Featured Wedding: Lisa + Evan’s Epic Nostrano Vineyards Wedding
With so many special details and such a cute love story, where do we start? Lisa and Evan’s love story started with a chance meeting in an ice cream shop in NYC. For real! I won’t share the full story but you can listen to them recap their love story through their vows in the video below. It was sorta the the theme for their wedding too. #loveatfirstscoop was their wedding hashtag and they served up some yummy ice cream with an ice cream sundae bar for dessert. Every element of Lisa’s wedding design was well thought out and personal. She’s a major foodie and actually works for Uber Eats as a marketing manager so you know she takes her food seriously (with a bit of fun)! Check out her food adventures on Instagram @aseefooddiet . They are drool worthy for sure.
We met Lisa, Evan and Family (mom and dad Ganz) just about a year prior to the big day. At our first meeting, Lisa shared with us all the details of her wedding vision and explained that she would need the most help with managing rentals, creating a floor plan for the tent and all logistics on the wedding day. From there we really felt like we were the perfect match for Lisa’s wedding. She was so super organized, fun, not overly stressed and cared a lot about her guests and their experience which is everything we strive for in working with clients in a month of service capacity. Lisa certainly was all of those things on her wedding day too. You can read more about her personal experience planning her Nostrano Vineyards wedding and working with us below. Make sure to watch the video created by Mike Zhu Films below!
Her favorite details
“All of it! I loved every second but probably the details involving food and alcohol were the most fun. We went to tons of breweries in the Hudson Valley and CT before deciding on our local brew choices (Sloop IPA, Peekskill Simple Sour, and Two Roads Cruise Control), we spent endless time with my dad pouring over the wine list (we had 2 sparkling, 7 whites, and 12 reds to choose from), and we did a lot of research on alcohol to land on our list of 7 different spirits. Our wedding was a true “tasting” menu of alcohol, which represented us and what we’re passionate about, so spending time putting that all together was so fun. I also loved the endless time we spent putting together our menu. We’re really passionate about food, so getting to work with a caterer that wanted our favorite foods represented was really fun and special.” Lisa is a marketing manager at Uber Eats and a Food Enthusiast so it’s no surprise that food and beverage are #1 on her list.
A little advice for future brides
When I asked her what advice she would give to other brides these were her top tips.
- Try to strike a nice balance between making decisions for yourselves and also thinking about what is best for your crowd.
- Early on in the process, make a list of the things that are most important to you. Unless you have a limitless budget, you can’t have everything (weddings are so expensive!!) so write down all the things you refuse to sacrifice.
- Find smart ways to cut corners if you’re on a budget.
- Hire a videographer. A lot of people don’t do this and most people I’ve spoken to who don’t totally regret it.
- Don’t fret too much over getting every single picture you want.
- Have a rehearsal dinner and after party if you can squeeze it in to timeline/budget. Both the rehearsal dinner and after party were so special.
- Enjoy every moment. Having to deal with budgets and family personalities and endless decisions can be stressful, but make sure to keep yourself centered and just remember why you’re doing this.
- Get references for all your vendors.
Lisa’s favorite part of working with Elite
“My favorite part of working with Elite Wedding Planning was having them there to run the show our wedding weekend. That might seem like an obvious answer, but it’s not possible to quantify the value of Elite Wedding Planning on the day of your wedding. Essentially from Thursday through the end of our wedding on Saturday night, I just focused on getting married and being present with all our friends and family and out of town guests and let EWP do the work. The planning part I loved—I enjoyed pouring over all of the details throughout the year by myself and with my other vendors, and am so happy with the choices I made and getting to do it on my own (it felt really worth it and special when it came to life)—but on the wedding day, I could absolutely not have done without EWP. I was so calm my entire wedding weekend, knowing that Angela and team would take care of anything that came up unexpectedly.”
We are so honored to have been a part of Lisa and Evan’s special day. We hope you enjoyed reading about their wedding and felt inspired. If you are looking to create something magical like Lisa and Evan’s Nostrano Vineyards wedding send us an email we’d love to chat with you!
Vendor Team
Coordination: Elite Wedding & Event Planning
Venue: Nostrano Vineyards Wedding
Catering and Cake: Main Course Catering
Photography: Cynthia Del Conte
Video: Mike Zhu Films
Band: The Storytellers NYC
Tent and Rentals: Events Unlimited Party Rentals
Flowers: Lavandar and Leaf
Invitations, Day of items and Signage: Coppola Creative
Hair: Beauty Bar and Salon
Wedding Dress Designer: Rita Vinieris
Dress Shop: The White Gown in New York City
Earrings: Verstolo
Bride’s shoes: Alexandre Birman Clarita Block Sandal in Rose Gold
Bridesmaids dresses: Brideside in NYC (Amsale in Ruby and Jenny Yoo in Whipped Apricot)
Groom’s Tux: Lanvin
Groom’s shoes: Allen Edmonds
Wax seals: Sally’s Heartful Creations (Etsy)
Custom ice cream spoons: Paisley Gray Designs (Etsy)
“Taste of the Hudson Valley” Welcome Bags: Bjorn Qorn Popcorn, Samuel’s Candy Shop, Gather’s Granola, water, and Advil
