After rescheduling a year ahead due to the pandemic, Arielle and Bryant finally got married at Blue Hill at Stone Barns with so many of their family and friends in attendance! With over 200 guests, they felt the safest way to host a big celebration was to have the wedding outdoors. As with all our weddings at Blue Hill in 2021, every guest was fully vaccinated too.
The beautiful Sperry tent that was setup in the courtyard (which we were using for the dinner reception) didn’t leave too much open space for the ceremony. The original plan had been to have the ceremony in the courtyard, but due to our larger guest count, we had to change that up and moved it to the shed lawn on the other side of the restaurant. With the larger format event at Blue Hill, the restaurant was closed for the evening, and it gave us a lot of flexibility in how to utilize the grounds. We decided to have the processional lead from the restaurant to the chuppah, which was flanked by two big trees on the lawn. We had to work around the pizza oven and tent on the shed lawn from one of the chef in residence series, and that direction made the most sense to us. There was also a nice flat surface for the chuppah to be built on. The chuppah was a metallic structure covered in greenery with accents of seasonal grasses and flowers including roses and dahlia in blush, peach and pink. Installations of grasses and flowers growing up from the ground helped to define the aisle. Arielle and Bryant chose not to have a formal bridal party, but had their family walk down the aisle during the processional. Given how important family is to both of them, it was only fitting!
Both Arielle and Bryant work in the music industry, so creating the right music and tone for the wedding celebration was really important. They invited Martin Courtney to perform for the ceremony and he sang and played his guitar. Bryant was happy to hear some of the pre-ceremony music from his hidden location just before the ceremony. Most of the time, the couple don’t get to enjoy the pre-ceremony music. They are hidden away somewhere as guests arrive. After the ceremony, Martin handed me a handwritten list of all the songs he played to pass on to the couple. It was such a sweet touch.
Capturing images of all the guests was important to the family, so we hired a third photographer for the wedding. As guests were arriving for the ceremony, we had the photographers take a quick portrait of them.
We used the restaurant terrace and lower lawn for their cocktail reception with delicious hors d’oeuvres: vegetables from the farm, polenta fries, donko donuts (my current favourite), kohlrabi tacos, widow’s hole oysters, tomato burgers, melon and speck, red garden gazpacho and charcuterie. The grill on the back terrace was open and grilling up the most delicious beetfurters (mini beet dogs) for the guests. We had a jazz quartet from Elan Artists playing for cocktails. Poppies and Posies had lots of room to play with on the long farm table in the restaurant, and made an installation of different vases housing just 1 type of bloom each. It looked like a beautiful flower shop! We used the table to display the mini envelope escort cards from Fourteen Forty. I like the flexibility of the mini envelopes, just in case there are any last minute changes.
We directed guests through the restaurant to the courtyard where the dining tables were setup under the Sperry sailcloth tent and the long covered space between the old Grain Café and the front door of the restaurant. The tables worked out nicely to have Arielle and Bryant’s friends under the long space and family under the tent. Pegasus did such a wonderful job with transforming the space with light. As the Sperry tent already had string lights, we added string lights over the dining tables in the long covered area, as well as over the dance floor in the open courtyard. We uplit the perimeter of the tent and the tent poles, which Poppies and Posies had also decorated with some greenery. The various architectural accents around the courtyard were also highlighted with light, including the magnificent maple tree, which became the backdrop of the DJ Sam French later into the night. Poppies and Posies created low lush arrangements in matte white ceramic vases. The café au lait dahlia and raspberry-hued dahlia really stole the show for me! They also repurposed the floral installations from ceremony around the courtyard. We created some cozy lounge sets in the courtyard using beautiful pieces from Patina. To make sure everyone was comfortable through the cooler evening, we had patio heaters setup around the courtyard and provided blankets for guests to use as needed. Bryant and Arielle put together their own playlist of music for KM Audio to play during dinner.
First course: Heirloom tomato, basil seed vinaigrette, black garlic, melon
Second course: Corn chowder, lobster, clam
Third course: Center-cut squash, potato, ketchup, Stone Barns Center grass fed beef
A dear friend of the couple, Grace, baked and designed their wedding cake. It was spiced carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, pecans and apple cider caramel. She even baked a groom’s cake for Bryant in his favourite flavour, funfetti. For passed desserts guests enjoyed mountain mint s’mores, chocolate panna cotta and brown butter upside down cake. After dinner and some beautiful speeches from their family, DJ Sam French got everyone up and dancing, starting with the horah. We have had a crazy amount of rain in 2021, but Arielle and Bryant lucked out with the most beautiful day and night for their completely outdoor wedding. It was all so lovely for one of the nicest couples and their families.
Planning: Ang Weddings and Events | Venue: Blue Hill at Stone Barns | Florals: Poppies and Posies | Photography: Fiona Conrad | Video: Hey Lovebrain | DJ: Sam French | Ceremony music: Martin Courtney | Jazz Quartet: Elan Artists | Audio: Tag Live | Lighting: Pegasus Productions | Tent: Greenwich Tent Company | Rentals: Party Rental Ltd and Patina | Paperie: Fourteen Forty
See more of our Blue Hill at Stone Barns weddings here: