Meanwhile down in Palm Beach — Back a week pre the Trump wedding: It was a busy weekend with guests flying in from all over the world for the wedding of Stephanie Ercklentz (daughter of Enno Ercklentz Jr. and Mai Harrison) and Charles Payson Coleman III (his friends call him Chase) at Bethesda-by-the-Sea with a reception and dinner dance following at the Bath and Tennis for 370 guests.

The weekend started with Alyne Massey’s dinner for some of the out of town guests at her house, which is next door to those newlyweds Hilary and Wilbur Ross’ new house. There was also a dinner dance at the Everglades for the bride and groom given by the groom’s parents, Kim and Payson Coleman. In fact, there were dinners everywhere for the guests and even the non-guests. Judy and Alfred Taubman entertained; Charles Holman had a lunch at the Breakers for Donna Shalek; Giney and Ned Burke had a dinner at home and Marianne and John Castle for their houseguests Dr. and Mrs. James Orsini from Wilmington. Also Mila and Brian Mulroney (former Prime Minister of Canada) and Maria and Raymond Floyd had a cocktail party for Bob Colacello and his new book Ronnie and Nancy – the story of the Reagans.

The Ercklentz-Coleman wedding cake

Back to the basics: The Ercklentz-Payson wedding was the focus of the weekend, with the Reverend Ralph R. Warren Jr. performing the candlelit ceremony.

There were nine bridesmaids, all in celadon green satin gowns designed by Vera Wang, and all in a strand of pearls and pale green emerald family stones to match the strapless gowns. The two flower girls – Alexa and Ashley Toppel, were dressed in white organza dresses with matching green celadon sashes, also designed by Ms. Wang. They wore stephanotis flowers in their hair and carried little bouquets of white and pale green roses. The bridesmaids carried similar, larger bouquets.

Cornelia Ercklentz, the bride’s sister, was maid of honor, and the ringbearer, Alex Hubschmidt wore a little tuxedo and a boutonniere to match the groomsmen. The groom’s brother, Reed Coleman, was the best man, and there were ten groomsmen in black tie.

The pews had tall candles and white orchids tied with white satin ribbons and the altar was decorated with large white orchid and rose arrangements. A soloist sang the "Ava Maria". Accompanying all this outside was Mother Nature with a torrential rainstorm going on while inside the bride was glowing in her Vera Wang handsewn ribbon and tulle strapless gown with a long simple tulle veil held in place by flowers in her hair.

Mai Harrison, mother of the bride wore an ombre, yellow and green chiffon strapless gown and matching shawl by Michael Vollbracht for Bill Blass. The groom’s mother was in a moss green gown with a long lace jacket by Badgeley Mischka.

There was a reception and dinner dance immediately afterwards was at the Bath and Tennis which was bedecked — decorated in white flowing fabric and green garlands entwined by white flowers and lit by candelabras. The rainbow strings — ten violins welcomed guests as they entered. Cocktails were held in the lounge overlooking the ocean with the balconies, fireplaces and decorated by flowers and lit by candles. Champagne was passed on trays as guess entered and there was a martini bar, marked by a magnificent ice sculpture and another carved as a heart at the raw seafood bar.

After the reception line, white curtains were parted to reveal pedestals bedecked with white floral arrangements leading into the ballroom and the seven-tier wedding cake made by the club’s chef, with thousands of spun sugar flowers covering it from top to bottom. The ballroom too was draped in white with tall candelabras wrapped in garlands of stephanotis alternating with tall flower arrangements at the top. The whole room was washed in a pink glow and the ceiling chandeliers were covered with garlands of flowers as well.

The Fifth Avenue Orchestra and four singers entertained. The ballroom was arranged in a combination of long banquet and round tables covered in white tulle embroidered in silver and gold. The theme was white and silver with large silver charger plates along with silver cups filled with white flowers and the tall silver candelabras and matching silver ballroom chairs. More than 200 of the guests were the bride and bridegroom’s personal guests – and the rest being members of the couples families. They partied and danced until the last note was played, a few hours before the sun came up down there among the sheltering palms. It should always be like this. For all of us. Alas.

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