Sydni & Jesse | VIP Country Club | New Rochelle, NY

“A New Year’s Eve Wedding”

We met through Tinder. We both went to the University of Delaware and grew up 10 minutes from each other in Westchester, NY. We had some mutual friends but never knew each other. We spoke for about six months before actually meeting. On our first date, we went to the movies in Cortlandt town center and on our second date we went bowling.

Jesse planned the proposal for September, 2021 when we were celebrating his mom’s one-year transplant anniversary. Jesse had checked off all my dream proposal requests. My nails and hair were done, my family was secretly there, the photographer was hidden, and I was dressed up. Jesse had hired an airplane to fly over the beach with a banner that read, “Sydni, will you marry me?” Then my parents came running over and we popped champagne and went to dinner!

We were set on a beach wedding, but with the thought of a New Year’s Eve wedding always in the back of our minds. I found out that New Year’s 2022 was on a Saturday. When I first stepped into VIP, the lobby was beautiful and we were greeted by Tiffany Hogan, private events manager. The reception hall was breathtaking and the perfect size for our wedding. The cocktail hour space was a great addition and a different experience for our guests. We loved the “club” vibe of the cocktail hour room. VIP had so much potential to make a perfect New Year’s Eve wedding come true.

We worked closely with Tiffany. She always had the answer to even the smallest questions, such as the size of the dance floor, dietary needs, getting paper towels for the bathroom, and more. For our final meeting, we met with Tom Esposito, the general manager, who laid out every detail of what our perfect day would look like from start to finish. He calmed all our nerves the week before the wedding. Caroline, my bridal attendant, and Vinston Joy, the assistant general manager, were amazing. They were there for us every step of the way.

We are an interfaith couple. Rabbi Sara Shonfeld and Reverend Debra Viola conducted a perfect interfaith ceremony that everyone loved. We used the second reception hall for our ceremony, offering a unique experience for our guests. Arcadia Floral created the perfect aisle and chuppah to get married under.

For cocktail hour, we had an Indian station, an Italian station, and a Spanish station. We also had passed shrimp, spanakopita, BBQ pulled pork with corn breads, and mac and cheese bites. Our electric violinist played for the cocktail hour, which was a big hit. In the ballroom, the dance floor was the perfect size.

Arcadia Floral used drop tea lights, which created a unique look to the room. They also put together perfect centerpieces and made our tables look beautiful. We added small touches on our own such as “Mr. and Mrs.” wine glasses, a “Party of 2” sign for the sweetheart table, 2023 glasses, horns for the New Year, and more. Together my mom and I found the perfect chargers and napkin rings to bring each table together.

For dinner, we chose NY strip steak with mushroom risotto, red snapper with basmati rice, and French breast of chicken with a creamy risotto. The presentation of the food was great. Coffee, cappuccinos, and lattes were served before cake. We also had dessert stations including s’mores, ice cream, and bacon egg, and cheeses to go! VIP was very accommodating to my gluten-free dietary restriction.

My bridal attendant, Caroline, made sure everything went smoothly. She was right behind me throughout the night. She did everything from buttoning my dress to tying my cousin’s tie to serving us drinks and food in the bridal suite. We want to give a special thank you to both our parents, Nicole & Allen Pakula and Francine & Tom Rinaldi.

VIP Country Club, New Rochelle, NY, 914.235.1500, vipcountryclub.com