Kaitlyn Sterrantino & Robin Smith
East River State Park and Greenpoint Coffeehouse
Cctober 25, 2008
When it came to setting a date, the third time proved the charm for Kait and Robin. “We set October 28, 2007, at the Bronx Botanical Gardens. But we rescheduled. We were moving,” recalls Kait. “The second—August 8 at the London—was postponed because I was disheartened by the cost and overwhelmed by the planning.” But they didn’t give up. “‘Balls to the wall,’ I said, ‘we’re doing this.’ We set October 25, and I gave myself two-and-a-half months to plan it.” A $10,000 budget turned them into creative, savvy shoppers: “One morning we were having brunch at the coffeehouse and we said, ‘We can do it here!’ They gave us the whole place on a Saturday night for $1,500,” says Kait. Adds Robin: “We also learned that uttering the word wedding adds a couple of zeros to any price. So we didn’t mention it.” The two finally married on a wet and windy day. “Sunshine would have been great. But this was offbeat, tumultuous—this was more like us.”
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THE DETAILS
Bride’s Gown: Reem Acra
Groom’s Suit: Theory
Groom’s Last-Minute Tailor: Silhouettes & Profiles
Hair & Makeup: Maria Karla for Bumble & Bumble; Joy Fennell
Stationer: Linea Carta, etsy.com
Flowers: Saipua
Cake: Baked
Rings: Bittersweets NY
Ring Bowl: Paloma’s Nest, etsy.com
Kaitlyn Sterrantino and Robin Smith “Five days before our wedding, Robin realized that his pants had been hemmed painfully short, so we took them to a tailor. He had no idea if they’d fit on the day of, and didn’t have another suit to wear. I guess you could say he was flying by the seat of his pants.” Photo: Kella MacPhee
“I got my dress just one month before the wedding at the Bridal Garden, which sells gowns donated by designers and the proceeds go to a charter school in Bed-Stuy.” Photo: Kella MacPhee
“We didn’t want a buffet, and had to make some sort of concession for that. After the invitations went out, I had to track everyone down and ask if they wanted steak, chicken, or fish. We could cut costs by knowing ahead of time what the chef had to make.” Photo: Kella MacPhee
“We got our custom ceramic ring-bowl online. We didn’t get our names pressed”we thought a heart above the date said it all. It was only $24. Our daughter carried our rings in it for our ceremony.” Photo: Kella MacPhee
“We had ranunculus and anemones, and we wrapped bittersweet vines around the columns. We attached place cards to little white pumpkins. Since we had only 33 guests, we didn’t have escort cards”everybody just kind of found their seats.” Photo: Kella MacPhee
“For music, Robin spent weeks compiling the night’s playlist. We plugged our iPod into their sound system. During dinner, we played toned-down jazz stuff like Billy Holiday. For the ruckus, we played punk and indie rock. We cleared the chairs out, but it was tight. People danced, but no one ‘dance-danced.’” Photo: Kella MacPhee
