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Cindy and Eric’s Red Maple Vineyard wedding was beautiful! The autumn foliage in the Hudson Valley made for an idyllic atmosphere for their celebration. Both natives from Brooklyn (and high school sweethearts), their friends and family spanned across several years. They wanted to keep their wedding somewhat local to the area, but a change of pace from the big city. Their wedding also included cultural traditions such as Door Games and a Tea Ceremony for the parents.

The day kicked off at the Heartsease Mansion. Inside, Cindy had her hair and makeup done as the bridesmaids steamed their dresses and fawned over Cindy’s dress.

After the bridesmaids got dressed and ready, Eric and his entourage arrived to face the Door Game challenges. This typically involves some level of bribery, team challenges like passing sticks of licorice to each groomsmen without using their hands, and ingesting various concentrated flavors…like wasabi. Based on their reactions I wouldn’t try the last one. Once Eric and the fellas completed the challenges, he was allowed to see the bride before they continued with the traditional tea ceremony. After the tea ceremony, Cindy changed into her gorgeous white gown.  While the door games were a sort of first look for Cindy and Eric, they wanted to do a reveal of the white gown as well before heading to the Red Maple Vineyards. The Red Maple Vineyards was an incredible venue to work with. The stone structures just outside the reception space made for a lovely environment for group portraits and some photos of Cindy and Eric.
The ceremony site sat up on the hill overlooking the Hudson Valley. Cindy and Eric met in high school, and their officiant was a close friend who watched their relationship blossom. It was incredibly moving to witness and document. After the ceremony ended, we spent a little time for portraits at the top of the hill, and meandered our way back down towards the cocktail hour and reception. Under the tent the Cindy and Eric’s Red Maple Vineyard wedding festivities continued with dancing, toasts, and more dancing.
And cake…of course there’s cake!