Linda Batson & James Quella
Gurney’s Inn in Montauk, N.Y.
July 15, 2012
Linda Batson, 50, and James Quella, 63, had been together for twelve years, but it wasn’t until last summer that they decided to make it official. Linda, CFO at Geller & Company, and James, a senior managing director at Blackstone Private Equity, had each been married before. But now with their children grown, they were ready to embark on a new phase together. “It’s not as simple as the love we knew as young adults. It’s an enduring relationship,” says Linda, whom James refers to as his “beatific muse.” Because the groom had lived in India years ago translating Sanskrit, he chose the term sneha—which he describes as “sticky, lasting love”—as the theme for their casual beach wedding at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk. Guests were given flip-flops with the word’s symbol emblazoned on the sole, so they would leave imprints of it in the sand. James began his vows reading from Keats’s love letters, and the evening culminated in a dance party beneath a white canopy overlooking the ocean. “James didn’t sit down after the dancing started,” says Linda. “It’s never too late to feel young again.”
The Details
Event planner: Jill Gordon Celebrate
Dress: Vera Wang
Suit: Ermenegildo Zegna
Flowers: Pennington Flowers
Ceremony music: Anthology Strings
Reception music: D.J. E-Rock
Photographs by Joshua Zuckerman
“This was right after the ceremony. At first we felt solemn and tender, and then we were like, Oh my God, we can’t believe it happened.” Photo: Joshua Zuckerman
“Instead of a traditional sit-down dinner, we danced, we sat, we ate”all at the same time.” Photo: Joshua Zuckerman
