Hudson Valley Wedding
We married at The Garrison in Garrison, NY and our wedding was inspired by where we live. The Hudson Valley is such a beautiful place, and it’s home for us. The Garrison was the perfect venue because it really highlighted the scenery.
Words by Katie. Images by Stories by Victoria.
Justin Alexander Gown
I wore the Palermo gown from the Justin Alexander Signature line purchased from Lambs Hill Bridal. I knew I wanted a simple silhouette and I have always been drawn to clean white dresses, with no lace or beading. I really wanted to feel like myself on my wedding day. Many of the dresses I tried on were beautiful but made me feel like I was playing dress up as a bride. As soon as I tried on the Palermo gown I knew it was my dress. It felt bridal but it also felt like me.
Blue Suit
John wore a blue suit from The Black Tux. He always knew he wanted to wear blue, but didn’t love the traditional dark blue suits we were seeing. The suit from The Black Tux was sort of a bright Navy. We thought it was perfect. It also looked great with white sneakers, which was important to John. He bought all of his groomsmen matching white sneakers for the wedding day and it was the perfect touch.
Magical Ceremony
Our ceremony just felt magical. We were outside, overlooking the mountains and the Hudson River. I walked down the aisle to the piano version of “Daylight” by Taylor Swift. My uncle officiated and John’s aunt gave a speech. We also read our own vows. It felt really authentic and heartfelt. It was clear that there was so much love around us and it set the tone for the rest of the night.
Swipe & Drive
John and I met on Bumble in December 2018. John was swiping and driving (we do not recommend this, drive safe!!) as he passed through Poughkeepsie on his way home to Warwick, NY from Western Mass. If it wasn’t for that trip and the Bumble algorithm, we wouldn’t be here today.
First Date
On our first date, we met in a cafe for lunch and John opened with a story about coming face-to-face with a bear in his driveway. I was charmed immediately. In fact, the date went so well that we bought tickets to see the NY Giants play the very next day. It was pouring, and the Giants were terrible but it was the greatest weekend of my life. We’ve been together ever since.
Wedding Decor
Because of the outdoor ceremony space and the huge wall-to-wall windows in the reception room, the mountains, the river, and the sunset served as our decor. We chose florals that felt like they could have been picked from the garden. We hung bistro lights above the dance floor to make it feel like we were dancing under the stars. The whole goal was to achieve an elevated, garden vibe and it all came together better than I could have imagined.
Words of Wisdom
Block off time to talk about planning, and then just enjoy the rest of your moments together. Towards the beginning of the planning process, John and I found that the wedding was taking over almost every conversation we were having and it started to feel really overwhelming. So, we decided that Thursday night would be wedding planning night. We would sit down together, maybe open a beer, and talk about everything that had come up in the past week and make any decisions necessary. Then we put the conversation on the back burner until the next Thursday. This made everything feel so much more manageable and allowed us to enjoy everything else going on around us.
Electric
Our wedding was amazing. The night felt electric. Honestly, there isn’t anything I would change about it. We are really, truly blessed to have found each other, to have such an amazing group of friends and family, and to have worked with vendors that feel like friends. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Such a breathtaking wedding with beautiful scenery. Are you inspired by garden-styled weddings? Let us know in the comments!
Photo and Video: Stories by Victoria @storiesbyvictoria_ / Venue and Catering: The Garrison @the_garrison / Florist: Chester Hometown Florist / DJ: A Perfect Blend Entertainment @apbentertainment / Lighting: Hourglass Lighting @hourglass_lighting / Photo Booth: Metro Photo Bus @metrophotobus / Cake: The Pastry Garden @pastrygardenbakery / Hair + Makeup: Eye for Beauty @eyeforbeautyct / Dress: Justin Alexander @justinalexander / Dress Store: Lambs Hill Bridal @lambs_hill / Suit: The Black Tux @theblacktux
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