One of the things I adore most about saying “I do” is all of the parties leading up to the big day. Engagement parties, bachelorette parties, bridal showers… you name it and I am soooo there ready to celebrate the night away. So to say I am smitten with this lovely Lenz Vineyard & Winery engagement party? A total understatement. Because this is the type of affair that simply screams “awesome” with beautiful blooms from Landscape Adventure and one gorgeous moment after another captured by Rebecca Yale. See them all here.
From Rebecca Yale Portraits… Sandy and Kain’s beautiful engagement party was the perfect end of the summer bash to kick off their wedding celebrations next year. The party was held at Lenz Winery on the North Fork of Long Island where Kain proposed to Sandy. The beautiful vineyard setting was further enhanced by the beautiful florals and framed photographs of the couple that decorated wine barrels throughout the courtyard. Landscape Adventure and Lenz created a stunning tablescape for the couple with beautiful pink and cream flowers offset by succulents scattered around the tables. The guests enjoyed a sunny cocktail hour on the patio drinking wine made at the vineyard and enjoying delicious hors d’oeuvres made by Lia Fallon of the Riverhead Project. Next, guests headed into a tree-lined courtyard with beautiful banquet tables to enjoy their family style dinner. As the sun set over the vines the guests enjoyed a beautiful dessert table prepared by Kiss My Cake and homemade treats from the groom’s mother.
From the Groom… Sandy and I reconnected right after graduating college. Sandy was taking a class at FIT, so I took a train into the city to see her and the rest is history. We have come to love traveling and anything that has to do with food – any and all kinds are acceptable. We still love going to bars and getting a few beers and some wings (that’s more my doing) – but Sandy has opened me up to the world of wine as well. We took a wine tour in Seattle when we were visiting, and even have to come to love exploring wine in our own backyard of Long Island, New York. During the fall and beginning of winter, we would venture out east where we could experience the vineyards without all the tourists and summer crowds. The north fork became a special place for us because we always enjoyed the farms, antiques and environment that always didn’t feel quite like New York (in a good way). This is why I chose to propose to Sandy at Lenz Winery – because it was a special place for us and it just felt right to make a lasting memory in a place where we felt so comfortable. This now makes wine that much more special for the two of us – because behind each glass reminds me of the woman I love so dearly.
From the Groom… Kain and I reconnected after college but we initially met in high school. We hardly spoke to one another back then and we only shared one class together which was a freshman math class. I remember Kain sat right behind me in class and would always bug me (haha)! On our first date we had Thai food in the lower east side. it was Kain’s first time having Thai so I felt very honored, but little did I know that it was the start of our many food adventures and a lifetime of happiness.
Lenz has ALWAYS been my favorite vineyard on Long Island and now it’s extra special because it was where Kain proposed and where we had our engagement party. There is something about Lenz that always gave me this warm comfortable feeling of being at home.
This was the first time many of my close family and friends had met so it was extra special for us in that regard as well. We wanted everyone to get a taste of the things we love and the atmosphere that we really appreciate which is good food, good wine, gorgeous and just relaxing. Lenz was the perfect place for that. Everything about Lenz was beautiful and absolutely magical. The gorgeous top terrace to the breathtaking bottom terrace which were both covered in vines and ivy was simply amazing. The harpist, Janet King, also made it that much more relaxing. Our chef, Lia Fallon from the riverhead project, did an amazing job preparing our favorite dishes: from the assortment of local artisan cheeses to the butternut squash soup shooters to the Peruvian potatoes of the side dishes for our entree(My family enjoyed that as they are Peruvian). Everything was local, had tons of flavor and was executed magnificently! Our beer was also from a local distributor called crooked ladder brewing company which is literally down the street in town. Our desserts were from kiss my cake in Huntington which featured rainbow cookie, cotton candy, and bacon chipotle macaron as well as a variety of others. The chocolate chip cookies were homemade by Kain’s mom.
The party is a wonderful memory because it not only brought together all the people that are so special to us in our lives, but it also brought together Kain and I in our new lives together in our favorite place where we have always enjoyed spending our time together as a couple.
Photographer: Rebecca Yale Portraits | Florist: Landscape Adventure | Bakery: Kiss My Cake | Bride's Shoes: Louboutin | Caterer: River Head Project | Groom's Attire: Lacoste | Harpist: Janet King | Film Lab: Richard Photo Lab | Location: Lenz Vineyard & Winery