41 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride
, ,

Woodland Catskill Wedding with Vintage Speakeasy Details

1 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride

Get ready to be delighted by this vintage wedding in the woods. The Roxbury Barn is a magical place, with 100-foot tall pine trees that create a natural cathedral under which Jasmine and Lorne said their vows. This exquisitely designed wedding combines a charming woodland venue with urban chic details. Like any true-blue New Yorkers, the couple incorporated subway tokens throughout their decor (Lorne’s cufflinks were brass tokens), and embraced Nouveau-Deco elements wherever they could, using old posters, wrought iron furniture or brass. This fetching fete was perfectly captured by Kerri Lynne Photography.

2 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 3 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 4 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 5 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 6 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 7 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 8 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride9 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride10 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride11 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride12 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride13 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride16 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride17a Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride17b Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride18 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride19 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 20 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 21 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 22 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 23 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 24 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 25 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 26 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 27 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride28 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride29a Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride29b Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride30 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride31a Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride31b Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride32 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride33 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 34 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 35a Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 35b Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 36 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 37 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 38 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 39 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 40 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride 41 Catskill Wedding DIY Woodland Speakeasy | Kerri Lynne Photography | Via MountainsideBride

Jasmine + Lorne
The Roxbury Barn, Roxbury, NY
July 4, 2015

Wedding day weather: Torrential downpour, then utter perfection!
Number of guests: 113
Your budget: $65,000
Biggest splurge: The venue. But we just had to. It was perfect.
Biggest savings: Decor was both our biggest savings and one of our biggest expenses. We made EVERYTHING, but that gave me license to buy so many supplies! I was a wild woman!

Why did you choose the Mountains for your wedding?

Lorne and I truly feel that the outdoors is our church. It’s where we go to connect with one another and we’ve done our best decision making there. We each took a mountain range (for Lorne it was the Berkshires and for me, the Catskills/Hudson Valley) and started searching for the perfect spot. But it was my aunt in Florida who discovered The Roxbury Barn, and when we visited, we knew twenty feet into the venue that we wanted to get married there. The barn is in the middle of the woods, and there’s a forest of pine trees more than 100 feet tall that felt like a cathedral. And the views! We just knew *this* place and *these* mountains were perfect for us.

Wedding day theme:

Lorne is a New York native and I am a country girl-turned-urbanite, so we decided that “urban forest” should wend its way through our design. “Woodland speakeasy” seemed to bring those two elements together nicely. We had subtle Jazz Age decor and encouraged our guests to dress accordingly – if they felt so inclined. The Fredtown Stompers – a hot jazz band – really brought down the house by capturing the music of the era.

Where did you find your inspiration?

We designed our own engagement ring, so we chose peach and gold based on that. We added black and cream to give a vintage, urban feel.
We’re lucky to live in an area of New York City that has tons of parks and primordial forest. In many areas, nature has reclaimed human features like lampposts and benches, and they’ve actually grown into the landscape. We tried to include a lot of that. We also hid subway tokens throughout our decor (Lorne’s cufflinks were brass tokens), and in general, we embraced Nouveau-Deco elements wherever we could, using old posters, wrought iron furniture or brass. The venue provided the forest; we brought the urban. There’s a restaurant in NYC called “Gallow Green” that captured the magical nouveau aesthetic we wanted for our ceremony, so we also took a cue from them.

How did you choose to personalize your wedding?

Lorne’s best friend from college officiated. He had never done a wedding before, and he was *phenomenal*. We created our ceremony, which allowed us to share our values and hopes with our guests in a powerful way. We had select friends do readings and perform songs and we also had a broom jump! Since it was a DIY wedding, I created the decor, made the dress, and worked the “woodland speakeasy” theme into the signage and displays wherever possible. Lorne worked really hard to make a playlist that reflected our individual interests and still be enjoyable for our guests. He also made all the day-of paperie (he must’ve punched 1,000 “deco scallops” into those programs and he personalized every place card).

What was your favorite part of the reception?

Lorne would say, “watching our beloved guests enjoying themselves.” For me, though, it was my dad’s song: My dad has been ill for some time, and unable to play the guitar which he’s always loved to do. Two weeks before our wedding, he was hospitalized due to multiple bouts of sudden congestive heart failure. We weren’t sure he would be able to leave the hospital, much less come up to the mountains for our wedding. But he made it, he walked me down the aisle, and he played and sang the most beautiful rendition of “Life is Beautiful” by Keb’ Mo’. Everyone was in tears and even the band was hooting and hollering! The whole thing just made me really grateful.

What are three things you’re super glad you did?

  • Trusted our instincts when choosing vendors. We could never have done any of this at all without our incredible wedding coordinator, Lydia Castiglia of Catskill Weddings.
  • We both played an equal part in making all decisions and in doing all of the work. It brought us closer and we know we can trust one another on big projects. Plus the event felt like it was our day and not “all about the bride”. That meant a lot to us.
  • We paid for it ourselves. We know we’re lucky to have been able to do this, but representing ourselves truthfully was extremely important to us, and with other people’s funding comes other people’s opinions!

What was the biggest challenge in planning your mountain wedding and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge proved to be how to involve family and friends in the wedding planning and celebration, but maintain our vision throughout the planning process. Another challenge was finally being ready to let go on the wedding day and allow ourselves to be present and enjoy the celebration of our love. In the end, we decided both were out of our hands, and once we’d taken all the actions we could, we let go, looking to each other to stay present. That’s what it’s all about, after all.

How did you find and choose your vendors?

Well, honestly, we went to every single venue and interviewed every single caterer. There are only so many available way up in the mountains! We also started early, because there’s been a big wedding boom upstate, and only so many bookings are available. Once we found Roxbury Barn, they had incredible resources. We also totally lucked out, as our top choice photographers knew each other and agreed to shoot together! You can see how beautifully that turned out! The only thing we didn’t have to worry about was our coordinator. She knew every vendor and everyone recommended her without our even having to ask. She was amazing and worth ten times our investment.

What is your best piece of advice to other mountain brides who are planning their weddings?

Take as many moments as possible to be grateful for the life the two of you live.
Remember first and foremost that this event is about love and support. Please, please, please… choose supportive friends and work with vendors you trust. In the end, no matter how much planning you do, you’ve got to be able to let it go on the day. Your friends and family will support you, and your vendors will make your wedding happen! Also, book your housing early, especially if your mountains are popular for weddings! All the best to you!

Roxbury Barn Wedding Vendors

Wedding Photography: Kerri Lynne Photography |  Venue: The Roxbury Barn at The Captain’s House | Caterer: The Rhinecliff Hotel | Coordination: Catskill Weddings |  Ceremony Music: Hudson ProMusica | Cocktail and Reception Band: The Fredtown Stompers | Engagement Ring: LiMar Jewels | Groom’s ring: Jacob Midgett | Groom’s Attire: Bespoke by Vittone USA | Bridal Gown, bouquet, floral and display: DIY | Reception dress: Unique Vintage | Invitations: Minted.