Charlotte Hailstone and Maxwell Wu’s New York love story began in Washington Square Park. It was April 20, 2021, and the two agreed to meet for an outdoor first date. “I remember spotting him under the arch—with his long COVID hair—and knew I was in trouble,” says Charlotte, who is a visual artist. “Not knowing him, I had very low expectations about a date sitting in the grass—I should have given him a lot more credit—so I had made plans with friends for an hour after our meeting time. Instead, he showed up with a full picnic—blankets, food, everything—and we ended up staying for much longer.”

Maxwell remembers, “Within the first 10 minutes of conversation, I knew I found someone special and interesting—not just a pretty face. We talked about our love of architecture, New York City, and our similarly grand ideas for life.” He adds, “You don’t usually get to the last part so quickly. She was not just confident, intelligent, and gorgeous, but she had an energy about her that just made you want to be near.”

Thanks to the pandemic, the couple fast-tracked their relationship and moved in together within just three months. “While I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, we were the exception to the rule, and it worked out so well,” shares Charlotte. “On paper, we are opposites—artist meets finance—but in life, we’re more similar than anyone would expect. We’re both builders. My work is physical and colorful; his is systems and structure. But a shared vision is at the center of our practices.” On their first trip together to The Sea Ranch Lodge in California, Charlotte told Maxwell that he loved her. “It’s actually one of my favorite things about her—her very direct and unfiltered thoughts and feelings that make her so authentic and lovable,” he says. “And you know, she was right—I did love her very early on.”

On February 17, 2025, Maxwell would take the next big step in their relationship and ask Charlotte to marry him. The two were on a ski trip at the Yellowstone Hotel in Jackson Hole. The snow was incredible, which Maxwell used as an excuse to extend their vacation further over Valentine’s Day. “Max had had the ring with him in his ski jacket the whole trip,” says Charlotte. After the two went on a private snowmobile tour, their guide left them alone at a small, remote igloo set up with champagne, a bonfire, and roses. “Given it was just us two and the guide snowmobiling, I was curious how he would find an excuse to leave us as we planned,” recalls Maxwell. “The guy was brilliant. He said he heard on the radio that there were moose on the loose and he had to go check it out. I had to hold back a laugh, but Charlotte had no idea.” Max pulled out a yellow diamond ring designed by Nathalie Martinez of Odissea Studio and proposed. “I was in full snow gear, and I have this surreal moment in my head of being on the back of the snowmobile in this gorgeous setting with my perfect now-fiancé, champagne in hand,” shares Charlotte. “It was just such a fun and authentic moment for us.”

The couple was initially planning on hosting a large, traditional wedding—but ultimately decided it wasn’t aligned with their lives. “We both work for ourselves, and with that, things can pick up at a moment’s notice. For us, it felt more intuitive to focus on one meaningful moment at a time,” they share. Initially, the two thought it would be simple: choose a photographer, a date, and grab a friend to be a witness and head to City Hall. “What became a reality was that we spilled the beans to our families, who immediately decided to make the trip to NYC for the occasion—which meant the day would become much more of an event,” says the bride. “The entire process felt delightfully chaotic because now we were suddenly entertaining our families, too.” The to-be-weds chose to tie the knot on February 17, 2026, on the anniversary of their engagement. “February 17 also happened to be the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is an important day for Max’s family, who are Taiwanese,” shares Charlotte. “They came in just the night prior from Taipei for the elopement.”

Selecting an elopement dress ended up being “a bit of a scramble” for the bride, whose style aligns with ’90s minimalism. “The Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy reference point being everywhere right now actually worked in my favor—it meant there were more options that aligned with my style,” she says. “I found a dress from Staud on presale, which felt like a problem. I called the Upper East Side store, and the incredible sales associate, Ashley, told me it was coming off presale the next day and that there were only two left in my size. She made sure one of them was mine!”

The long-sleeve, bias-cut dress felt perfect for the City Hall celebration. “In the event it was below freezing on that day, I could wear tights and no one would notice,” adds Charlotte. “Thank God that didn't end up happening; the weather was gorgeous.” She paired the look with a pair of vintage Chanel heels and a white Alaïa heart-shaped bag borrowed from her friend Aliza Stone Howard—“who couriered them to my apartment the day prior, like the angel she is.” Charlotte also wore her grandmother’s jewelry, who recently passed, and a Marco Bicego bracelet given to her by Max.

“In true timely fashion, Max found a double-breasted suit from SuitSupply that he could walk out the door in just the week prior,” says the bride. “It fit perfectly with Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, a Makers Shirt Kamakura shirt, Montblanc cufflinks, and a Loro Piana coat.” She adds, “What a diva!” The groom also went on his bachelor party just ahead of the wedding and flew back from Mexico City the night before. “Ill-advised, some would say, as I was one of the few who made it out on time,” he recalls. “Within the hour of landing back in NYC, I was at dinner with Charlotte’s family and all felt right.”

Despite it being a snowy, cold winter in New York City, the day arrived at a balmy 40 degrees as the couple, their families, and Charlotte’s best friend Jay, who would serve as a witness, arrived bright and early to City Hall. The bride carried a bouquet designed by her friend, floral designer Sean Stronger. “I gave him almost no direction—just ‘red, pink, and ribbons’—and he showed up with something that felt less like a bouquet and more like a sculptural object,” she says. “The red ribbons tied back to Lunar New Year in a way that felt subtle but intentional.” Photographer Erin Michele Johnson, who shot Charlotte’s sister’s wedding as well as multiple events for the couple, was also there to document the day. “The only thing that would have made the day better was if our siblings were there, but like most adults, they couldn't take off on a moment's notice,” adds the pair.

One major hitch to their plans? The couple was unaware that New York law requires that you get your marriage license 24 hours ahead of the ceremony. “Once the clerk figured out we didn’t have our license, she told us very nonchalantly, ‘You’re not getting married today.’ You can imagine the look on everyone’s face,” shares Maxwell. “After about 60 seconds of silence, somehow our mothers said something that ultimately turned the clerk around. The clerk handed me a Post-it with a note ‘Exception Pls’ written in Crayola marker and with a silent confidence said, ‘Take this to them, they’ll know.’ At this point, what else could we do but find a judge and hope they wouldn’t laugh me out of their chambers for handing them a Post-it note written in Crayola? After a long conversation, swearing an oath, and answering for the umpteenth time why we did not have our wedding license—my initial answer was that ‘it was our first time’ did not get any laughter from the clerk—we had our approval!”

Initially, the family planned to celebrate afterwards with lunch at Lucien, a toast at Charlotte’s gallery space, and finally The Ned for dinner. Instead, plans took a turn and Lucien became their in-between dining spot before heading back to the courthouse. The location was a meaningful choice for the couple. “We’ve both been going there for years, long before we met. It’s where we always end up after gallery openings or long nights, sitting at the bar, running into people, staying longer than we planned,” shares the bride. “We were basically the only ones in the restaurant at 12:15 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, which made it feel even more intimate.”

On the way back to the courthouse, the two families made a detour through the Lunar New Year Festival in Chinatown. “There was smoke in the air, confetti covering the streets, constant noise—firecrackers going off in bursts, drums, people shouting. It felt dense and alive,” remembers Charlotte. “We were chasing lion dancers, setting off confetti poppers we had just picked up, and trying not to lose each other or our families in the crowd. At one point, I was holding our paperwork in one hand and a confetti popper in the other, which felt like a pretty accurate representation of the day. No one around us knew what was happening—we were just moving through this larger celebration, and then about to step into something so personal.”

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