A Fresh and Colorful Summer Wedding at Sound View Greenport on Long Island

By the time Zachary Kilgore proposed to Stephanie Puntillo in August of 2018, the couple had been together for nearly five years—so it’s no surprise Stephanie was getting "suspicious." “Zach had arranged for our families to come to New York to celebrate after we got engaged, but all week I was getting more and more suspicious because my family was being so weird!” she admits.

From ignoring her calls to lying about their whereabouts, by the time Friday afternoon rolled around, Stephanie admits that she was in a bad mood, totally convinced they were hiding something from her. “I had a summer Friday, so when Zach came home I was in bed drinking rosé and watching The Real Housewives,” she recalls. She told him all of her theories about why her family was being so sketchy, and Zach sweetly replied that he had something that might make her feel better. “That was when he pulled out an engagement ring!” Stephanie reveals. After, Stephanie called her sister to ask if she could join them for Champagne, and when she opened the door, her entire family was there. "I was totally surprised!” she says.

Zach is from a beach town in Maine and Stephanie is from south Florida, so the couple wanted everything about their wedding to reflect their coastal upbringings. “We’d first visited Sound View Greenport with friends during a day trip to the North Fork of Long Island, and stopped by again as we toured wedding venues," Stephanie says. "With Aperol spritzes in hand overlooking the Long Island Sound, we knew we’d found the perfect place for us."

The bride is an event and fashion show producer and decided to plan the wedding herself. “It was so much harder to have an emotional investment in my work, and planning a wedding is so different from the events I usually work on,” she admits. But with an A-list team of vendors and her favorite production manager on board, it all came together.

On June 22, 2019, Zach and Stephanie (who wore three custom looks by Brandon Maxwell!) celebrated with 130 guests at a wedding that paired New England and Italian coastal influences, embracing a palette inspired by bougainvillea and the azure tones of the sea. Take a peek at this fresh and colorful celebration, photographed by Amber Gress Photography, below!

Alison Murray, one of Stephanie’s bridesmaids, created custom artwork for the invitation suite and paper goods used throughout the celebration. “She incorporated the architecture and coastline at Sound View, clusters of bougainvillea, and really sweet illustrations for each of our events,” adds the bride.

Instead of matching bridesmaids’ dresses, Stephanie asked her friends to select a floral dress of their choice in a palette that ranged from pink and ivory to pale blue. “To tie it all together, they all carried matching gardenia peony bouquets,” the bride adds.

Choosing a dress (or three!) was easy for Stephanie: She turned to client-turned-friend Brandon Maxwell for everything she wore on her wedding day. “I told Brandon I didn’t want a big princess dress, but when I showed up for my first appointment, the photo I brought with me was of the biggest pink dress from his Spring 2019 collection,” Stephanie says with a laugh. For the ceremony, he created a white basket-weave organza ball gown with a fitted scoop-neck bodice. Stephanie wore her hair in a sleek chignon to match the gown’s clean lines.

On the big day, the bride paired her east-west marquise engagement ring with gold and floral Tabitha Simmons sandals for a touch of metallic.

Stephanie wanted Zach to have something equally special to wear, so she turned to her friends at Perry Ellis (another client of the bride’s!) to create a custom tuxedo for the groom, as well as navy blue suits for the groomsmen. The couple’s dog, Bo, was on-hand for pics—and, obvi, dressed for the occasion!

Without a doubt, Stephanie says choosing her dress was the easiest part of the wedding planning process. "Brandon and his team were amazing!" she says. "I knew I was in great hands and really let him guide me on what he thought was best. "

Pale bouquets helped coordinate the bridesmaids’ mismatched dresses, while a cluster of pink and coral peonies (and no greenery in sight!) gave Stephanie’s look a big burst of color.

“Weddings are a beast to plan,” Stephanie admits. “The event producer in me wanted to get every detail ironed out as soon as we got engaged, but I quickly learned that the wedding industry operates on a very different timeline than I’m used to.”

The ceremony took place overlooking Long Island Sound, with asymmetrical arrangements of peonies and bougainvillea framing the altar. “I didn’t want anyone sinking into the sand, so we put down a gray wooden aisle,” Stephanie says. As guests arrived, they grabbed glasses of refreshing cucumber and lemon water in custom cups that matched the invitation suite.

As guests arrived, they grabbed glasses of refreshing cucumber and lemon water in custom cups that matched the invitation suite.

“My niece, Emelia, was upgraded from flower girl to junior bridesmaid as wedding planning went along,” says Stephanie. “We had a slumber party together the night before, and the first thing she said to me the morning of my wedding was, ‘Auntie Stephanie, are you excited?’ I sure was!”

“A narrow set of stairs leads down to the beach, and I was nervous about getting to the aisle in my dress and heels,” says Stephanie. “My dad kept telling me to hold on tight to him, making jokes to keep me laughing as we made our way to the altar.”

At her very last dress fitting, Brandon Maxwell convinced Stephanie that she needed a veil. “It was 10-feet long and so dramatic, but the wind by the water made it catch on everything," she admits. "I ditched it halfway down the aisle and went veil-less for our ceremony!”

A close friend of the couple officiated the ceremony. “She was there the night Zach and I met,” adds the bride. “She did an amazing job telling our story, making it so personal to the two of us.” The bride’s older sister read a reading from Corinthians, while the groom’s sister-in-law read “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin. “We wanted a really good mix of traditional and non-traditional touches throughout our day,” the bride explains.

“Greenport really reminds us of Zach’s hometown in Maine,” says Stephanie. “Dockside restaurants, beautiful sunsets, and so much fresh seafood. It was the perfect place to host our loved ones.”

The couple’s dog, Bo, graced the escort card sign in an illustration by Alison Murray. She also created illustrations for the signature cocktail menu, which featured an Aperol spritz dressed up with elderflower liqueur and grapefruit and a Negroni.

The newlyweds shared their first dance to “If Not For You” by George Harrison. Says the bride, “We wanted something timeless, joyful, and upbeat.”

The reception took place at The Halyard, the restaurant at Sound View Greenport. Guests were seated at long tables topped with lace linens, blue floral napkins, blue water glasses, and centerpieces of peonies and roses. “The pops of color were a beautiful compliment to the all-white, classically New England interiors,” says the bride.

“The toasts were amazing!” the bride recalls. Her mother, younger sister, and the groom’s twin brother had guests laughing, crying, and reminiscing. The dinner menu paired New England and Italian specialties—think oysters, lobster rolls, arancini, and cavatelli with crimini mushrooms.

After dinner, the couple made a quick costume change: Zach donned a heathered light blue suit and baby blue Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 ‘Cactus Jack’ sneakers (a gift from the bride!), while Stephanie wore a crepe pin-tucked skirt and a bustier top.

“Our wedding cake was a classic Italian millefoglie topped with cream and fresh berries," Stephanie says. "We also had cannolis!” DJ Marcus Ho filled the dance floor during the reception—especially during the Britney Spears dance off!—and then pianist and singer David Clark gathered guests in the piano bar for the after-party.

At this point, Stephanie changed into her third and final look by Brandon: A wide-leg jumpsuit perfect for dancing! “We’ll never forget huddling around the piano with our friends singing ‘Wonderwall’ at the top of our lungs,” says the bride. “It was the perfect ending to our wedding day.”