My FLX wedding
Last year I blogged about meeting “Mr. Kelly” here. We got married 5 years ago this month, so we just celebrated our anniversary! How has it been 5 years already?! I still relive my wedding day over and over through beautiful photos, my dress tradition and memories.
When we got engaged over the holidays, we immediately started hunting for venues around my hometown. We didn’t have a location in mind, as we never previously talked about whether we would get married in Connecticut or New York. Our goal was to get a head start on venues, come up with ideas of what we want and decide where we want to have our wedding. Seneca Lake is full of venues, which some wineries/breweries host weddings too. Naturally Seneca Lake was first place we looked.
We visited a venue called Logan Ridge Estates and then another venue on Keuka Lake (another of Finger Lakes). LRE seemed so amazing from the tour, we left there loving it so much that we wanted to book immediately. It was only the first venue so we thought we had to give others a chance. We visited the venue on Keuka Lake, but LRE was stuck on our minds. We canceled all other venues to visit. Back to LRE and we booked our wedding that same day!
How did we decide so quickly? We just talked so much in the car about everything we loved about LRE. We just knew. I loved how I got married on Seneca Lake, as I mentioned, I have so many memories there. It was a special place for me, which is now even more special with our wedding taking place there. The lake also was perfect backdrop to my nautical themed wedding.
The nautical theme came from our love for New England. We incorporated as much as possible. My bridesmaids and I carried hydrangeas. My grandpa has a wood shop so he helped with some of our DIY projects. He created wooden boats for our guests’ table numbers, wedding cards holder, huge anchors and our chuppah. The entire wedding party including us, the bride and groom wore boat shoes. The colors of the wedding were navy blue, white and gold. My dad’s tie had Charles W. Morgan (the ship that I always talk about that is docked at Mystic Seaport). My dad built this beautiful lighthouse shelf for the wooden boats which were “docked” for guests to find their names/table numbers.
Kristy, the owner of LRE was amazing in executing everything the weekend of our wedding. We had our rehearsal dinner there the night before. I was able to be there all day the day of the wedding for wedding prep in the morning then the ceremony/reception. I loved how we were able to stay in one place without having to worry about transportation or moving to multiple locations. There is a bridal suite in the lower level where I stayed all morning getting ready.
The day we got married, it downpour BAD. It slowed down around the time of our wedding ceremony, so my husband (who was the decision maker) decided to go for it… Have it outdoors. We had a perfect hour of no rain (a few tiny drops!) then as soon we walked as a newly married couple into the venue, it DOWNPOUR again! We were in disbelief with how lucky we were to have the ceremony outdoors.
The ceremony was perfect blend of our interfaith (Irish Catholic/Jewish) background. Once we were engaged, without hesitation I asked my ordained college professor/academic counselor to perform the ceremony. She had a Jewish background and was a rabbi in her spare time when she’s not busy teaching classes at the college. During the ceremony, she incorporated traditions from both interfaith backgrounds so well! The rabbi/professor was a complete package, also able to sim-com (use sign language and verbal dialogue) and I loved how she knew us personally. The professor was actually the one who taught me the Jewish background when we were dating!
Since the wedding was on Seneca Lake, all of our vendors were NY-based. Our photographers, Denko Imaging were a husband-wife team. I loved having two photographers to catch all perspectives of the day! Their photographing style at the reception was journalism-like, capturing real moments. You can see emotions and happiness in the photographs! It was great to work with them, they were so laid back and flexible. The caterer, Corning Catering Inc provided a food buffet style, giving everyone the choices of what they wanted to eat. He hit it out of the park with the mashed potato bar! The dessert came from Sugar Mountain in Watkins Glen. We went with a 2-tier cake for us, which had a nautical cake topper and navy blue/white ribbons. The guests got three different flavors of cupcakes to pick from. The dessert was so good, so moist! The flowers (hydrangeas) came from Griswold Flowers (which unfortunately has permanently closed). Our flowers were beautiful and we got a great pricing for them! Our DJ was Gregg Manos of Crowd Control DJ Service, who I have known since middle school days! His son was a good friend of mine. He was a great DJ for our wedding, he played all the songs as requested and did a great job with the introductions. I had a special song for my groom, the DJ was able to find a copy of it and make it happen for our wedding day! My hairstylist, Theresa Vitucci Colvin did the hair for my bridesmaids, my mom and me. She sure had a busy morning of prep but she made everyone look beautiful! I was lucky to have her available for my wedding day, as she is also my regular hairstylist when I come into town. For my bridal entrance walk, I had bagpipe player Wendy Turner Brooks, playing some Irish tunes.
The rain didn’t put a damper on the wedding day, we enjoyed the delicious food and had a ball with dancing the night away. I loved how laid back the environment was, as I didn’t want super formal setting. Our wedding was a wonderful day spent with family and close friends, keeping it small and intimate. We were lucky with all of our vendors who all helped to execute everything perfectly beyond what we imagined for our special day.
Sperry boat shoes for the bride with blue hydrangeas.
Mom + Bride getting ready in the bridal suite at LRE.
Excited to see my groom for the first time, with my parents by my side.
Seeing each other for the first time, while Rabbi starts off the ceremony.
The Jewish tradition of breaking the glass.
*I surprised my groom with a quilt made of fabrics from his late mother’s nursing uniforms which is hanging on top of the chuppah to have her presence among us on our special day.
The Irish tradition of handfasting.
Saying my vows to the groom.
We used Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards wine for the blessing and the other bottle holds rolled up scrolls of our vows. (PS: The winery is located in front of the venue!)
Sipping the Hazlitt wine.
“You may kiss the bride!”
Officially Mr. and Mrs. Our pup made an appearance in our wedding, of course! She wore harness and leash decorated with signal flags.
Family photo.
The table number with the wood lanterns that my grandpa helped to make.
The cake and cupcakes from Sugar Mountain. The cake topper was bought off Etsy.
Food buffet line with the groom and my brother who was the ‘Man of Honor’ (no maid of honor).
LRE had some nautical decor around the place so it was easy to blend with our New England theme!
We both wore boat shoes!
We caught a moment at the end of the evening outside, which fog were rolling in above the lake. I think this photo makes it look like we’re on some kind of a ship!
Stay tuned for the wedding dress tradition!
In loving memory of our Rabbi Jennifer L. Gravitz who fought a courageous battle with breast cancer.