My favorite part about this Hudson Valley wedding is not the lovely, lilac and lavender-hued flowers, not the stunning old New England barn and not even the breathtaking photography by Maggie Harkov. My favorite part has got to be the light-up-a-room grin of the beautiful bride. I am crazy about couples who can crack each other up and these two must have some pretty sore cheeks from all the smiling they were doing on their big day. Click here to see even more!
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From the Bride… The truth is I have been planning my wedding since I was a little girl growing up in Portland, Oregon. I even have a binder with clippings from bridal magazines dating back to 1995. To spill my dirty little secret, I was also an avid SMP reader long before getting engaged. A fact that only a few of my closets friends knew, but once they got engaged, I’d send them over to SMP knowing the site would inspire gorgeous weddings. I had multiple versions of my dream wedding all planned out. All I needed to find was “the one.”
After years of living only blocks apart in Brooklyn, NY, Greg and I met on match.com. We frequented the same restaurant, bars and gym but it took an online wink to bring the two of us together. After two years of dating, Greg surprised me by proposing on a Monday evening in October.
We spent the first few months of our engagement trying to decide where to get married. I grew up in Portland, OR and he grew up in Washington DC. We toyed with idea of getting married in Nantucket where Greg’s family vacations, but ultimately decided to get married in NY. Despite loving the city, I really didn’t want an urban wedding. I wanted something rustic and charming. My dream wedding at the time was actually inspired by a Style Me Pretty post from June 2008. I fell in love with this wedding and from that moment on knew I wanted to get married in a barn. One day, a friend emailed me a link to a barn a former co-worker was getting married at. With the barn being 2 ½ hours north of NYC and it now being the dead of winter, we had a little difficulty getting up to see the space. But after a few snow storms, we were finally able to drive up. Even covered in blankets of snow, I could tell that the Circa 1799 Barn, and the farm it was situated on, was the perfect place for our wedding. Rustic and charming was exactly what it was.
With the place and date finalized, we set out on creating the perfect vision for our wedding. The color palate and table settings were inspired by a Sunday Suppers blog post that featured burlap table runners, rustic dishtowels as napkins, and monochromatic bunches of flowers in various shades of purple. From the mason jars as water glasses and the 140 dishtowels we personally ironed to the mini clothespins we attached the menus with – I tried to capture the perfect casual and charming style.
We tackled as many DIY projects as we could – printing the programs, table numbers and seating cards at home mimicking our invitation suite, printing our programs and tucking them into individual muslin bags, enlisting the help of friends and family to string lights in the barn, clip the menus to the napkins, etc. One of our groomsmen even made the chalkboard we used for table assignments. The little details really made a big impact. People raved about all our hard work.
The day of the wedding was everything and more that I could have dreamed of. Putting my dress on was one of the highlights of the day. It’s when I started to feel like a true bride, getting ready to marry the love of my life. By the time the ceremony rolled around, I could hardly believe it was finally here. I had lost my dad eight years ago and the thought of walking down the aisle without him was definitely the hardest part of my day. But my Uncle Jim was there and looking back on the pictures, I was smiling and looking forward at my husband the whole walk down the aisle. All I could think about was marrying Greg.
The ceremony was so personal. The celebrant that married us took the time to ask our friends and family to write down advice and messages that our bridal party read out loud during the service. From the ceremony it was cocktail hour, taking place outside the barn on the lovely grass field, under the trees. The weather cooperated with us better than I thought possible. From there was dinner and dancing. It was such a whirlwind of amazing speeches, delicious food, and boogying on the dance floor all night long. After the band shut down, there was a bonfire and smores, which was the most perfect way to end our evening, surrounded by our nearest and dearest making smores in the middle of a field.
We were so lucky to have Maggie Harkov taking our pictures. We could not be more thrilled with the way everything turned out, and are so happy to have these memories to carry with us throughout our lives.
Wedding Photographer: Maggie Harkov / Floral Design: Gardenia Organic / Wedding Venue: The Circa 1799 Barn / Invitations & Paper Goods: Hello!Lucky / Celebrant: Murphy Birdsall / Day of Coordinator: Mary Shimkin of The Circa 1799 Barn / Catering: The Marketplace Catering / Hair: Shine Hair Spa / Ceremony & Cocktail Music: Teresa Broadwell / DJ: DJ Gaza of 74 Events / Rentals: Mahaiwe Tent & Party Rentals / Wedding Dress: Marisa / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Sung / Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Gap (Khakis & Blazers) + Banana Republic (Ties) / Napkins: Ikea / Ring Bearer Bowl: Paloma’s Nest / Custom Cake Toppers: Goose Grease / Custom Hanger: Lila Frances / Flip Flops: Old Navy