Tell us the story of you and Rae:
Rae and I met in school at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He was and continues to be one of the nicest people I know. 7 years later and here we are married and living in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn! Rae proposed to me last July in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan. He then surprised me again with an 160 person party at my home in Westchester, NY, with all of our family and closest friends. We planned our wedding in 10 months and below are more details about how it turned out!
What did you envision for your big day?
Rae and I were going for a romantic, lush and intimate vibe for our wedding. We both come from very large families that love to entertain. We knew we were going to have about 220 guests and wanted to find a way to still make our family and friends feel as if they were at a family event on a grander scale. We chose a venue that we knew would support our vibe and allow us to throw the best party of our lives and tailor every detail throughout the day.
It was lush, majestic and extremely romantic. The property is filled with amazing greenery and is a beautiful getaway in the middle of the woods in the small town of Thompson. The food was absolutely amazing – who said the couple doesn’t eat on their wedding day!? 😉
Tell us more about your killer wedding day style!
My wedding planners also made me a white leather bridal bomber that said Mrs. Haynes and wedding date in Roman numerals. This was the perfect accessory for my clean and fitted Sarah Seven Belmont Gown. This was the gown of my dreams, especially as a curvier girl, finding the dress that fits me like a glove in all of the right places was a dream come true.
How did you make the ceremony unique to you and Rae?
We incorporated aspects of my Mashpee Wampanoag Native American tribe into our wedding. After the wedding ceremony, our tribe’s Medicine Man said very beautiful words about love and taught the group about “medicine”, mentioning that Rae and I have been “making medicine” since the day we met. It rained for the majority of the ceremony, but everyone was so relaxed about it and so present. I remember at one point our medicine man mentioned how the rain was a sign of cleansing at that point you could see if everyone exhale in the most relaxed and calming way.
