Kerri & Justin | Castle Hotel & Spa | Tarrytown, NY

A French Style Garden Wedding

Kerri is a district account executive and event designer for CORT Event Furnishings and Justin is the CEO/Founder of Top Side Lacrosse and an engineer for Dvirka and Bartilucci. They met online, and, “from the day we met it was love at first sight and a beautiful romance!”


On the day of the wedding, Kerri got ready at home with her best friends, her mother, and her mother-in-law. “It was wonderful to have the memories and photos of that morning captured at our home,” Kerri explains. “I know looking back when we have a family of our own, it will be so beautiful to share that part of our day with our kids.”

Justin and Kerri said their “I dos” at St. Augustine’s Church in Larchmont, New York. “All the stain glass windows and the altar couldn't have been more gorgeous,” Kerri remarks

They chose Castle and Hotel for their reception spot because its several event rooms and gardens provided the perfect romantic ambiance that Kerri and Justin sought for their wedding. “For our wedding decor, we wanted an elegant color palette of neutrals, French gray, and blush notes,” Kerri explains, “and Castle Hotel & Spa helped us create an elegant European Style Affair.” Kerri adored how the “neutral setting mixed Old World classic beauty with current wedding trends.”

Each portion of the evening was held in a different space, creating unique experiences. Each room had its own particular ambiance and was decorated to make each one even more distinctive. “I would like to thank Evan and Jordan Carbotti and Dwayne Ridgeway from Perfect Surroundings for doing a phenomenal job executing and capturing the essence of what I wanted to achieve that day,” Kerri comments.

The cocktail hour was held in the garden at the Castle. “We had it all furnished with rustic wood tables, along with beautiful lanterns, peony, and white tufted chaise lounges.” The cocktail hour provided a diverse international cuisine experience. With everything from European to Asian style hors d’oeuvres. “It was a perfect blend of eclecticism,” Kerri states. The garden setting, “mixed in the French country style design, but still blended well with the high-end glamour of the castle.”

Dinner in the Great Hall started with a baby spinach salad and then moved on to the entrees, including fish and beef Wellington specialties. “One of my favorite dishes we served was the striped bass, made with a rich Yukon potato purée and a light English pea sauce.”

Perfect Surroundings designed the Great Hall with, “stunning mercury glass assorted vases, candles everywhere, and mixed lush arrangements with grays and blushes.” The decor and room itself added a new feeling from the cocktail hour that Kerri wanted to achieve. “The high ceilings of the room, the beautiful windows, and the musicians to entertain our guests during dinner made for such a dramatic experience.

“In a meeting with the Perfect Surroundings staff, I told them I'm more of a ‘pearl and lace girl’ rather than crystals and lucite, and they surprised me by designing our mothers’ and grandmothers’ corsages with a pearl bracelet. It was amazing.”

After dinner, they had a display of various Viennese Desserts. “We had our favorite style cake, simple red velvet,” Kerri exclaims, “Thank you Castle Hotel & Spa!”

The last experience of the evening was the ballroom for dancing. To create a romantic French garden indoors, Kerri personally designed the room herself, working with CORT Event Furnishings and Perfect Surroundings. “We incorporated gorgeous topiaries, boxwood plants and lush florals.” The style of night concluded how it started, with the beautiful Castle garden grounds.

All the room’s furniture was “tufted white leather with some illuminated subtle accent tables,” Kerri explains. She felt their damask monogram bar also added a unique glam to the night. “The room literally took everyone's breath away and it was something that nobody had experienced before.” It was in this room that Kerri had her favorite moment of the night. “Dancing with my husband was our special moment together,” Kerri expresses.

“We truly wanted it to be a one-of-a-kind wedding where both us and our guests would have the best night of their lives,” Kerri explains. Kerri sent guests home with "Vanilla Ever After," mason jar candles that she put together herself. “I'm so glad we have such beautiful memories and photos that will be with us forever,” Kerri gladly remembers back to her wedding day. “A huge thank you to Castle Hotel and Spa’s General Manager, Gilbert Baeriswil, for helping us put the entire day together perfectly!

Castle Hotel and Spa
400 Benedict Avenue, Tarrytown, NY 10591
914.524.6366, www.castlehotelandspa.com