Sarahritchie17 A Shoutout to All the Vendors Who Made it Possible
Yes, a whole wedding. I know how crazy that sounds and how incredible of an opportunity it was.
Before I knew about this wedding giveaway, I had heard of organizations that provide free wedding gowns for first-responders and military, but a whole wedding was unheard of.
Each year, in Greenport, New York for the past 11 years, Peconic Landing has sponsored a Veterans Day Wedding Giveback. It’s at the beautiful Brecknock Hall, a mansion originally built in the 1850’s. It was originally inhabited by David Gelston Floyd, a shipping magnate, whaling fleet owner, bank president, town supervisor, state legislator, and grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Restored and maintained by the Brecknock Hall Foundation and Peconic Landing community, the venue is booked with weddings and events throughout the year. Veterans Day weekend is reserved for a military couple.
Of course, every time I casually say that we won our wedding, I get tons of questions. This post will partially be the answers to those and partially be a place to share some wedding photos, but I also want to use this place to highlight the incredible vendors who donated to our wedding (some of whom donate year after year). We are immensely grateful to all the people who contributed to making our day so wonderful.
What did you have to do to win?
If you’re interested in applying, you can find all the information here. Since we are dual military, we each had to submit an application and command endorsement letters. Our applications were due April 15, 2023 for them to conduct interviews and announce the winning couple in May and allow for 6 months of coordinating before the big day. The application asked about our military service and our story as a couple. We were scheduled for a first interview later that month. We were long-distance at the time, so we each called in from our separate screens. They got to know us and asked us questions about our jobs and our story. Our second interview was in May, and we happened to be in town for Eddie’s mom’s graduation from nursing school. We walked in nervous, not knowing if there was another couple still in the running against us. When we rounded the corner, we saw a crowd of people waving American flags and a screen with our names saying Congratulations! I started crying. I saw Eddie’s Mom in the crowd. He saw my parents were video-chatted in on another screen. We were shocked in the best way possible.
Wait, a whole wedding?
I know. I had a hard time comprehending it myself, and I’m still in disbelief that this incredible opportunity exists and that people chose us as deserving of it. Winning a wedding is like winning the lottery. The price tag on weddings has skyrocketed in recent years, and I was shocked when I started hearing how much the average wedding costs in 2023. As we went through the planning process, we learned how much each service typically costs and were blown away by the price tags. We would have had to cut a lot out to stay within a budget we could justify, but winning this giveback enabled us to have our dream wedding and not have to sacrifice.
The thought of planning a whole wedding between May and November was daunting at first, but all the vendors were already chosen for us. That cut out hours of research and initial meetings and a lot of the early stress of wedding planning. All we had to do was get in touch and arrange details. Most of the wedding vendors involved in the giveback had provided their services in previous Veterans Day givebacks and were able to answer all our questions. Since they had experience with weddings at Brecknock Hall, we trusted their feedback on what would look good and run smoothly and what wouldn’t, what trends made sense to incorporate and which ones to skip.
What was included?
The dress and veil and preservation were donated by North Fork Bridal Shoppe.
A shopping spree at White House Black Market, Soma, and Chicos was provided by a local personal stylist. I was able to get an after party outfit, a bridal shower dress, and bonus outfits to refresh my wardrobe too.
We received credit towards stationary from Arni Paperie. We used it towards our save the dates and invitations.
There was no fee for our use of Brecknock Hall for staging things the night before, getting ready the morning of, and partying until 9 PM the night of the wedding.
Hair and makeup services were included by Devon Albert and Stacy Peterson, respectively, for me and three bridesmaids.
Sterlington Deli provided breakfast for getting ready.
4 local florists did a beautiful job styling Brecknock Hall with gorgeous arrangements. Blooms by Design provided the bouquets and boutonnières for the wedding party, Riverhead Flower Shop adorned the staircase and ceremony arch, Sugar Magnolias arranged the table centerpieces, and True Elizabeth Designs decorated the mantels. We got a preview of the dining room right before dinner, and the smell of the fresh florals was a whole experience. It’s a beautiful scent I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
KP Designs crafted gorgeous signage.
Janelle Brooke Photography and Jack Franzino Films were on site for 10+ hours capturing our day plus all the editing in the weeks that followed to give us the gift of re-living our day and sharing it with future generations.
Major Bill Grigonis was our officiant.
North Fork Picture Cars provided a classic car for our bride and groom portraits.
Our DJ was the incredible Chad Erlitz of LI Nights Entertainment.
The bar was stocked by Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, Greenport Wines and Spirits, Lieb Cellars, and East End Events Catering.
By Hand Catering and Southold Fish Market provided for cocktail hour.
East End Events Catering served a fabulous dinner (and provided us a delicious tasting experience prior to the wedding). McBurnie Tent provided the catering tent.
Jerri’s Cakes made us a beautiful and tasty wedding cake with cannoli filling.
A Photo Booth and service was provided by Fresh Face Photo Booth and was a huge hit amongst our guests.
Cookie favors were baked by Sassy Sue’s Sweet Treats.
Vineyard Vans ensured our guests got back safe at the end of the night.
The Boho Bay Stay provided us accommodations.
And to top it all off, Valerie, who coordinates events at Brecknock Hall, guided us through every step of the way from finding out we won to cueing me to walk down the aisle to the end of the night. She was amazing to work with. We knew that on the big day, we could fully trust her with all the details and ensuring our guests had the best time too.
Did you still get to pick your details?
We got to customize everything from the color scheme to types of flowers to the whole saying yes to the dress experience to the food and cake tastings. We found time to coordinate trips up to New York and meet with vendors in-person as much as possible. The ones we couldn’t meet in person scheduled video chats and phone calls with us to ensure they put their best efforts into realizing our visions. The vendors who supported this giveback were all top-notch professionals, most with decades of experience in their craft. Working with each of them made the planning process way less stressful than it could have been.
The only things we couldn’t really change were the date and the location, but the first time I saw Brecknock Hall, I was sold. Plus the North Fork of Long Island is beautiful year round.
We were also limited on the number of guests. Due to physical space in the rooms of Brecknock Hall, we could have up to 80 people plus ourselves. At first we were worried about narrowing down our guest list, but it ended up being so nice to feel like we had time to spend with everyone and still have time for ourselves.
How was it?
An absolute dream come true and more. The feelings of love and joy from that day come rushing back every time I think about it or scroll back through the pictures. We feel so blessed to have had this day, to have been chosen for this experience, and to have been surrounded by people we love so dearly. Our friends and family traveled from as far as Germany, Hawaii, and Alaska to be with us that day. The memories we have from that weekend and this season of planning of ones we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I don’t think there are words to express the deep sense of gratitude that we feel about this whole thing. So for now, thank you, thank you, thank you to all the folks who played a part in bringing our dream wedding visions to life.
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[…] each fall into. I’ve uploaded it here for your reference. We had a condensed timeline since we won a wedding giveback and all our vendors were already chosen, so your timeline may look a lot different than […]