Real Wedding At the Riverview: Bohemian Hip Meets Hollywood Glamour
Written by Jennifer Garry Monday, 22 March 2010 18:20
Real Wedding at the Riverview, Jennifer and Timothy Garry (and Samantha!)
The Location - The Riverview in Hastings on Hudson August 30, 2009
I knew that I wanted something scenic, preferably on the water. I looked at a couple of places that were pretty enough, but they just seemed to be missing something. The second I walked into The Riverview I knew I absolutely had to have my wedding there. The view from the Palisades Room is absolutely breathtaking. The room overlooks the Hudson River and one wall is just floor to ceiling windows. It was amazing and I knew it would be prefect for the nature-infused theme I was going for.
The Riverview was phenomenal. Aside from the jaw-dropping views, they were so incredibly helpful. I was never afraid that something would go wrong (well, aside from the hurricane that all the weathermen were talking about!) I felt like I could totally relax and trust that they would make sure everything went smoothly—and it did!
The Photographer - Surprise Photography *All photos in this blog post courtesy of the talented Melissa Surprise.
Melissa was amazing. I knew that I loved her gorgeous, natural style before we booked her because she had done our daughter's birth announcement. She's so easy to work with and relaxed that you can't help but be relaxed too. We had a very small window of time for pictures and she still got great shots of our (large!) bridal party and then whisked us into town for what turned out to be some of our favorite shots. Even with some technical difficulties, she remained calm and gave us pictures that we couldn't be happier with.
The son of one of the owner's of the Riverview was having his birthday party that day also. There was a huge bouncy castle or the kids to play in and the minute Melissa heard about it, she had to get shots of us in it. The resulting pictures are so fun and so different. We loved it and her creativity!
The Dress - Camille la Vie
I was so incredibly budget conscience about eveeeeeery part of our wedding. Since we have a three-year old daughter the thought of dumping huge sums of money into one day just seemed silly. I especially couldn't see myself spending wads of cash on a dress I would only wear once. I got my dress SUPER cheap at Camille la Vie and you wouldn't believe how many compliments I got!
The Flowers - Floral Designs by Janet King
The Riverview recommended Janet of Floral Designs by Janet King, so I figured I'd check her out. It was one of the best decisions I made! I was having a lot of trouble deciding with what kind of feel I wanted to go with for the wedding. There was part of me that wanted this very bohemian, natural vibe and another part that wanted totally old Hollywood glamour. Janet made sure that I got a little bit of both. The flowers for our ceremony were more dramatic, while the arrangements on the tables were all wildflowers in big fish bowls. She took my crazy mish-mosh of ideas and turned it into something both cohesive and exactly what I was looking for. I could not have been happier!
The DJ - Kromier Entertainment
These guys were great! They got everyone up and dancing, which was something I was little worried about with an afternoon wedding. We had a great time—and a couple of dance offs, as you can see from the pictures!
Make-up - Meredith Hayman
I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about having my make-up done. I don't wear a lot of it normally and I was afraid I'd end up looking like a different person. But Meredith was awesome. She listened to my crazy ideas about old Hollywood glamour mixed with a glowing, natural look and she made them work together. I looked like myself, not like someone playing dress-up. Meredith was also super relaxed. The morning of the wedding more people decided to have their make-up done and she never batted an eye. She was great!
Best Decision - The Ceremony
One of the most important things to us was the ceremony. We're not religious and we didn't want a total stranger marrying us, so we decided to ask Tim's aunt, Joan Garry, to perform the ceremony for us (we got legally married a month or so before at Town Hall). This was, without a doubt, the best decision we made. She worked with us to create a ceremony that totally reflected us as a couple. We told short little stories about our loved ones that have passed away (most notably, my dad), had a little ring exchange with our daughter, and wrote our own vows. It was totally unique and, more importantly, totally us. It really set the tone for the rest of the day.
