Ten years have passed from the acquaintance to the engagement of Mina and Stephen. And two more to their wedding. However, that made their celebration even more significant! We talked to Mina about all the details of the wedding as well as her lovestory with Stephen.
Tell us a little about yourselves.
Stephen and I met in 2010 while I was a freshman in college, and he was a senior. We were both in the same co-ed Business Fraternity and after a couple of months of seeing each other in group settings, I decided to be bold for one time in my life (don’t know what came over me!) and decided to ask Stephen if he wanted to hang out with me one-on-one. The boldness quickly wore off during that first date as I awkwardly decided to sit on the opposite side of the room until he sweetly asked why I was sitting so far away and if I wanted to come sit next to him. From there came many more hangouts and he totally surprised me as I got to know him. He was not just the “fun party senior boy” I thought he was, but he was also so gentle, loyal, thoughtful, patient, understanding and loved Lord of the Rings and doing crossword puzzles for fun. That summer he was finishing his senior year with a study abroad in London, so we spent as much time as we could together before he left. We racked up many long-distance charges while talking on the phone every single day. He returned after his London summer, and we continued our story for the next twelve and a half years, with many chapters including another year of long distance, 3 cross-state moves, two beloved dogs, getting engaged after ten years, and now the wedding of our dreams.
What do you do for a living and for fun?
We both feel so grateful because the various chapters in our lives have led us to careers that we both love. Stephen is in Learning and Development at a leading financial institution, and I am a Project Manager in Supply Chain for a fashion retailer. We mostly are homebodies and love cuddling with our two dogs, lighting a candle, getting takeout and watching Dateline, or one of our favorite shows. On the flipside, (occasionally) we also really enjoy going for a night out with friends, fun cocktails, and shots. In addition, we love going to the movies (particularly scary movies), traveling, creating cheeseboards, and supporting the Buffalo Bills.
What was the concept behind your wedding and how did you find your inspiration?
It was our dream to get married in Europe or the UK, as both hold a special place in our hearts. We got engaged during the pandemic (December 2020) and with the travel bans and uncertainty that existed, it was too challenging to plan a wedding overseas. We planned our wedding domestically in the United States but made it a goal to still have a “European Countryside” feel. We also wanted the day to feel grand and special yet intimate and simple. The décor was minimal, as we wanted to allow the beauty of nature to speak for itself and the entire wedding was outside. We were also inspired by Game of Thrones (one of our favorite shows) to have long feast tables with family-style dinner and decadent food displays. That set-up allowed for our guests to all be seated near each other and allow for ample conversation. We wanted the day to be timeless yet still true to us with some unique details. I am half Japanese, so we incorporated a Japanese tradition within our ceremony – San San Kudo – which translates to Three Three Nine. It has a beautiful meeting and serendipitously tied in with our wedding date of September Third. My mother handmade the sake set that we used for that part of the ceremony. We also hired a local Irish Band for the ceremony and cocktail hour that learned Canon in D just for us!
Where was your wedding? Why did you choose this venue?
Our wedding ceremony and reception were both at Windrift Hall in Hudson Valley, New York. I had come across this venue on Pinterest quite a while before we were engaged from an article that was featuring AirBnbs as ideas for wedding venues. I was immediately intrigued by this beautiful 1800s home on a stunning property that just happened to be in a town not too far from Stephen’s family. When we did get engaged, I showed this venue to Stephen and we agreed it would be perfect, especially because it looked like it could be right out of the English countryside. We stayed at the Windrift Hall home itself, which became our little home away from home hosting friends and family throughout the weekend. We hired Marcus McGregor as our coordinator. He was so fun, energetic and went above and beyond to ensure we were taken care of and that everything ran smoothly during the wedding. Susanne the owner of Windrift Hall cares so deeply about all the couples that get married at her home, and plants a tree on the property in each couples’ honor; such a lovely symbolization of the place we planted our roots for our marriage.
How many guests did you have?
We had 100 guests at our wedding, which was perfect for us. The day felt like a party, while simultaneously still felt very intimate. We had plenty of time to dance and chat with all our guests, as they also did with each other!
Tell us about your outfits.
We were aiming for timelessness again when it came to our outfits. Stephen wore a classic black tux from The Black Tux but tailored his pants to have more of a slim fit and wore Salvatore Ferragamo dress shoes. He paired this with a black satin diamond bowtie, which is one of the James Bond signature shapes. I wore a simple silk crepe slip dress from Alexandra Grecco, somewhat reminiscent of style icon Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding gown. The dress featured a cowl neck in the front and a low cowl back. A low back is always one of my signature looks, so I knew my wedding gown had to have one. I had a dreamy, floaty, chapel length raw edge veil with a blusher that was made by my dress tailor, Made by Anatomy. I went very minimal with the accessories (which is true to how I typically am) and only wore custom drop baroque pearl earrings made by A.B. Ellie and white satin Manolo Blahnik Hangisi shoes. Stephen and I decided to get matching wedding bands and went with gold Cartier Love Bands. During the reception, I changed into a white suit (I feel so confident whenever wearing a suit), paired with a white corset from Are You Am I. I had a pair of pointed vintage Giorgio Armani heels to change into but totally ended up forgetting to put them on because I was too excited to run back to the party – so I wore the suit with white Havianas flip flops.
What was your first dance song?
Our first dance was to the original version of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley. Although this song is probably one of the most popular first dance songs, it is forever beautiful and gives us chills every time we hear it. Tying in with one of our themes of timelessness, this song has definitely stood the test of time and we knew this song would not only be special to us but would also resonate with so many others.
What flowers did you choose for the bride's bouquet and why?
My bridal bouquet was white, ethereal, and very organically shaped. I was inspired by ikebana arrangements and was looking for a bouquet that had some movement and natural curves, was simple yet interesting, and looked a little wild yet also polished. I did not request specific types of flowers for the bouquet from our amazing florist, Heart & Soil, and trusted her creativity and expertise! For the bridesmaids’ bouquets, large ceremony arrangements, and reception bud vases – we did add in some shades of oatmeal and stunning dark chocolate toned flowers (scabiosa fata morgana, phlox, chocolate cosmos, hot chocolate nicotiana, black night scabiosa) to add some dimension and tie into the overall color scheme.
What was your wedding cake like? And where did you order it?
Our wedding cake was a small plain confetti white cake from Hudson Valley bakery Nine Cakes, that we added a few natural flowers to. We decided instead of cake for guests, that pies were a bit more fitting for our “feast” and ordered our favorite pies from a local dairy farm/bakery that Stephen went to growing up.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our vendors were all amazing and tied our vision so nicely together, and below are a few additional highlights:
Catering: Our food and drinks were provided by Crisp Catering located in the Berkshires. Crisp specializes in elevated farm-to-table, open fire cooking. Stephen’s top priority for the wedding was the food (as he loves to cook himself), and Crisp Catering surpassed every dream for our feast. Casey & Matt England were lovely to work with throughout all of the planning and the outdoor kitchen that they constructed at our venue was a showstopper. The passed hors d’oeuvres, giant grazing board, cocktails, family-style dinner, late night bites, and wild ramp butter (who could forget?) were all perfectly executed. Our guests are still raving about the experience and scrumptious food that Crisp Catering was able to provide to this day!
Photography: While Stephen’s priority was the food, my priority was photography. I have always been passionate about photography and knew that no matter how or where we decided to plan our day, that it was important to me to find a photographer who could beautifully capture the overall emotions of the day. Joel & Justyna are a married couple who photograph weddings together and have been featured in Vogue, and actually were the first vendors we booked (even before officially booking the venue). They have the most amazing eye and everything they capture is pure art. I love that they really try to capture the moments (big and small) rather than use heavy posing, which allowed us to feel very comfortable and remain in the moment. They honestly are two of the coolest, chicest people we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Video: I know a lot of couples are on the fence about fitting video into their budget, but we are so happy we did and highly recommend it! We worked with Jason Wright from Young Plant Weddings, and he fit perfectly in with us and our personalities. He was relaxed, professional, positive, and quietly captured little details and moments from our day that we didn’t necessarily get to see with our own eyes. We are so happy to have had him with us on our day.
Hair & Make-up: The ladies’ hair and make-up were done by Merita and Jordan respectively, booked through Bridal by Alexandria. Merita and Jordan were quick, efficient, fun, and executed each vision perfectly for hair and make-up. They were a joy to work with (so much so that my two Maid of Honors wished they could hire them for their future weddings)!
Bride: @minamcgee
Venue: @windrifthall
Coordination: @marcus.mcgregor
Catering (Food & Bar): @crispcateringevents
Photography: @joelandjustyna
Videography: @youngplantweddings
Hair & Make-up: @bridalbyalexandria @bridal_beauty01 @jordannaylormua
Florals: @heartandsoilflowers
DJ: @conwayentertainment
