Natalie & Reid | Oheka Castle | Huntington, NY

“Absolutely Fantastic”

We met at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and were introduced by our close mutual friend, Carly Crist, who officiated our wedding. Our first date was at Little Fish in Philadelphia in January 2015. I was a sophomore and Reid was a senior.

The proposal was after a day full of activities on the seventh anniversary of our first date. Reid proposed in front of College Hall, followed by dinner at Little Fish with family and friends. Now we’re both in finance and we’re both licensed as FAA private pilots to fly single engine planes.

Growing up on Long Island, I knew OHEKA was a gorgeous venue. We loved its beautiful architecture and sprawling gardens. We also enjoyed working with Kelly Melius, director of sales, and her team, and created a fully customized dinner menu with Chef Chris Cappello. Our main priority was to create a unique wedding weekend, which paired well with OHEKA’s expertise.

Our music was put together by Nicole Zuraitis, a close friend of Reid’s sister from college. She was nominated for a Grammy and assembled a band for us and even learned Polish music. My father and I walked out to a string quartet version of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” Our officiant, Carly Crist, focused on our love story. My brother, Adam Borowski, and Reid’s sister, Bree Birns, both did readings during the ceremony.

We also incorporated the Polish vodka tradition ending the ceremony, where the bride and groom each drink either one shot of water or one shot of vodka, and the one who gets the vodka has the upper hand in the marriage. But we focused on our equal partnership, so we both had vodka and then each of us broke the shot glass for good luck.

We had passed hors d'oeuvres and six stations. The seafood and caviar stations were favorites, along with our Polish/Eastern European station, which served pierogies, stuffed cabbage, and more. We also had a bar outside on the lawn. The dinner menu told our story. Our endive duet was inspired by a dish at our favorite date spot, Té Company. The second course, Maine lobster roll, honored Reid’s home state and had fresh lobster sourced from Douty Bros., his family business. The locally sourced duck main course was an homage to my Long Island birthplace.

Our decorations were romantic, with lots of greenery and vodka bottles on every table. Our first dance was to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon.” The traditional Polish bread and salt ceremony welcomed us as a married couple, where bread symbolizes sweet abundance, while salt symbolizes that life will have difficulties and couples must get through hard times together. I changed from my ballgown to a second dress for the remainder of the reception and my mother and I also changed into matching dresses for the after-party.

Our wedding cake by OHEKA Chef Daniel Andreotti matched our elegant flowers and included green, white, and gold accents, along with patterns inspired by my custom dress. The cake had two tiers of dolce de leche and three tiers of white chocolate mousse cake.We also had a dessert cafe, an entire room full of desserts. Our espresso station was open through the night and our espresso martinis were a big hit.

On Friday, our rehearsal dinner and welcome party were held in Brooklyn. Food was supplied by Douty Bros. and The Lobster Place. Dance music was by Kenn Kweder, who played every Tuesday night at Smokey Joe’s Cafe on Penn’s campus. On Sunday my parents hosted a carnival-themed day-after party at their home in Long Island, just minutes away from OHEKA.

We want to give special thanks to my parents, Halina and Miroslaw Borowski, the OHEKA CASTLE staff, our Man of Honor, David Baxter, our Officiant and Maid of Honor, Carly Crist, and Matt Douty, our Best Man. We also want to thank Jeff Marshall, the trainer for me and my mom, and Oksana Farbatyuk, my wedding dress designer. Our heartfelt thanks to all our friends and family who traveled to attend, especially those traveling from Europe, and to Bayard and Dore Douty.

OHEKA CASTLE, Huntington, NY, 631.659.1400, oheka.com