Chrissie Miller’s Wedding Dress Was Inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface
Downtown Cool Girl Chrissie Miller’s Wedding Dress Was Inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface
“It was his birthday, and we went to Block Island for the weekend,” remembers creative consultant Chrissie Miller, setting the stage for how her now-husband, actor and gallery director Leo Fitzpatrick, proposed. “He kept asking me to go for a walk on the beach, which I thought was odd, as it was slightly raining. We ended up going out to a really nice dinner, though, and he ordered a bottle of Champagne, which I thought was also odd. Then after dinner, we went for that walk, and he had me sit down on a bench, and he got down on one knee. I saw a blue Tiffany’s box in his hand and completely lost it. I could not believe what was happening. I think my first thought was, Wow, you like me? I cried on and off the whole night, and Leo still to this day gives me a hard time about not going on that walk before dinner.”
After the engagement, Chrissie turned to her mother—astrologer to the stars Susan Miller, who started the well-known website astrologyzone.com (because if you had a famed soothsayer on call, wouldn’t you check in about your fate?). “Before Leo and I were together, she did my chart and told me it was amazing for love and to watch out for my ankles. I sprained my ankle and started dating Leo two weeks later,” says Chrissie, laughing. “The date was very important to her (and to me)—we wanted a really great day astrologically. She said there are really only a couple of amazing days a year that fall on weekends, so we didn’t have a lot of options!”
They landed on March 3, and the wheels were put into motion. Even though Chrissie had been shocked when Leo popped the question, this was by no means a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, whirlwind courtship, and that played into how they went about planning their wedding. The two had been together for nine years and also have a 2-year-old son, Otis, so from the beginning, it was important to them that their wedding be very chill and easy. Chrissie had worked a brunch event for Warby Parker at the restaurant Old Rose recently and thought it might be the perfect setting for the kind of elegant yet low-key nuptials she wanted to have. “We are good friends with Carlos and Matt, who own the Old Rose and run the Jane Hotel, so they made it really easy for us,” Chrissie explains. Rachel Urban from Loli Events handled all of the wedding planning and logistics. For the aesthetic, the couple left everything up to Brittany Asch of BRRCH Floral. “She is a magical person,” says Chrissie. “I gave her very little direction and wanted her to do whatever she wanted, and she went above and beyond my expectations.”
As one might expect of a woman who has been called the “epitome of downtown cool” and collaborated with brands like Glossier, launched her own fashion line, owned a store on the Lower East Side, and hosted a DIY fashion show started by Pharrell Williams called Club Chrissie, the bride was very hands-on when it came to choosing her wedding day look. “The second Leo gave me that ring, I knew I wanted to wear a version of the Michelle Pfeiffer dress from Scarface,” she says with a laugh. “My friend designer Adam Selman and I had discussed it many, many times. So when we set the date, I met with Adam and he showed me a dress he had made that was similar, and we decided to remake it in white with a burn-out velvet fabric.” Chrissie complemented the dress with blush velvet Prada platforms and a jean jacket for later in the night. “I wanted to feel like myself,” she adds.
The groom found a sweet way to twin with their son. Dad wore an A.P.C. velvet suit with an Agnès B. tie and Converse sneakers, while Otis was a chip off the old block in a Ralph Lauren suit and Converse high-tops.
The couple wed in front of 80 of their closest friends and family in the main ballroom at the Jane Hotel. Leo’s sister, Colleen, officiated, and Chrissie and Leo exchanged their own vows while holding their son throughout the ceremony. “It was perfect,” remembers Chrissie. “I felt a lot calmer than I thought I would. All of the obsessing over hair, makeup, et cetera went out the window when I saw Leo standing there. It just really, really felt right. I was right where I was supposed to be.”
After the ceremony, there was a sit-down dinner at Old Rose with a lineup that featured food from all of the newlyweds’ favorite places—think: pasta, pizza, steak, and veggies. Then, as an auspicious moon cast a certain glow into the restaurant, the guests made rousing toasts before walking back to the ballroom for dessert and dancing that went on all night.
