Michelle + Anthony’s Timeless Autumn Hudson Valley Wedding at The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY
Michelle + Anthony had the most beautiful Hudson Valley November wedding day at The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. These college sweethearts’ timeless wedding day had a main focus on family, friends, and having one killer party. I was so excited to photograph them while they embraced my timeless editorial and documentary approach to photographing wedding days.
These two sweetie pies did a few things that I absolutely loved…
Anthony’s dad was his best man. (They asked him to make a short speech, and in dad joke final boss form, he pulled out a HUGE binder and said it was his speech.)
During their wedding ceremony, Michelle walked to the end of the aisle alone holding a balloon in memoriam of her father, which she then released before meeting her mother and brother to walk her up the rest of the aisle to Anthony. (As someone who has also lost their father, I thought this was a very simple and beautiful way to honor him.)
They had an espresso martini tower. Champagne tower? COOL. Espresso martini tower?! Well that’s sure as heck a way to get the party started. The wonderful staff at The Roundhouse set it up at the tail end of cocktail hour (Shout to to Danielle + Gina!!!!). Anthony + Michelle poured the espresso martini down the top of the tower, shared one, handed them out to guests, guests got to grab their own, all the while the barn doors to officially start the reception were opened and people got to grab their martinis and head into the reception space. It was pretty iconic.
Their timeless and effortless style, both when it came to their wedding day attire, and their decor.
They wanted to get married in a church, but also throw an “all in one place” party. So they had the best of both their worlds, they were married in a family-only church ceremony the day before. Then they got to have their stress free wedding celebration at The Roundhouse, all in one place, the next day.
One of their guests completely ignored their unplugged ceremony sign and jumped in the middle of the front of the aisle during their first kiss to take a photo on their phone. NO, it was not that part that I loved, it’s that when I told them immediately after the ceremony (just so they were aware when they received their gallery and that shot would be missing), they thought it was funny and were not upset.
Read on for their love story and their wedding planning approach below.
Hudson Valley wedding vendors can be found at the very bottom of this blog post.
How you met :
“Ant and I met in college about 10 years ago. I was a transfer so really the only person I knew was my good friend from HS just so happened to be friends with Ant from randomly playing pick up basketball. Me and Ant quickly became the best of friends for about a year or so before we began dating. We both kind of knew from the start!”
How you got engaged :
“I love scenery and hikes - My brother and I went on a hike at the Mohonk preserve in NY and Anthony was waiting at the top overlooking the mountains with flowers where he asked me to marry him. No one was really around which is what I wanted- something more intimate that had meaning to the both of us. I did know what was happening and it was cute because the boys thought they were nailing the secret so I played along :D. It was awesome and he made it really special because my brother is incredibly close and protective of me, so Anthony allowing him to be a part of that moment in place of my dad meant a lot to both of us. Also that hike happened to be near a venue that I wanted at first (before I realized only allows around 50ppl) - anyway Anthony’s sister had told him to go look at it. So one day he saw it in my iPhone notes and it was the only venue I had written down so he thought me and her had spoken about it before she passed but really it was just a weird coincidence so we didddd in fact end up checking it out ! Lol So it was meaningful and really beautiful!
Then I drove back with Anthony where friends and family were waiting at our apartment in Astoria which THAT was a surprise and just put a huge bow on the perfect day :,)”
How you decided to get married at The Roundhouse :
“I like to do a fair amount of research before in person to keep it efficient and didn’t want the typical wedding venue so I had narrowed it down to The Garrison and The Roundhouse. We wanted to be a little outside the city in hopes it could be a nice weekend if people wanted that or they can also drive home same night or next day . Plus The Roundhouse was in Beacon which was our stop for school (Mount Saint Mary College) so it definitely was nostalgic. When we went in to get a tour also there were weird signs of 11.8 being the only date opened which is his grandmothers bday (who actually died on my bday ) and also the day of coordinator was Danielle (Ants late sisters name).. could have literally been nothing but it felt right ! :)”
- How you decided on your wedding size :
“Wedding size was our favorite people friends and family and we were very quick to pick those so everyone who was there that day we truly wanted there. And that happened to be about 200. It helped that we were financing the wedding because I’m sure families can get involved but ours were respectful and we were also able to use those boundaries and have that autonomy established from the beginning.“
- How you chose your dress, etc (I remember you got it for a steal and it was gorgeous!!!!)
“Dress I had already had something in mind (puffy sleeves and simple fabric) so I went to 2 wedding dress boutiques in New York City -way overpriced. I kept googling and looking online for that style I wanted and New York City Bride had it online. I went to the store tried it on and said yep plus it was on sale for like $800 bucks! The people were also soooo nice and sweet little self made gal ran her business.”
How did you decide on your wedding vendors? :
“I went off of the vendor list/referrals and researched the crap out of everyone before setting up interviews. I tried to meet via zoom or call with the same type of vendors on the same day so that I could compare everyone and decide right then and there but really it was just video and photography. (Makeup and hair was my sister in laws friend and she killed it so that was luck.)”
Photographer : For instance I had met with maybe 2 or 3 photographers before you and some were just a little cold or very transactional, and some were a little disorganized or didn’t get back for a bit. When we spoke I loved you right away! we are pretty bad at capturing moments so this was definitely the first event that we have and I will cherish these pictures forever. Anyway so whoever stood out by being genuine and organized we went with! (You’re amazing at what you do!!!)”. (I am going to go cry now, thank you guys.)
DJs - “74 events - Gary answered right away and was super detail oriented. He set us up with a Dj (James Arnold), who we actually spent an hour on the phone with him then met up in person because he was so awesome and was interested in getting to know us so he can deliver which he did for us! (He was AMAZING.)”
Flowers - “I was planning on doing the flowers myself but when we went to our tasting, Mira Mira florals (Angela) was actually cleaning up and I just asked for her card on the way out just to take a peek and get inspo . But she was so nice and then when I called her she was also willing to work with whatever we wanted and it was very sincere also so really glad she happened to be there!!”
Your favorite memories from the day :
“The whole day was perfect. I think because we did the church the night before with family we were able to focus on them. Then for the Friday it was just one big celebration and party that we were able to really enjoy.
As for moments - definitely the vows, our entrance, first dance, family dances, speeches, and then just being on the dance floor.
Also getting ready with you and Laurel in the room and just everyone laughing and it being a stress free environment. You did such a great job with keeping everyone on schedule but vibing and making jokes so people don’t tense up. SO I GUESS EVERYTHING ?! 😅 Oh and loved when we walked off just us two to take pictures around Beacon and you had us stand on the rock by the stairs which you made it sound like it was an idea on the spot so I loved seeing your brain work and in action! And when we were in the venue by ourselves… so yes everything I guess LOL
I hope you and laurel are doing amazing. I love seeing all the content always!!!!”
Okay… going to go cry again now.
As she described above, we had a grand old time while they were getting ready, but we also made sure we kept to the timeline. A few portraits before their first look in the Penthouse was the perfect segway into their first look.
November really is the hidden gem for wedding days in the Hudson Valley.
Scroll just below to see when the guests jumped in front of their first kiss with her phone. hahahah
These two had wonderful vibes all day. They clearly love one another, and their family and friends were so happy to be there to celebrate their love.
Hudson Valley Wedding Vendor Credits :
Hudson Valley Industrial Wedding Venue : The Roundhouse
Second Shooter : Laurel Jollie
Wedding Lighting : LNJ Events
Hudson Valley Wedding Florist : Mira Mira Florals
Ceremony Officiant : Fr. Robert Maro
Wedding Hair + Make Up : Looks by Gigi
Wedding Dress Designer : Maria Annette
Wedding Dress Shop : New York City Bride
Bride’s Wedding Shoes : Stuart Weitzman
DJ : 74 Events (James Arnold)
Cigar Bar : La Casa Grande Tobacco Company
