Spring Park Wedding in NYC

Stephanie Weers
August 20, 2014
Categories: Casual, Real Weddings, The Blog

For all those couples who find themselves wanting something a bit more out of the box. Or for the bride who considers her nuptials one big art project rather than a formalized affair…this wedding, sweet ones, is for you. It’s a simplified – yet totally stylish – approach to the New York affair, and Isabelle Selby captured it all right here.

Colors

Seasons

Spring Weddings

Settings

Park

Styles

Casual

From The Bride…Justin and I got engaged in Ditch Plains, Montauk, while we were out on a hike. It was the first place we had ever gone on a couples trip. It was drizzling and I didn’t feel well but he insisted we go on a hike. Needless to say, I did not see it coming and wondered why he was so nervous all day. He got down on one knee, ring in hand and just called my name, nothing else. I was too busy taking pictures of rocks to turn around but when I did, I was so shocked all I could do was cry. After calling our families, we got back to the house and celebrated with friends.

Initially I wasn’t very into the whole wedding planning process. I didn’t consider myself a “bride-y” girl. As a child I never dreamt about what my wedding would look like. So when we got engaged I didn’t know where to start. We considered eloping but couldn’t imagine not sharing such a special day with our family and friends. When we decided to have a wedding, we both knew we wanted a small gathering, only close family and friends. First thing I did was try on dresses without much expectation because I wasn’t into bridal wear. To my surprise I ended up at the perfect place because the hardest part of my dress process was choosing between Jenny Packham gowns, as all her dresses are so beautiful and so special. However after trying the dress I would eventually choose (the second dress I tried on) I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It just felt comfortable, easy.. just perfect!

Justin and I had a long engagement; we figured we’ll be married for the rest of our life’s and really wanted to enjoy being engaged. A year before our wedding we started to look at venues. The second we found New Leaf we knew it was perfect. Aside from how beautiful the Cloisters and Fort Tryon park are, I grew up playing there so it had special meaning to me. We also loved how it felt so far away from the city while still being in the city. Once we confirmed the venue, everything else fell into place. I envisioned our wedding to be effortless, elegant, simple and romantic. I really wanted the focus to be on us and our love, no other fuss.

I did a lot of research on vendors, my thing was quality over quantity. I was very specific about my vision and what I wanted. “less is more” were words I lived by, which in the wedding world can be harder than you’d think. Justin’s mom is a master gardener and tremendously creative, so she helped with so many things- from the favors (honey, candle and soap) which she handcrafted from her beehives, to the plate cards, to the arbor. As you can imagine, her garden is phenomenal. Every spring we go through her garden and pick out bouquets of wild flowers to bring back with us to the city. I really wanted our flowers to look as if they were effortlessly picked from her garden.

All in all our wedding felt like a big art project and I found myself really enjoying the planning process. I now joke that I enjoyed it so much I should change careers paths and become a wedding planner. We were so happy with all of our vendors, everyone really did a great job even when faced with every wedding day’s worst fear- rain! It stopped raining for just enough time to have our ceremony and a beautiful light cracked through the sky as we said our vows. The rain actually enhanced the mood because it gave us a beautiful, moody and romantic lighting. It was truly a magical day. We even had a rainbow to prove it!