The Zoe Casey and Christopher Irwin Wedding

After meeting at a college party as a freshman and a sophomore, Zoe and Chris were inseparable. They had dated for seven years before Chris’ long, strenuous adventure to proposing.

Zoe and Chris have spent years hiking and exploring the trails of New York and found the Shaft 2A trail to be especially beautiful. After one particularly tough hike up the washed-out trails, they finally made it to the top on a beautiful October day. “I thought it was so strange that he was shaking,” Zoe says. After slipping the ring on her finger, Chris gave a huge sigh of relief.

Little did Zoe know that the ring was supposed to be on her finger a month before during a concert, but a mix-up with the ring company threw off Chris’ plans. Still, it turned out to be “a really great surprise on a beautiful day,” Zoe says.

According to Zoe, their wedding day on July 27, 2013, “Was every way, from the beginning to the end, such a group effort from our entire family, his and mine.” The “rustic chic” wedding took place in a beautiful wood barn at Shadow Lawn in High Falls, New York.

Pulling together the ceremony and reception was the recurring theme of books. “We’re kinda book nerds,” Zoe says. They’ve always felt a connection to Catcher in the Rye, and a cutout copy of the novel, made by Chris’ father, carried the rings down the aisle. They also used books as centerpieces and table numbers, and vintage library cards purchased on Etsy made up the seating chart.

Not fond of all the “cheesy” traditions of a wedding, Zoe nixed the bouquet and garter toss, and nearly got away with not having a cake if it weren’t for both fathers’ insistence that cake was an important, symbolic part of a wedding. Zoe’s father took charge, reproduced a cake that he had seen with Zoe at a diner. The seashell sand castle cake may have not seem like a natural fit with the overall feel of the wedding, but, she say, “It was really cute and my dad was so proud.”

With the feeling of home everywhere, surrounded by family and friends, photos, and homestyle food on a beautiful day, there wasn’t a thing that Zoe and Chris would have changed. It was just such an awesomely amazing day,” Zoe says. “It was one of those days that I wish I could do all over again exactly the same way!”

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