Linden and Jacob's Blue Hill at Stone Barns wedding in the spring was so beautiful that it took forever for me to get this blog post together! I had such a hard time choosing pictures from Heather Waraksa, one of my very favourite photographers. The vendor team we collaborated with produced such exquisite work and Linden and her mom were a joy to work with. Blue Hill at Stone Barns is truly spectacular in June. Everything is so lush and green throughout the property.
Linden and Jacob have always said they go together like peas in a pod. They have a little plate in their home with a vintage illustration of a couple as "peas in a pod". Linden's mom was able to track down the illustration, which they used for their save the dates! For their wedding invitations, they worked with Katie Fischer Design on an elegant and sophisticated letterpressed design using hand deckled paper. Peas in a pod were included in the beautiful green liner and a sweet little illustration on the information card. A vintage stamp collection included the Metropolitan Opera House, Brooklyn Bridge and birds. I particularly love how Heather Waraksa captured the paperie. Do you spot the glass spider she added?! We were at a farm after all!
Linden and Jacob chose not to have a formal bridal party, but had their best friends around while they were getting ready. I adore the portrait of Linden's mother and grandmother above helping her into her dress by Morgan le Fay. She wore blush Manolo Blahnik heels, which peeked out nicely from her ankle length dress. The bridal bouquet was a lush collection of soft blooms including creamy white peonies, dusty rose garden roses, and bright pop of raspberry-hued scabiosa from Poppies and Posies.
Plan A for the ceremony was to be married outdoors in the courtyard just in front of the beautiful big tree. Plan B was to have the ceremony upstairs in the Hayloft, which would be flipped during cocktail hour to the dinner setup. The weather really couldn’t make up its mind that day. It is challenging for a wedding planner when it is not a high percentage of rain, but rather hovering around 40%-50% chance of rain. We knew they wanted to get married outdoors, so Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Poppies and Posies really helped by pushing the decision of setup as late as possible. In the end we decided to setup the ceremony under the Blue Hill Grain Café awning. That way we could still be outside, but safe from any light rain.
The ceremony area was defined with a 10 foot lush installation designed in a semi-circle around the bride and groom. Creamy white stock, snap dragon, Italian eucalyptus, lace hydrangea and blush garden roses were used to create this romantic garden-inspired installation. I absolutely love the feel that Poppies and Posies created with this unique setup! It looked so amazing against the stone wall of the restaurant. The placement really made the lighter flowers pop against the stone. Even better than it would have looked against the big tree in the courtyard. This is a beautiful example of how sometimes things don’t turn out exactly how you imagined, but even better. Poppies and Posies also built floral installations lining the aisle on every other row. The genius of all these installations was that we were able to repurpose them throughout the dinner reception setup later. I love when flowers that stunning can be enjoyed even longer! Linden and Jacob each walked by themselves down the aisle with a string quartet from the Juilliard School of Music playing. One of their best friends Jessica married them.
The cocktail reception could have taken place in the dooryard garden, but for guest comfort on a more humid day, we moved cocktails to the haybarn with AC! Guests were all treated to a delectable selection of passed hors d’oeuvres including vegetables fresh from the garden and pea burgers. Of course we had to have peas incorporated into their wedding menu too! Their signature cocktail was a Gardener’s Gimlet with gin, peas, mint and lemon.
After the cocktail reception, guests walked through the silo lobby where they collected their escort cards from a wooden table decorated with more gorgeous flowers in a white ceramic urn. The escort cards were hand calligraphed with deckled edge inserts in mini envelopes. I do like using mini envelopes like this for escort cards. In case you ever have any last minute guest changes and need to adjust the tables, it is easy to switch out the inserts! Event planner’s tip to have your calligrapher always include 1-2 extra inserts per table.
Poppies and Posies repurposed the ceremony flowers throughout the silo lobby, hayloft lounge and hallway leading into dinner. Creating romantic little moments everywhere. For an intimate wedding in the hayloft, we were able to do all long tables. We used a Tuscany natural linen from La Tavola and blush napkins from The Bayith. The tables were adorned with a collection of glass cloches, ceramic dishes with flower frogs, ivory taper candles and mixed votive candles.
The guests enjoyed a 5 course meal from Chef Dan Barber’s team: 1) This Morning’s Farm egg, 2) Maine Lobster, 3) Loin and Belly of Lamb 4) Chocolate and Raspberry Wedding Cake 5) Passed Desserts. With some special French wines paired for the first 3 courses. The passed desserts were chocolate panna cotta, Barber chouquettes, and malted barley cones with strawberry and elderflower sorbet.
After guests were seated for dinner, we invited Linden and Jacob into the room to the Cafe Wha Band playing “What I Like About You” by The Romantics. They danced into the room and had a funny lighthearted dance together before going into their first dance to “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton. Halfway through the song we invited guests onto the dance floor and followed this with a resounding horah!
As guests were leaving they were offered Blue Hill chocolate chip cookies in mini muslin bags and bottled water for the ride home. Water in glass bottles, which I always prefer to avoid single use plastic.
This picture below is particularly special to me because I worked with Linden and her mom Lori planning the wedding, and they were an absolute pleasure to work with. I cannot tell you how many people from our vendor team commented how lovely they were. They were the epitome of kindness, generosity and graciousness. They also have the most exquisite taste!
See more from this wedding on their video wedding highlight here.
Wedding planner: Ang Weddings and Events | Photographer: Heather Waraksa | Venue: Blue Hill at Stone Barns | Floral design: Poppies and Posies | Videography: McKenzie Miller Films | Paperie: Katie Fischer Design | Calligraphy: Ink and Nibs | Strings: Juillard School of Music | Band: Cafe Wha | Hair: Liam Carey | Makeup: Face Time Beauty | Gown: Morgan le Fay | Linen rentals: La Tavola | Napkin rentals: Bayith | Rentals | Broadwy Party Rentals
See more of our favourite Blue Hill at Stone Barns weddings here: