Wedding season is in full swing, and it’s the kind of swing where you pulled back reeeeeally far before letting it fall into a dramatic swoosh. The pandemic didn’t stop folks from joining themselves in matrimony, but a significant number of those betrothed chose to wait it out. Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen is one of those patient brides—it feels like she started planning her wedding years ago because she really did. Dianna and her (now husband) Alex were finally able to get hitched in front of their loved ones a couple weeks ago, and it was well worth the wait. But she tells the story best—her experience, below.
“We were supposed to get married in 2020, but when COVID hit, we decided it would be best to postpone the wedding a full year. Aside from the date change, my plans didn’t really change at all: we had all the same contracts, same venue, same rehearsal dinner, same welcome drinks… We were really able to execute the exact same wedding we started planning back in 2019. The only thing that did change, ironically, was on the beauty side. My original makeup artist moved during the pandemic so she wasn’t able to make it, and my team in New York wasn’t able to travel. For the beauty stuff, I started from scratch.
When I was originally planning the wedding, I was also very close to launching Crown Affair. To keep both projects organized I made an art direction guide for all my wedding vendors and planners. I pulled references for how I wanted the whole weekend to look, a lot of which came from Pinterest, and that was really helpful. But it’s funny… when I’d type in “wedding” on Pinterest, it wasn’t what I wanted. Everything looked too “wedding” and not actually fresh. Instead of going with hair and makeup artists that “usually do weddings,” when it came down to my creative vendors, I went to Instagram and did a deep dive. I’d find an editorial photographer, look at the tags on their photos, and go from there. My makeup artist Marco works with a couple of cool girls in Miami, and my hairstylist Cassie was recommended through another bride. I think that’s a really good way to find people too, if you have any friends who’ve gotten married.
I did hair and makeup trials before the wedding, which I highly recommend doing early in the day. In theory you’d start your wedding makeup by noon, if not before, and you’ll have this look on for a very long time. It’s really helpful to see how everything wears. I wanted my makeup to look fresh and dewy, but to make that show up in photos, Marco used products a little heavier and with more coverage than I was used to. We were also getting married outside in Miami, so my makeup had to be Florida-proof. A subtle cat eye has kind of become a signature of mine, and for the wedding, Marco got under my lids with a black Makeup By Mario Master Pigment Pencil, fleshed out the wing super subtly, and added individual lashes. Bronzing body shimmer was a really nice addition, because I’m very pale and the dress was low cut. Testing that before was key! I wear my hair air dried most days, so for my wedding I thought I’d wear it blown out. But we had to navigate with the reality of the environment—we knew there’d be humidity, so we pulled it back into a low chignon.
Leading up to the wedding, I made sure to do 20 or 30 minutes of stretching, yoga, and foam rolling every morning. It helped me slow down and feel “in” my body, which was important with all the other prep I was doing. I scheduled a bunch of sessions with an awesome trainer, who’s also a Barry’s Bootcamp instructor. A couple of days before the wedding I got a hydrating microcurrent facial at Sana Skin Studio. That place is epic—it’s super zen, they have an amazing team, and I always look very glowy when I leave. I got a Japanese gel manicure at Mano Nail Studio in Wynwood, a pedicure with Essie’s Ballet Slippers, and the last thing I did was condition my hair with the Crown Affair Renewal Mask. I wanted it to be clean, soft, and fresh for styling each day of the weekend.
On my wedding day, I felt like the most me. The dress was like my second skin, and nothing felt fussy. Even my fragrance felt natural but enhanced. My day-to-day fragrance is Byredo’s Gypsy Water, and I love it, but after almost 10 years I can barely even smell it anymore. I had been layering it with I Don’t Know What by D.S. & Durga, and ironically, was also working with their team on a collaboration for Crown Affair. I Don’t Know What is so subtle and has this beautiful radiance to it—now when I put it on, or when I put on our hair oil collaboration, it all comes back to me again. It smells so good.
It actually rained in the middle of our ceremony—we were standing outside, about to say our vows, when the rain started and we had to run back in! They call it a fox wedding in Japan, after this old folktale about a fox and a wolf getting married. A cloud loved the fox and was jealous, so it cried. Marco had a mini portable fan to dry me off and blot, and anything that didn’t stay put was touched up immediately. I originally planned on taking out my chignon for the party, but after everything, I decided not to. It was really fun to have a moment where my hair was up and off of my face so I could hug friends and dance all night without it getting in my way. My team kept me looking fresh all night.
The two weeks after the wedding, I kept joking like, “Who are the people in movies that just wave goodbye for their honeymoon straight from their wedding? Do they not have emails?” We had our heads down finishing everything up. But now, Alex and I are leaving for our honeymoon on the Amalfi Coast.”
—as told to ITG
Photos via Dianna Cohen and photographer Masson Liang