We love it when a couple puts friends and family at the center of their big day – and that’s exactly what Miri, a social worker at the Women’s Prison Association, and Dan, a doctor and is the assistant professor of pathology & cell biology/assistant director of clinical microbiology at Columbia Presbyterian, did.
Not to say that they didn’t pay attention to the aesthetics – it’s hard to go wrong in the beautiful Berkshires, and we’re in love with their gorgeous rustic venue. And that floral chuppah – so sweet and simple, yet so perfect! If you’re anything like us, Christopher Duggan’s wonderful photos will have you wishing you could transport yourself to Western Massachusetts ASAP.
The groom’s father officiated the wedding, and the bride’s father and uncle participated in the ceremony too. And we love that Miri and Dan divided up a modern version of the the 7 blessing among family so that even more of their relatives could participate!
We love that Miri opted to wear her mother’s 50-year-old wedding dress for the big day (with some tailoring and modernization to make it work for her body AND the 21stcentury) – how special is that?
And the canopy on that gorgeous chuppah? It was taken from Dan’s mom’s wedding dress.
There’s so much more to say about this amazing day, but we’ll leave the rest to Miri…
How we met
Miri, the bride: We met on Tinder in 2014.
A Berkshires Wedding
We got married at Gedney Farm in New Marlborough, MA. We are both from NYC, but grew up spending our summers in the Berkshires/Hudson area. The Goodmans (my parents) have had a house in the Berkshires for 40 years. This is where Dan first told me that he loved me. It was on a small beach, just a few-minute walk down the road from my parents’. It was July 4th and there were fireworks going off all around us. Dan recreated this scene on Christmas Eve when he proposed to me in the same spot and created a fireworks show!
Wildflower Chic
We really wanted our wedding to be about our love, our families and friends. We wanted the feel of a classy event in a field of wild flowers – wildflower/rustic – chic. We really included family and friends throughout the weekend, making the entire weekend so full of love and joy. I wore my mother’s 50-year-old wedding dress. We had it tailored to fit me and changed up the style a bit, but it was so meaningful to wear it!
All of our immediate family and close friends stayed at Gedney Farm or next door at The Old Inn on the Green after the reception.
Invitations
We bought our invitations from a local store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where I’m from, from a shop called Lion in the Sun.
Hair + Makeup
Salon 7 did my hair and makeup, as well as our moms’, bridesmaids’, flower girl’s and several other family members. Bianca did my hair and makeup and was so great! I met her a few months before the wedding and we came up with what we would do. I wanted to feel natural and beautiful. I don’t wear a lot of (or any) makeup regularly, so I wanted to stay natural looking. I also wanted my hair down and relaxed and chic. Bianca was super helpful and caring and did a wonderful job!
An Heirloom Dress
I wore my mother’s 50-year-old wedding dress (6/8/18 was my parents’ wedding anniversary!). I tried it on at my parents’ place with my mom and we both could see that it could be AMAZING if we could find the right person to help re-design it. We wanted it to, of course, fit and be more modern and more of my style, while still keeping the feel of the original dress.
We met Kiki Hronis and she was incredible from day one. She loved my mother’s dress and the fact that I wanted to wear it. She helped us figure out what needed to be done to the dress and the end result was perfect! She was so supportive and wonderful throughout the process and my mother and I just felt so comfortable and trusting of her.
Accessories
I wore my mother’s veil that her uncle had gotten in Italy 50 years ago. It was lace and so beautiful. My earrings were borrowed from the wonderful owners of Kentshire Jewelers. Dan also designed my engagement ring with Kentshire.
Stuart Weitzman Shoes
Dan is 6’4” and I am 5’3”, so I wanted to be at least less than a foot shorter than him. I wore sparkly, very tall (I think about 4 inches) wedges by Stuart Weitzman. They were so comfortable! I didn’t take them off until almost 10pm after hours of dancing!
The handsome groom
Dan’s suit was by Emporio Armani and he looked so handsome!
Bridesmaids in Purple
I had two bridesmaids. I wanted to keep the wedding party small. My bridesmaids were my sister-in-law and cousin. I love them both so much and it was great to have them all weekend! I decided on a light purple color and then they went shopping together in San Francisco (my cousin Sarah lives there) and found dresses that could be made in the same color in different styles. They were great!
Chuppah and ceremony
Dan’s mom’s wedding dress had some amazing lace on it, but was damaged in other areas so the dress couldn’t be worn again. We used the lace from her dress in the chuppah. My sister-in-law found a woman in Park Slope who worked with our florist to create the chuppah.
Dan’s father officiated the wedding and my uncle helped lead the Jewish prayers. We divided up a modern version of the 7 blessing among family so they could participate in the ceremony. My father recited the Hebrew ring blessing.
Sweet Thing
We played ‘Sweet Thing’ by Van Morrison for the processional and ‘Siman Tov Mazel Tov’ for the recessional. We surprised our guests with a first dance to the song ‘Get Busy’ by Sean Paul. We took a few dance lessons and realized we are not very good and not that serious, so we wanted to make it fun. We choreographed a short dance ourselves and then invited everyone to join us.
During the reception, our family and friends gave speeches and my brother wrote and sang his own version of ‘A Hard Rain’s Going to Fall‘ by Bob Dylan (he had changed the lyrics to be about me). The whole night was so special!
Seasonal Flowers
Our florist was Jenny from Tiny Hearts Farm. She was absolutely incredible and we loved working with her from the moment we met her. We really wanted the flowers to match the venue and time of year, and we love wild flowers. She instantly got our vision and brought it to life in a way we could never have envisioned! She used wild flowers that were grown on her flower farm. It was perfect.
Photographer
We used Christopher Duggan. He was recommended to us by our venue and my parents knew of him from his work at Jacobs Pillow in the Berkshires. We loved his style and after meeting with him knew he was the right person to capture our day.
Food
Gedney Farm did the catering and the food was fantastic! We had a small cake that was more for decoration (we did not do a formal cake cutting or anything) and we had these delicious mason jars filled with delicious desserts.
Entertainment
We wanted live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour and a DJ for the party. We hired Lucky 5 for the live music and they were super awesome! We hired Dave Leonard from JTD productions to DJ and he created a super fun dance party!
Local Favors
My mom really took the lead on the favors and she did a great job! We made little bags for people staying at the Fairfield Marriott (where we did our room block). We put a small maple syrup, a list of the events, and a map of the Berkshires. We had flip flops with our names and wedding date and little flashlights with the same. The flashlights were a HUGE hit!
Family
The day was so perfect and so full of immense love! Our families and friends and vendors really made the day feel so incredibly special! I made a short speech at the rehearsal dinner the night before. My aunt who was also my aunt-of-honor (like a maid of honor) hosted our rehearsal dinner the night before at the Norman Rockwell museum. There were tours of the museum and awesome food and drinks out on the patio. My mom made a speech, as well as Dan’s mom, my very close friend from work, our nephews, my bridesmaids, and my aunt.
Honeymoon in Jamaica
We went to one of our favorite places in the world. It’s in Port Antonio, Jamaica, and called Kanopi House. We stayed there 1.5 years ago (was actually right after Dan proposed) and just fell in love with this place. They have houses/tree houses on the property, which is on the blue lagoon. We stayed in the upper deck, which is basically a really nice tree house in the jungle with wrap around windows that open so you can really be in the trees. We love this place, the food, and the people. It’s super duper chill and also really nice. The food is great and the service is wonderful. We went two days after our wedding and stayed for a week and had the best time ever!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
It may sound cheesy – but just remember why you are even having this day – celebrating your love and partnership with family and friends. Also, having our friends and family so close and involved made the entire thing more comfortable and warm and loving. Staying on site at Gedney Farm was also really convenient and made the entire weekend feel like a party.
Also, Gedney Farm so graciously gave us a free night with dinner at their restaurant on Thursday night. It was so relaxing and wonderful to have a night just the two of us in the space of our wedding. It was so grounding and the perfect way to start the celebration! We really recommend figuring out a way to have some just you two time before the festivities begin!
Miri & Dan’s little white book
Photography – Christopher Duggan
Venue – Gedney Farm
Bride’s shoes – Stuart Weitzman
Bride’s jewellery – Kentshire Jewelers
Groom’s attire – Emporio Armani
Flowers – Tiny Hearts Farm
Entertainment – Lucky 5 and Dave Leonard from JTD
Ketubah – Karla Gudeon
Invitation – Lion in the Sun
Hotel – The Old Inn on the Green
Honeymoon – Kanopi House
