Familiar Fashion Faces in the NY Times' Wedding Announcements

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Carrie Bradshaw once referred to The New York Times Weddings and Celebrations section as "the single woman's sports pages." After her Sunday paper and coffee routine, Mindy Kaling tweeted "They should change the name of the Vows section in the New York Times to 'Your Rich Frenemies Are Pairing Off'".

Well, they're not the only ones who can't help but engage in the once-a-week self-flagellation ritual of obsessing over the wedding announcements of total strangers. Shining, smiling unfamiliar faces that—more often than not—boast ambitious resumes, pedigreed ivy league educations and at least one bloodline descended from a Declaration of Independence signer, professional sports team proprietor, Industrialist Era magnate or otherwise really rich and/or famous person. Once in awhile, amidst the sea of investment bankers, corporate lawyers, specialized surgeons and private school teachers we'll even spot a fashion notable in the mix—like just this past Sunday, when—hello—we came across a familiar name.

Dylan Lauren and Paul Arrouet via James Christianson/NYT

Happy Couple: Dylan Lauren & Paul Arrouet

Announced on: June 12, 2011

Is the Bride "Keeping Her Name?": Yes

Fashion Cred: The bride's father is Ralph Lauren, who obvi designed her wedding gown. Plus she owns her own company, Dylan's Candy Bar, which dabbles in its own fair share of fashion collaborations.

Fancypants Education: Dylan graduated from Duke University, while Paul has a diploma from the University of Pennsylvania.

Profile Highlight: Instead of pulling a glowing and at times unintentionally hilarious quote from the announcement, let us just marvel at the sheer hotness of the newlyweds. Yummy.

Amanda and Christopher Brooks at the Box in 2010 via Getty Images

Happy Couple: Amanda Cutter & Christopher Brooks

Announced On: April 8, 2001

Is the Bride "Keeping Her Name"?: No. She is now known as Amanda Brooks.

Fashion Cred: Before she was appointed vice president, women's fashion director at Barneys New York, Amanda Brooks was the fashion director at William Morris Endeavor. She also consulted for shuttered-label Tuleh and Hogan, plus authored the book I Love Your Style.

Provenance: Amanda hails from Palm Beach and Manhattan. Christopher is English.

Fancypants Education: Amanda graduated from Horace Mann, Deerfield Academy and Brown. Naturally, Christopher is an Etonian.

Famous Wedding Guests: Anh Duoung, Tama Janowitz, Christian Louboutin

Profile Highlight: "A patrician blond beauty, she [Amanda Brooks] looks as if she's ready to pull out an ostrich-feather fan and pose for the ghost of John Singer Sargent. Mr. Brooks grew up in Churchill, England, where his late father owned two cattle farms. Mr. Brooks's cheeks glow; his accent is plummy-English; he went to Eton. Egad!"

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and David Wolkoff during Fashion Week in 2010 via Getty Images

Happy Couple: Stephanie Winston & David Wolkoff

Announced on: March 26, 2000

Is the Bride "Keeping Her Name"?: Kind of. She now goes by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.

Fashion Cred: Prior to her appointment as the first Lincoln Center director of fashion, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff spent eleven years as director of special events at Vogue.

Swank Lineage: You may recognize Stephanie's maiden name. Her grandfather is the Harry Winston and her father Bruce runs the company. The groom's grandfather, Jack Entretter, was an owner of the legendary Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in the 1950's. Ooh, a little vice. We like it.

Famous Wedding Guests: Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Talley

Profile Highlight: "Just as on Oscar night, many guests were paying close attention to the jewelry in the room. ''In the Harry Winston tradition,'' one guest whispered, 'the bride's mother is wearing a ring the size of an ice cube. You could probably buy a building with it.'"

The couple in happier times via Guest of a Guest

Happy Couple: Tinsley Mercer and Topper Mortimer

Announced On: May 5, 2002

Is the Bride "Keeping Her Name"? Nope and even though her marriage flamed out tabloid style in 2010, Tinsley did not revert back to her maiden name.

Fashion Cred: Stateside, Tinsley is more known for wearing and being photographed in designer fashion. And she sure does attend a lot of Fashion Week shows. The bride is quite the style icon over in Japan, however, where she designs a line of handbags for Samantha Thavasa and also runs her own label, Riccime by Tinsley Mortimer.

Provenance: The bride hails from Palm Beach and Richmond, Virginia, while the groom is from the tony parts of New York.

Fancypants Education: The couple met as teenagers at the posh Lawrenceville School. Topper earned his degree from New York University. Tinsley started at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but then transferred to Columbia University—presumably to be closer to Topper.

Swank Lineage: Topper's great grandfather is Henry Morgan Tilfor, a president of the Standard Oil Company. The groom is also a descendent of John Jay, the first chief justice of the U.S.

Profile Highlight: It's actually more what wasn't highlighted. In the NYT profile, Tinsley's father is mentioned as your everyday run-of-the-mill really rich real estate guy. However, Tinsley's Wikipedia profile states that she is "reportedly" descended from Thomas Jefferson (on her maternal side) and Patrick Henry and James Madison (on her father's side). You know what that means: The New York Times and their crack staff of CIA-level fact checkers were most likely unable to verify her alleged ancestry.

Join us later this week for the second installment of Familiar Fashion Faces in the NYT Weddings & Celebrations. Look out for a famous fashion designer, well-known author whose books were made into a popular TV series and the scion of a famous modelizing aspiring politician.
· Weddings & Celebrations [NY Times]
· All Weddings Week posts [Racked]