Investing in the right Team
Planning a wedding is about more than choosing a date and a dress — it’s about curating a team of talented creatives who bring your vision to life. While Maison May as a full-service venue already covers a lot of bases, we’ve seen firsthand how the right wedding vendors transform a beautiful celebration into an unforgettable experience. From florals to photography, cakes to coordination, each professional plays a vital role in shaping the atmosphere, memories, and magic of your day.
While we are open to working with everybody you’d like to bring in and absolutely encourage and embrace DIY for some elements of your event, we also keep a running list of preferred vendors . Those vendors have proven time and again that they are true experts, easy to work with and truly understand our spaces and the hosts’ visions.
Choosing wedding vendors is about trust, communication, and shared vision. It’s not just about hiring services — it’s about assembling a creative team that understands your priorities and supports your experience from start to finish.
In the end, it’s the people behind the scenes who help create the moments you’ll remember forever.
At Maison May, we believe that intimate settings deserve intentional collaborations. When florists enhance the architecture, photographers honor the light, and bakers create edible art — your wedding becomes more than an event. It becomes a meaningful, beautifully documented celebration of connection.
Here’s why your wedding vendor team truly matters.
The Florist: Setting the Tone Through Flowers
Florals are often the first design element guests notice when they walk into a space. A talented florist doesn’t just arrange flowers — they craft a mood.
Whether you’re envisioning romantic garden-inspired blooms, modern minimalist greenery, or dramatic seasonal installations, your florist interprets your aesthetic and adapts it seamlessly to the architecture and light of the venue. In a Brownstone setting like Maison May, florals can highlight fireplaces, frame nooks and corners, soften historic details, and create intimate table moments.
Beyond beauty, florists also:
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- Work within your color palette and seasonal availability
- Design ceremony backdrops and statement installations
- Enhance photography through texture and dimension
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Thoughtful floral design elevates the entire sensory experience of your wedding.
While it is easy to go overboard with florals, keep in mind that less is more and keep sustainability in the back of your mind. A good florist will not try to upsell you on huge installations or flowerwalls because they understand that our space does not need those. Instead, movable, reusable pieces are ideal in our space and can help to keep costs at bay.
The Photographer: Preserving Emotion & Atmosphere
Your photographer is responsible for the one thing that lasts long after the final toast — your memories.
A skilled photographer understands lighting, space, timing, and emotion. They know how to capture quiet glances before the ceremony, candid laughter during cocktails, and the warmth of candlelight at dinner. Especially in intimate or micro-wedding settings, photographers who specialize in documentary-style storytelling often create the most authentic results.
When choosing your photographer, consider:
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- Their ability to work with natural light and indoor spaces
- Experience with intimate venues and private celebrations
- Comfort capturing candid, unscripted moments
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The right photographer doesn’t just document your wedding — they tell your story. Maison May has lots of details to offer that allow the person behind the lens endless opportunities and angles. A skilled photographer will make use of them. Another asset is our beautiful Fort Greene neighborhood with its stoops and the nearby park that is ideal for first looks and typical NYC views.
The Bakery & Dessert Team: A Sweet Reflection of Your Style
The wedding cake is more than dessert — it’s a design statement and a shared ritual.
Whether you opt for a classic tiered cake, a modern minimalist confection, or an artful dessert display, your bakery partner should balance flavor and aesthetics. Today’s couples are also embracing:
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- Custom flavor pairings
- Elegant dessert tables
- Mini pastries or cookies
- Dessert with meaning for the couple like their favorite donuts or pies
- Cultural or heritage-inspired dessert
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A beautiful cake deserves a beautiful setting — and when thoughtfully styled, dessert moments become some of the most photographed and anticipated parts of the evening.
A Side Note on DJ’s
Not every wedding requires a DJ — particularly when the celebration is centered around meaningful connection, conversation, and a shared moments rather than high-volume entertainment.
In an intimate Brownstone setting, many couples opt for curated playlists, acoustic musicians, or simply refined background music that complements the atmosphere rather than dominates it. Without large dance-floor production needs, your celebration can feel warm, relaxed, and deeply personal.
Of course, if dancing is central to your vision, we can accommodate that too. The Parlor Floor is made for dancing! But even in those case, a personalized playlist put together by the couple or a trusted friend is preferable over an elaborate, and sometimes impersonal, generic DJ playlist.
“After dinner, we DANCED THE NIGHT AWAY! I am happy the photographer left shortly after dinner, because we would have looked crazy in pictures. We sang and danced while enjoying dessert and plenty of beverages.”
Do I need a Wedding Planner?
While each vendor brings specialized expertise, wedding planners serve as the orchestrators of it all.
At Maison May, we are a full-service venue, which means much of what a planner typically manages is already thoughtfully handled in-house. From timeline coordination and vendor flow to floor plans, menu planning, and styling guidance, our experienced team ensures your day moves seamlessly. For intimate weddings and micro-celebrations especially, this built-in structure often eliminates the need for an outside planner — simplifying your planning process and reducing additional costs.
Although we take care of almost everything on-site related, some couples simply do not have the time, bandwidth or creative vision to take care of certain aspects of wedding planning and logistics. There are many more moving targets to tackle – from scheduling hair and makeup to booking hotels and transportation, developing a timeline with the photographer or coordinating vendor meetings or pre and post wedding activities.