A Poet Wore Three Outfits For Her Surprise Themed Wedding

The idea of a themed wedding came to White after she read a passage from Lee’s memoir Tommyland, in which he interviews Pamela Anderson about their rotation of weddings. “They talk about how they threw themed weddings at parties just for fun, to get married over and over,” says White. “They did a space-themed wedding, a New Age wedding, a Christmas wedding.” White and Walker’s wedding had no formal guest list—her friends in attendance didn’t know it was happening, and neither did the people who were there for the poetry reading. A full house turned out to hear White recite her poems; some of her friends were turned away and had to text a mutual friend to get in. Her friends read a series of poems, and then White read her own poetry. Finally, her friend introduced Walker and White, recalling their story, and the wedding ceremony began. “I think people still maybe didn’t know what was going on!” says White.

White had three outfits that adhered to the “Cupidcore” dress code. Her first outfit was a pink Yuhan Wang dress, which she calls her “bait and switch dress.” She wore it for the reading, then changed into a red vintage silk gown from the Williamsburg vintage hub, Le Grand Strip, for the actual ceremony. She was styled by the store’s eccentric and beloved French owner, CC McGurr. “When I turned around, I was floored,” says White about her reaction to the dress. “The fit was perfect.” Walker wore a red tie with his Paul Smith suit. White’s shoes of choice were hulking Giuseppe Zanotti heels. “The heel itself is as tall as the iPhone!” she says. As for the after-party, she chose an Hervé Leger bandage dress. “I’m happy I didn’t get rid of mine!” she says. During the reception, White danced in a floor routine to Nina Sky’s remix of “You” by Creep. “Everyone was so wasted, I don’t think anyone has a video of that,” she says. Finally, the two cut into two cakes, a remake of John and Jackie Kennedy’s wedding cake that read “double suicide” and “it wasn’t love” in frosting. An unorthodox wedding indeed, but White did keep one tradition: she matched her dress to her waist-length veil.