian guests without having Sadaf cardamom tea on tap and backgammon readily accessible,” Celine notes.
Friday’s Shabbat dinner was focused on family, and was held in Villa d’Este’s Impero room. Florals were kept all white, tapered candles lined two long rectangular tables, and name cards and menus were designed by Bernard Maisner. After a dinner of ossobuco and Dover sole, the couple joined friends who were just arriving on the property for negronis at the bar.
The inspiration for Saturday night’s pre-wedding dinner, on the other hand, was “la dolce vita.” The bride had a vision of bold deep red florals with tall candelabras, overflowing fruits, and waiters in black and white jackets serving pasta from large platters. Dana Rosenfield of d.rosi designed the most amazing stationery, including deep wine red calligraphy and edging details. The night began on Villa d’Este’s iconic terrace with an Italian aperitivo and a live band playing jazz as the sun began to set over the lake. Guests enjoyed plates of pomodoro and pesto pasta while listening to speeches, and as the main course came to an end, Amalfi lemon sorbet with candles was brought out to surprise those who were celebrating birthdays while Italian Opera singers performed. Trays upon trays of Italian cookies were also passed around, and guests were surprised one more—this time with a fireworks display alongside a playlist of Italian classics like “Con te partirò.”
On the wedding day itself, the design directive was to create a very soft, classic aesthetic in white and green. “I’m a first-generation Jewish Iranian-American, and Jonah’s grandparents are Holocaust survivors from Poland,” Celine explains. “It was important to both of us to weave in our traditions throughout the wedding process and honor our families.”
The couple’s civil marriage was held under a chuppah in the groom’s parents’ backyard in Connecticut a few months prior to the Italy nuptials, and overseen by Jonah’s 93-year-old grandfather. There, they signed the ketubah in front of their closest family and friends. “It was really meaningful and important that we did that because we knew he wouldn’t be able to travel to Italy,” Celine says.
For the ceremony in Italy, we wanted to bring in someone else who was special to my family, who we knew would incorporate everything that mattered to us. “Our cantor from Los Angeles, Nathan Lam, who married my parents, has conducted all our family bar and bat mitzvahs, and held us together when my mother passed away a few years ago, performed the service,” Celine says. “I was really nervous about my vows because they were so personal and raw, but it ended up making the service so special for our friends and family. I had a few guests who told me that our vows made them believe in love and want the love that we have, so that made it all worth it.”
Celine worked closely with her friend and stylist Cynthia Cook Smith on all of her wedding wardrobe looks. “She has such an incredible eye and understands how small changes have a major impact,” Celine explains. “She also worked so closely with Jonah and the rest of the men which was so helpful to all of us.”
As part of her search for the perfect wedding dress, Celine and Cynthia set up bridal appointments at different ateliers across New York City. “One day, I ended up at Bergdorf Goodman with my sister-in-law Jesse and my mother-in-law Marcia and there happened to be a Naeem Khan trunk show of his new collection pieces happening. After trying on several classic lace dresses, Jesse convinced me to try on a dress that I normally wouldn’t have chosen. After speaking with Cynthia and reviewing the photos, we all felt that it was something very unique and special. Cynthia suggested we meet with Naeem and his son Zaheen at their private studio in New York, and I ended up falling in love with the dress. Plus, the veil really made me feel like a bride.”
Celine was also drawn to the dress for the way it reflected the wedding’s setting. “The combination of white and off-white embroidery with the floral elements of the veil felt so unique and the pattern reminded me of the mosaic garden at Villa d’Este,” she says. “It had an old Italian feel to it and just felt right.”
When it came time for the bride to select her wedding day jewelry, having Jesse Laz as her new sister-in-law was like having a fairy godmother. “I asked Jess if she would be able to make bespoke pieces for each of the looks for the wedding, and she accepted the challenge and ran with it!” Celine says. “Not only did she make the most incredible pieces for me, but she also made bespoke pieces for herself, and my mother-in-law. My sister, brother, and many of the guests were of course wearing Marlo Laz as well. Jesse also surprised Jonah and I with an entire collection of jewelry based on the crest we had created for our wedding, which I now wear every day.”
Throughout the ceremony, the bride was able to keep herself together, but afterwards, the emotions hit her all at once. “Jonah and I were sitting alone for a moment and I just started balling,” Celine remembers. “I couldn’t control it! But after fixing my makeup and a few sips of an Americano cocktail, I was ready to take pictures.”
While the couple took photos, guests gathered on the lake terrace for cocktail hour and to enjoy Parmigiano shards from Modena and custom CYK Caviar. They then made their way to a marquee that had been erected for the occasion. “We worked closely with Liz and Lucy Vail’s team to create what would feel like a greenhouse that had been there for centuries,” Celine explains. “We had trailing foliage to the top of the ceiling structure and trellis panels wrapped in ivy behind the bar and stage. When guests walked in, they felt totally transported and were immediately dancing to the nine-piece band.”
After the couple’s parents gave heartfelt speeches, the bride and groom invited guests to the dancefloor for a traditional Persian wedding tradition called Gol Baroon, which translates to “raining flowers.” “Jonah and I stood in the middle of the dance floor while our friends and family surrounded us throwing flower petals as we danced and kissed,” Celine explains. “This tradition is so beautiful, and signifies well wishes to the bride and groom for their life together.”
They then led guests outside for a classic Italian wedding cake cutting. “I am obsessed with wild European strawberries, so we had Villa d’Este create the entire layered cake out of vanilla cream and fragola di bosco,” she says.
Guests then moved into “Club Laz”—a.k.a. Villa d’Este’s iconic club room, which had a neon sign at the entrance and had been transformed inside. For the late-night festivities, the bride changed into a custom embroidered organza dress encrusted with Swarovski crystals by One/Of, while guests switched out of their formal dresses and tuxedos and into the custom green and white C&J pajamas they’d been given so they could party until the early hours of the morning.
This was such an unexpected and beautiful moment. Photographer Alex Bramall caught me admiring the views just as I finished getting ready for our first night. This Danielle Frankel piece was so delicately assembled and meticulously altered. It was so different to everything else I was wearing throughout the weekend and was a great surprise for everyone!
Jonah was wearing a beautiful custom ensemble from our talented friend, Patricia Voto of One/Of.
Saying ciao to our friends having cocktails on the patio.
One of the coolest parts about taking over a hotel—flying your own flag!
There are so many beautiful spaces within Villa d’Este—this is definitely one of them. The newest Rizzoli book on Villa d’Este has this space on the cover.
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