Tell us a little about yourselves!
We’re an online dating success story who met on Tinder back in 2019. Kit somewhat falsely claimed to know where to find the best mozzarella sticks in New York City and, after a frantic Yelp search, she had Ryan meet her at Molly’s Shabeen in Flat Iron where she confessed to her white lie and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
We’ve been living together in Brooklyn for 3 years now. Ryan is a musician and works in tech sales, while Kit is a creative who works in the cryptocurrency industry. We both love to host our friends in our home and have bonded over a shared love of creating exceptional experiences for our friends and family. There’s nothing we love more than being surrounded by our favorite people, and we have seamlessly blended our separate friend groups into our own New York City family. We’re both natural entertainers who love to tell vivid stories together or just share our joint playlists over a glass of wine with the ones we love.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Ryan’s family’s farm in Thurmont, Maryland has always been the ideal setting for our wedding. Living in NYC, the farm has always felt like the perfect escape to us, with wide open spaces, sleepy herds of cattle, and the peace that comes from only hearing the sounds of the passing breeze. We wanted to share the farm with our friends and family from out of town, so hosting each of our wedding events on a different part of the property felt like the perfect way to give everyone the full experience of a place we love so much.
How many guests did you have?
125.
Tell us about your outfits.
Kit wore a Made With Love dress during the ceremony that reflected the tuxedo details of the black-tie dress code. Ryan wore a silk Zegna tuxedo, vintage gold Dior cuff links and his grandfather’s vintage watch.
During the reception, Kit changed into a Galvan London jumpsuit with a tassel back and red silk Jeffrey Campbell heels. Ryan changed into a blue velvet Gucci tuxedo jacket that was originally worn by Ryan Gosling for the 2016 Oscars.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
As a couple who regularly entertains in our home, our goal was to throw the best party we’ve ever had, and to feel the love of our combined friends and family in one room, together.
We wanted every aspect of the day to reflect who we are - we carefully curated every musical playlist throughout the day to reflect our shared love of eclectic, diverse music, and our decor brought in multiple elements from our home in Brooklyn, which is warm, eclectic, and has a 'French Bistro Meets 70’s Disco' vibe.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
It was important to us to incorporate a retro-styled branding to our wedding. Kit designed custom coasters, matchbooks, a welcome sign designed to look like an 80’s movie poster, and our invitation suite; pulling imagery and words from songs, movies, and graphic design styles of past decades.
We borrowed decor elements from Bergdorf Goodman, as Kit’s Maid of Honor, Lauren, is a display artist for BG in New York City. This included copious amounts of disco balls and floral installations that Lauren designed and executed herself.
It was also important for us to incorporate our shared love of music into the wedding. We ended the reception with a surprise performance of one of Ryan’s original songs, which had everyone in the room dancing and singing along, and Ryan pulled Kit onto the stage for a kiss to end the performance. In our wedding RSVP's, we asked each guest to provide their go-to karaoke song, and we concluded our wedding with a two hour afterparty of karaoke at the barn on the property.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Try not to take the wedding (and the stress) too seriously - everything will work out in the end, and the “mistakes” and “mishaps” will be beautiful. Anything that seems to go wrong actually adds to the character and memories you’ll cherish from your day together. It’s so important to stay in the moment and just let it flow. We look back on our mistakes with deep love and as a reflection of who we are.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Emily and Shea, our photographers from Emily Gude Photography, were crucial to making our day feel quintessentially like *us.* When searching for photographers, it was so important to us to find someone who felt like home, and Emily and Shea truly delivered. Having a sense of calm and trusting the aesthetic vision of our photographers allowed us to dive in, relax, and enjoy everything that came our way.
Rachel Kendall Events and her team were incredibly accommodating. At first we didn't think we were going to hire planners, but we quickly realized we would need a team on hand. One of the best decisions we made was upgrading our package. Rachel and her team sat with us for hours at the farm, going over every last detail. We would've been totally in over our heads without their support.
Similarly, having Kit’s best friend Lauren Dumler handle decor and florals allowed us to relax and trust that our vision was in the most capable hands. There is no one who understands our specific style better. We were so blessed to have such a creative and talented member of our wedding crew executing our vision.
Lastly, The Excellent Drivers were so accommodating to our musical tastes and were so open to perfectly learning Ryan’s original music, allowing for a surprise performance by Ryan at the end of the night for our guests. It was one of the most memorable parts of our wedding and we couldn’t have asked for a more spectacular musical group.
Photographer : Emily Gude Photography @emilygudephoto | Ceremony + Reception Location : Ryan’s Family Farm in Thurmont, MD | Celebrant : Peter Brown (Friend) | Entertainment : The Excellent Drivers @theexcellentdrivers | Planner : Rachel Kendall Events @rachelkendallevents | Hire : Weir Event Rentals @weir_event_rentals | Flora : Lauren Dumler @lodum | HMUA : Bridal Glow with Victoria O @bridalglowwithvictoriao | Catering + Beverages : Federalist Pig @federalistpig | Cake : Pies by The Farmhouse Exchange @thefarmhouse_exchange. | Stationery : Designed by Kit | Bride’s Dress : Made With Love @madewithlovebridal | Bride’s Jumpsuit : Galvan London @galvanlondon | Groom’s Tuxedo : Zegna @zegnaofficial + Gucci @gucci | Engagement + Wedding Rings : Family Heirlooms. | Bride’s Shoes : Billini @billinishoes + Jeffrey Campbell @jeffreycampbell | Groom’s Shoes : : Ferragamo @ferragamo | Bride’s Earrings : Ettika @ettika + Shashi @shashinyc
| Groom’s Cufflinks : Dior @dior