New Heights

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE STORY

When the initial link between you is the creation of a horizon-altering skyscraper, your love story is poised to be something spectacular. Both professionally involved in the development of Back Bay’s 61-story Four Seasons One Dalton, Ashley Kaye Bernon and Kyle Leon Miller were introduced during the project’s infancy in 2018.

Their 2:30 p.m. coffee date at Four Seasons Hotel on Boylston Street’s Bristol Lounge stretched until last call, and the relationship grew with One Dalton’s construction. Near completion, Kyle proposed to Ashley at Trinity Church.

With 2020 wedding plans shelved thanks to COVID, priorities shifted months later, as the couple’s baby daughter Avery joined Ashley’s son and daughter and Kyle’s two girls from previous marriages. They eventually settled on an overseas escape significant to Ashley’s family—the Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli in Gargnano, Italy. “It would be a wedding and honeymoon together in one,” she says.

The couple also wanted a wedding celebration in their beloved Boston. “We racked our brains about where to have it. It was in front of my face,” remembers Ashley. “We would get married at The Bristol. That’s our sacred place here.” Another obstacle appeared: The lounge was temporarily closed. Thanks to Four Seasons’ connections, it reopened to host their intimate nuptials on June 14, 2022. Ashley planned their celebration with special touches at every turn.

“[Details] must be symbolic. You could spend a fortune, and if it’s not made with love, to me, it doesn’t feel real,” she explains. Her wedding bouquet was brimming with roses (Kyle’s bloom of choice for Ashley), her engagement ring custom-made with sentimental symbols, ceremony dates reflected lucky numbers, and wedding shoes displayed handwritten notes.

Their overwhelming moment was exchanging vows where they had first laid eyes on each other. “We cried as we stood right where we met. It felt so right,” she says. Hours following the Bristol ceremony, the couple whisked off to Italy. “There was so much love put into it,” says Ashley of the June 17 Villa Feltrinelli ceremony, which included romantic details such as a lush magnolia bouquet (her New Orleans hometown’s flower), rose petals saved from Kyle’s bouquets, and a Lake Garda boat ride.

With the couple splitting time between One Dalton and Wellesley, the famed skyscraper is both a literal and figurative solid foundation for their romance. “It has turned into a special home we’ve created,” Ashley notes. “It gives people hope that you can find love again.”

THE DETAILS

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE VEIL

The bride’s graceful antique veil and pearl headpiece were gifts from her Cuban grandmother, with the hope they would serve as a nod to their heritage and be passed down as a family heirloom through the generations.

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE RING

The custom-designed engagement ring tells the couple’s love story through hidden details—among them the inscription “Dalton,” two sapphires symbolic of Ashley’s eyes (what first drew Kyle to his bride), and a setting that resembles the St. Louis cathedral ceiling in her New Orleans hometown.

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE BOUQUET

“It was symbolic because it was just like the roses Kyle always sent me,” Ashley says of her handheld florals thoughtfully crafted by Winston Flowers. She adorned the rose and peony bouquet with rosary beads, her charm bracelet, prayers, and special bracelets made by her children.

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE CAKE

The three-layer cake was created by Cakes by Design Edible Art owner Lina Hunter and featured white frosting, gold details, and layers of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cream.

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE SHOES

“It was hard not to have all the children with us,” remembers Ashley of the two intimate ceremonies. To include their brood, she surprised Kyle by asking his two girls to write messages on his soles, while her Jimmy Choo soles were tinted Tiffany blue and covered in her son and older daughter’s handwritten messages. “These are keepsakes forever.”

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE GOWN

“I wanted a gown that was elegant but that I could also travel with,” says Ashley of her gown choice—a Pronovias Atelier “Ransen” of luxurious mikado fabric with a balconette neckline and crystal shoulder straps. “It’s sleek and a bit on the modern side. I knew it would be just as beautiful in Boston as it would be in Italy,” she explains.

Photo by Cheryl Richards

THE CAR

A few hours after their Bristol Lounge wedding, the couple boarded a plane for Italy. But not before snapping photos in their 2007 Aston Martin. Affectionately known as their “date car,” the two-seater has been with them since the beginning of their relationship.

Photo by Gabriele Donati 

THE ROSE PETALS 

Ashley traveled to Italy with the rose petals saved from every bouquet Kyle had given her throughout their relationship. “I’m really sentimental,” she says. After the ceremony, the couple threw the dried petals into the lakeside breeze in a moment of pure joy.

Photo by Gabriele Donati 

THE FILE

Bride’s Shoes
Jimmy Choo

Florist
Winston Flowers

Gown
Pronovias Atelier, L’ élite

Groom’s Attire
Brioni, Richards in Greenwich, CT

Hair
Cruz Mesa (James Joseph Salon) and Sal Malafronte (Salon Mario Russo)

Makeup
Robin Liebowitz, Faces by Robin

Photographer
Cheryl Richards (Boston), Gabriele Donati (Italy)

Ashley’s Rings
Zameer Kassam

Kyle’s Ring
Lux Bond & Green

Wedding Cake
Cakes by Design

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