We are both from Connecticut, but we got engaged on top of Okemo Mountain, so we thought it would be meaningful to get married there too! It helps that it’s absolutely beautiful and relaxing there. Our guests were able to take a mini-vacation and enjoy the area. They loved being able to golf, hike, play tennis, kayak, canoe, and swim.
We met on the softball field – we played on the same intramural team when we were getting our PhDs. At first, there was a lot to overcome. Mark went to Boston College and is a Yankees fan, and I (Kristin) went to Notre Dame and am a Red Sox fan. We slowly became friends, and then realized that we wanted to be together. A couple of years later, we got engaged and then married!
During a ski trip we stayed at a great bed and breakfast, the Henry Farm Inn. Mark had been thinking about proposing for a while, but thought that skiing would be a great opportunity. The night before he was going to propose, I had a dream that he asked me to marry him. I told him about it in the car on the way to the mountain the next morning, and he took that as a sign that he should definitely propose that day. After lunch, we were at the very top of the mountain, and Mark suggested that we stop to take a picture. It was a VERY cold but beautiful day, so I got impatient because I had taken my hand out of my mitten to get the camera and Mark was making me wait while he dug around in his snowpants. If I had known what he was doing, I wouldn’t have been so impatient! Finally, he managed to pull the little box out of his snowpants and simply said “Marry me.” I was completely surprised – it was the perfect proposal for me.
The most meaningful thing that we did involved Mark’s daughter, Scarlett, who was also the flower girl. Before we exchanged rings, we invited her to join us. We told her that we love her and presented her with an engraved bracelet as a symbol of our love and support.
We also wrote our own vows, which were particularly meaningful to us. As far as the music was concerned, we both love Leonard Cohen, so we had the musicians play “Hallelujah” as our processional. For favors, we made homemade strawberry jam, which we hope was a nice personal touch that could express how grateful we were that our guests could be there.
We can’t say enough positive things about every single one of our vendors. Andre and Veronica (Saint Phalle) took photographs that are sometimes sweet, sometimes stunning, and always an accurate portrayal of our wedding.
We would recommend getting married at the Echo Lake Inn to anyone – we didn’t have to worry about a thing because they took care of everything. Laurence, the innkeeper, is one-of-a-kind, very detail oriented and organized while still being a calming presence. The staff there is incredible and extraordinarily attentive – a lot of guests commented on how impressed they were with the staff. The pictures, flowers, and attire were all beautiful, the musicians and DJ made the day enjoyable, the Inn’s food is fantastic, and our cake (by Irene’s Cakes) was delicious *and* gorgeous, a rare combination in wedding cakes. Our justice of the peace, Doris, also made the ceremony memorable and comfortable – she let the wedding be about us, which we really appreciated.
One of our favorite things about our day was being able to relax and have fun for the whole weekend. The inn gave us exclusive use for the whole weekend, so from Friday night to Sunday morning, we were able to spend lots of time with our families and friends, who came from all over the world to be there. Everyone staying at the Inn was there for our wedding, so it was a wonderfully relaxing and safe environment for everyone. We also loved the food – the hors d’oeuvres and dinner were really wonderful, not typical wedding food at all! We loved being able to dance the night away with our families and friends – the dance floor was full all night, despite the heat and humidity!
One of the special moments was when it started raining during our cocktail hour. It didn’t last, but when it finished, we got a rainbow! Most of all, we were grateful that so many people who are so important to us were able to be there – our parents, my grandmother, all of our siblings and their children, my cousins, and our very closest friends were all there.
Because we had a number of children in attendance, we set up a children’s activity table with art supplies and activities. We didn’t know they were doing it, but all of our nieces and Scarlett made us a very sweet card. After the toasts, they came up and gave it to us, and had us read it out loud to all of our guests. We had no idea it was coming, but we were touched by how thoughtful and kind they were.
Advice for brides-to-be: 1) Don’t lose sight of what’s really important – the person you’re marrying. The wedding itself – the party, the food, etc. – is secondary to the meaning of the day. Everything else will fall into place. 2) Be as specific as you can with your vendors when you tell them what you’re looking for. The more detailed instructions you can give, the more likely it is that you’ll get exactly what you want. 3) If your budget allows, hire someone to manage everything on the day of the wedding. We were lucky because the Echo Lake Inn provided that service, but if it’s someone’s job to see to all the details, neither you nor your guests have to stop the fun to see to them. 4) Relax and enjoy the day. Take the time to look around and appreciate everything. It goes fast!
