A Warm, Welcoming, and Woodsy Wedding in Upstate New York

Hannah and Will planned their first date after connecting on the Coffee Meets Bagel dating app in July 2020. “It was an instant connection,” says the couple. After dinner, they stopped at an ice cream shop to keep their conversation going. “While eating our ice cream on a stoop nearby, a woman randomly came up to us and asked us how long we'd been together, without knowing it was our first date,” they say. “She let us know that she lived across the street and that she and her roommate thought we were a really cute couple and that we should keep dating. We took her advice and kept things going!”

In November 2022, Hannah and Will returned to the upstate New York cabin they had visited on their first trip as a couple. Will told Hannah they were staging a cooking shoot for his Instagram account, @whatscookinwill, but instead surprised Hannah with a proposal as a photographer friend captured the moment. 

Hannah and Will, who relish their time away from the city, dreamed of hosting their 120 guests for an autumn wedding weekend upstate. They booked Wildflower Farms in Gardiner, New York, for November 18, 2023, focusing on creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. “We really felt that Wildflower was the perfect venue to deliver a cozy, intimate, and chic wedding weekend for us and our loved ones,” they say. Chic flowers filled out by textural branches, a color palette of muted greens and fall hues, and soft candlelight created a peaceful, mid-autumn aesthetic, while custom details—like sake cups at every place setting and blankets on the ceremony chairs—were thoughtful and intentional. “Jacqueline Hallgarth made the planning process seamless and fun—she had been the planner for my sister’s wedding in Big Sur in 2021, and I fell in love with her professionalism, personalization, and ability to execute,” says Hannah. “I think the most challenging part was narrowing the guest list to 120 people—we are both extroverted, social people!”

The couple began their wedding weekend with a family-only dinner that allowed for a milestone moment: The first time Hannah’s and Will’s parents met before the wedding. “Will’s mom exchanged gifts with the mother of the bride, as is customary in Ivorian tradition,” says the couple. “Similarly, the mother of the bride exchanged gifts back with the mother of the groom, as is customary to Japanese traditions.” 

See more details of the couple’s welcome party, ceremony, reception, and after-party in photos from Sasithon Photography.

For their welcome party at the venue, Hannah wore a Norma Kamali belted dress and Will chose a custom suit from Martin Greenfield Clothiers. Pizza Moto provided wood-fired pies, while guests gathered around the fire pit for s’mores and signature whisky from Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery.

The welcome dinner also included a personalized market where the couple’s friends and family filled branded tote bags with Will and Hannah’s favorite things. “Notable things on display were our three favorite cookbooks—Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, Everyone’s Table by Gregory Gourdet and Cook This Book by Molly Baz,” says the couple. “We also had our favorite cookies from Culture Espresso in Midtown Manhattan, napkins made by Beriqisu, and the Tenugui towels from Japan to represent both of our heritages.”

Hannah and Will requested an “elevated, homey, and cozy experience” says their planner, which made Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection, a natural choice; The upstate location also called back to the couple’s engagement. “It was important for Hannah and Will to make sure their guests felt warm, cozy, and very well taken care of,” says Hallgarth.

A paper suite from Swell Press Paper Co. pulled in shades of rich, warm hunter with earthy sage and bright olive. A natural fiber wrap and abstract leaf print were inspired by the venue. “I wanted to encourage the autumnal tones, floral and foliage which forever marries their wedding to the specific fall feeling Hannah and Will absolutely loved,” says Hallgarth.

Hannah turned to San Francisco designer No. 3 to create a setting for her heirloom diamond engagement ring and a complementary wedding band; Will had his ring designed by Brooklyn’s Wwake. The bride also donned a vintage blue sapphire ring on loan for the day from her great aunt.

Cozy slippers and soft pajamas offered a comfortable start to the day for Hannah and her bridal party during their hair and makeup appointments. “I wanted to keep my beauty as natural as possible—it was important to me that I didn’t look that made-up, and that it fit the aesthetic of having the wedding being authentic and cozy,” says Hannah. “Given that my dress was strapless, I wanted to keep my hair down and go for a more classic look for my wedding. The inspiration behind my hair for the day-of was Hollywood waves, and we kept it simple to match the natural make-up look that the makeup artist helped me with.”

Hannah surprised herself by choosing a Jenny Yoo Italian crepe wedding dress with a strapless, fit-and-flare silhouette. “Going into the dress-shopping experience, I didn’t think I would gravitate towards a fit-and-flare silhouette or a strapless one!” she says. “But once I put on the dress, I loved how it hugged my curves and gave me that boost of confidence I was looking for. It was definitely a move to have a strapless dress on in the middle of November, but it was absolutely worth it!”

Hannah also chose a trailing ivory Jenny Yoo veil sprinkled with pearls, which matched her pearl-embellished manicure. A plush white coat from Apparis blocked the November chill, while the vibrant rainbow lining added an unexpected accent.

Bloom Bloom created a bridal bouquet that felt like “a natural gathering of elegant fall blooms and foliage,” including anemones, chocolate cosmos, chrysanthemums, ranunculus, and nerine.

Hannah’s bridal party carried smaller versions of the bride’s bouquet, which complemented their gowns. Each woman chose a different green dress: a solid olive and a pale moss for the bridesmaids, and a pleated print for the matron of honor.

Will chose a bespoke suit from Martin Greenfield Clothiers with a custom olive paisley lining, Carmina dress shoes, and a Ferragamo tie (a gift from Hannah). His lady slipper orchid boutonnière was backed by dried ferns, and he kept his grooming routine as classic, simple, and natural as Hannah kept hers: “Prior to the weekend I had a haircut from my barber Willis at Well Connected barbershop in Manhattan,” he says.

The couple’s dogs, Kona and Barley, donned festive floral collars to celebrate with the guests. They also inspired the signature drinks: “The Kona was a take on a classic Pimm’s cup, while the Barley was a take on a Dark & Stormy,” says the couple. “We narrowed it down to these drinks because they are our typical go-to drinks, and in some way or form, thought it represented the dog personalities as well.” 

Before the ceremony, Hannah and Will took a few minutes together, away from their family and friends, to remember their past and prepare for their future. “We wanted to have an intimate moment to ourselves before walking down the aisle,” they say. “Some of our favorite pictures from the wedding weekend were from the first look where Hannah surprised Will with her dress and we were able to see the emotions on both of our faces. It also gave us an opportunity to take in the moment and reflect on how far we’ve come as a couple over the three years we’ve been together.”

The outdoor ceremony took place in front of the venue’s maple-lined pathway, with low arrangements of Japanese maple, garden roses, ranunculus, chrysanthemums, and lunaria lining a raised wooden aisle. Rolled blankets placed on cane chairs offered a respite from the cool weather during the ceremony.

Hannah’s two nephews held baskets of flower petals, scattering them as they walked down the aisle with their mother, the matron of honor, Hannah’s sister Julie. “Remy, who was one-and-a-half years old at the time, loved the attention of going down the aisle and stopped a couple of times to look at our guests and scream, ‘Yay!’” says Hannah. “It took a lot longer for my sister to get down the aisle with both kids, but it was worth it hearing the laughter from our guests and really setting the tone for the ceremony.”

Will and his parents walked down the aisle to a violin performance of Frank Ocean’s “Thinking About You,” and then Hannah’s parents escorted her to the violinist’s version of “We Found Love” by Rihanna. 

The bride and groom wrote their own vows, which, they say, “highlighted all the challenges we’ve overcome as a couple, and talked about how we envision a future together as a married couple.”

Chefs at the venue provided a cocktail hour menu of passed hors d’oeuvres, including arancini, salmon pastrami blinis, and mini lobster rolls. The couple’s monogrammed napkins accented their charcuterie display, while wax-sealed escort cards were arranged on a wooden display.

Moss-toned linens were topped with tablescapes of ceramic chargers and gold flatware. “We sourced authentic sake from Dasai Blue Sake Brewery located in Hudson, New York, and we supplied small sake cups at each place setting for a brief sake toast as is customary in Japanese weddings. The sake cups were also favors for the guests,” says Hallgarth. Arrangements of ranunculus, chrysanthemums, lady slipper, anemones, and mixed foliage were interspersed along the tables with votives and taper candles.

Paper lanterns lit the pathway to the venue’s Marigold Room, where guests gathered for a meal of chicory salad with walnuts and pears; halibut, pan-seared hen, short rib, or steak; and butterscotch bourbon cake. One of the most memorable parts of the day for Hannah and Will was, they say, “Entering the dining room, which was beautifully decorated by florals and hearing the roars, hoots, and claps from our friends and family as we entered the room as a couple!”

The newlyweds beamed as they shared their first meal as husband and wife among their friends and family. “It’s easy to get caught up in the details,” says Hannah. “But try to stay in the moment and enjoy the fact that you’re marrying the person that you love!”

A three-tier carrot cake from Di Sweet Spot was draped with autumn-hued flowers, filled with brown butter vanilla crema, and finished with a Swiss buttercream and fondant icing. “We chose Anrika’s bakery because we wanted to highlight a cool POC and woman-led bakery,” says Hannah. “She has previously competed on the Food Network and was able to work with us to create an amazing cake that touched on everything we were looking for.”

The couple held their after-party in the venue’s Green Room, where they “served their favorite late-night bites,” including mini chicken and waffles, tater tots, and Jeni’s ice cream. The next day, they sent off their guests with a full-circle brunch theme that recalled their first date. “Doing a Coffee Meets Bagel goodbye brunch to end the weekend was a cute homage to how we originally met!” says Hannah.