We recently had two special moments in my friend group: Ann’s engagement and Claire’s new job in Seattle! So to celebrate, we planned an evening of wedding dress shopping (for Ann) and food (for Claire… and everyone else)!

We started at Kleinfeld’s Bridal, a New York institution made famous by Say Yes to the Dress.

As Ann tried on dresses, we watched the crew film footage for the show as a circus of brides, tulle, and misty-eyed mothers swirled around us.

Some girls said yes to the dress.

While we just said yes to tiaras!

Afterwards, we headed to nearby Zio Ristorante for Claire’s goodbye dinner. In the spirit of her Seattle move, she made sure to wear plaid (and we, being New Yorkers, made sure to tease her about it)!

We started with a massive amount of carbs, as all good dinners should.

We shared the Caprese Salad, and the mozzarella cheese was perfect.

And we also split the Calamari Fritti. This dish was so good!

For her main course, Ann chose the healthy Branzino which is an oven-baked filet of Mediterranean sea bass with roasted potatoes and sautéed spinach.

The rest of us decided pasta was in order! Our favorite was the Pappardelle, with homemade ribbon pasta and braised lamb ragu.

We also loved the Carbonara pasta, which is homemade spaghetti with egg yolk, pecorino cheese and pancetta.

And the Gnudi was so delicious we gobbled it up in a matter of minutes! This dish has homemade ricotta dumplings, fresh mozzarella and marinara sauce.

The food here is so good!

Oh and did I mention there was plenty of champagne to go around? We were celebrating, after all!

After dinner we said a tearful goodbye to Claire. While we’re excited for her Seattle adventure, New York City just won’t be the same without her!

To make an appointment at Kleinfeld’s Bridal, click here. To make a reservation at Zio Ristorante, click here.

We’re looking forward to Ann’s wedding… and Claire’s return to NYC!

~A