Blue Hill at Stone Barns was Jia’s dream wedding venue and she knew it from the first time she visited the property. Zach likes to joke that she picked the venue before she picked the guy.
Jia and Zach had seen a ketubah that Suite Paperie had designed for another one of my weddings and loved it, so they really wanted to work with her for all their paperie. For their invitation, the chardonnay envelope enclosed a velvet toast liner that brought the cozy fall vibes. A floral custom printed vellum overlay and wax seal enclosed their letterpress invitation with watercolour artwork. The details card was a scene of the ceremony with their beloved dog Penny sitting in the aisle with a flower crown on her head. Penny couldn’t join for the actual wedding, so they wanted to add her to the wedding in special places.
Jia wore Vera Wang’s "Esther". A sweetheart soft A-line gown with multi-layered Chantilly lace applique. For her wedding shoes, she wore Prada boots, which were so cool and perfect for walking around Stone Barns. Zach wore a midnight blue tuxedo from Zegna. The flower palette included seasonal warm tones with oranges, corals, blush, burgundy and touches of soft blue tones and lavender. Jia carried a bouquet of dahlia, peonies, garden roses, ranunculus and clematis from A.P. Bio.
Jia and Zach wanted a slightly earlier wedding than is typically allowed at the venue, so we got approval from Stone Barns for a 4PM start. We had a rather warm fall, so the leaves of the large maple tree were still turning and the huge hydrangea bushes were that lovely pinkish brown tone. A.P. Bio designed a birch chuppah with lush organic florals. The aisle had a burst of colour with long meadow inspired flowers in various heights for a dramatic walk to the chuppah. To keep guests warm, cozy blankets from West Elm were placed on the back of ceremony chairs. For the ceremony and cocktail music, we had a harp and string quartet from Starlight Music. The harp is such a romantic touch. They played classical music pre-ceremony and then contemporary music for the cocktail reception. The processional was “Yellow” by Coldplay and the bride walked with her father to “Canon in D” by Pachelbel. Rabbi Crystal officiated the ceremony. For their ketubah, Suite Paperie used the watercolour artwork of the ceremony scene with Penny. She also designed a ceremony programme which explained the Jewish ceremony traditions including a translation in Chinese for Jia’s family. Kippot in a light grey suede with gold embossed names and wedding date inside were made available for the guests.
After the ceremony, we decided to have the cocktail reception in the Haybarn with the doors open to the Courtyard. If it had been warmer we would have gone with the Dooryard Garden, but with a temperature of 55F and “feels like” temperature even lower, we wanted to keep guests comfortable. It took a while for guests to move into the haybarn because they were busy taking pictures in front of the beautiful chuppah. I can’t blame them. It was gorgeous! Suite Paperie created three custom cocktail napkins with different illustrations of Penny in various colours. I sorted these individually so that they were in continuously alternating piles and each design would be a surprise for guests as they used them at the bars and with the passed hors d’oeuvres:
polenta fries, pastrami
spicy crab taco
quail egg and caviar
whole wheat crackers, carrot, yogurt
smoked tomato soup
donko donuts
tortilla, veg relish
vegetables from the farm
For their signature cocktails:
PRESERVATION SPRITZ
lady apple gin, apple cider syrup, cognac, champagne, tonic
TÓMATELO
sungold tomato tequila, mezcal, lemon, melon, espelette
Guests walked through the Silo Lobby to pick up their escort cards from the large wooden table decorated with two classic urns filled with flowers and branches. Before heading upstairs. We had 133 guests for dinner and dancing in the Hayloft. For the head table, they decided to have seating only on one side facing the band and dance floor. That way nobody had their backs to the band and we could do a longer table for the 6 people. A.P. Bio went all out on that table! The table was filled with floral arrangements, petal taper candles, white pillar candles and little votives. The floor in front of the table had flowers that appeared to grow up from the ground. The windowsill behind the table had more flowers and branches, with some dripping down. The bride said she felt like she was being hugged by flowers sitting at the head table. For the rest of the dining tables, we kept them as rounds to be space efficient and create the largest possible dance floor. Each guest has a place card with flower details by Suite Paperie on their napkin. The table floral arrangements were elegant, refined and romantic in design with a rich palette. The ceremony aisle flowers had been repurposed to the hallway into the dinner and around the head table. It was a flower filled celebration, which is what the couple wanted.
After seating guests and checking on dietary restrictions, we brought the couple into the room for their first dance to “Lover” by Taylor Swift (with a special request to change the word “Christmas” to “Hannukah”). The bride had changed into a reception dress by Monique Lhuillier. It had three dimensional flowers embroidered to the gown, which complimented the wedding flowers and style perfectly. The first dance was followed by a fun dance set which ended with the joyful horah before inviting guests to be seated for their first course. For their dinner with wine pairings:
I
HONEYNUT & 898 SQUASH
in the style of a tartare
Domaine Arnaud Lambert ‘Clos De Midi’ Saumur Blanc, Loire Valley 2022
II
MAINE LOBSTER
cabbage, sesame, mushroom miso broth
Presqu’ile Winery Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, California 2021
III
GRASS-FED BEEF
polenta & creamed spinach
Chateau des Laurets, Puisseguin Saint Emilion, Bordeaux, France 2016
IV
WEDDING CAKE
einkorn chiffon, pumpkinseed praline, pear, apple molasses buttercream
V
PASSED DESSERTS
s’more semifreddo, whole wheat honey biscuit,
black raspberry & hazelnut ice cream sandwiches
For the late-night dancing, we brought out Rescue Flats (ballet flats) for anyone who needed a change of shoes. The Eleven Band did such an amazing job and kept the guests dancing all night! The Haybarn had been decorated with lanterns in varying heights for the cocktail reception. We repurposed these and creating a pathway leading guests through the courtyard and out to the valet area for the exit. It was such a pleasure working with Jia and Zach and helping them create their dream celebration. Mazel tov! Thank you to Sasithon Photography for these beautiful images.
Planning: Ang Weddings and Events | Venue: Blue Hill at Stone Barns | Flowers: A.P. Bio | Paperie: Suite Paperie | Photography: Sasithon Photography | Videography: Mike Zhu Films | Harp and Strings: Starlight Music | Band: The Eleven | Hair and Makeup: Ombre by E.J | Dress: Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier | Bridesmaids: Anthropologie | Suit: Zegna | Transport: Red Oak
See more of our Blue Hill at Stone Barns weddings: