Photo by Steph

in love.

Pamela was so beautiful in her diamond encrusted wedding gown with a tiara nestled in her lovely curls that it’s no wonder Erik couldn’t stop gazing at her in adoration.  Vivian captured the romance between them perfectly in the garden engagement photos displayed on the guest book table…next to giant diamond rings and tinier jewels.  Passionate pink and bling ruled the night!

THE DETAILS:  Pink linens on the tables and beautiful pedestal floral arrangements of pink hydrangeas, red mini roses and white snap dragons in vases filled with diamonds.  The guests received scented reed diffusers in bags with pink and white diamonds.  The bridesmaids wore pink and white dresses, and even the guys wore pink ties.

Thanks to a little strategic planning on Pamela and Erik’s part, Erik’s brother and Best Man Kurt and his girlfriend ended up c

Photo by Steph

atching the garter and bouquet.  Hint: we highly recommend the setup for the bouquet and garter toss if you decide to do it, especially if you have a “game” couple; the results can be very entertaining!

These guys were non-stop partiers!  They hit the dance floor after dinner and didn’t leave until the last song of the night, when Eric ended up on the shoulders of his groomsmen singing along with, “New York, New York.”

It was a wedding filled with laughter, dancing and romance.  Thanks for having us, guys!

Christos

Photos by Vivian Photography

Troutbeck recalls a beautiful, English country manor right here in the Hudson Valley.  Lovely stonework, gorgeous gardens, trickling streams and lush lawns.  Perfect for a wedding celebration.

Literary icons have been drawn to Troutbeck since its construction in 1765: Emerson, Thoreau, Hemingway.  It’s no wonder Andrea and Scott chose it for their day; the couple runs an art gallery together, Scott is a poet and they share a deep affinity for literature and history.

They brought that love of history into their wedding by naming their tables with their grandparents’ first names.  The tables were arranged banquet style, adorned with multiple arrangements of yellow roses and white flowers alternating at every place setting.

Andrea was just lovely in her pocketed wedding dress.  Everything enabled the relaxed, laid back yet sophisticated elegance of Andrea and Scott’s Troutbeck wedding.

After dinner, Andrea and Scott ignited the dancing with their First Dance to “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” by Nina Simone, leading into Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”  From there we sampled the couples favorites, from the Beastie Boys to Stephen Malkmus to Snoop Dogg and Johnny Cash.

“Scott never dances!” Andrea exclaimed, shaking her head as she watched him pogo to Elvis Costello.

We ended the night with Yo La Tengo’s “Our Way To Fall,” the song that just missed being the couple’s first dance.  Then the guests were off to a midnight snack of grilled cheese and fries at the bar.

This wedding was the perfect match for our photographer friends Sara and Sarma who we last worked with at the Garrison…a wedding that was a featured in The Knot magazine!  Let me tell you, these ladies have the goods.

Troutbeck

Photos by Sara and Sarma

So you’d like to plan a green Hudson Valley wedding.  (If you have questions about WHY you would want to have a green Hudson Valley wedding, check out my earlier blog post.)

Where do you start?

The internet is a wonderful resource for planning an eco friendly wedding.  Bridal magazines and websites are jumping on the green band wagon with lots of information.  But here are some of the most comprehensive sites available:

Organic.Clothing.Blogs.com -  You’ll find numerous sources of green wedding dresses and attire, along with ideas for planning an eco friendly wedding on a budget.

PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com and BridePower.com – Want a green wedding dress without offending your keen fashion sense or your pocket book?  Buy a used wedding dress.  Designer wedding gowns are available at a fraction of the retail cost.   Feel even better about yourself by buying a used or new designer dress from Brides Against Breast Cancer because all the proceeds go to breast cancer research…and you can write it off!

Green Wedding Flowers – The easiest way to go green when it comes to your wedding flowers is to choose locally grown, organic, in season blooms…which also happen to be the cheapest.  You can also talk to your florist about finding the most-cost effective and environmentally friendly options.

Green Wedding Invitations – Go for recycled invitations, easily found on sites like Papyrus.com and ask your guests to RSVP by telephone or email.  (Bonus savings on response cards, envelopes and postage.)  Want to go even greener?  Skip physical invites altogether and send electronic invitations through a service like Evite.com.  Martha Stewart and Emily Post will just have to get over their etiquette obsessed selves.

Green Wedding Favors – A quick Google search for “green wedding favors” turns up dozens of great options, many of them quite inexpensive, such as these butterfly wildflower seed favors.  Go a step further and SKIP your favors altogether and make a donation to your favorite charity instead.

Green Hudson Valley Wedding Locations To Consider:

• The Garrison
• Mohonk Mountain House
• Buttermilk Falls Spa and Inn
• Osborn Castle at Cat Rock

But even if you don’t consider yourself a “green” bride, every eco friendly wedding choice makes a difference.  Talk to your caterer, photographer and DJ for ideas about what you can do to conserve energy and choose more environmentally friendly products and services.

Got a questions about planning a green Hudson Valley wedding?  Any ideas to share?  Leave me a comment.