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From the Bride… I knew in planning our wedding that we really wanted to capture the essence of the North Fork since that is where we grew up and spend most of our weekends now.  We chose a venue located on the Peconic Bay so people could enjoy the water view and the natural beauty of Southold. Founders Landing, the venue, is a very simple gray building that only fits about 125 people but we loved everything about it!  The building is basically a blank canvas so with the help of my mom, Gerard’s mom and especially his aunt Kathleen, we created a masterpiece!

I wanted everything to be really simple and all white.  For the tables we decided to cover them with different size mason jars filled with votives and hydrgangeas.  I also took a page out of the SMP book and had a man in Mystic, Conneticut create the nautical rope table card holders I had seen at a previous wedding.  I had discussed all of the flower details with our awesome florist Becky Jens but didn’t see the finished product until after the ceremony when I walked into the reception.  I was IN LOVE!  Becky chose the most beautiful full ivory hydrangeas, they looked absolutely gorgeous.  Between the hydrangeas and the candles, the room had a very romantic cozy feel.

Gerard’s Aunt Kathleen handled many of the details around the room.  She covered the walls with one of our favorite poems, “I carry your heart with me” by e.e. cummings.  Each frame had a different verse of the poem.  I also wanted to make sure our parents’ and grandparents’ wedding photos were included in our day so Kath made this beautiful frame out of beachwood, painted it gold and placed black and white photos of all the weddings before us.  The best part was it sat atop a mantle on a fireplace that said, “Gift of the Southold Players,  XMAS 1923″ which I thought was really neat.  Instead of a guest book we found these penguin postcards with vintage book covers of all the books they published and had everyone write us a special note.  Kath situated them in a glass bowl filled with sand.

For the food we wanted to make sure it had a very local, seaside feel.  We chose a raw bar as part of the appetizers and a lobster-bake for our main entree.  Matt Kar, our chef, was amazing!  He knew the exact menu we were going for and everything was delicious.  Our cake was done by Miche Bacher of Sacred Sweets.  Gerard and I had met with her to choose a cake and went through all of her beautiful examples.  We thought we had chosen one and then I spotted a magazine cut out from a Martha Stewart Living article she had just been in and I said – THAT ONE!  It was so beautiful and romantic.  It was three tiers with the top tier sitting upon a delicate little cake stand and this glorious fluffy buttercream icing.  Finally she added a beautiful peony on top, which was the very same flower as my and my bridesmaids bouquet.

Of course, we wouldn’t have been able to capture any of this without our amazing photographer and friend, Adam. We really wanted a photographer that knew us and could translate our essence into photographs.  Adam did exactly that!  The day was a very cold, cloudy, blustery, rainy day in June – hence the umbrellas.  But it made for awesome photographs!  My dreams of everyone roaming the grass down near the beach were squashed but the energy inside that little gray building was palpable.  Adam was with us from start to finish and he put his heart and soul into this project.  Our pictures aren’t traditional, but they represent perfectly what an amazing day we had!

Wedding Photography: Adam Piorkowski / Floral Design: Becky Jens of Moments in Time Floral Design / Wedding Cake: Miche Bacher of Sacred Sweets / Catering: Christopher Michael Catering / Wedding Ceremony Location: Sacred Heart Church / Wedding Reception Location: Founders Landing / Cellist: Jody Redhage / Wedding Wand Streamers: Craftupyourlife / Save the Dates: Architette Studios / Table Card Holders: Matt Beaudoin of Mystic Knotwork / Wedding Invitations: Simply Put, by Ashley Woodman / DJ: PopShop! DJs, DJ Colleen Crumbcake / Hair: Michael Lopez / Wedding Dress + Veil: J.Crew / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Groomsman Ties: J.Crew

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Post tags: Adam Piorkowski, Architette Studios, Christopher Michael Catering, Craftupyourlife, Founders Landing, J. Crew, Jody Redhage, Michael Lopez, Moments in Time Floral Design, Mystic Knotwork, New York Weddings, North Fork, PopShop DJs, Sacred Heart Church, Sacred Sweets, Simply Put by Ashley Woodman
Post categories: Casual Elegance, New York Weddings

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the bride…Growing up on Long Island I was blessed with being surrounded by beautiful coastlines, farms and wineries.  This is where my true inspiration came from when planning my dream wedding. As a little girl, I always dreamed of my “big day”, what I would wear, what flowers I would use, what the tables would look like, etc.  The one thing I didn’t wonder about was where I would have my wedding.  That I knew.  It would be out on the North Fork of Long Island.  The North Fork is a hidden gem, a special place to me and a place where I come to escape the hustle and bustle of New York City.   As soon as I introduced my fiancé to the North Fork he fell in love too with the charm and quaintness of the area.  We agreed that one day this area would be perfect for our wedding.

Throughout the three years that Matt and I dated, each time we came to visit my parents in Greenport, Long Island we go wine tasting.  With over 50 wineries on the Eastern End of Long Island we had many to try.  Every tasting we went on there was always one winery that stood out in our minds, Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue, NY.  You could call it love at first site for myself and love at first taste for Matt.  We loved Bedell for not only its amazing wines but for the ambiance and calmness that came over us every time we would go there.

My vision for our wedding (This is where the fun began for me!) was for it to be homey, vintage, rustic, yet slightly romantic.  All these elements fit perfectly in with the surrounding land. I took the beauty of the winery and the natural colors already there to create my color palette.  Antique white, sage green, rose petal pink and cream. It was very important for me to keep everything local and to be as organic as possible.  Our food was bought at local fish stores, farm stands, local gourmet stores and even the oysters at our raw bar came from my Dad’s own oyster farm!  Our wine jelly favors were made from Bedell grapes and even some of our flowers were sourced from backyards.  Each reception table was named after local towns on the North Fork, to create an intimate feel.  I wrote a fact about each town and framed them in frames made from old barn wood.  Texture played a big and important role in my wedding décor too.  From the antique skeleton keys that I had collected over the years to the rattan table linens, to the type of flowers that were used, to the torn paper chosen for our invitations, escort cards, favor tags, each detail played an important role in the overall décor.

Photography: Samantha Shay Photography / Location: Bedell Cellars Winery / Caterer: A Small Affair / Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. / Florist: Karen Lenahan / Wedding Planner: the bride / Hair: Patti at Alter Ego Hair Salon (516-921-1100) / Makeup: Beth Rachel / Brides dress: Christos / Brides shoes: Christian Louboutin / Brides Earrings + Bracelet: Jennifer Miller / Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale / Groom + Groomsmen Suits: Lauren by Ralph Lauren / Groom + Groomsmen Ties: JoS. A. Bank / Ceremony Music: Miriam Shilling / Cocktail and Reception Music: Hank Lane of The Downtown Band / Reception Lighting: Matt Murphy Event Lighting / Officiant: Reverend Alison Caiola / Escort Card Holder: TreehouseWoodDesigns / Guest book: EmersonBindery / Reception table frames: braggingbags / Wedding Chair Signs: AnistaDesigns / Ring Bearer Pillow: NanaMontana / Large D&M Initials: thebackporchshoppe / Robe Worn by Bride While Getting Ready: Pretty Plum Sugar

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Post tags: A Small Affair, Alter Ego Salon, Amsale, AnistaDesigns, Bedell Cellars Winery, Beth Rachel, braggingbags, Christian Louboutin, Christos, EmersonBindery, Hank Lane, Jennifer Miller, Jos A Bank, Karen Lenahan, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Long Island, Ltd., Matt Murphy Event Lighting, Miriam Shilling, NanaMontana, New York, North Fork, Party Rental, Plum Pretty Sugar, Reverend Alison Caiola, Samantha Shay Photography, The Downtown Band, thebackporchshoppe, TreehouseWoodDesigns
Post categories: Casual Elegance, New York Weddings

Today’s LBB Real Wedding: Ben and Hedda, Greenport, NY in July 2008: from the bride … Ben and I were married on the North Fork of Long Island.  We wanted a Fourth of July weekend-wedding where our friends and family would feel relaxed and happy. Our wedding was small, about 80 people, no bridesmaids or groomsmen.

We picked sunflowers … this was the first and easiest starting point. The sunflower is simple, but brilliant. Our friend, Sarah, did an amazing job with the flowers!

Our invitation invited our guests to join us “on the lawn”.

Coliseum Catering specializes in Fourth of July BBQs, and we served huge ice cream sandwiches for dessert. They’re Biggy Iggy and Chewie Louies! Ben and I discovered them in New Hampshire and have deemed them the most amazing ice cream cookies EVER. We also had a fabulous local “Newgrass” band, Astrograss.

Our wedding goal was to simplify….. I think we pulled it off!

Well, Hedda and Ben may have simplified, but I can’t imagine a more beautiful wedding.

Amanda, a Connecticut and Vermont based photographer, traveled to Long Island to photograph Ben & Hedda’s wedding.  Thanks Amanda for sharing their special memories with us.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Astrograss, Biggy Iggy, Coliseum Catering, Connecticut, Fourth Of July, Greenport, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Long Island, New York Weddings, North Fork, Orchard Cove Photography, Sunflowers, Vermont
Post categories: Budget Beautiful, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Little Black Book Blog, The Blog, Whimsical