Barrie Gordon & Jared Gruner
The Circa 1799 Barn, Ancramdale, New York
June 26, 2010
Barrie Gordon and Jared Gruner hit it off instantly when they met a few years back at a lively dinner with mutual friends at Upstairs at Bouley. The only hitch: Jared, 30, lived in San Francisco and Barrie, 28, in Chelsea. A few dates and many texts, e-mails, calls, and cross-country flights later, Jared relocated to New York; two years after that, he proposed. They looked at venues in the city, but “nothing felt like us,” Barrie recalls. Then, during a weekend upstate, they drove down a dirt road in Ancramdale to see a big Dutch barn that was built on a cornfield in 1799. “We’re not religious,” says Barrie, “but it felt like a religious experience to step out onto the grass. The place just overcame us.” Guests had cocktails served in Mason jars while they waited for the outdoor ceremony to begin. “It was lightly raining as people were arriving and throughout the beginning of the ceremony,” says Barrie. “But just as my dad and I were walking down the aisle it stopped, right as he said good-bye.”
The Details
Bride’s Gown: Judd Waddell
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Groom’s Tux: Paul Smith
Caterer And Flowers: Creative Edge Parties
Cake: Calico Restaurant & Patisserie
Hair: Stacy Pitt
Music: Vali Entertainment
Bride’s Ring: Cathy Waterman
Barrie Gordon & Jared Gruner”The owners have a chicken coop and a beehive, and there are horses across the road. This horse came right up to us and started chewing on my chest. It tickled, and my dress got wet from him biting me!”Photographs by Susan Baker and Francesca Mastalia
“The menus were printed on kraft paper. We also collected old glass that we found at flea markets for the tables. I wanted it to feel like a West Village restaurant.”
“The barn is such a beautiful location that I felt like I didn’t really have to do much. Everybody stayed in bed-and-breakfasts in the Hudson and Hillsdale areas nearby.”
“I saw that Anna Bond had done these fans for her own wedding, and I thought they were whimsical and fun. I love that she included our dog, Gnocchi, who was wearing pearls. She walked down the aisle and was sedated with bones during the ceremony.”
“We served vodka-thyme lemonade before the ceremony. There was also a cookies-and-milk bar with four kinds of milk: strawberry, lavender, chocolate, and plain.”
