Editor’s Note: Pulling this one from the archives today because it’s most definitely worth a second look!
Amy and Zach created a special spring weekend for their wedding guests in the Somerset Hills horse country at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey. The venue has a wonderfully restored Georgian mansion and is surrounded by 600 rolling acres of land. I personally love that Amy’s mother did all of the wedding calligraphy – what a talent! / Images by Elisabeth Millay.
Says Amy, “Zack and I were married at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey, which is only a few minutes from the town where I grew up. The majority of our 200 guests were traveling to the wedding from different parts of the US and Canada and were staying in New York City and so we wanted to create a special weekend during which our guests could enjoy both the city and the country.
We wanted a formal and elegant wedding but did not want it to be stuffy. We envisioned an English garden-type setting and wanted to find a venue with ample indoor and outdoor space. When we discovered Hamilton Farm, we both fell in love with the natural beauty of the property, as it is situated on 600 rolling acres in Somerset Hills horse country. We also loved the beautifully restored Georgian mansion on the property, adjacent to a small lawn where our ceremony was held, and also adjacent to a permanent tent, where we had our reception.
We wanted to include personalized touches to the wedding to give our wedding a unique feel. My sister and Maid of Honor, Amanda, and I worked to assemble welcome gable boxes for our out-of-town guests that included a booklet itinerary for the weekend, personalized water bottles, personalized mini Hershey bars, “Zack Attack” coffee from Ward Coffee in Chatham, NJ, “mint to be” customized mints and bagged popcorn.
Zack and I are an interfaith couple (he is Jewish and I am Catholic) so we wanted our ceremony to be in a neutral setting, which is why we opted for an outdoor ceremony. A Jewish spiritual leader, acting as a justice of the peace, performed the ceremony which incorporated traditions from both religions. We were married under a chuppah of white birch, decorated with pale pink roses. My grandmother was born in Ireland, so my sister, Amanda, read the Irish Blessing and Zack’s brother, David, read from the book of Proverbs. The ceremony ended with Zack breaking the glass.
Our color palette was grey and pink. The bridesmaids wore grey Amsale dresses and carried bouquets of pale and vibrant pink peonies (my favorite flower), roses and ranunculus and hypericum berries in shades of pale and bright pink.
We chose signature cocktails, the muddled berry mojito and the cosmopolitan, that were pink in hue and coordinated with the color theme. The executive chef at Hamilton Farm, Anthony Bucco, worked with us to create a menu comprised of some of our favorite foods for the cocktail hour, including mini latkes, seasonal gazpacho shooters and beef brisket sliders complete with Gates BBQ sauce that we had shipped in from Kansas City, Zack’s hometown. Our guests were able to mingle on the lawn behind the mansion and inside.
We continued our pink and grey theme inside the tent where our reception was held. Our event designer, Jennifer Kraft, cloaked the tent in pink lighting and the bars inside of the tent had pink backlighting. Our table linens were crinkled grey and the tables were decorated with low, lush centerpieces that mimicked the flowers included in bridesmaids bouquets. The tables were accented with votives in mercury glass holders.
We had a blast dancing the night away to Marianne Bennett and her band, they were truly incredible and kept the dance floor packed all night with family and friends of all ages. One of the highlights of the reception was cutting into our delicious four-tiered wedding cake made by Anne Heap, a high school friend and owner of the wonderful Pink Cake Box in Denville, NJ.
My mother did all of the wedding calligraphy for the save the dates, invitations and for all of the escort cards at the wedding. Zack’s mom, my mom, and I created a “memory table” at the wedding, which included photographs of Zack and my parents and grandparents on each of their wedding days. Also on the table was a guest book (that Zack and I are now using as a coffee table book) of pictures from our engagement photo shoot at Washington Square Park with our amazing wedding photographer, Elisabeth Millay.
Our cake featured cascading pink hydrangea blossoms and included Anne’s delicious signature pink velvet with cream cheese and Italian meringue buttercream. I worked with the Pink Cake Box to surprise Zack with a Kansas City Royals-themed chocolate groom’s cake that consisted of a giant Royals baseball cap sitting on top of a baseball diamond. Zack has been a die hard Royals fan since birth, so he loved the cake! The wedding ended with the bouquet toss in the foyer of the mansion. On the way out, our guests were handed personalized (and delicious) heart-shaped photo cookies made for us by Splurge Bakery.
Zack and I can’t stop smiling when we think back to our wedding day – it was like a dream!”
Credits: Ceremony and Reception: Hamilton Farm Golf Club / Wedding Planner: Christine Paul Events / Photographer: Elisabeth Millay Photography / Event Design: Kraft Event Management / Videographer: Photography by Yoisen / Band: Marianne Bennett Productions / Wedding Cake and Groom’s Cake: Pink Cake Box / Favors: Splurge Bakery /Bride’s Dress, Belt, Veil and Shoes: Vera Wang / Bride’s Hairclip: Jennifer Behr for J. Crew / Bride’s Makeup: Anne McDermott of Bobbi Brown Studios / Bride’s hair and Bridesmaids Hair and Makeup: Denice Monaco Salon & Spa / Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale
The post Classic Somerset Hills Horse Country Wedding appeared first on Classic Bride Blog.