NHL Star Patrik Laine Marries Jordan Smith in 'Timeless' Palm Beach Wedding (Exclusive)

Yahoo

2 days ago

NHL star Patrik Laine married Jordan Smith in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday, June 28
The couple said "I do" surrounded by 115 guests, including many of the Montreal Canadiens winger's current and former teammates
"It was everything I could have dreamed of," Smith tells PEOPLE of the weddingNHL star Patrik Laine has a teammate for life!
The Montreal Canadiens winger, 27, married Jordan Smith in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday, June 28. The couple welcomed 115 guests — including many of Laine's current and former hockey teammates — for the nuptials, held at the historic Breakers resort. The wedding followed a rehearsal dinner at The Colony Hotel on Friday, June 27.
Laine tells PEOPLE they chose Palm Beach because it offered an opportunity to deliver an "unforgettable experience" for their loved ones flying in from all over, from Hawaii to the athlete's native country of Finland.
"We also wanted a venue that felt iconic, timeless and truly special," he adds of The Breakers, which dates back to the Gilded Age and was once the sand-covered playground of wealthy industrialists including J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie.
When it came to setting the tone for their wedding aesthetic, the couple happily blended their decidedly opposite tastes.
"Patty and I have very different personalities and styles, with his being more wild and colorful and mine more of a sophisticated chic. We wanted people to spot certain elements of our wedding and say, 'That's so Jordan,' or 'Clearly Patrik picked this,' " Smith tells PEOPLE. "It was important to us that the wedding really felt like us."
Their contrasting styles even guided their choice of venues. "We chose The Colony — in all of its pink, patterned glory — to match Patty's personality, and The Breakers' elegance to represent my taste for more of a classic, glamorous feel," says Smith, a mental health advocate.
To help bring their wedding vision to life, the couple worked with event planner Heather Lowenthal of Posh Parties.
The ceremony, which was officiated by Laine's close family friend Antti Makinen, was held in the Gold Room at The Breakers. The couple exchanged handwritten vows for a more "intimate and personal" moment, Laine says.
"It gives guests a special window into our relationship and makes the ceremony a lot more emotional," he adds.
The groom made his way to the altar as a string version of David Guetta's "Titanium" played. The bride, meanwhile, chose Hillsong United's "Oceans" for her walk down the aisle. The song, she says, reminds her of her mom, who died from cancer when Smith was 14.
"I wanted to have some subtle but significant ways to acknowledge her throughout the evening," Smith tells PEOPLE. "When I hear that song, it's a good reminder that she's with us for this big moment in spirit."
Smith wore Galia Lahav's "Evelyn" dress, featuring a ball gown silhouette with an exposed bone corset, illusion side panels and intricate Spanish florals embroidery. She recalls that it was the very first dress she saved on Pinterest when she began her search.
Laine designed his flashy wedding tux with a designer he uses for his NHL looks, Ethan Wiseman, careful to keep the details a secret from Smith. But to ensure the couple's looks would be harmonious on the big day, Smith says she sent Wiseman a photo of her dress, along with the mood board for the wedding, and told him, "Please make sure everything goes well together, but other than that, go for it."
"Patty's style has always been important to him, and it's just as much his big moment as mine. I knew people would be just as excited to see what the groom was wearing as the bride," Smith explains, joking that it was "a fierce competition" between the two.
While they knew there would be lots of tears, the couple wanted to save the reveal for the moment they met at the altar. "I think there's something really special about the big, cinematic reveal of the whole thing," Smith says.
Adding to the emotion of the experience, Smith's grandmother served as her flower girl in a sweet break from tradition.
After Laine and Smith were officially declared husband and wife, the celebration kicked off at a reception in the Circle Ballroom. Smith slipped into her second look, a Berta beaded dress with a "Hollywood glamour" vibe.
"It was sexy, but I could still move around in it. It gave 'Gatsby' without looking too much like it was out of the 20s," she says.
During the cocktail hour, guests nibbled from various food stations, including Asian and Italian fare. Then, everyone was seated for a multi-course dinner featuring a hearts of palm cake and a choice of two entrées: citrus and panko-crusted sea bass or herb grilled filet mignon.
The meal had a sweet finish with a Breakers signature: a custom ice cream sundae, featuring three flavors of ice cream, served in a giant martini glass. "It is definitely a wow factor," Smith says of the dessert.
The couple also had a five-tier wedding cake with a vintage bride-and-groom topper. "We wanted it to look like a wedding cake from the old wedding movies in the '90s — cherries and all," Laine notes.
Because they admittedly "went majorly overboard" with the food and didn't want anything to go to waste, they had the cake sliced up and put into to-go boxes for guests to grab and eat later.
"I've been to so many weddings where I was too busy dancing to even look at the cake, so this way everyone could enjoy it from their hotel rooms," Smith says, joking, "Wedding cake for breakfast!"
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
When the dancing got underway, Laine and Smith had a fun surprise in store for their guests. Leading up to the wedding, the two turned dance lessons into date nights and learned a choreographed routine to Kygo's acoustic version of 'Woke Up in Love."
They performed their dance during the reception. "There was a lift and a dip involved. We knew our families were going to be shocked," Laine says.
Following their wedding — which Smith sums up as "everything I could have dreamed of on steroids — the newlyweds were bound for a honeymoon in Italy. "Patrik has never seen Rome before, so we're going to visit the Colosseum and the Vatican and then we'll drive down to Positano and find some beachfront activities," Smith says.
The couple first crossed paths at a bar in Smith's hometown of Columbus, Ohio, when she was visiting from Washington, D.C., for a high school friend's wedding. Laine was playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets at the time.
After the weekend, the two never expected to meet again — Laine was flying to Finland for the off-season and Smith was headed back to D.C. But they ended up keeping in touch and gradually got to know each other over countless FaceTime calls.
While Laine says it was love at first sight for him, Smith admits to being a bit more guarded about their budding relationship. But Laine sealed the deal with a big gesture: flying from Finland to Miami to see Smith while she was on a girls trip. "We've been attached at the hip ever since," Laine says.
The pair got engaged last year at the Ritz-Carlton in Turks and Caicos during the NHL All-Star break. Laine set up a private dinner on the beach on Feb. 4, Smith's birthday.
After their honeymoon, the couple will return home to Montreal, and Laine will prepare for the upcoming NHL season. The two will also focus on growing their passion project, From Us to You, a mental health initiative they launched together. After Laine made the decision to step away from his NHL career to prioritize his mental health, Smith had the idea to create "a space where others could share their own stories of resilience and healing."
"What began as an Instagram page quickly grew into an official nonprofit focused on destigmatizing mental health through storytelling and community connection," she tells PEOPLE, noting that the organization will host its first major fundraising event in August, a public fashion show at Montreal's M.A.D. Festival.
As for their next chapter, Laine and Smith are excited to build their life together as husband and wife. For Laine, that means "talking more seriously about all of the things you fantasize about when you're dating — conversations about houses and kids and the future."
As for Smith, she's ready for "baby Laines."
Additional Credits:
Décor: Xquisite Events
Invitations: Bella Figura
Band: Rock With U
Engagement and wedding ring: Larry Flowers
Videographer: Light Cannon Films
Bachelorette planning services: Sullivan Signature Events
Content creator: Oh Tay Productions
Read the original article on People