Wedding Wednesday is here again, dear lovelies, and let me assure you this day will not disappoint. First up, we have an unbelievably elegant Hudson Valley wedding set at the Onteora Mountain House. With every detail wrapped around the idea of marrying rusticity and romance, it’s no wonder the full gallery of photos from Kelly Kollar Photography are nothing but beautiful.
From the bride…I knew that I was going to marry Noah about five minutes into our first date. In the months leading up to the proposal, which I knew was coming since we’d gone ring shopping earlier in the year, I (unsuccessfully) attempted to hide my constant browsing of the many wedding blogs and websites. When he finally popped the question, I already had a long list of venues I wanted to visit. A week later, we visited the Onteora Mountain House, and from the moment we stepped onto the property, we couldn’t imagine having our big day anywhere else. It felt like home.
I started a Pinterest board in the early stages of the planning process and I kept coming back to the idea of branches. It seemed like a good place to start, considering Noah and I had decided that the unofficial theme of our wedding would be “elegant rustic,” a perfect combination of our two personalities. I had visions of homemade branch centerpieces, which we spent hours and hours creating. However, after realizing that they would most likely be a source of worry in the days leading up the wedding (they were a bit unstable and top-heavy), I decided to scrap them. I wanted to focus my full attention on my friends, family, and husband-to-be. Best decision I ever made! Our florist swooped in and saved the day with simple, gorgeous pieces that even incorporated a few branches!
I wanted the wedding to feel elegant, but also personal and special. My aunt, a graphic designer, designed all of our paper (save the dates, invites, programs, menus, table numbers…); my mom decoupaged our gift box and tissue boxes to be laid out for guests before the ceremony; and my uncle, a professional Broadway musician, played the guitar as I walked down the aisle. Since Noah is an avid reader, I wanted to incorporate books in some way. I wound up making roses out of book pages and delivering them to our florist, who used them in the seating card table arrangement. We designed our whole (10 minute!) ceremony with our reverend’s help and wrote our own vows, which, even though I was a little nervous about them, turned out to be a highlight of the day.
Noah and I agreed that the weddings we’d most enjoyed in the past were the ones where we felt taken care of, and that’s how we wanted our guests to feel. We shuttled everyone to the venue in yellow school buses and, as soon as they arrived, the Onteora staff provided them with refreshments. The caterer, Blue Mountain Bistro, uses local and seasonal ingredients, and we couldn’t have been happier with the food. Our instincts about the venue were exactly right—all of our guests were so comfortable at the Onteora, with its cozy wood pavilion overlooking the Catskill Mountains. And as the guests boarded the buses at the end of the night, our nieces and nephew handed out cake pops that we’d schlepped up from a cute little shop in the city.
I won’t lie….I stressed like crazy in the months leading up to the wedding. My way to deal was to plan out every last detail. I left no stone unturned. For example, everyone with any sort of role to play in the wedding was given a (very!) detailed itinerary of the day. I got a lot of teasing for it, but if I have one piece of advice for other brides, I will say that planning every last detail is TOTALLY worth it. I didn’t have a thing to worry about on the day of, which meant I could relax and drink mimosas with all my ladies knowing that all of the hard work had already been done. It was a perfect day. Truly, I wouldn’t change a thing. And I got the most amazing husband in the whole world out of it.
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Wedding Photography: Kelly Kollar Photography | Second Photographer: Tanya Salazar | Wedding Venue: Onteora Mountain House | Floral Design: Sara Gast | Wedding Catering: Blue Mountain Bistro | Wedding Cinematography: Cinematic Wedding Story | DJ: Lutz Entertainment | Wedding Dress: “Calais” by St. Patrick via RK Bridal | Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Hairpiece: Ivory Fascinator via Gilded Shadows | Bridesmaid Dresses: Bari Jay via RK Bridal | Hair: Tiana Arausa | Makeup: Lauren Weber | Favors: Stick & Pop