Two special people—two artists who found themselves single once again. In the case of this lovely couple, two was indeed the charm.
Truth be told, neither Jennifer nor Manny were actively searching for romance, in fact, their relationship developed quite by happenstance when a group of three colleagues began to spend frequent coffee breaks together at the office, commiserating on their new common grounds of being recently divorced. While Jennifer brought the female perspective to the table, her two friends, Manny and another divorced newbie, represented the male point of view.
Little by little, the three came to realize that not only did they have a lot in common, but that they had developed quite a special bond along the way. And while they weren’t paying attention, two of the three fell head over heals in love with each other.
As Jennifer explains: “We were both pretty raw from our respective divorces and no doubt, the road was a rocky one. With Manny coming into this relationship with children— two sons Jacen, 10, and Logan, 6—from his previous marriage and all the rest of life’s conflicts to boot, we realized that if we could conquer this, we could conquer all.”
That settled, the two moved in together and began to build a life. They fixed what was broken (starting with their hearts) and left everything else well enough alone. When it came to taking things to the next level, Manny, in his typical easy-going manner, asked Jennifer exactly where she saw things going. To that question, Jennifer only wanted to know how quickly they could get there!
A year ago, the two became officially engaged. With scant months to plan the wedding, they ramped up into full gear. Invitations went out to their closest friends, the bride chose her dream gown by Carmela Sutera (“I worked directly with her,” Jennifer enthused, “she was fantastic!”); even the boys got to choose Pee Wee Hermanesque bowties, which Jennifer made for them, while revving themselves up for the festivities.
While the couple lives in Montclair, New Jersey, they chose Westchester for their wedding celebration because they loved the quaint feel of the small towns that lie along the Hudson. “We visited the Hudson Valley a few times and just loved the area,” Jennifer says. “We chose Blue Hill at Stone Barns because of its reputation for food, service, and quality. We loved that the farm felt laid back, but very elegant—a destination where we could really treat our guests to an experience. I had originally heard about Blue Hill from a friend who was planning her 40th birthday and wanted to have her celebration there. I looked online and found several pictures of people who had their wedding celebrations there. It looked perfect in pictures, so we took a trip to the farm and we were sold!”
On May 16th of last year, Jennifer and Manny exchanged vows at the historic Union Church in Pocantico Hills, surrounded by 40 guests and the glorious stained glass windows designed by the masters: Matisse and Chagall. Immediately following and just a stone’s throw away, the guests moved from the sanctuary over to Stone Barns where a magical reception followed. The bride describes the space as a “quintessential Hansel and Gretel storybook dream come true.”
They enjoyed a memorable feast of the most delectable foods and wines starting with black currant cosmopolitans as their signature cocktail and passed hors d’oeuvres of greenhouse salad tarts, wheat and parmesan lollipops, pancetta wrapped asparagus, and
omelette with coppa. The dinner menu —each course with its own wine pairing—consisted of a greens and herb salad with asparagus, apricots, and a fresh farm egg; stinging nettle cavetelli with mushrooms and asparagus; and loin of beef with cracked wheat, quinoa, and parsnips. Dessert was a crunchy chocolate hazelnut brownie with maple ice cream along with petit fours. After dinner, the couple and their guests danced the night away to favorite songs selected together straight from Manny’s iPod playlist.
That takes care of the love and the marriage part. As for the baby carriage? The couple is happily expecting a baby girl this spring, which neatly coincided with the number one item on Logan and Jacen’s Santa wish list. How’s that for happily ever after?
RESOURCES
CAKE TOPPER
Sarah Neuburger
CALLIGRAPHY
Betsy Dunlap
CEREMONY
Union Church, Pocantico Hills
HOTEL
Tarrytown House, Tarrytown
PHOTOGRAPHER
Erik Ekroth
(212) 962-2858
RECEPTION
(Food, flowers, rentals)
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills
