I said “I do” in the Green Mountain state myself, so I may be a bit partial to Vermont weddings, but this summer celebration reminds me that that bias is totally justified. These Manhattanites returned to the Bride’s home, to her parent’s apple orchard, to marry, wine, dine (thanks to Mezze Catering) and dance the night away. Our VAULT has the goods, thanks to Clark + Walker Studio – see every pic right here!
From the Bride… When Joe and I got engaged, I don’t even remember there being a discussion about where we would get married. We knew: it would be at my parents’ house in Old Bennington, Vermont. I realized I had always hoped for an at-home wedding, and Joe has been traveling to his family’s house in the Mad River Valley every ski season of his life, so although we live in New York City, Vermont was already an important place to both of us. We wanted our wedding to reflect our love of the area, and to be romantic and elegant while showcasing the natural beauty of the property.
Our ceremony was in my parents’ apple orchard, and that was the most meaningful part of the wedding for both Joe and me. Being in the orchard, amongst the trees, felt so intimate. Joe and I created the whole ceremony ourselves. Together, we wrote up what we wanted our officiant to say throughout the ceremony. We also selected three readings to be read by friends and family: one from my favorite novel, one from a children’s book, and the last was a Robert Frost poem, which we chose because he wrote it to his daughter on her wedding day and because he spent a lot of time in the Bennington area. We also planted an apple tree the day before the wedding, with just our parents present, and then we completed the planting during the ceremony. We wanted to honor the fact that we were getting married in the orchard, and our officiant spoke about the tree being a symbol for marriage and for family. We also wrote our own vows – and reading those to each other turned out to be both mine and Joe’s favorite part of the ceremony itself.
Wanting to imbue our wedding with other personal touches, we began with our save-the-dates, which I did a few drawings for. My father drew a beautiful image of an apple tree that we used in letterpress form on the invitation and then again on the ceremony programs, and it was my mother’s idea to create two “family trees” in the apple orchard, from which we hung photographs of both mine and Joe’s families. I created and hand-lettered all the signage on the property, built the escort card display using an antique frame and some twine, and made the table numbers. A family friend built the birch structure we were married under, and we used family linens on the welcome and guest-book tables.
As for our attire, I think I will always feel that my Amsale dress is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. I chose it because it felt like “me” and it had an ethereal quality to it that just seemed to fit perfectly with my vision for the wedding. We custom-made Joe’s suit at Sebastien Grey, and since we went with a really classic and rich navy, we thought we’d add some fun by having Joe and the guys wear navy ties with white polka dots. The bridesmaids wore blush, and the rest of the aesthetics we kept in a soft, summery palette, incorporating various pinks, peaches, some bits of yellow, and taking advantage of all the green around the property.
We spent a lot of time in the beginning of the planning process putting together an amazing team of vendors. Joe and I love to dance, and having a band that would encourage everyone to be on the dance floor was really important to us, so we hired The New York Players. I think the truest testament to their abilities is that all of our guests, young and old, absolutely loved the band. We wanted the food to be delicious and also beautiful, so we worked with Mezze Catering to plan out a menu using entirely local ingredients. Mezze also helped coordinate with all of our other vendors and then they executed everything the day of. They were amazing. We chose Nancy Bishop for our floral design, and she helped create our soft, romantic vision for the day, while using as many local flowers as possible – including some from my parents’ gardens. Sperry Tent provided us with the most elegant sailcloth tent and bistro lights, and we used Classical Tents for everything else, including the beautiful cross-back chairs and farm tables. And Clark + Walker of course did an incredible job capturing every moment of the day and night. Many of my favorite photos are ones that I didn’t even know had been taken!
Thank you so much to our incredible vendors and to our parents, families, and friends for making our wedding so special and memorable!
Photography: Clark+Walker Studio | Floral Design: Nancy Bishop | Wedding Dress: Amsale | Cake: Paper Cake Scissors | Invitations: Lion in the Sun | Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Catering: Mezze Catering + Events | Hair + Makeup: Make Me Fabulous | Band: New York Players Band | Groom's Attire: Sebastian Grey | Groomsmen's Attire: Sebastian Grey | Venue: At Home | Desserts: Paper Cake Scissors | Flower Girl Dress: US Angels | Rentals: Classical Tents | Ring Bearer Attire: J.Crew | Tent Rentals: Sperry Tents