Our Wedding Story
May 18, 2019
Here’s a little sneak peek into our love story.
Ah I’m not sure how to even start this! But, all I can say is, marrying my high school sweetheart on our 10 year anniversary was a dream. To give you a little back story on how we met, J & I went to the same high school in Miami. A few weeks into freshman year, I started noticing him at the basketball court in P.E. class every day. As much as I wanted to get to know him, I just couldn’t build up the courage to introduce myself in person! So, I decided to message him on our all-time favorite platform back then, MYSPACE ;) My best gal at the time knew him and decided it would be fun to set us up on a date without knowing. He was 16 and I was only 15 so our romantic date was to the bookstore at our local mall haha. Fast forward 10 years later, I got to marry this handsome boy in New York.
sharing our wedding journey from the planning process to our vendor dream team & any tips that might help you along the way.
PLANNING
Before I say anything else, my biggest advice would be to ENJOY every bit of the planning process. If you ever find yourselves stressing out, make sure to take a step back and remember that everything will work out as it’s supposed to. Life is too short to get caught up in the little things! The more love & peace there is, the sweeter your planning experience will be.
The first thing J & I spoke about was what kind of wedding we envisioned. We both agreed we wanted something very simple, intimate and outdoors! We also knew we were on a BUDGET. Recently moving to NYC, we were still adapting to a higher cost of living than we were accustomed to in Miami. So, I googled affordable wedding venues in Upstate New York and stumbled upon the dreamiest historic house (Windrift Hall) in Hudson Valley. Fun fact: it’s actually an Airbnb! If you’re on a tight budget, searching up Airbnbs (that allow you to have a wedding onsite) could end up being a much more affordable option.
Below is the Windrift Hall – where 14 of us (both immediate families) spent the best weekend of our lives.
One of the reasons why we planned our wedding in 4 months was because I wanted my grandma to be a part of our special day (a day she had been waiting for years!). But, the day before our wedding, I got a call that my little angel went to heaven. I felt her more than ever here–so I created this little clip.
After booking the venue, we only had 4 months to plan EVERYTHING. So if you ever thought planning a wedding in less than 6 months was impossible, think again!!! We’re pretty easy-going when it comes to details so planning our special day together vs. hiring a wedding planner worked out very well. However, something we HIGHLY recommend is working with a day-of coordinator who is basically the person that will be in charge of meeting with your vendors and any deliveries, setting up the ceremony and reception space, coordinating the timeline of the whole day and handling any last-minute emergencies––aka your savior! You definitely don’t want to be thinking about any of this as you’re getting ready with your loved ones & soaking up every single minute of it.💕
Something that helped us stay on track was following a wedding check-list so here’s one I loved from Wedding Forward!
VENDOR DREAM TEAM
Photographer
The visuals of this blog post would not be possible without this talented angel, Astrid Johana Hutchison! Being best friends in middle school made hiring her as our wedding photographer a no brainer. Aside from her creative eye and dreamy edits, she was SO fun to work with!
Videographer
Ah! Becca Neblock creates pure MAGIC. So grateful that our photographer, Astrid, recommended her as we could not have been happier with the way she captured our special day. She knows how to tell your sweet story so well–I mean just watch the wedding film😍 Also, a big thank you to Adam Ghantous for incorporating your magic into this!
bar + appetizers
Deliciously Different knew exactly the kind of vibe we were going for! And I have to say, they had me at their BAR CAR (pictured below). Robin & Mark were so easy to work with and their team was just as amazing. They made our guests the most delicious cocktails, passed appetizers AND churros + hot cocoa at the end of the chilly night (sweetest ending).
Dinner
J & I are BIG foodies and this was kind of a no-brainer for us. We went with wood fired pizza! Best. Decision. Ever. I can’t recall how many slices I had (ha) and it’s all thanks to Doug from Itsa Pizza Truck. He makes his pizza crust from scratch, uses his homemade signature sauce on each personalized pie and sustainably fuels his oven with local hardwood. Personal favorite was the Bee Sting!
This has always been our favorite go-to meal and although it might sound a little unconventional for a wedding, don’t be afraid to go with what you really love. If tacos are your thing, then GO WITH IT!
cake
If you know me, you know I’m that person that goes straight to the dessert menu in any restaurant. Sweets are my thing! And this homemade cake by Linda at Grounded NY was the sweetest cherry on top. It was a hazelnut cake with macerated raspberries in the middle and a very light plain butter cream over it. We loved the minimalistic look to it! Just what we wanted–something simple but YUMMY. Our family even saved a big chunk for breakfast the next morning🤗
florals
Olive & June Floral Co. styled the dreamiest most whimsical blooms! Lush with whites, dusty pinks, blue thistle, dried lavender and pampas grass. The girl gang behind this brand was freaking amazing.✨
Pretty little vintage (Sweetheart table + lounge space)
The couple (Brianna + Chris Pisani) behind this rental company are the sweetest and their vintage pieces are incredible. We loved the idea of having a lounge space where our family & friends could mingle and Pretty Little Vintage created the most magical setting. They also put together our sweetheart table where J & I got to soak in all the love from a distance.
hair + Makeup
I curled my own hair! I love loose/soft waves so it was easy for me to do. Now I don’t know much about makeup – primarily because I don’t wear it too often besides mascara, so I knew I wanted something very light, simple & natural-looking. Erica Maloy was seriously amazing and totally understood the look I was going for :)
music
We both come from hispanic families so we wanted to make sure we would have a good mix of salsa & merengue☺️ So fun working with Barr Entertainment who kept us dancing all day. Thank you DJ Bleny Daza for the best vibes!
Day of coordinator
Since we were on a budget, we decided to plan the wedding ourselves, BUT having a day of coordinator was definitely needed! The last thing you want to worry about are the small details on your wedding day. I actually didn’t know much about wedding planning–especially organizing the timeline of the day so we were lucky enough to work with Kate Taylor (who also works very closely with Deliciously Different). She was the sweetest & went above and beyond to make sure our day flowed smoothly!
wedding gown
BUSTABADS SIGN is from Echo Neon.
Ah I LOVE that I could share this special day with you & really hope you’re able to take something away from this!
Please feel free to leave a comment below or message me via email/Instagram with ANY questions you may have–whether you’re a future bride or just simply interested in knowing!❤️
x