“The rain, while definitely dramatic, wound up being incredibly special,” reflects the bride. “It allowed our guests to bond and band together. It also meant that there was ample cocktail time before the ceremony, so the negroni fountain—crafted by Arley Marks—was heavily utilized. It allowed us to forego any chasing of perfection and to instead be completely in the moment.”
In a moment of clear skies, the guests gathered to watch Sadie Mae and Anthony each walk down the aisle of tall wild grass hand-in-hand with their parents. A childhood friend of Anthony’s, Ethan Cohen, arranged a group of musicians together to play “The Swan (‘Carnival of the Animals’)” by Camille Saint-Saëns for the procession. Their friend, artist and writer Justin Chance, officiated the ceremony as they stood in front of a backdrop of hanging lace. “He wrote the most moving, charming, and funny speech. There was not a dry eye in the crowd,” says the couple. “We both wrote our vows the morning of, which was not planned, but meant they were full of pure emotion. They were short and sweet, yet very personal.” After their first kiss, a band consisting of “local Nyack legends” Steven Bernstein and Frankie Dee played “Love and Happiness” by Al Green. “It was the perfect song to capture the joy in the air,” they share. “As we reached the top of the aisle, a van pulled into the parking lot, and out came a procession of dragon dancers. This was a complete surprise orchestrated by Anthony’s mom!”
The newlyweds changed into their ao dai for their grand entrance into the reception. “We walked in between the rows of tables as guests were seated and were able to share so many hugs, high fives, and cheers along the way,” they recall. Unsurprisingly, the chefs put a lot of thought into the reception menu. “Dinner included rotisserie chickens from one our favorite local restaurants El Rey de Pollo, the most insanely delicious vegetable sides by our friend, the talented Italian chef Gerard Kennedy, and French fries, which we had perhaps foolishly spent hours cutting and prepping ourselves,” says Sadie Mae. “This was the only cooking I allowed us to do!” The evening continued with speeches, hugs, and first dances. “Afterwards, the DJ Kat Wang, got everyone to the dance floor and a proper dance party ensued.”
The party continued at the ballroom of the Westgate Motel—“a local fixture”—where most guests were staying. “The fact that people knew they could stumble back to their rooms so easily meant that everyone really let loose,” says Sadie Mae. “There was a heavily utilized cash bar and a lineup of friends who DJed. When they weren’t dancing, people would sneak outside for a cigarette and a beer in the parking lot, looking at the I-87 in front of them. It felt like we were all on a big vacation together. We danced hard until three o’clock in the morning.”
Looking back on the day, Sadie Mae and Anthony say they wouldn’t change a thing. “Even though the rain meant that some things got lost in the shuffle, it really did feel like the way it was meant to be,” the couple says.