Kelly+Bryan : Otesaga Wedding Photos

What are your wedding colors and/or themes? Our theme developed after we chose our first song, La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong. We wanted lots of lush roses and garden style florals with a soft romantic and classic feel. The beautiful venue at the Otesaga played into this theme perfectly. Our colors were mostly whites with hints of soft blush to match the bridesmaids dresses and some greenery and gold metallic. We wanted the outdoor ceremony which was on the lake front to have a romantic garden theme, and then the reception indoors in the ballroom to transform into a more glamorous display, with hundreds of votive candles and floating candles on each table, and pops of gold on each table from the gold trumpets holding the centrepieces, the gold scrolls which served as escort cards in the champagne glasses, the gold sequin table clothes on the cake table and escort table, to the wedding signs in gold foil script and gold frames. As my wedding present, Bryan gave me a gorgeous rose gold bracelet and earrings to commemorate our first dance and the theme that kicked off our wedding.

What is your inspiration when planning your wedding? Our first song, a classic and romantic song that will never go out of style, and the venue at the Otesaga, also timeless and beautiful, served as our main sources of inspiration. From there, things came together with ease. We wanted our wedding pictures to stand the test of time, yet still have a pop of modern glam. We really incorporated this through the bridesmaids dresses and my Pnina gown. My dress, I think, is a classic ballgown, yet the fully beaded swarovski crystal corset top made it more modern and fun. The girls dresses were classic blush long gowns, but half of them had gorgeous detailed beading to give them some bling to match my dress and the pops of gold. The groomsmen wore traditional black tuxes, but Bryan wore a navy tux for a fun modern twist.

Did you incorporate any fun themes/motifs or design elements? We really missed having our frenchie fur baby there, Oliver. So to make sure he had a part in our big day, we ordered customized gold drink stirrers in the shape of a frenchie with our initials and date on them. Our cake cutter was also a silhouette of a couple and a frenchie standing by their side. We also customized a canvas guestbook with cartoon characters of us in our wedding attire standing in front of our venue with Oliver next to us. To play up the La Vie En Rose theme, we had a pink rosette backdrop for our selfie booth, and signs with lyrics from the song in gold foil, along with tons of roses in the florals.

Did you include any special traditions, old or new? We opted out of the old garter toss and flower toss, but it was important to us to keep our vows traditional from the ring exchange to the “i dos”. We also wrote what we call “love notes” to each other which we read before the traditional vows. I think this gave the ceremony a personal touch, and it is something we will never forget. To keep up with the times, we also planned our own “selfie booth” which had tons of homemade props and a selfie polaroid camera for guests to take pictures and leave a message for us. I think it was a big hit from the more traditional photo booth!

Is there anything else you’d like to share? More than anything, we just wanted to have a night of dancing and celebrating with our family and friends and the band really killed it and made this dream a reality! Having the wedding at the Otesaga also made the weekend what it was — and the PERFECT weather helped tremendously as well. We wanted a venue that was a one stop shop so that guests never had to leave the resort. From the rehearsal dinner on Friday, to the ceremony outdoors, cocktail hour on the veranda and reception and after party all on grounds, not a minute was wasted transporting people back and forth and it made all the difference! Guests came from near and far and made a weekend out of it. Everyone is still raving about the venue and what an amazing time they had!

Dress Designer: Pnina Tornai
Dress Shop: Kleinfeld’s NYC
Hair: 560 Salon & Spa
Make-Up: Laura Beckerman of Elle B Makeup Artistry
Bridesmaid dresses: I selected a mix of different cuts, beading and styles all in various shades of blush by Adrianna Papell, Haley Paige Occasions and Amsale
Flowers: Renaissance Floral Design
Cake: Otesaga
Catering: Otesaga
Entertainment: Metropolitan Players
Coordinator/Planner/Designer: Sarah Fichtman of Bisou Weddings
Chairs Rentals: Cooperstown Event Rentals
Favors: The Brick House Bakery (personalized heart shaped cookies with a picture of the bride and groom)