Tappan Hill Wedding by Dideo Films Photography

There is a quote in the movie Interstellar that goes something like this, “Love is the one thing that we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it.” Kathleen and Mark’s love story reminded me of that. Regardless of time passed, true love never dies, and it’s a wonderful thing when two people find their way back to each other and pick up where they left off. We wish these two a lifetime of joy and happiness. ♥From the bride: My husband and I dated when I was 18, and he was 20 during the summer after my high school graduation, but we broke up when I went to college. We reunited after 20+ years through mutual friends. That first night, sitting around a restaurant table reminiscing, he told me that he’d always been in love with me all of these years! Wow! The saying “someone out there is thinking about you” is certainly true! He told me he still remembered what I wore the first time he saw me way back then and that he cried when we broke up because he was so in love! Who knows what love is at 18? I sure didn’t!

Fast forward 30 years later to our wedding, I sure know what love is now! I had so much fun planning this wedding because I was marrying my true love. I wanted our wedding to have only our very, very close friends and family there to celebrate our journey to the altar! We had about 85 people in a very intimate setting.

Why did you choose to have your wedding at Tappan Hill? Initially, we chose another venue. A mansion that had been converted to a French restaurant, however, two months before the wedding, with invitations all set to go out, the venue called us and canceled our wedding. They had decided to shut down after 40 years in business. I had to search frantically for another venue for the same date, as all of my vendors were contracted by then. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice quality and style. We chose Abigail Kirsch Tappan Hill Mansion because of it’s stellar food reputation and the moment we walked in, we fell in love with it’s grandeur ceiling, architecture, and views. It felt very “Great Gatsby” like. Also, we were very impressed with the personalized and extremely organized wedding planning event manager designated to us.
Tell us about the planning process: It was a 2nd wedding for both of us so during the process; I concentrated on what I thought mattered, staying within budget, guest enjoyment and the memories we would have forever. I took my time with every decision and didn’t succumb to trend. I stayed within budget by doing things throughout such as: 1. I waited for the invitations to go on sale online before ordering. I hand wrote the invitation address envelopes and table setting cards myself. 2. Purchased a silk designer looking gown without concern with the label on the inside of the dress! With my background in fashion from FIT, I know how to recreate a look without overspending. 3. Instead of adding cordials to the menu, I placed a variety of cordial nips on the tables as favors so guests could use them right there or take them home. 4. To save on flowers, I didn’t have separate arrangements made for the ceremony. I used the table arrangements around the altar and then had the venue place them on the tables for the cocktail hour and then move them to the reception. I also provided the venue with my own votive candles for each table. My bouquet was enormous and perfect to lay on our table as our centerpiece! Any words of wisdom for brides planning their wedding? My advice to other brides is keep everything very classic. Classic translates to classy and trends that are in today will be out in the years to come and may even look tacky, and you don’t want to dread looking at your wedding pictures in 20 years. Also, once you choose your dress, stop looking! I had to force myself to stop googling wedding gowns because I was second guessing my decision and driving myself crazy! Again, with the access to the internet, you see all the trends, and they are constantly changing! Most importantly, I tried to enjoy every moment of planning. I knew as a 2nd-time bride that it’s the marriage that matters more than the wedding. Keep this in mind because it will help you enjoy your day even if something doesn’t go exactly as you thought it would.