Wedding | Cordelia & Cole

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We met in college— if you ask me, we met at a campus wide toga party but if you ask Cole we met in playwriting class. We had never spoken until Cole recognized me at the party and asked to dance. From there we quickly fell in love. We weren’t really “college sweethearts” though because a month after we started dating Cole left to study abroad in Copenhagen and when he got back, I graduated and moved to New York.

Looking back, it is wild that after a month together we decided to do long distance for nearly two years, but it always seemed like the obvious choice. We took many flights: to Copenhagen, Montana, and back and forth many times between New York and Maine to see each other, until finally we moved into a tiny apartment in the city together. 8 months later we adopted our beloved rescue dog, Artemis. Neither of us are particularly impulsive people but opting into spontaneity and learning how to grow together has been a defining theme of our relationship.

We got engaged in 2022 after being together for 6 years and then decided to be engaged for a bit. We didn’t really know what kind of wedding we wanted and we weren’t in a rush because we knew we wanted to be together. After a while, we settled on having one very intimate legal marriage ceremony with just our family, and then another wedding celebration with our extended families, friends and community.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We chose Paradise Valley Montana because it is where Cole grew up and when we were thinking about where we wanted to celebrate it just made sense, plus it is so stunning in early summer. We visited venues on the east coast (in Maine and in New York) but they felt restrictive in how personalized we could make them, and we wanted the whole event to feel super specific to us. The gorgeous landscape and open “canvas” of the Yellowstone House meant that we could draw on the natural beauty of the area, while maintaining an authentic feeling that highlighted our personalities. We also loved the idea of sharing this place, where many of our guests had never been, with them.

How many guests did you have?

We had 123 guests at the wedding. Our goal from the outset was to have a big fun party with all our loved ones, while also having a small enough guest count that we would be able to see and speak to each person. This meant we didn’t have to sacrifice an intimate vibe for a fun one. The size we ended up with was the perfect balance!

What was your budget? 

We planned to be around 50k knowing that there were elements of the wedding that we knew we wanted to bring to our location which would incur additional cost. We prioritized the parts of the wedding we did not want to compromise on (like the food, drinks, and music!). Establishing what was most important to us helped us decide where to allocate the majority of our budget. We also had a Friday night barbeque welcome party before the Saturday wedding.

Tell us about your outfits.

Cole’s Suit: The suit was custom made. My fabric and design choices were based on my hope that the suit would be both reflective of my personal style and functional for dancing the whole night. I almost pulled this off perfectly, but, while dropping it especially low during “Low” by Flo Rida I ripped my pants. Luckily, the staff at The Tailory mended them when we got back to the city! I also wanted the suit color to compliment the setting of the wedding, choosing a green with purple undertones that mirrored the alpenglow on the mountains.

Gown: I selected the Jules gown by Katherine Tash because I liked the elegant yet not overly frilly design. I wanted the gown to both be timeless, a little sexy, and unique. I loved the architectural vibe of the dress, the silhouette reminded me of old Hollywood, and the draping reminded me of Ancient Greece (this piece felt especially like kismet since we met at a toga party in college!). 

Afterparty Dress: Since my ceremony gown had basically no embellishment, for my reception dress, I decided to go in a totally different direction. I settled on an ornately beaded mini dress from Clio Peppiat. I loved the sun and moon imagery on the Lucina mini dress, and the sparkle!

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

The most important aspect of the wedding was always the atmosphere and energy. For us that meant amazing food, great drinks, and a magnetic dance floor that everyone was shredding until the last song. We were adamant that we didn’t want “wedding food” so we went with elevated favorites like Montana Wagyu Sliders and a variety of tacos. Our sides and salads featured local and seasonal ingredients that further highlighted a connection to the place. Rather than a traditional wedding cake, we served our favorite ice cream sandwiches and they were a hit!

For our “cocktail hour” we opted to serve “Champagne and a Slice” of freshly fired pizzas, an homage to the NYC slice. Our bartender brought his signature dough (frozen) in a checked suitcase all the way from Philadelphia! Our custom cocktails were based on our favorite kinds of drinks and added to the colorful dress code with their vibrant hues!

Initially, we wanted a live band for the reception, but we found that the options were quite limited in the area within our budget. We really liked Dart Collective’s approach to DJing, they shared our goal of getting everyone dancing while also running through our expansive music tastes.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Our approach to planning was to strip down the idea of a “wedding” to its studs and then rebuild it to be specific to us. For example, when considering whether to carry a bouquet, I decided I only wanted one if it was designed and made by Cole’s mom, who is a talented floral designer, with flowers that held meaning (anemones and ranunculus which were in my bouquet in our micro-ceremony, columbine from Cole’s mom’s garden, and colors that were reminiscent of wildflower fields).

For our procession, we skipped “here comes the bride” and had a dear friend play a lullaby Cole wrote for me when we first started dating on the guitar my dad played lullabies on when I was a kid.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Tip 1: Be ready for the things that you are sure will ruin your wedding to go smoothly and for things you could never have imagined to totally go awry. While we had our share of things that we wary of, nothing could have prepared us for our wedding planner of 18 months failing to deliver the entirety of our rental and floral order on the day of our wedding and showing up without a team. Even though this might seem like an unimaginable disaster, it didn’t ruin our day because at the end of the night, people don’t remember what chair they sat on, they remember the experience and the love.

Tip 2: Find vendors you trust. Our photographer, Danny Bergin felt like a friend and our photos reflect how comfortable everyone felt with him (he fit seamlessly into the vibe!) Working with him made it easy to just be in the moment and enjoy the day because we knew he understood our vision and trusted him completely.

Tip 3: It is easy to feel like a wedding must conform to some “standard” which can be distracting in the planning process. Focus on all the elements that feel most personal and authentic to you as a couple and forget the rest! You don’t need tradition to have love and a really fucking good party!

Our biggest tip: choose the people you want at your wedding based on who is going to show up for you--not just on that day but also for the rest of your marriage. Our friends and family made our wedding perfect!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Again, Daniel Bergin captured our wedding perfectly, he is an extraordinarily talented photographer as well as an amazing person who made us feel at ease in front of the camera. 

Aaron Gordon at 13^th Street Cocktails is a wedding extraordinaire! Not only does he make the best drinks, he also brings unbeatable energy to events and is a mastermind of food, drink and fun.

We also want to recognize the team at Sauce Catering who went above and beyond, stepping up to make our night what it was and delivering on the most delicious and beautiful food.

Photographer: Danny Bergin @danielcbergin | Flora: Pam Burkhardt @pburkhardt | Ceremony & Reception Location: Yellowstone House | Celebrant: Ariana Silvan Grau | Rentals: Montana Harvest Tables | Makeup: Andrea Pidgeon | Hair: Celeste Johnson @beauty_operator_ | Catering & Beverages: Sauce Catering @saucecateringmontana & 13^th Street Cocktails @13thstreetcocktails | Entertainment: Dart Collective @dartcollective | Dress: Katherine Tash | Reception Dress: Clio Peppiatt @cliopeppiatt | Bridal Gown Alterations: The Wedding Dresser @theweddingdresserstudio | Suit: The Tailory NY  @thetailorynyc | Veil: Family Heirloom | Groom’s Afterparty Coat: Dinner Service NY @dinnerserviceny | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Erstwhile Jewelry @erstwhilejewelry | Shoes: (Ceremony) Dolce Vita @dolcevita, (Reception) Nike @nike & (Groom) Cariuma | Earrings: Catbird Jewelry