The New York–based model—and campaign star for the likes of Moschino and Swarovski—married her husband, Yoni, under a romantic floral chuppah. Here, go inside their intimate New York wedding:
In 2017, after two years of studying to be a concert pianist at Juilliard, Jessie Li transferred to Columbia University and chose to commit more fully to her modeling career. And it was there, while on a campus tour, that she first met Yoni Schanzer. “Since Columbia was my first non–art school, I was shy and intimidated,” Li recalls, “but he came up to me and made me feel at ease. I remember him making me laugh a bunch, and he asked me out for coffee.
The wedding took place nearly two years later, coming together all at once—and not entirely on their own schedule. “To be honest, we didn’t actually have a lot of time to plan this wedding,” Jessie admits. Being close to Yoni’s family, she chose to convert to Judaism in honor of their heritage: His grandfather was the sole family member to survive the Holocaust. “I knew how important that was to them,” she notes.
She also scored a beautiful dress in her size that a bridal boutique near their home in Darien, Connecticut, had ordered by accident for another bride. She changed into that one after the ceremony, “as it was a touch more modern and weighed about 20 pounds less.” With the first dress being so heavy—and knowing she wanted to dance the night away—heels were out of the question for Jessie, who, at five feet ten, is lucky to be tall enough that both dresses grazed the floor perfectly without heels.
As for hair and beauty, “I’m fortunate enough to know some of the most brilliant artists in fashion through my career as a model,” Jessie notes. Ann Benjamas at All Brides New York did her makeup, and Brent Lawler did both her and Yoni’s hair. “Both understood the aesthetic we wanted immediately, and we felt comfortable giving them creative freedom,” she continues. “Ann’s makeup was incredible, and Brent managed to throw in a major hair change in the 15 minutes between my ceremony and reception.
While the aesthetic was formal, the celebration was anything but. “The great thing about a relatively small wedding with only close friends and family is that everyone knew each other or had heard of each other, so everyone was quick to mingle, dance, let loose, and be themselves,” Jessie says. “Guests felt free enough to participate in the wedding, whether they were singing, dancing, reciting the blessings with us under the chuppah, or helping hold up the chuppah itself against the wind.
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