We are totally and completely obsessed with today’s breathtaking sunset chuppah! New Yorkers Sydney and Adam, who both work in the media industry, timed their ceremony so the sun would set at the exact moment they exchanged vows – and are the results ever stunning!
Lyndhurst Mansion, a historic estate overlooking the Hudson River in Westchester, was the perfect spot for the couple’s outdoor ceremony and tented reception – close to both bride and groom’s families, and featuring a beautiful landscape and garden. And Sydney and Adam’s exquisite floral chuppah fit the backdrop so perfectly!
When it came time to choose their photographer, the duo always knew Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Alex Knight and his team were the ones for them. Sydney had been a bridesmaid in a wedding Alex photographed and loved working with him – and that enthusiasm continued through to Sydney and Adam’s engagement shoot and the big day itself:
On a 95-degree day in September, Alex was energetic, patient, and creative — exactly what Sydney remembered, and flawlessly captured the easy love we have for each other, even while sweaty traversing through Brooklyn and Manhattan. Our wedding day was no different: the photo and video teams were so kind, and we had so much fun with our shoots around the grounds and throughout the day.
Sydney and Adam also used Alex Knight’s photo booth offering, InstaLux, which guests took full advantage of, and made a guest book where people could leave copies of their pictures along with messages for the couple. In that book, the photo team on-site also snuck in Polaroids of the bride and groom from the whole day, which was such a meaningful and heartwarming surprise for them.
We’ll let the bride fill you in on the rest of the details of this very special day…
How We Met
Sydney, the bride: We met through Bumble and worked at the same advertising agency without realizing we were only a few desk rows away. When I swiped right and saw the same company on Adam’s profile, my message to him was, “It’s a good thing we’re not on the same team, or this would be awkward.”
We met for coffee for our first date during a work day in June, and after learning more about our very similar backgrounds and love of being silly together, it was clear that we were something special. Four years later, Adam proposed in Brooklyn — close to our first home together — with his late maternal grandmother’s engagement ring.
A Westchester Wedding
We got married at Lyndhurst Mansion, a historic estate overlooking the Hudson River in New York. The minute we stepped onto the Lyndhurst Mansion property, we looked at each other and said, “This has to be it.” We had our hearts set on an outdoor ceremony and tented reception from the get-go, but it was very important to us to have a backup plan we were equally excited about if the weather wasn’t ideal.
We also hoped to find a venue in Westchester since we were both from the area, our families still live there, and the location was easily accessible for friends in and out of the tri-state area. When taking the tour of Lyndhurst with Paul Vishnudat, a manager at the estate, we saw the beautiful landscape, gardens, and view of the Hudson River and already started envisioning our special day. We couldn’t wait for the following September!
Theme
We’re proud to say that we led the charge in planning the entire event with help from our parents at every step. While we initially thought we would need an outside day-of coordinator, Paul was everything we could have dreamed of in a vendor partner and more. Adam and I are incredibly detailed and had a specific vision for the weekend, and Paul was equally on top of every day-of detail, often addressing concerns before we had the chance to raise them.
The week leading up to our wedding and on our wedding day, Paul and his team were incredibly organized, setting up the entire event and were extremely receptive to every need from us and our families. We didn’t have a specific theme in mind, but we wanted the whole weekend to highlight not only our love for each other, but also for the people who have supported us and our love story. Feeling warmth in the room from both the people we invited and the design of the space was definitely on our minds throughout the planning process.
Invitation
We partnered with Debbie Kaliner from Informally Yours, who lives down the road from Sydney’s parents. Our first appointment was 4 hours long. Sydney, her mom, and Debbie went invitation by invitation, running through countless fonts and Pantone colors to come up with the final design. This was something Sydney was very excited to make her own and design from start to finish, so it was a labor of love that was so fun to work on with Debbie.
For our envelopes, Sydney’s mom had sourced antique stamps to create a small mosaic – one of the stamps was of Lyndhurst Mansion and another was of the Brooklyn Bridge that represents where we got engaged and now live. It was such a special and unique touch!
Hair + Makeup
I had the best beauty team with Mary Marsh and Briana from Beauty Bar & Salon (makeup and hair, respectively). I found Mary through a NY/NJ brides Facebook group and during my first trial, she got my vision immediately: soft and neutral tones but still an elevated version of my usual self.
Beauty Bar & Salon is a local staple in my hometown, and having been styled by Briana when I was a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding, I felt confident in her being able to style for my wedding when the time came. Thankfully, the team was available, and, with Julie to assist, was the perfect way to round out our hype group for the morning!
An Amsale Dress
I got my dress from Amsale; to this day, I still talk to all my friends going through the wedding process about how incredible the experience was at that shop. The prospect of wedding dress shopping felt very daunting, so I really wanted to go through this process with an open mind. My appointment at Amsale was my second bridal stop in the process, and with Dia as my attendant, I immediately felt at ease and taken care of.
What sealed the deal was the fact that the minute I stepped into the dressing room and tried on the dress, Adam’s and my first dance song was playing in the store. It felt like fate! The dress was truly nothing like I thought I would end up wearing, but I can’t imagine having chosen any other dress – it was comfortable, flattering, and, as Adam said during our first look, “perfect, classic, and so you.” Special shoutout to Apri and Jenn at Amsale, who were incredible during the fitting process!
Accessories
My veil also came from Amsale and the rose and lace trim added the perfect special touch to my classic dress silhouette. My bracelet is my mother’s and gave a nice nod to what she wore on her wedding day. My earrings were a gift from Adam’s mom and matched perfectly with the bracelet, so it was really special to have both families represented.
The handsome groom
Adam was also well-suited, with a custom tuxedo from Indochino and, as an avid sneaker collector, a pair of Jordan 11 Jubilees that he changed into for the reception. My husband is a sneakerhead, what can I say!
Ceremony & Chuppah
Due to the timing of the sunset on our wedding weekend, we had two ceremonies: an intimate and more religious exchange on Friday before Shabbat and a larger and formal ceremony on Saturday before our reception. On Friday, we had our immediate family, our ketubah-signing witnesses and our rabbi gather in Adam’s family’s home.
During this ceremony in Adam’s backyard, we brought in witnesses who have been our long-standing friends since childhood and honored family members who are no longer with us, by incorporating kiddush cups from both sets of great-grandparents and two tallit that belonged to Adam’s paternal grandfather and Sydney’s maternal grandfather. The final touch was that the wedding band Sydney got married with was also worn by her mother for her own wedding.
Saturday was equally important to us, as we wanted all of our guests to be a part of our union. To perfectly tie the official and familial together, we had Adam’s family friend — who also happens to be a New York state judge — marry us in front of all our friends and family. The ceremony was to take place outside on a hill overlooking the Hudson River and we wanted the chuppah’s design to contribute to the natural and picturesque view that would also represent the beautiful home we want to build for ourselves as we build our future as a married couple.
The setting was perfect, and it definitely didn’t hurt that the sun set at the exact moment we exchanged our vows, casting a magical halo-like glow around Sydney’s veil, the river, and the chuppah. During this ceremony, we were each escorted down the aisle by both parents, we did the seven circles — 3 for Sydney, 3 for Adam, and one together — exchanged rings, and Adam (of course!) smashed the glass to officially mark us as husband and wife.
Ketubah
When thinking about our ketubah, we really wanted something unique; we wanted a piece of art that featured our vows in English alongside our marriage contract in traditional Aramaic. I was drawn to Shikma Benmelech’s designs on Etsy through her shop, ShikmaPaperArt, because of her ornate paper-cut art that looked timeless and gorgeous.
She and our rabbi worked extremely well together, and she also was able to add quotes special to us within the circle border: ״אני לדודי ודודי לי״ (I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine) and “ששון ושמחה, גילה רנה, דיצה וחדוה, אהבה ואחוה, שלום ורעות” ()You and I…in joy and happiness, in rejoicing, singing, delight and pleasure, in love and companionship, in peace and friendship without end). Our Ketubah was a blend of formal phrases and personal touches, a perfect representation of the wedding and our marriage as a whole.
Our music choice
Something important to us throughout our whole process was to “keep people on the dance floor,” and The Heartbeat Band more than exceeded our expectations in accomplishing this goal. Their musicians and singers and entire crew gave the celebration the all-important joyous energy we wanted. Throughout the planning process, Liz and her team were accommodating and were always available to get on calls for questions and discuss song requests and our preferred run-of-show.
We also appreciated that before our introduction to the reception, the band leader introduced himself to us two and let us know that we could go to them with anything we might want or any last-minute changes we’d want to request throughout the night. Our first dance song was ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ by the Bee Gees; the band sounded exactly like the recording, making our practice sessions blend flawlessly with our performance on the night of. We were so thrilled with the final product, and we had to drag our friends off the floor at the end of the night!
Flowers
Our ceremony was set to take place outside, so our goal with florals was to accentuate the grounds of Lyndhurst rather than mask it or take over since it is already so green and luscious. Chatting with Laurie at Laurelwood, she got the vision immediately and executed it to perfection. The chuppah was gorgeous beyond our imagination (due to timing, we didn’t see it until we were walking down the aisle, so we were in awe!) and the bouquets and boutonnieres were the exact blend of pinks and creams that felt natural and not too “in your face” white and bridal.
Photographer
Frankly, one of the easiest decisions we made in this process was choosing Alex Knight and his team to document our special weekend. Sydney was a bridesmaid in a wedding that he had photographed and had so much fun during the shooting sessions. She knew that if the stars aligned, she’d want to have the same experience for her wedding.
We knew Alex and Tanya would take care of us during our initial conversations and first consultation. That dedication to creating a positive experience was extra apparent during our engagement shoot: on a 95-degree day in September, Alex was energetic, patient, and creative — exactly what Sydney remembered, and flawlessly captured the easy love we have for each other, even while sweaty traversing through Brooklyn and Manhattan. Our wedding day was no different: the photo and video teams were so kind, and we had so much fun with our shoots around the grounds and throughout the day.
We also used their photo booth offering, InstaLux, which guests took full advantage of (without taking away from the party), and we turned into a guest book where people could leave copies of their pictures along with messages for us. In that book, the team on-site also snuck in Polaroids of us two from the whole day, which was such a meaningful and heartwarming surprise, as they gave us little sneak previews into what would turn out to be a multitude of incredible photos. We’re still in awe of the photo and video content and will cherish these and the memories associated forever.
Extra Details
We privately exchanged vows, which was a decision we agreed on fairly early in the process. We both felt that saying them with an audience would make us both focus on the public speaking aspect too much and not enough on each other. In hindsight we’re really happy with the decision since it was intimate and time during the day that was set aside just for us.
Sydney made the seating board herself and on the table where it was propped up, we decided to include photos of our ancestors from both sides, to really highlight the love that we both are rooted in. We sourced wedding photos from our parents, grandparents, and as far back as we could go, adding labels so our guests could see as they found their table numbers. It was a really special touch and not only did we love seeing these the day of, but our families also made note of how touching it was to see the family trees.
Honeymoon
We went to Australia (Sydney, Hamilton Island, Melbourne) and New Zealand (Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown) for our honeymoon. To this day, still can’t believe how incredible the trip was front to back. Adam is an avid traveler and trip planner, so because he’s been to many countries already, we wanted to find a destination that we could both experience and explore for the first time together (and also, how could Sydney not want to go to Sydney?!).
We’re also proud to say that we planned the trip as well (with a ton of recommendations from friends and family), so while also planning the wedding, this was a really fun reprieve picking once-in-a-lifetime excursions that we could look forward to once the wedding planning was done. The trip was an unbelievable mix of being active and lounging and some amazing experiences we couldn’t have anywhere else.
Just to name a few – snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, feeding kangaroos, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, watching an international cricket match, oil and wine-tasting on an island in the Pacific, and taking a helicopter to the top of a glacier. It was a one-of-a-kind trip that we’ll cherish forever.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Make sure you and your partner are a united front throughout the whole process! People from all walks of life will have opinions and advice that are either asked for or not, and at the end of the day, you and your partner are a team and know what is best for you and your special weekend. Hire people you trust and let them help you make your vision come to life; they’re professionals whose sole purpose is to make your day run as smoothly as possible.
No matter how detailed your spreadsheets are or how much you plan for every scenario, something is going to go wrong or not how you planned, and that’s OK. Don’t sweat the small stuff because you truly are the only one who will remember the font you picked for His & Hers drink menus. Most importantly, always remember the reason you’re doing all of this hard and stressful planning: you’re marrying your person and it is a gift that you found someone with whom you can weather the storms.
Speaking from experience, it’s very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stressors and the “what are we forgetting” conversations; but at the root of it all was the mindset of “at the end of the day, we get to start our lives together officially” and that was always the deep breath reminder we needed to get through the inevitable tough moments. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, remember to drink plenty of water the day of!
SYDNEY & ADAM’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Alex Knight {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Venue – Lyndhurst Mansion
Ketubah – ShikmaPaperArt
Bride’s dress – Amsale
Bride’s accessories – Amsale
Hair + Makeup – Beauty Bar & Salon, Mary Marsh
Flowers – Laurelwood
Band – The Heartbeat Band
Stationery/Invitation – Informally Yours
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
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