This charming Garrison soiree is about to brighten your Monday morning with a whole bundle of lovely details, including a vibrant yellow and blue color palette, beautiful blooms by Bridal Flowers Exclusive and some beyond breathtaking views of the Hudson Valley. (Seriously… Check out that ceremony set-up!) And with an entire gallery overflowing with brilliant images by Ulysses Photography, I just can’t stop swooning over all of this pretty. So, start your week off right (very right) and join me in the gallery for every amazing moment!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride… I was never one of those girls who’d been dreaming about my wedding day since age 10, so I had nothing in mind for the big day when I got engaged. While my fiancé and I love a good party and host plenty of them at our apartment, we realized our wedding would be a celebration for our family and friends. We tried to focus on the necessities that would make the day urbane to us as a couple: a beautiful view, good food, good music and bright colors. Most of all, when I looked at my wedding album, I wanted to make sure the images were timeless. I’d been perusing wedding blogs as soon as I got engaged and found that many of the images appeared trendy. I saw a lot of photographs that produced images with a smoky, vintage look or a fishbowl roundness to them. I wanted to make sure the one thing I took back from the day—the pictures—would be clean and focused on the moments of the day.
I’d picked The Garrison for our venue easily after looking at a handful of places in the area. I liked the clean, open feeling of their space. I wanted to be away from New York City where we live to allow for a slower-paced day. My mother, soon-to-be mother-in-law, and I looked around the room at the Garrison and instantly knew all of our friends and family would feel comfortable spending the day there. The view really made it stand apart from the rest.
From the jump, Jenni and Ulysses at Ulysses Photography were incredibly responsive. Jenni answered all our questions easily and promptly, and their experience spoke for itself. At the end of big day, I was most pleased with Jenni and Ulysses. They are so wonderful as a team and really got to know us beforehand through email and our engagement photo session. On my wedding day, I was overwhelmed with all sorts of emotion: nervousness, excitement. When it came time for our private photo shoot, I couldn’t believe the day was actually happening and needed a moment once I saw my groom. Jenni and Ulysses were so patient. Jenni even gave me a pep talk about all the little things that were floating around in my head and distracting me. Above and beyond the call of duty!
The general décor was to be simple as we are as a couple. The details seemed to fall together. I wanted pears to be on display, as my new last name, Hruska, meant pear in Czech. I picked three wicker baskets that matched the wooden tables at the Garrison to hold a few pears. We also included two images of pears on either side of the guest names on our escort cards. In memory of my cousin Samantha who had passed away in the time I got engaged and married, I had two sunflower arrangements, as they were her favorite flower. She was so excited when we got engaged and I needed to have a visual reminder of her. To spruce up the table settings, our dear friend and artist, Emily Nagle, created custom images of places Mike and I had been to in our relationship and planned to go to on our honeymoon. She designed our save-the-date, so we wanted to tie the feel of her artwork into the day itself. For music, we picked DJ PQ, who was recommended by the DJ at a friend’s wedding where I had danced all night. We wanted to make sure the dance floor was packed because we both love to dance. His mix cd was right up our alley. It contained a majority of the songs I’d been compiling to play at the wedding anyway!
Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch. All of our gut reactions proved solid. Our vendors helped make the day just as special as everyone who attended. I can’t describe the feeling of looking out into the crowd as you prepare to say your vows and knowing that all the hard work (prepping for the wedding and nurturing your relationship) is fully supported by those staring back at you. Utterly priceless. Make the day what you want by surrounding yourself with good people. That’s my wedding motto!
Wedding Photography: Ulysses Photography / Flowers: Bridal Flowers Exclusive / Location: The Garrison / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Wedding Dress: Enzoani / Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew / Make-up: Jill Imbrogno / Hair: Diane, The Garrison Salon / Wedding Cake: The Pastry Garden / Artwork: Emily Nagle