Our New York Wedding

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August 18, 2017 marked the start to a new beginning as newlyweds when I married my best friend after eight years of adventure, travel, and memories together. It was an incredible feeling to be in the presence of our closest friends and family and to see everything come together. After so many experiences together over the years we are thrilled to begin a new life together, happily married. 

It's hard to believe we are already celebrating our first anniversary and this month also marked moving into year 7 of NYC living! 

We were married at the Bourne Mansion on Long Island, New York. This venue was love at first sight for us and even the name was a perfect fit for our countless Bourne movie traditions. We knew this old fashioned mansion on the water was the perfect place for our nuptials and we looked forward to making it a weekend of everyone being together. Since we rehearsed on a Thursday with a Friday evening wedding we had all weekend to keep the celebrations going at the beach. 

We both wanted our day to feel like an elegant and classic soirée (insert #siskarsoirée) with both traditional and antique style. Kevin loved the idea of our guests feeling like they were invited into an old home for an evening of dancing and never ending food. He has this strange obsession with gold and royalty (I guess living in London will do that to you)  This naturally had to be an accent throughout the details. We also used a lot of mercury glass and mixed in some silver throughout too. 

My favorite piece of decor was the customized monogram a close friend designed and surprised us with, along with our invitations. We used it throughout for a personal touch and now have it forever.  For color schemes I wanted to keep it fresh and feminine with ivory, champagne, and blushes throughout.  Greenery like silver dollar eucalyptus softened and added a great detail of contrast. 

 There were so many different rooms that came together with fresh florals, gold terrariums, and frames with LOTS of candle light for a romantic glow. Candle light to warm the space into evening was really important to bring a comfortable feel. I’ll be sharing those details in a separate post if interested. Everything truly came out so stunning and exceeded our expectations! My friend Sara, Beck and Forth Co. worked with me to help style the event with our vision and every room was just breathtaking!

 We had spent months picking out each detail to decorate the venue and had the closest and most talented friends customize and personalize many of our details for the day to make it feel extra special. I can't thank them enough for their support throughout where I knew I could trust their aesthetic.

On the day of our wedding the morning rain had cleared just in time for our outdoor ceremony with the bay in the distance.  Despite some fierce wind and humidity we were so happy to have it come together just in time for our first look and outdoor ceremony. 


The staff at Bourne Mansion was just beyond! From keeping all of the planning very organized since day one from the  back and forth emails, trips out to the venue for meetings, and day of changes they remained flexible with an eye on every detail. It truly felt like a production or something with how efficient everyone was!   I couldn't recommend the venue enough. The food was unbelievable and my word was there so much food! From the cocktail hour to dinner and dessert we had a lot of options.

Our maître d, Steve and my bridal attendant, Feggy were a blessing and made us feel so special every minute! I can't thank their team enough. They have some amazing reviews on The Knot and anyone looking to plan a Long Island wedding should check them out. Miriam is phenomenal in her planning and supportive advice for all brides in the early stages. 


To say planning a wedding wasn't stressful and frustrating at times would be an understatement, but I can truthfully admit that witnessing so many people from over the years come together to celebrate love is a humbling experience that we will forever remember and talk about for years to come. We loved how every part of our day went, even though it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye! We were happy to have celebrated throughout the whole weekend, concluding our festivities at the beach the following day. And my advice is to just to not sweat the small stuff, really! Everything is all how you approach it, enjoy the planning and don't go overboard. 

All photography of our wedding day was captured by the talented and passionate photographer, Whitney Nichols. Her and her husband's partnership in their work is a true act of love and it was so endearing to work with them. We were in love with our engagement photos from their trip to Central Park and couldn't wait for them to capture our special day. All photos in this post is her talented work.

Our wedding videographer, Kristen Kiraly was another talent whose ability to story tell through her cinematography shows how passionate she is about her work. I even learned she was married at the same venue, so of course her eye for detail that day was impeccable. I can't recommend her enough so sweet and her video quality is ah- mazing! You can see our video here

After our wedding we honeymooned in Bali for some ultimate relaxation.  More to come in a travel post, It was an unforgettable experience with amazing culture and  food ! Kevin and me always talk about it and can't wait to go back even though it was the longest flight of my life! 

I hope you've made it this far through one of my longest posts yet, but hey better late than never to share some of the special day ! I'd love to hear your comments at the end of this post. I've linked all of my vendors & details below after the photos. 

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My cousin /MOH designed both pairs of my wedding shoes. I love them!

My cousin /MOH designed both pairs of my wedding shoes. I love them!

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This was one of my favorite parts of the reception was tossing my bouquet off the balcony. My cousin who was my maid of honor caught it! And yes, she is now happily married!

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Dancing with my nana and papa, I just love them!

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We loved our vanilla with raspberry and vanilla mousse wedding cake. And of course tons of Italian cookies ! We worked with Rolling Pin Bakery, so yummy!

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Special surprise of the evening when my childhood friend and bridesmaid sang to us with the band!

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First dance with my dad!

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Wedding Day Details:

Bridal Gown: Martina Liana 

Shoes: Custom Made, Sam Edelman 

Rings: Barbara Oliver Jewelry 

Earrings: Nadri

Tuxedos: Mens Warehouse

Hair & Makeup: House of Makeup

Venue: Bourne Mansion 

Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff

Photographer: Whitney Nichols

Videographer: Kristen Kirlay 

Florist: In Full Bloom

Cake: Rolling Pin Bakery

Styling: Beck and Forth Co. 

 

Florida for the NASA Parker Solar Probe Launch

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This week my husband and I have been in Florida for an influencers event for NASA. This was obviously Kevin's invitation to celebrate his inner space nerd! I on the other hand became just as excited knowing we could have some time at the beach between the launch ! Since it’s close by we decided to add Disney to the itinerary to celebrate our first anniversary a little early since we haven’t ever been together. 

Once I saw what the space launch entailed  I was up for the experience! How often do you get to watch a space rocket blast off into space?! I totally had a magic school bus goes to space moment in my mind , anyone else remember that book and show ?! 

This whole trip was super last minute even though Kevin was cleared for credentials a while back in summer. Due to the nature and actual execution of the Parker Solar Probe being prepared to launch from Cape Canaveral A LOT of factors were considered and last minute changes were expected. It was rescheduled price prior to our arrival.

I've been soaking up as much interesting information on this space mission as I can and I'm amazed how knowledgable Kevin became after two full days of tours and meetings non stop at the Kennedy Space Center. It's honestly an amazing experience to go and explore the center. 

I'm very much a planner so the thought of not knowing when to book flights and hotels was making me so on edge! I've definitely had to go with the flow but it's actually been fun and comical this whole week with everything going on.  I hadn't been to Florida in years since we usually travel outside the country for warm weather so I was looking forward to it to end our summer. 

Luckily we have a family condo to stay at for some of our trip before we headed closer to Kennedy Space Center to settle in for the launch that was scheduled to take place at 3:33 am on Friday.


I packed mostly casual and easy outfits for this trip. I was surprised that I found some NASA tees for us that were surprisingly cute and light weight. I snagged them and our Disney teee from Target!  This heat and humidity is NO joke so I spent most of this trip in swimsuit beach side or in some cut offs and tanks. 

Just as an update: The original scheduled launch for the probe was set and ready to take off and then with a minute and thirty seconds left the crew called it off. There wasn't enough time left in their window for a successful departure. Due to a gaseous helium pressure alarm raised on the space craft!

 So to the beach I will return Saturday evening in the middle of the night to in hopes for a successful launch! I am beyond exhausted but it's been so unbelievable to be out on the beach just 9 miles from the area of the site and experience how so much hard work comes together from such a complex process years in the making!

 Kevin will continue to cover the entire launch and his blog posts and updates can be found on Siskar.co! With his credentials he will be just a few miles away from it so we're hopeful that all goes well for take two! To watch the launch live on Sunday at  3:31 am EST check it out with NASA here. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends! 


I've linked all of my details for my casual outfit here:

Tee  //  Denim Shorts //  Sandals  // Sunglasses (old Prada) but the pair linked are adorable for the price! Watch

 

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Best of Summer Swimwear 2018

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Now that it's mid summer ( cue the tears) I just don't ever want to say goodbye to summer days and nights. There's so many swim options for various body types and tastes with style. Some of my favorite looks are currently on sale and many could even be worn out as a top or bodysuit look. 

I love to mix and match some of my tops and bottoms and always have a basic black swimsuit on hand. Perfectly flattering and best for those hot tubs that can break down the colors in a bright swimsuit from the chlorine. 

These are some of my favorites from the past few summers that I've traveled with from the pool to the ocean !

 

  

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