Real Wedding: Katherine & Michael
Cake: Peconic Bakery
Cupcakes: Baked by Melissa & Sugar Sunshine
Floral Design: Topaire Frlower Shop
Catering: Tim Burke Productions
Hair + Makeup: Kevin Maple Salon
Invitations: Simplyput by Ashley Woodman
Tranportation: M&V Limousine
Katherine Ennis never thought that she would meet her true love wearing a Santa hat in a bar. But there he was, smiling at her from across the room with the festive headpiece flopping over his head. It was at the 12 Bars of Christmas charity bar crawl in New York City's East Village where Katherine and Michael first met in 2007. Although Katherine had woken up that morning feeling tired and reluctant to the idea of going to bars all night long, her friend had eventually convinced her into going anyways. It wasn't until they were at bar number three that Katherine first noticed Michael, a tall and handsome guy who also happened to look sexy in a Santa hat. Since they were both with separate groups of friends, they only had time to exchange a few smiles at each other. At one of the last bars of the crawl, Katherine, having lost her group of friends somewhere, finally mustered up the courage to walk up to the stranger and introduce herself.
Michael on the other hand, had woken up that morning feeling refreshed and ready to spend the night out partying. He too had spied the lovely girl in a plaid jacket around the bar crawl and was pleasantly surprised when she approached him towards the end of the night and introduced herself. Michael introduced Katherine to all of his friends and they had a great time together, getting along like old friends. At the 12th and final bar of the night however, the two spent the entire time along with each other, talking and flirting the whole time until the night cumulated in their first kiss.
Michael knew he wanted to marry Katherine after only a few months of dating. When he had seen the way that she interacted so comfortably with his family, Michael knew that she could be the only one for him. And he also knew that when he proposed, it had to be at sunset on the beach in Southampton, her favorite place in the world. Michael planned to take Katherine to Southampton the night before her birthday on the pretense that her friends would be coming out the following morning to celebrate Fourth of July weekend with them. With the ring purchased, dinner reservations made and a limo rented, Michael was able to relax for a little while.
Michael's calm and cool demeanor didn't last for long however. As he and Katherine walked along the beach to watch the sunset, Michael produced a birthday poem and began to recite it to Katherine. Nervous, Michael stumbled clumsily through the poem, more shakily than he had intended it to be. At the last line, Michael abandoned the poem and dropped to one knee in front of his girlfriend and asked her to marry him. The answer, of course, was yes. After dinner, they broke the news to their parents and celebrated by taking a ride in the limo with Katherine's parents, complete with toasts and champagne.
The wedding was held in Southampton, NY, where Kate had spent summers playing in the house that her family owns. They chose the area for its warm September weather and the beautiful surroundings notorious for their terrific photographing light. Michael and Katherine decided to use a blue color pallet, reflecting their mutual love of the color and of the beach. They incorporated lots of natural beach materials when decorating, using sea glass, seashells, starfish and driftwood to give the wedding a summery beach feel. Centerpieces were made of hydrangea arrangements, since they were Katherine's favorite flower and reminded her of the childhood summers she had spent in Southampton.
Personal touches paid respects to the parents of the bride and groom, such as framed wedding pictures of mom and dad and a gift table built around an old treasure chest of Katherine's father's. Holding the ceremony at Our Lady of Poland Church was also a significant decision for the newlywed couple who wanted to pay homage to Michael's mother's Polish heritage. The church is also important to Katherine's family, who have been attending it for years and even has a stained glass window dedicated to Katherine's great grandmother. As a fun extra, a bagpipe player was present before and after the ceremony to lead everyone into reception.
The wedding was a wonderful occasion and things could not have been more perfect for the happy bride and groom. For Michael and Katherine, the best part of their night was also the quietest. Through all of the noise of the music and talking and laughter, what they remember most fondly were the few hushed moments they shared while in the limo together, driving to the beach for pictures. It was their first time together as husband and wife, but certainly would not be the last.