Nature’s Influences In This Fall Prospect Park Picnic House Brooklyn Wedding
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02.22.2013 9:00 am
A smile you can hear… some people just have it. My sister in law is certainly one of those people, though after 4 years of knowing Christina Wisboro, I naturally also associate the genuine laughter that comes with it when I view photos of her in full force smile. Christina & Hill Hardy met one another just a short bit after the hubs & I reunited. It was an interesting relationship to watch develop & grow as I didn’t need to know Hill’s prior preferences in a gal to know how he was smitten as all hell when it came to Christina. Thick as thieves my hubs says, and that simply could not be more dead on! When the time came to ask for Christina’s hand, Hill proposed in a very Hill way. {Read about that here} They asked if I would be their wedding planner & I politely declined in the desire to purely being a family member on that day & wanting to take the day in as such. I offered my aid & input as needed along the way of course, as well as designing some of the lovely decor elements for them: wood crate slate signage leading guests along the Prospect Park pathways and wood burned birch wood table numbers in beds of moss. For the card/gift area, we thought a picnic basket was perfection considering the venue was the Picnic House! The basket was laid on a large bed of moss surrounded by birch wood and candles, sprinkled with cream rose petals, much as the tables were as well. These elements combined with the super tall twiggy centerpieces, paper lanterns which gently swayed from the sky & a very gorgeous twiggy wedding arch, all played handily into what started off as a simple Save The Date which included initials carved into a tree, which blossomed into a wedding theme: Fall In The Park.
Being that this is my family, as well as the fact that I designed some of the elements, I am going to forgo my What Storyboard Likes section to tell you a funny story and something that future bride’s can take heart in. Let’s go with the lesson first, so we can leave your chuckling in the end!
Just a few shorts days before the wedding, the folks that were to be handling the day of coordination for the wedding, backed out. Pretty much what your thinking, that is up there in the worst case scenario hand book. If there is just about any vendor quitting that will stress the hell out of a couple, it would be the one that was to run the show. Without question I jumped right in and took over the reins. Having someone to run our wedding was one of the biggest elements that made my day as easy breezy as it was and Hill & Christina deserved that same calm on their big day. In a way I am glad it worked out this way, as being able to handle this for them was better then any gift I could have given them. So whats the life lesson here? No, please don’t take it as vendors being unreliable. The wedding lesson is being as prepared and in the know as possible, leading up to your event. If something goes wrong, you will already know what part comes next and be able to pick up the pieces that fell, if only for a moment. And of course, just breathe, it will all work out, it always does.
Now for the funny! As you have I am sure by now noted, there is one adorable black lab hanging out in this wedding. His name is Curtis {Martin} and is seriously one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. He & Truffle {our dog for those that dont know} are diehard bff’s. Being a lab, Curtis loooooves swimming and catch, like mega crazy, omg omg omg where’s the ball/stick catch. This is notable for a very funny reason, hehe. When we were setting up the ceremony area outside, as the florist were installing the twig arch, they were having difficulty making it level on its own, on the park lawn. Being rather intuitive, they grabbed a few larger rocks/sticks to help secure the arch. Enter Curtis…. well good ol’Curtis saw a stick jammed under the arch and I can only assume he thought ‘Oh yeah, game on!’ {Curtis was off leash, shhhh don’t tell 
} He proceeded to snatch up a stick and run around in circles like the happiest pup you’d ever seen! Fortunately it wasn’t a keystone stick, so the arch remained up right, but there was a good few seconds of, sh*t grab the arch!!!! All we could do was laugh, Curtis was being a pup after all, he just wanted to play!
Novella of the Bride…
Hill was born and raised in Manhattan, and attended college in Vermont. Currently working for an Engineering Firm in lower Manhattan, Hill has found the perfect thing to aim his very objective personality at! Christina was born in Queens and raised in Long Island. Though Christina worked as Media Manager at ESPN for many years, she was recently hired by HBO {SBW Note: Winter is coming!!} and is very subjective. Together they perfectly compliment one another one, thick as thieves if you will. After meeting at Whisky Town in July of 2009, they have been inseparable ever since.
The theme while not intentionally highlighted, transpired as “Fall in the Park”. It started out with our save the date, which had our initials carve in a tree and the theme evolved from there. I would say I was going for rustic elegance. A lot of branches, burlap and neutral colors. We picked the Picnic House in Prospect Park as it was outside the mold of what I typically had seen for wedding receptions. The brick layers, the wooden floors, the bay windows, it had a natural decor. Once you step foot into the venue there is something very quaint and grand about it all at the same time. I also grew up going to parks and something about it reminded me of my grandmother and that time. I thought to myself, my grandma would of liked this…
Bride’s Favorite Moment: “The ceremony. Hands down. Having all of our friends and family huddled together on the expansive bluff with the colors and smells of fall all around us made for a very memorable day. For a public space, our ceremony was extremely intimate and personal.”
Vendor Love
Venue: Prospect Park Picnic House
Wedding Dress: Justin Alexander
Shoes: Nine West
Hair Stylist: FAB Artistry
Makeup Artist: Sleek Beauty
Groom’s Suit: J. Crew
Invitations: Dawn Correspondance
Music: Jay Corbin
Lighting: Universal Light & Sound
Florist: Pedestals Florist
Caterer: The Raging Skillet
Baker: Potion Cupcakes
Event Design-Coordination: Storyboard Wedding
Photographer: Weddings By Two
