For starters, any wedding that involves a furry bundle of love is a winner in my wedding book. Add in that this stunning affair seamlessly married two backgrounds into one sweet interfaith ceremony, and you’ve got yourself one picture perfect day. It’s the ultimate celebration captured by Kelsey Combe Photography and it’s all waiting for you in THE VAULT!
From The Bride…After I graduated from Colgate in 2010, I moved to Manhattan with my college friend Nikki. Her boyfriend and his roommate, Billy – both also Colgate grads – started to “suggest” more and more roommate dinners and evenings together… and eventually I caught on to what those three were up to. It’s all a bit Melrose Place-y but in the best way possible. Billy and I are still close with these mutual friends and stood by their side as they married in 2013 (as they did for us last August). It’s worthy to note that they’ve since set up three couples to be married – talk about a hot streak!
Billy and I dated for three years during which we traveled to five continents, moved to Chicago for his MBA program, and grew our family with a spunky pup named Mollie. We all moved back to Manhattan after his grad school graduation in the summer of 2014, after which Billy led me back to the speak-easy where we shared our first official date to ask me to marry him. It was such a special evening filled with one last surprise – he had our friends and family waiting at another bar to share in the celebrations.
We set our hearts on a summer wedding out east on Long Island where we both have spent our summers since we were young. The Oceanbleu at Westhampton Bath and Tennis stood out as a perfect venue for us with its beautiful beach setting and spacious ballroom that could accommodate our 250+ guest list. Once we booked the club (and started praying for good weather for the next 365 days!), we laid out our vision for the weekend.
We were very aware that traveling to the East End of Long Island in August is no small feat. Because of this, we wanted to provide as much fun and merriment for all of our guests all weekend. Billy’s family hosted everyone for a beautiful evening of dinner and dancing at their home on the North Fork the night before our big day. Susan Martin of SMART Productions sourced stand-out North Fork vendors like Grace and Grit and Macari Wines, and she planned an epic dance party in our favorite college party theme to end the evening. The night brought our guests together under the stars in New Suffolk – what a special way to start the weekend.
Food and fun were our focus for Saturday’s celebrations; Robbin’s Wolfe caterers and The Village Cheese shop were perfect vendors for designing our event menu. Rosemary at the Cheese Shop was an outstanding partner and was as excited to assemble our cheese “cake” as we were – which, for any cheese lover, is a dream come true. We booked the Sultans as soon as we set our date, knowing their band’s sound and late-night DJ set were exactly what we wanted to keep our dance floor groovin’ all night.
Planning our ceremony took a bit more effort. Billy and I come from different faiths, both of which were quite important to our parents. We worked with our two officiants and families to develop an interfaith ceremony that reflected the most important parts of each religion. We included readings that were meaningful to Billy’s family with traditional Jewish wedding elements like the Ketubah, Chuppah, and stomping of the glass. Many thanks to Rabbi Steve Meltz and Pastor Eric Olsen for their help and support through our planning process; our guests continue to tell us how unique and inclusive our ceremony was.
Our vision for the event was to bring the black-tie, Manhattan aesthetic to this beachside setting. We did have quite a few folks to dress for the big day; we had 13 bridesmaids and groomsmen in honor of Colgate’s lucky number 13. To illustrate this style, bridesmaids wore flowing, french blue Amsale chiffon gowns while the guys sported sperry topsiders with their tuxes. Billy’s tuxedo was one of my favorite details — we worked with the team at My Suit in Manhattan to customize the perfect blue to match our color palette. Our florist Rori did a beautiful job developing the green, blue, and white floral tones for the event; I’m transported back to our wedding every time I now smell eucalyptus and freesia. My wedding gown (the Vivienne by Austin Scarlett) matched this aesthetic twist as well. The sleek, silk gown has a stunning (and dramatic!) train which flows in waves like the sea.
We could not have gotten through our wedding day without the help of our photographer, Kelsey Combe and our stylist, Allie O’Connor of Little Red’s Well. Managing such a large wedding party in black tie attire amongst the sand, sunshine, ocean breeze, and puppy paw prints was no small feat. Kelsey did an incredible job capturing the weekend’s events; we’ll cherish her beautiful photos for decades to come. Allie was such a help ensuring that we were on time and looking our best, and kept me smiling all the while. My advice to brides who are in the thick of planning would be to find vendors who you click with as friends ; it makes everything much more fun.
Thank you to our vendors for your time and effort in creating our events. You were a pleasure to work with and we’ll continue to recommend you to our friends and family. Finally, thank you to our parents, families and friends for an incredibly memorable weekend. We are so fortunate to have had you all at our side!
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Photography: Kelsey Combe Photography | Cinematography: Ambrose Eng | Event Styling: AOK Style + Planning | Floral Design: Flowers By Rori | Wedding Dress: Austin Scarlett | Cake: Village Cheese Shop | Invitations: William Arthur Fine Stationery | Bride's Shoes: Manolo Blahnik | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Amsale | Catering: Robbins Wolfe | Hair And Makeup: Erica Does Makeup | Band: Sultans Of Swing | Groom's Attire: My Suit | Venue: Oceanbleu | Bouquet Charms: Bouquet Photo Charms | Custom Napkins And Matches: For Your Party | Escort Cards: Minted | Groomsmen's Shoes: Sperry | Ketubah: Ketubah | Photo Booth: Premiere Photobooth | Signage: Sweet Carolina Collective | Stamped Forks: Ethan Jane | Tablecloths: Party Rentals Ltd