Tell us a little about yourselves!
Joe and I met 9 years ago in Hunter, New York at a New Years Eve party through my best friend from college and we have been together ever since. We were in our very early twenties when we met, and grew up together in a way. There was no question that we would eventually get married but we were never in any rush. We have always been on our own schedule. We’ve been living together in Brooklyn for most of our relationship but being from Connecticut I’ve always had a true love for New England, so while in Maine in Summer 2020 Joe proposed.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Joe is from Brooklyn but grew up spending his summers in Bellport on Long Island - it’s a really special place and we have celebrated many holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc in Bellport - it’s the perfect place for people to come together and celebrate and we were so excited to share that with extended family and friends. Luckily, I have always wanted a tented, backyard type of wedding so it was the perfect decision for us (and super generous of Joe’s parents to let us turn their home into a venue!)
How many guests did you have?
150.
Tell us about your outfits.
I have always been incredibly inspired by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy - she was so effortless but also thoughtful when it came to her style so of course her wedding dress has always been my North Star - when I went to try on dresses I didn’t even entertain any other type of dress that wasn’t the Carolyn Bessette silk/crepe bias cut style but tried on different versions of that. The Alexandra Grecco Lotus dress I ended up choosing was exactly what I always had in mind. Originally, I didn’t think I would want a reception/party dress but I fell in love with this structured tea length bow embellished dress from Rasario - the exact opposite of my ceremony dress. The problem was it was from a few seasons ago and I could not find it anywhere - I scoured the internet and then enlisted the help of my coworkers and there was exactly one left hiding in the Outlet section of the Rasario website.
Joe has always had an appreciation for well fitted suits and he knew he wanted something special for our wedding day. Coincidentally, his favorite mens store Sid Mashburn was having a custom suiting pop up in NYC and he was able to customize exactly what he wanted.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
A little cliché but we really just wanted everyone to have a good time. We wanted it to be relaxed and without any strict schedule or mandatory amounts of sitting. Having a fun dance floor was really important to us. That’s how we decided on having the surprise brass band Hudson Horns play alongside our DJ (Ben Boylan) during the reception. I can truly say we did not stop dancing all night.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Our chocolate Labrador Goose - we knew we didn’t want him to walk down the aisle but wanted to incorporate him naturally and just have him running around during cocktail hour.
Also, because we didn’t have speeches or traditional mother/son, father/daughter dances we still wanted to make sure to incorporate the importance of our families. My older brother was our officiant and we had Joe’s aunt read a poem at the ceremony which were both really special to us.
Any tips for couples getting married, particularly during the pandemic?
Go into it knowing you’ll need to be flexible (which admittedly I struggle with) - between the pandemic and weather - there is so much out of your control. Try to keep things in perspective as best you can.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We loved all of our vendors but my florist Flower Bodega is a dear friend of mine (and my old boss!). I’ve had the privilege of seeing her start & grow her business and she is just so insanely talented! Also want to shoutout our Ceremony venue - The Bellport Inn - they were basically brand new this summer and were unbelievably amazing as a venue as well as an Inn - truly the best! And of course our photographer Malorie Kerouac- she is not only talented but she made us feel so comfortable and I just knew I didn’t have to worry about our photos, that no matter what they would be amazing.
Photographer : Malorie Kerouac @malorie kerouac | Videographer : Nathan Westerfield from Clark Brewer Photography @westerfield @clarkbrewer | Ceremony Location : The Bellport Inn @bellportinn | Reception Location : Private Residence | Celebrant : Brides Brother | Entertainment : DJ Ben Boylan + Hudson Horns @djbenboylan @hudsonhorns | Planner : Ciera Hughes Via Jordan Michelle Events @jordanmichelleevents | Hire : Party Rental Ltd @partyrentalltd | Flora : Flower Bodega @flowerbodega | Makeup : Gabby Lampone, Saint Luxe @gablamponemakeup | Hair : Meg Chase, Saint Luxe . @megchasehair | Catering + Beverages : Hamptons Aristocrat @hamptonsaristocrat | Cake : Leannes Specialty Cakes @leannescakes | Stationery : Jane Etherington Painterly By Jane @painterlybyjane | Oyster Bar : West Robins Oyster Company @westrobins | Gelato Cart : Bubbles + Brews @bubblesandbrewsny | Pyjamas : Piyama @piyama_co | Ceremony Dress : Alexandra Grecco @alexandragrecco | Reception Dress : Rasario @rasario | Grooms Suit : Sid Mashburn @sidmashburn | Engagement Ring : Page Sargisson @pagesargissonjewelry | Wedding Rings : Catbird @catbirdnyc | Ceremony Shoes : Loeffler Randall @loefflerrandall | Reception Shoes : Stuart Weitzman @stuartweitzman | Veil : Toni Federici @tonifedericiveils | Bracelet : Catbird @catbirdnyc