Rachel and Jared’s wedding gathered some of my favourite wedding professionals, so when mother nature decided to send us some good luck rain, I walked into the day feeling very confident that we would create a spectacular celebration for them. Fourteen Forty created a one of a kind invitation suite that combined Rachel’s mom’s love of engraving and Rachel’s love of watercolour illustrations. Rachel always liked a photo of Blue Hill at Stone Barns from the Dooryard Garden looking through the archway to the courtyard and restaurant. We used this view as inspiration for their beautiful liner in a soft blue envelope. The main invitation card had a navy beveled edge and the wording in elegant script engraving. The additional cards each had custom illustrations of flowers and a fire pit for their rehearsal dinner venue Peasant. The illustrations looked particularly crisp and beautiful engraved. I loved the adorable rabbit we used as one of the USPS stamps on the envelope.
Rachel wore a Monique Lhuillier gown with removable sleeves and lily of the valley lace. She carried a bouquet of lilac, ranunculus, frittilaria, iris, delphinium, peonies and anemonies. A.P. Bio had built a most stunning installation of florals in the hallway leading to the upper Hayloft. Given the rain was coming down outside, our photographer Sasithon decided that the flower covered hallway was a great place for Rachel and Jared’s first look. They ventured outside for portraits in the covered areas. The light was so pretty!
While portraits were taking place, the dining tables that had been preset with linens, silverware and glassware were stacked and hidden behind corner drapes of the upper Hayloft. A.P. Bio started building the chuppah in the upper Hayloft, which was our rain plan location. The chuppah was a magnificent flowerful structure filled with varying shades of blue hydrangea and delphinium and a little touch of lilac. The flowers decorating the aisle included purple allium, which I always find so whimsical and fun.
The first time that Rachel had visited Blue Hill at Stone Barns was for her grandmother’s birthday party in the private dining room. It seemed only fitting that we should have the ketubah signing in the same room with the spirit of her grandmother. Their ketubah was designed by their dear friend Sarah Crowner, a renowned and accomplished artist. Two weeks before the wedding, Sasithon had photographed the finished ketubah in her studio, which was sent to Fourteen Forty to print inserts for the programme. The programme brought back their watercolour illustration to the front cover with letterpress for the text. The inside pages were bound with a deep blue gray ribbon with frayed edges, that we thought went nicely with the farm feel. The ketubah insert was placed right in the center of the programme. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Rabbi Rick Jacobs officiated. Rabbi Angela sang Songbird by Fleetwood Mac as Rachel walked down the aisle with her parents.
After the ceremony it was still drizzling very slightly, so the Blue Hill staff made a tunnel of umbrellas to help guests across the courtyard from the silo lobby to the main restaurant for cocktails. The guests ventured out to the beautiful terrace at the back of the restaurant once the rain stopped. Fourteen Forty had designed blue escort envelopes with a rotating design of wild flowers on the side. Which we had setup on the harvest table in the middle of the restaurant.
Jared is a lover of fine wines, so he worked with the head sommelier Hannah Williams to choose the wines for the evening:
Jacques Picard Brut Reserve, Montagne de Reims, Champagne, France NV
Jean-Philippe Fichet Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Bourgogne Blanc, Burgundy, France 2019
G.B. Burlotto 'Elatis' Rosé, Piedmont, Italy 2021
Philippe Jouan Coteaux Bourguignons Rouge, Burgundy, France 2019
Specialty Cocktails:
Kura Collins - sake lees vodka, rhubarb vermouth, strawberry syrup
Can’t Elope the Ladder Broke - preserved melon and habanada pepper gin, lillet, tonic and prosecco
Passed Amuse:
Asparagus Burgers
Ramp Vichysoisse
Asparagus Blini and Caviar
Potato Bites
Hakurei and Poppy Seed
Spring Lettuce and Cured Egg
Donko Donuts
Radish and Brown Butter
While wine and cocktails were flowing, we were busy flipping the hayloft from the ceremony setup to the dinner setup. The ceremony chairs were moved out of the way, tables pulled out from behind the corner drapes, the chuppah being broken down and removed, and the floral team carrying 20 centerpieces up the back service stairwell from the haybarn to the hayloft to place on the tables. Pegasus was pinlighting each of the tables with the genie lift. We arranged place cards for each guest on their napkins once tables were in position. That hour feels like 10 minutes! The bride’s mom chose a green basil faille linen from BBJ La Tavola for the dining tables and I loved how it really showed off the flower palette. We should use green more often for linens. From the blues and purples of the ceremony, we transitioned to a warmer palette for dinner. Citrus and sherbet tones with blue and lavender accents for a joyous and vibrant reception. A.P. Bio really went above and beyond in creating arrangements with a variety of textures, shapes and sizes in the flowers. The big wooden table in the silo lobby had row of a meadow style of flowers, which is my favourite design to date. It was such a showstopper! Given the rain we had brought the valet station to the silo lobby so that guests could be dropped off there and stay dry. They were greeted with this magnificent floral garden on the silo lobby table and guests passed it again and again throughout the evening.
Menu
1st - First of the Asparagus, green garden gazpacho, caviar
Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Italy 2021
2nd - This Morning’s Farm Egg, mushroom
Henri Costal ‘Vaillons’ 1er Cru Chablis, Burgundy, France 2019
3rd - Grass-Fed Beef, spring vegetables, beet ketchup
Monteraponi Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy 2021
After dinner, we had originally planned to have a lounge setup with string lights overhead in the courtyard. With the rain, we moved the lounge setup into the haybarn and the silo lobby. We put both bars in the haybarn and Pegasus added extra bistro lights to the haybarn to make it festive for the band and dancing. An 11-piece band from Marcus Reid provided the dance music downstairs while wedding cake and a trio of small desserts were being passed.
Wedding Cake
chocolate einkhorn cake, chocolate mousse, honey buttercream
Passed Desserts
brioche donut and rhubarb jam, cheesecake and rhubarb, burnt honey & sesame panna cotta
Just to make sure guests had more than enough, they were offered caramel popcorn and double chocolate chip rye cookies as favours at the conclusion. This wedding was 18 months in the planning and what a joyous celebration it turned out to be. Congratulations to Rachel and Jared!
Planning: Ang Weddings and Events | Venue: Blue Hill at Stone Barns | Flowers: A.P. Bio | Paperie: Fourteen Forty | Photography: Sasithon Photography | Videography: Liron Erel | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Music: Marcus Reid via Hank Lane Music | Makeup: Elena Miglino | Hair: Mark Garrison | Lighting: Pegasus | Lounge: Taylor Creative | Transport: Red Oak
See more of our Blue Hill at Stone Barns weddings below