The classic soiree. Black tie, beautiful flowers, and a gorgeous bride in a stunning gown. Makes your heart speed up a little bit, doesn’t it? For those of you who can’t get enough of the traditionally chic, we dedicate this mornings absolute heart stopper to you. Captured brilliantly by Ulysses Photography, the day was understated elegance with a touch of pure love. The gallery houses it all, so make sure to check it out when you’re ready!
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Like almost every other woman, I spent years dreaming up my idea of the most beautiful wedding I could imagine. I often joke that I had my wedding completely planned before I even met Matt. While there were definite positives in being that prepared for my idea of the perfect wedding day, there was one major flaw: where was Matt in my perfect day? I realized quickly that this was his day just as much as it was mine (and my mother’s!), and I wanted him to be more than just a prop at the end of the altar. While my idea of the perfect wedding was elegant and classical, Matt had something more laid back and fun in mind.
We chose to have the wedding at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and decided to go with very traditional details such as our beautiful flowers and wedding canopy. Having such a grand venue, however, quickly made our wedding take on the “stuffy” feel that Matt was against. To help the mansion keep its elegant feel while also representing our fun side, we made our own table numbers. While at first look they appeared very elegant, a closer look would prove that they were anything but. Matt and I are huge fans of Seinfeld, so we decided to name each of the tables after an episode of Seinfeld that we both love and include a synopsis of that episode on the number card.
We are also big baseball fans – Matt is a diehard Yankee fan, and I’m a Mets fan from birth. Our bridal party of 16 was exactly split in their fandom, as well: eight Yankee fans and eight Met fans. As part of our wedding gift, we gave each of them a jersey representing their team and a baseball bat engraved with our names & wedding date. At our reception, everyone in the bridal party donned their team’s jersey with bat in hand and made an arch as they were introduced to our band’s rendition of “Take Me out to the Ball Game.” Matt and I wore our own personalized jerseys that read “Bride” and “Groom” as we ran thru the archway of bats. To continue the baseball theme, I surprised Matt with a very untraditional wedding cake made of two boxing gloves on top of a baseball diamond – one decorated with a Yankees logo & one with that of the Mets. We also had two signature drinks, “The Met” and “The Yankee.”
We had a Photo Booth set up just outside the dance floor in a further attempt to make the day more fun. This was a big hit and made for a great guest album. We also wanted to encourage people to be out on the dance floor, so we had Troupe 212, swing dance performers , come and perform two dances. Troupe 212 then got our guests out on the dance floor and taught them to swing dance like the pros. Finally, this last detail will forever be a favorite of mine; Months before our wedding, our videographer filmed a ten-minute video of Matt and I telling the story of how we met & how Matt proposed. This was edited to include illustrative pictures and video clips that corresponded with our story as each of us remembered it. We played it just before our first dance, and it added such a great feel to our day. I’ve watched it ten times and it still makes me cry.
Looking back on our wedding day, it was perfect in every way. It had the formal, elegant feel I wanted, but was fun and represented us as a couple. The pictures of our wedding day by our photographers, Ulysses Photography, still take my breath away. Most days I look at my wedding pictures, and it really feels like a dream (as cliché as that sounds). We can’t thank all of our vendors enough, as it wouldn’t have been the perfect day that it was without each of them. It’s hard to believe that a day so perfect could happen outside of the movies.
Photography: Ulysses Photography / Flowers: Arcadia Floral / Location: Sleepy Hollow Country Club / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Dress: Maggie Sottero / Hair + makeup: Dana Bartone & Company / Videography: Jen Cassaro Productions / First dance choreography: Fred Astaire Dance Studio / Dance troupe: Troupe 212 / Band: Jay Prince Band / Cake: Palermo’s Bakery