When this couple couldn’t quite decide where they should celebrate their I dos – the country or the city – they ultimately decided, why not both? So that is just what they did. And when most couples struggle to plan one fête, this duo doubled up their planning and arranged for the most gorgeous of affairs in both the countryside of Millbrook and the stylish streets of Brooklyn. The result is a gallery of images captured by Lilian Haidar Photography overflowing with love, style and so much prettiness. See it all here.
From the Bride… Chris and my relationship has always been a happy mix of the quietly intimate and the boisterously social. We first met at the after-party of a music revue he performed in during Law School, and as he tells it, he was so nervous when he saw me that some other guy would swoop in to talk to me first, that he blurted out the first thing he could think of just to start a conversation:”Hey, I ordered cheese fries, like 30 minutes ago but they still haven’t come.” Not exactly the smoothest pick up, but somehow it worked and we got to talking. Five years later, after a perfect day together, back in our cozy apartment in Brooklyn, and waiting on another order of cheese fries that had not quite arrived, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. For me, these bookends to our dating life, a friend-filled celebration and a private intimate moment, represent two faces of our relationship, and ultimately ended up expressing themselves in our two ceremonies.
When we started planning, we both agreed immediately that we wanted a fall wedding – and that’s about as far as we got. Chris had always dreamed about getting married at his parents’ house in Millbrook, New York. While I loved the idea, having lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the majority of our relationship, I thought having a local wedding that represented us would also work. We made a trip up to Millbrook to discuss the logistics, but quickly realized having a big wedding at the house was just not practical. Our guiding principle was “would we have fun at this wedding?”, and as we were discussing the pros and cons of a city versus a country wedding my father suggested an elegant solution: “Why don’t you have it in both places?”
Thus, we began to plan two weddings, a simple, intimate ceremony and dinner in Millbrook for our immediate family only followed by a second, bigger ceremony and party with all our friends and extended family two days later at MyMoon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was the best of both worlds and let us express both our quiet intimate side and our raucous, social side without compromising either.
I wanted both weddings to have personal touches, be in tune with the season and most importantly be fun for our guests (and for us)! The ceremony in Millbrook took care of itself because the land is so gorgeous. The tiny gazebo in front of the house where we held the ceremony needed very little decoration besides flowers. We wove several generations of family history into the details. I chose to wear my mother’s veil and a brooch from my Great Great Grandmother. Chris and his best man (his brother) each wore pocket squares that were actually napkins from the original Ritz Hotel in Paris, where my Great Grandfather was a chef around the turn of the century. After the ceremony, we had a small, intimiate dinner. Chris’ mom transformed what is normally the “mud room” between two parts of the house into a cozy, candle-lit dining room with a single long table for all the guest to sit at. It was a wonderful, close evening, that gave everyone a chance to laugh and share stories together in a way we never could have during the bustle of a larger wedding.
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Wedding Photography: Lilian Haidar Photography | Second Photographer: Photo DH | Ceremony Venue: Family Home in Millbrook, New York | City Reception Venue: MyMoon in Brooklyn, New York | Floral Design- Millbrook: Felicity Banford Flowers | Floral Design- Brooklyn: Bride’s Family | Wedding Cake: The Blue Stove | Music: Central Park Orchestra | Wedding Invitations: Stephen Skalocky (stephen.skalocky@gmail.com) | Invitation Printing: Distinctive Stationery | Wedding Dress: Paloma Blanca | Bridesmaids’ Attire: BCBG | Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss | Cuff links: Michael C. Fina