A Graphic Designer's "Forest Glam" Wedding in the Catskills of New York

Marcy Castelgrande and Christopher Lee’s love story has circumnavigated the globe. The couple first met in New York City in 2011, when they were introduced by a mutual friend at a West Village bar during Hurricane Irene. From there, their romance took them to Sydney, Australia, where they spent a few years falling in love surrounded by sandy beaches and charming accents. When it was finally time to come home, they turned their trip back to New York into a voyage, stopping in New Zealand, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, and Nepal along the way. Little did Marcy know that Chris had a surprise up his sleeve. In March of 2017, while at the summit of Kala Patthar overlooking Everest basecamp, he popped the question. “It was -20 degrees out so my happy tears froze to my face, but I managed to get out an enthusiastic ‘yes’ even in the thin air,” Marcy recalls.

The couple made their way back to the New York area, selecting August 19, 2018, as their wedding date and inviting 140 guests to Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York. “We wanted as much of our wedding outside as possible,” says the adventurous bride, who is a creative content and graphic designer for Jenny Yoo Collection. Her profession came in handy: Marcy turned to her wedding-savvy coworkers to help her bring her forest glam wedding to life and Wilde Scout Photography to capture all of the details. Take a peek at what they created, below!

“The invitations were the thing I was most excited to design myself,” says the bride. “I loved the challenge of translating our globally-inspired vision into paper.” The bride did it all, even applying foil individually to each invitation.

The couple loved that Full Moon Resort’s ample lodging meant most of their guests could stay on-site—and celebrate all night long!

The bride also got ready on-site, sporting a chic Kimono-style robe as she did.

Her mother was by her side—and since Marcy knew that tears would indeed be shed on the big day, she gifted her mom a customized handkerchief for the occasion.

Marcy combined elements of her favorite Jenny Yoo dresses into her custom gown. The beaded English ivy appliqués on the bodice gave way to a sheer back and a silk chiffon skirt with a high slit. She wore a simple veil and carried a bouquet of white roses, dahlias, and a single calla lily alongside seeded eucalyptus.

A simple chignon and delicate hoop earrings let the ornate bodice of Marcy’s custom Jenny Yoo gown really stand out. She wore a jade ring on her right hand. “It was a gift from my mother-in-law, and is a tradition in my husband’s family,” she explains.

Of course, Marcy’s bridesmaids wore Jenny Yoo! “I wanted a sundried palette, and had them wear a mix of velvet, chiffon, and crepe for texture,” she says of the intentionally mismatched collection of dresses.

The couple did a first look in the forest before doing group photos with their wedding party. Chris wore a slim fit blue suit for a more casual take on classic navy.

“Our flower girl was so excited to wear a dress that matched the bridesmaids,” Marcy says.

The flower girl and ring bearer (who wore white Puma sneakers for his walk down the aisle) preceded Marcy and her father. “A friend of ours is a fantastic musician, and he put together a string quartet that played covers of pop, rock, punk and R&B songs,” she says. “He put together arrangements from our requests, ranging from ‘All The Small Things’ to ‘Shut Up and Dance.’”

The ceremony was supposed to take place outdoors, but rain in the forecast meant the couple decided to move under an open-sided tent. “We’d originally intended to have asymmetrical, organic columns of eucalyptus, roses and white dahlias, which we turned into an installation that beautifully covered the tent pole behind our ceremony,” explains the bride.

“Since we didn’t get to have our ceremony in the nearby grove of trees, our photographer got creative and came up with a great way to still get that outdoor feeling,” says Marcy.

“After we exchanged vows, everyone followed us out into the field, where we popped champagne and threw confetti," Marcy recalls. "It was such a special memory for us and our guests.”

Cocktail hour was still held outdoors, with guests gathering on the lawn to enjoy an indulgent spread of cheeses and some of the couple’s favorite cocktails, which they renamed to reflect some of their favorite memories. For example, an Aperol spritz was lovingly called “The Bondi” in honor of their time in Australia.

Table assignments were printed on a board featuring the logo that Marcy had designed for their invitation suite.

Dinner tables were topped with white linens and decorated sparingly with lisianthus, green hydrangea, roses, dahlias, lysimachia, and garlands of lemon leaf, seeded eucalyptus, and Italian ruscus.

Chris and Marcy danced to “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” covered by Haley Reinhart, before cutting into their birthday cake-flavored wedding cake from Milk Bar. “We had a last dance while our guests headed to the after-party,” says Marcy. “It was just me and Chris, and those last moments alone gave us an extra chance to really soak it all in. We made sure the day was really ours and loved every moment because of that.”