September 5, 2015 | Our Wedding Day

Alex and I have been together on and off since high school. Our relationship started out of a friendship, we were close all through high school but it wasn’t until senior year that we made it official. Of course, right before we went off to separate colleges! School and traveling made it hard to stay together though we did do long distance for a few years. Fast forward to 2010 and I was finally done with grad school, moved home and we rekindled our love! I started working for the family business in 2011, the same year we moved in together adopted our rescue pup Doobie.

I guess September has always been a special month for us. September 2 was our “anniversary” before our wedding, we moved into our house Labor Day weekend of 2012 and now it is our wedding anniversary.

Speaking of our wedding it was really the best day ever!

I’ll always have the best memories of that day even though some things did not go as planned. For example… I woke up that morning at about 5am to my eyes burning like crazy, I went and looked in the mirror and to my horror my eyes were RED, bloodshot and sooooo so red! Of course, I was horrified and immediately woke up my best friend to help me calm my eyes down. I figured out quickly it was the glue from the eyelash extensions I had gotten the day prior. Take note – do not get eyelash extensions the day before your wedding!!

Because we spent the morning trying to calm my eyes down it wasn’t as laid-back as I had envisioned. I didn’t get my make-up done until late because I was sitting with cucumbers on my eyes trying to take the red away! It helped but they didn’t fully go back to normal the entire day. The redness coupled with my makeup coming out looking extra pale, (that was another disappointment) I was devastated because I thought I looked like a zombie!! Ok, that’s dramatic, but I was definitely upset about it!

Other than my zombie face and getting a late start to the day everything else was literally a dream!

Our first look took place in our driveway at home, it was very peaceful with just the photographers, but it ended up being really emotional because I had had such an off morning and all I wanted was to see Alex. Pictures happened directly after over at the farm, where the entire wedding was held.

Our ceremony and cocktail hour was up in the actual orchard, we have a beautiful stone patio with a beautiful view up there and it was just a dream. The weather was clear and sunny and dry and the trees were just bursting with fruit. Guests were greeted with fresh fruits picked that morning from the orchard and glasses of Hardscrabble Cider (Alex and his brother’s company, we make it from our apples!!) for sipping.

We had a string quartet playing subtle background music during arrivals and then the bridal party walked down the aisle to the instrumental version of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature,” (think 2Cellos). My walk down the aisle is a complete blur, I think I blacked out because I was so nervous haha! But I remember just focusing on Alex’s face and it calmed me. I walked down to again the 2Cellos version of “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons.

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was short and sweet. We had a couple of good friends do readings on love and commitment, if I find the exact excerpts I’ll let you know! They were very different and I know one was called “An Apache Blessing.” We wrote personal vows and I almosttttt made it through without crying haha. Then we did a special toast with the hard cider and also signed the papers in front of everyone. Our officiant was incredible, she is from Australia and said this was a very “Australian” thing to do – I loved it! I have to say I was so happy we hired a planner to execute the wedding, there is no way we could have done it on our own with all the moving parts we had! She was so worth what we paid!!

Being in our hometown we had a great turnout of family and friends, about 220 attended.

We celebrated under a tent that was decorated so beautifully by my planner, Amanda and Lori of Ava Flora (side note, go follow her right now on Instagram, you won’t be disappointed!!). We literally partied all night to the beats of Around Town Entertainment, and then our own pre-made playlists –  Alex and I didn’t get home until 5am!!

It was such special day, I’ll never forget the high I was on for weeks following the wedding. Committing to the one you love in front of everyone you love (minus a few people who couldn’t make it) is one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt. I am so grateful to be on this journey with Alex and I’m so thankful for the life we are building together!

Vendor List

Dress – Zahavit Tshuba

Shoes – Sergio Rossi

Long Veil – Alisa Brides

Short Veil – Zahavit Tshuba via Lovella Bridal

Jewelry – Swarovski

Bridesmaid’s Dresses – BHLDN

Flowers – Ava Flora

Venue – Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard

Cider – Hardscrabble Cider

Calligrapher – Ashley Buzzy Calligraphy 

Invitations and Paper Details – Paper Studio NY

Planner – Amanda Barbara Events

Officiant – Weddings By Bettina 

Tent – NY Tent Company

Band – Around Town Entertainment

Catering – Brent Newsom Catering

Rentals – Party Rental, LTD

Photography – Gina Esposito

Videography – Wellspun Weddings

Favors – La Petit Occasion

Cake & Desserts – Lulu Cake Boutique

Men’s Attire – Men’s Warehouse, suspenders from Nordstrom

First Look & Getting Ready

Alex and his brothers had just released Hardscrabble Cider that year so of course we incorporated it into our ceremony! And every bar was stocked with it as well!

Ceremony

Portraits

Wedding Day Bridal Portraits

Bridal Portraits by Jessica Miccio Photography

Reception & Details