My Best Friend's Wedding

{photos from Erik Ekroth}

In October of 2006 I went to my best friend Regan and her husband Matteo's wedding out in Pocantico Hills, NY. The ceremony took place in a beautiful little chapel called the Union Church of Pocantino Hills. Sitting in the chapel, you felt a part of art history as we were surrounded by stained glass windows by Chagal and Mattise. The ceremony was followed by a beautiful reception at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The setting, decor and food was perfect. Below is a brief Q & A with Regan.

I remember the food being amazing, what all did we have at your reception?
Cocktail Reception:
The signature cocktail was called "Apple Pie," made from fresh pressed Hudson Valley apples, Heart of the Hudson Vodka (also distilled from local apples), and spices, served on the rocks with a slice of fresh apple.
Passed Hors d'oeuvres:
Arancini with Pickled Vegetables
Braised Berkshire Pork Croquettes
Tomato Burgers
Shots of Seasonal Soup
Herbed Goat Cheese in Parmesan Tuile
Dinner:
Maine Crab Salad with Garden Green Gazpacho and Cucumbers
Wine: Paul Blanck Riesling Rosenbourg Alsace, France 2005
Poached Cod with Pistou of Fall Vegetables
Wine: Larochette Manciat Macon-Morizottes, Burgundy 2005
Stone Barns Lamb with Quinoa, Corn and Zucchini
Wine: Herencia Remondo "La Montessa", Rioja, Spain 2003
Concord Grape Soup with Yogurt Sorbet
"Woodland" Wedding Cake (white cake with chocolate mousse and almond mousseline)
Petits Fours and Coffee

Was all of the food served at your wedding from the farm?
The restaurant sources as much as they can from the farm. For our wedding, all the produce and the lamb was from the farm.

Any recommendations for brides?
Have the kind of wedding you want. Don't feel pressured to live out your mother's or anyone else's fantasy for your wedding day--it's your day, which means it should be based on YOUR fantasy. And MOST IMPORTANT--Hire a good photographer. After the wedding, the photos are really all you have to remember the day.
Put a lot of personal touches in your wedding. They're fun to do and your guests really do notice. I lined all my envelopes with beautiful papers, put together my own sacks of pears as favors, decorated the escort cards and table numbers, and collected acorns to strew across the tables myself.

What was your favorite part of the day?
The outdoor cocktail reception (whew, I finally get to enjoy all this!)
The Ceremony (much more profound than I'd imagined)
Walking into the Reception and seeing that everything was there, all set up, and even better than I'd imagined. (I didn't have to worry about a thing!)

Who made your gown?
My gown was a strapless mermaid by Ulla-Maija with a V neckline. It was ivory silk satin, covered with silk chiffon rosettes with embroidery and beading. The style is called "Frances" from their Court collection.

Any advice for people planning a wedding from a distance? You were living in San Francisco at the time.
Have your wedding reception at a place that is equipped to handle what you want to pull off. Since the food was most important to me, I had the reception at a wonderful, beautiful restaurant that already had great place settings, chairs, cloths, etc. and would be ready with a well-trained staff to handle getting the food out to our guests. No catering set-ups or hot boxes, or part-time service staff for me! I think trying to engineer a wedding on a beach, or a cliff, or someplace that just isn't already fitted for a gathering is just an invitation for stress. If I had had to order and pick out glasses, plates, silver, chairs, tables, linens, alcohol, etc from different vendors, then worry about everyone showing up, etc. I would have had a breakdown. It's unnecessary stress!