It took almost a year of searching for Jessica and Doug to find the perfect spot for their wedding and the mood they wanted to create. “When a friend suggested we go to the Crabtree Kittle House in Chappaqua for dinner, I immediately fell in love with the place and knew I wanted to get married there.”
The two originally met in college at SUNY New Paltz. After graduation, they kept in touch through social media, but it wasn’t until Doug sent a birthday message to Jessica that sparked an interest to move things in a more romantic direction. (They are coincidentally born a day apart.)
A year and a half later, their birthdays once again marked a milestone in the relationship, as Doug asked her father for her hand at a mutual birthday dinner with Jessica’s family.
Jessica was in the middle of grad school throughout the whole planning process, but still managed to do all of the decorating and planning for the day herself, although she jokes that “I remember the wedding and that’s it!”
As an art teacher in the Hendrick Hudson School District, she was able to use her extreme creativity to add lots of personal and unique touches to her “vintage-nature theme.”
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All of the flowers (centerpieces, bouquets and boutonnières) were made out of origami and scrap paper that were old music sheets from her school. The Kittle House put vases filled with little red roses on each table, which worked brilliantly with her teal, white, and neutral color scheme.
She used chalkboards with hand-painted white frames around them for various purposes throughout the day. “I was going to bring in easels from my school to rest the chalkboards on, but the Kittle House had some many wonderful props for weddings, including these beautiful wrought-iron easels that went perfectly with my theme.”
The seating chart is one example. “It had keyholes screwed in with little skeleton bottle opener keys with name tags hanging off of them as place-cards,” she says. Additionally Jessica placed vintage coke bottles on the tables alongside the place-cards as favors.
There was also a chalkboard for the ceremony, which took place on the grounds of the Kittle House, that listed the names of the bridal party, as well as thanked both parents for all of their help and support.
The menu—which was of upmost importance to them as Jessica’s mom went to culinary school and was a chef—was also ornately displayed on a chalkboard and easel. Being that a lot of Doug’s family members are from the South, they wanted something specific for them, so had an outside barbecue with cornbread and ribs and all the fixings to make them feel right at home.
For their dessert they each picked a cupcake flavor; Jessica picked a cannoli-stuffed one and Doug the German chocolate, which were delicately arranged on Martha Stewart cupcake stands—“That we still use to this day,” Jessica says.
Determined to do everything herself, they each made cupcake toppers out of clay after their nicknames for one another. Doug calls her “Queen Bee,” so he made a little bee with high heels, wings, and a bird cage veil for her. Jessica calls him “Bear,” so she made a clay bear with a teal tie for him.
Her creativity knew no bounds and extended to every area of the day. The bridesmaid dresses were handmade from Etsy.com and whatever leftover fabric they had, was used around the Kittle House as she saw fit.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of all was when Jessica surprised her new hubby during the reception by singing a song with one of his groomsmen. “I don’t usually sing, but I wanted to do something extra special just for Doug.”
Photography
Diane Stredicke
Hudson River Photographer
Rhinebeck
(845) 876-0652
Videography
Christopher Scesny and Christian Nachtrieb
Brighter Lights Media
Somerville, Massachusetts
(617) 229-5027
Cupcakes
Artuso’s Bakery
Thornwood
(914) 741-2251
Bridesmaids Dresses
Kari Sistek
etsy.com/shop/clementinyclothing
Hair
Beale Street Barber Shop
Peekskill
(914) 402-1700
Jewelry
(Wedding rings, Jessica’s necklace and Doug’s cufflinks)
Ashley Harris
etsy.com/shop/IvyandGoldHandcraft
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