Dancing Into Forever: Tiler Peck’s New York City Love Story
When New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Tiler Peck married fellow NYCB dancer Roman Mejia, it was more than a wedding. It was a celebration of artistry, partnership, and a love story years in the making. Set against the backdrop of New York City, the couple’s wedding captured the essence of who they are both on and off stage: joyful, authentic, and deeply connected through their shared devotion to dance.
Held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on the Upper West Side, followed by a romantic reception at Tavern on the Green, the day reflected Tiler’s signature blend of grace and ease. “We knew we wanted the day to be about our love and left the rest to our incredible planner, Claudia Hanlin, who knew my taste and instincts,” she says. “I wanted our first look on the promenade of our theater so we could have a quiet moment to ourselves at our New York City Ballet home, the place that brought us together. And we wanted a live band for what we knew would be an epic dance floor. The Dane Wright Band of Hank Lane absolutely understood the assignment.”
As one of the world’s most celebrated ballerinas, Tiler has spent her life translating emotion through movement. Yet for her wedding day, the story she and Roman wanted to tell was simple: joy, intimacy, and authenticity. “We didn’t want a choreographed first dance, our lives are filled with enough of those,” she laughs. “We just wanted to enjoy being Roman and Tiler on our first day together as husband and wife.”
While Tiler hails from California and Roman from Texas, it was New York, the city that shaped their careers and their relationship, that became their muse. “New York brought us together. It’s home to us, and I think that showed,” she says. With a reception at Tavern on the Green, the couple embraced a classic, timeless aesthetic with subtle nods to the city’s energy and elegance. “We kept the decor true to our taste, classic, organic, and distinctly New York,” says Tiler. “One of my favorite moments was walking from the church to Tavern on the Green, crossing the street in my gown while Roman was in his tux. It was the most cinematic New York moment.”
Their love story, like their artistry, was built on movement and connection. In 2022, Tiler collaborated with Justin Alexander on “Dancing Into Forever,” a ballet film that premiered during New York Bridal Fashion Week. Directed, choreographed, and performed by Tiler alongside Roman, the piece explored the emotions of engagement and the resilience of love during the pandemic.
“We wanted to create something that gave brides hope,” says Justin Alexander Warshaw, CEO and Creative Director. “Tiler Peck is known as the most musical ballerina who can create a connection to her audience in a moment. We were so lucky to have her and Roman Mejia bring this story to life.”
As fate would have it, the creative partnership became personal. “Roman and I started having feelings for each other while shooting that film,” Tiler recalls. “In the film, we told a love story through dance and even got fake married. Four years later, after we got engaged, it only felt fitting that the designer who helped spark our feelings would be the one to design my gown. It brought everything full circle.”
For her wedding day, Tiler wore a custom Justin Alexander Signature gown and a two-tier blusher veil for the ceremony, later changing into a second look, the romantic Lillian West Style 66369, for the celebration. The gown, named “Tilerina,” was created especially for her and has already graced the pages of Vogue. “I am so grateful to Justin for pushing me to try a style I hadn’t considered. It became my favorite dress,” she says. “It was one of a kind, designed just for me, and that makes it incredibly special.”
Looking back, Tiler describes her wedding day as both surreal and grounding, an extension of the grace and precision that defines her work yet anchored in pure emotion. “My favorite moments were our first look inside the empty theater, saying our vows, and then dancing our hearts out with our friends and families,” she says. “I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
From performing on the world’s greatest stages to creating one of her own, Tiler Peck’s love story is a pas de deux of fate and artistry, a perfect balance of discipline and spontaneity, elegance and warmth, tradition and freedom.
A dancer by profession but a storyteller at heart, Tiler Peck has, at last, found her forever partner in love and in rhythm.
Photography by Sasithon Photography