Event designer Michelle Rago teams up with the editors of Modern Bride magazine to create a wedding reception at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant in New York's Hudson Valley. "Everything about the site strikes a fine balance between being very organic, but finished and sophisticated at the same time," Rago says. All of the elements of this farm wedding are designed to celebrate both agrarian charm and elegant simplicity, so that the concept is more organic-chic than down-home. "I wanted everything to feel handmade and natural," Rago says. So she chose decorative touches and motifs that evoke agriculture and botanical life, in subtle shades like sage green to echo the colors of the fields and hills.
A cow tells which way the wind blows at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, bluehillstonebarns.com.
A sign welcomes guests to the restaurant.
Lush gardens supply the kitchen with fresh tomatoes, carrots, leeks, and various herbs.
A handmade fabric-covered box with raffia handles holds innovative invitations on ivory card stock with sage-green letterpressed print and a dandelion motif. Direction cards wrapped in woven-bamboo paper, and RSVP cards with envelopes are hidden beneath a panel in the box. Keepsake Treasure Box Invitation, $110 each (minimum order of 75), by Karen Bartolomei for Grapevine, grapevineweddings.com. Calligraphy throughout by Jan Boyd Calligraphy, janboyd.com.
Single stems of white hydrangeas and curling willow in sleek, teardrop-shaped vases reflect both the site's modern interior and the beauty of the garden just outside the window.
At the entrance to the site, moss-covered initials, hung from satin ribbon, decorate the door; a horseshoe-shaped arch of eucalyptus pods, white amaryllis, and white hydrangeas hangs above the doorway for good luck, and planters filled with ferns and white amaryllis look lush against the stone walls. Planters, $175 each, from Planter Resource, planterresource.com.
In a new take on the guest book, a linen-covered box holds hand-sewn booklets of acid-free cotton pages, and woven-bamboo paper for guests to write their wishes for the newlyweds, $890 for 30 booklets, by Karen Bartolomei for Grapevine, grapevineweddings.com. Fountain pen, $75, from Cross, 800-282-7677, cross.com. Beach-stone runner, $20, from Design Ideas, designideas.net.
The garden-lined and tree-shaded patio behind the restaurant is the perfect place for an outdoor cocktail hour; under clear blue skies or in the moonlight, guests can take in pristine views of rolling hills.
Artful hors d'oeuvres of Stone Barns' chicken-liver pâté flavored with herbs, and decorated with edible flowers fresh from the farm's gardens are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palate; they're consistent with the restaurant's goal to one day serve only foods raised and harvested on the premises.
Further showcasing the chef's unique presentation and rich flavor combinations, warm Hudson Valley corn soup is served in tall shot glasses; they're set beside Parmesan crisps topped with marinated goat cheese and toasted walnuts, which rest atop a hill of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. All food prepared by chef/owner Dan Barber. Beach-stone runner, $20, from Design Ideas, designideas.net.
Perfectly chilled cucumber martinis made with Hendrix gin and fresh cucumber juice, and basil mojitos made with opal basil, lime and Bacardi Light rum once again bring the garden to the table, or, in this case, the bar. Beach-stone coaster, $2.50 for set of four, from Design Ideas, designideas.net.
A grand centerpiece of weeping willow branches, green hydrangeas, and white snowberries, set in a one-of-a-kind hollowed-out tree trunk, provides the focal point for the elegant dining room; below and beside it on the seating-card table, votives in natural-horn candleholders give off a warm, amber glow.
Table-number "pockets" are created using book board covered with sage wooden bamboo paper; guests can keep them and use them later to display photos from the wedding. Table numbers, $35 per table, by Karen Bartolomei for Grapevine, grapevineweddings.com.
Willow branches and acorns prop up hand-cut letterpressed seating cards, $25 for 10, by Karen Bartolomei for Grapevine, grapevineweddings.com.
Elegant centerpieces of maidenhair ferns, white lisianthus, galax leaves, eucalyptus pods, sheet moss and arabicom have a lovely, free-form look that contrasts with the simple, tented place cards, $15 for 10, and letterpressed menus made with layered woven-bamboo paper, $16 each (minimum order of 75), both by Karen Bartolomei for Grapevine, grapevineweddings.com.
Five layers of yellow sponge cake lined with bittersweet chocolate-and-chestnut mousse are iced with rolled fondant, and decorated with piped royal icing leaves, and marzipan acorns. Serves 70, $700, by Maarteen Steenman and Mark Randazzo for La Tulipe Desserts, 914-242-4555. Cake stand, $100, from Kosta Boda, kostaboda.com. Cake knife and server, $30, from Crate & Barrel, crateandbarrel.com.
Custom-made labels in wedding colors of green and white decorate jars of fennel pickles, about $8 each, from Blue Hill at Stone Barns, bluehillstonebarns.com. The printed ribbons denote that the couple made a donation to American Farmland Trust, a nonprofit organization that helps protect American farms. Ribbon from Tinsel Trading, tinseltrading.com.
