WEDDING BLOG

Stone Mill At The New York Botanical Garden Wedding – Colleen and Jamie

January 8, 2013 | editorial team

Today’s stunning wedding by E. Leigh Photography needs very little introduction. I completely fell for the images the first time I saw them, thanks to the gorgeous garden setting, a floaty wedding dress with the prettiest touches of sparkle and lace, and a very happy couple; and I think you will too!

The Couple: Colleen and Jamie

The Wedding: 10.22.11 – Stone Mill at The New York Botanical Garden – New York City, NY

What were the top three priorities for you in planning your wedding? We wanted the ceremony to be personal, and we wanted our guests to feel comfortable and taken care of. We also wanted a venue where we could have an outdoor ceremony as well as an on-site reception so the guests would not have to travel.

What wedding traditions or cultural traditions did you incorporated into your wedding and what did they mean to you? We had a lot of traditional aspects incorporated in our ceremony – like the father walking the bride down the aisle and the exchanging of rings and reading of vows. All the aspects of the ceremony were meaningful because they were part of a known wedding tradition that we finally got to experience ourselves. It was something our parents had already done and now we were doing it, too.

Were there any places where you broke the rules in your wedding planning? Why and how did you do that? We separated dinner and dancing on two different floors so that guests who wanted to sit and talk could do so comfortably. We also saw each other beforehand to take pictures to take advantage of the time of day and light which our photographers suggested.

What was your biggest wedding planning success? When we saw the venue with everything set – it looked even better than we had hoped for.

What was the most important thing that you learned through the wedding planning process and what would you tell other brides-to-be? Try to enjoy the process as much as possible. Take time to celebrate each small success along the way with your family and friends and have a toast together when you finish something.