The pair first met in Ukraine when they were kids.
Updated Aug 21, 2024They Toured the World to Find a Wedding Venue. The Perfect Spot Was Their Favorite NYC Restaurant
An exclusive look inside Bruna Petrillo and Max Blank's non-traditional, private club-inspired wedding.
For Bruna Petrillo and her husband, Max Blank, there's no place in the world like New York. The model and spirits entrepreneur are deeply ingrained in the city's culture: She manages a popular book club, The Margins, and he runs in a tight-knit circle with some of the most influential names in nightlife. Together, they're members of many of the city's most sought-after exclusive private clubs, from Zero Bond to Casa Cipriani and Casa Tua. In their own words, they're a true NYC couple—and as such, there was no better setting for their wedding on September 27, 2025.
Their love story began five years prior, 117 miles east of Manhattan. The pair were introduced by mutual friends when Petrillo was invited to spend the Fourth of July weekend at Blank's Montauk summer house. "When she walked in, I was like, 'Oh, my God, who is that?' I knew everyone who was in my house, except for Bruna, but I was so afraid to go up to her and figure out what her deal was," Blank recalls. He enlisted the help of his friend, influencer Sydney Silverman, to find out if Petrillo was single. But even when he got confirmation that she was, he needed a push to make the first move. "I literally had to ask him to kiss me on, like, day three of us hanging out," Petrillo says.
Looking back, Petrillo compares their love story to the invisible string theory. "We'd both been in New York for 12 years," she says. "I'm sure we had been in the same rooms, at the same parties. There were so many times where we probably passed each other in the Hamptons." They officially began dating in October 2020, and Blank proposed two years later.
To ensure Petrillo wouldn't catch on, Blank concocted an elaborate story. As the former Vice President of Casamigos, the tequila company founded by George Clooney and Rande Gerber, Blank told his soon-to-be-fiancée that they had a double date planned with Gerber and his wife, supermodel Cindy Crawford. (It wasn't out of the ordinary, as the four had spent time together before.) Fatefully, Petrillo had a brand new white dress to wear, and a friend offered to do her hair and makeup after "canceling" on her a few days prior.
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Thanks to Blank's meticulous planning, they were "running early" for dinner, so they stopped by their favorite West Village pizza shop, Little Charli, on the way. When they walked inside and saw rose petals covering the floor, Petrillo still didn't realize it was for her. "It did not click," she says. "I was like, 'We gotta go. Something is happening here.'" Only when Blank dropped to one knee did she grasp that it was all for her.
Blank presented an emerald-cut diamond on a thick gold band, which Petrillo helped design. After the proposal, their friends and family poured in from the back alley. "It was the biggest shock," Petrillo says. "What I loved about this proposal was it also felt like an engagement party at the same time." Adds Blank: "It was so 'us.'"
The desire to have a wedding that felt like an extension of them was the driving force behind their planning experience. They eloped at the New York City Courthouse exactly two years later on September 12, 2024, with the intention to have an unforgettable reception party in 2025. "We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to throw the coolest, best possible non-traditional banger of a wedding," Blank says.
To do so, they traveled the world to find the perfect wedding venue, from Portugal to Costa Rica. Italy was even in the mix as well. "After visiting all these places, we realized we are a New York couple," Blank says. They revisited a conversation they had early in their engagement with Ashwin Deshmukh, one of the founders of Jean's: a trendy East Village restaurant with a nightclub downstairs. The wanted to host the party of the year, and Jean's was the perfect place.
In keeping with their vision, the wedding day commenced with almost none of the traditional wedding programming. As guests arrived, they were bombarded by a barrage of paparazzi yelling cues to capture their photos while they walked a red carpet. The actual photographers, The Brothers Martens, were hidden among the group of actors. "That was something I knew I wanted from day one of throwing this [event]," Petrillo says. "People were not expecting it."
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The bride and her 13 bridesmaids, including The Bachelor cast member Natasha Parker and Broadway actor Brennyn Lark, got ready at the Indigo Hotel. Petrillo slipped into a sleek, fitted dress with a wrapped-collar detail by Enaura, which she found at Kleinfeld Bridal—the iconic NYC flagship salon that's co-owned by Blank's step-grandparents, Ronnie Rothstein and Mara Urshel.
Photo: The Brothers Martens
The groom opted for a custom black velvet tux with Christian Louboutin dress shoes (which he promptly swapped for Kith sneakers once the party began). The couple shared a first look on the staircase in the hotel, which Blank notes was his favorite memory of the wedding day.
Given their emphasis on creating a private club-inspired atmosphere—which experts predict will be one of the biggest trends for future weddings—the newlyweds wanted food and beverages to flow from the moment their 150 loved ones arrived. Attendees, including former NHL player P.K. Subban and The Real Housewives of New York City star Erin Lichy, dined on the restaurant's famous pasta plates and burgers while sipping signature cocktails: a spicy dirty martini for her, and a Reposado on the rocks for him.
Rather than follow the usual ceremony script, the couple shared their vows as speeches. Other VIPs gave toasts as well, like the mother of the bride, who Petrillo says "moved an entire room with her emotion." Blank's godfather, Emmy Award-winning journalist and sportscaster Jim Gray, took the floor as well, as did the groomsmen—though their "toast" was more like a roast. "People were crying [from laughing]," Blank says. "My three best friends from college rotated paragraph by paragraph. It was one of those roasts that came from complete love."
The couple shared a choreographed performance to "Magic in the Hamptons" by Social House. Although it's not a traditional first dance song, they agree it was the perfect nod to the origins of their love story.
In lieu of a seated dinner, guests dined and drank while mingling. An additional 100 people were invited to join the fun in the club downstairs. To make the event feel like an authentic representation of everything Petrillo and Blank love, there was a six-foot mascot of their beloved Australian Shepherd, Brooklyn, as well as an ice sculpture of her likeness that guests could take shots from. A magician performed mentalist tricks, servers brought out Jell-O shots and champagne bottle service with sparklers, and attendees noshed on chicken tender towers inspired by The Surf Lodge, one of their favorite haunts in the Hamptons. There were even foot massages onsite, a nod to the couple's favorite weekly self-care indulgence.
Photo: The Brothers Martens
After midnight, Blank led all 250 people to the grand reopening of TAO Group's Marquee nightclub. Petrillo slipped into a slinky beaded dress by Pnina Tornai for the after-party, which she purchased off-the-rack at Kleinfeld. (She fell in love with the dress a year earlier, and even though it went out of production, the team sold the floor sample to her.) At Marquee, the newlyweds received a special shoutout from the DJ, Zedd, a memory Blank calls "surreal."
Photo: The Brothers Martens
In the early hours of the morning when they finally retired back to the Indigo Hotel, the couple shared a collective sigh of contentment. "I remember just putting our heads on the pillow and being like, 'God, we did it. That was so fun,'" Blank says. Looking back now, Petrillo has just regret, if you could even call it that: "I want to run it back," she says. "I would love to attend my wedding as a guest."
Bruna Petrillo and Max Blank's Wedding Vendors
Planner: Mariella Figurasin; Photographers: The Brothers Martens and Daniel Rahal; Venue: Jean's Lafayette; Hair and Makeup: Julia Petrarca; Ceremony Dress: Enaura via Kleinfeld Bridal; Reception Dress: Pnina Tornai via Kleinfeld Bridal; Accessories Stylist: Elaine Feola; Florals: Audrey Hilfiger
