Home to past Olympic games, the picturesque town of Lake Placid deserves a gold medal for itself. With postcard worthy views, the town’s energetic spirit rubbed off on this fantastically fun wedding, captured by the talented Christian Oth Studio. I notice a new favorite detail each time I go through these pics, from the Bride’s gorgeous Peter Langner gown to the African animal statues – see them all right here!
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From The Bride… Kyle and I went to the same high school but didn’t know each other. He was a year younger and only 5’4 at the time; he had a crush on me from afar but we never interacted. I was busy paying attention to the older boys but remember seeing Kyle in the hallway and thinking that if he would grow a little he’d end up being really cute. I moved after sophomore year of high school (we moved all over Belgium, NYC, VA, CT, MA). Fast forward 15+ years and we’re at a mutual friends wedding, Kyle grew a full foot (he’s 6’4 now) and was as handsome as I had thought he would be with a little added height. He asked me out to a Kanye/JayZ concert in front of 25 of our friends… so I thought he was joking and said no. A couple months later we ran into each other a few times and after our last run-in on St. Patrick’s Day (a lucky day for someone with the last name Ireland) he sent me a note via Facebook that said “I’m passing you 10 digits that could change your life” and sent me his phone number. Needless to say, I couldn’t say no to a line like that; we went on our first date and have been together ever since and engaged 18 months later ( he proposed in Cape May, NJ, where his grandparents met) and married in Lake Placid where I have a summer home.
The elements of our wedding were a mixture of things that were important to us; all the vendors were from Saratoga a nearby upstate town and we incorporated as many of our friends as we could. All the goodies in the gift bags were from our friends’ businesses in Lake Placid… with the exception of the jelly beans from Village Market in Wilton, CT – the town that Kyle grew up in and our paths first crossed.
My parents live in Kenya (my Dad is head of GE Africa) and I just started an ecomm business MAIKnyc bringing African jewelry and accessories to the US. Kyle’s first time out of the country was spending New Years in Kenya with my family! We had white animal heads in our cocktail tents, little elephant figurines on our cocktail tables, the groomsmen were given blue Masai beaded belts and we were introduced to the Shakira song Waka Waka which is one of our favorite happy songs!
Being in Lake Placid you couldn’t deny the Olympic tie-in (two Olympics were hosted in Lake Placid, 1980 and 1932) and we were getting married in an Olympic year, Sochi 2014. My father also worked for NBC for 10 years and has been to almost every Olympics since! We had travelled to Sochi for the Olympics that year as well, so it was especially meaningful for us. Our venue was in a field on a private property and in the distance you can see the old Olympic ski jumps, it’s very cool and scenic. Therefore we lit the Olympic torch to signify the start of the dinner and dancing festivities! It was such a fun and unique moment!
The bridesmaids wore different dresses, all in ivory textured fabrics – I wanted all the girls to feel like themselves! Most of the dresses were by Thread; Melissa Akey Drayer is a friend and I worked freelance for her and Beth Blake some years back. We gave them wine glasses with their caricature painted on them, Ugg slippers with the wedding logo hand painted on them by a local Lake Placid artisan (doe and buck with a little heart).
My dress was Peter Langner; he’s a master with fabrics and the dress fit so well with the setting. My earrings were by Jamie Wolf who also designed my rings. I borrowed a diamond bracelet from my mother’s best friend and someone who has been a wonderful presence in my life, Barbara Calhoun. I also wore my maternal grandmother’s wedding pearls as a bracelet and carried my paternal grandmother’s hankie as well as wore her wedding band on my middle right finger (as I do every day since she passed away).
Our table settings included fiesta ware (my whole family has been collecting fiesta for generations), antique milk glass, and the most beautiful linens, all hand selected and customized for our event! Our invitation and save the date were done by Mr Boddington’s; they did an incredible job customizing a map for our STD and including my parents house and various Lake Placid locations in both the STD and the list of events! They were adorable!
We had the most incredible time. Every detail was perfectly executed.
Photography: Christian Oth Studio | Event Planning: Christine A. Wheat Special Events Firm | Floral Design: Renaissance Floral Design | Wedding Dress: Peter Langner | Cake: Debbie Coye Cakes | Invitations: Mr. Boddington Studio | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Thread | Catering: Mazzone Hospitality | Venue: Private Estate | Bride's Make-up: Liz Lazo | Fabrics: Ann Stillman O'Leary, Evergreen House Interiors | Gown Boutique: Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier | Hair & Make-up: Tommy Buckett | Music: New York Players Band | Video: Full Frame Digital Cinema