Greer and Dylan wanted to celebrate their wedding with good old-fashioned summer fun. 200 guests, many of them children, arrived in the Berkshire/Columbia County Region. They chose this destination because it is within 2 and a half hours of New York City where most of their guests were coming from.

The Labor Day Weekend began with a gourmet barbeque prepared by Moore Fine Food, which provided all of the sumptuous meals throughout the weekend. The welcome barbeque was set for any early arriving guests on the lawn by the pool at Racebrook Lodge, in Sheffield, MA. Racebrook can accommodate 60 guests so that was where the bride and groom stayed, making it the hub of their activities.

Saturday was full of fun and games. Guests wound their way through country roads until they found a hidden field of dreams. They were greeted by a festive tent, tables covered in brightly patterned oil cloth and a Ben and Jerry’s truck ready to serve hungry guests. Many of the guests played softball while others filled their bellies with burgers and fried chicken. Faces were painted by the bride and her sister and John Porcino entertained children with parachute games, tricks and songs.

At the end of the afternoon guests made their way to The Creek, in Hillsdale, NY for a musical shin dig.The Creek is a bed and breakfast with a wonderful old barn overlooking corn fields and the Berkshire hills. Dylan and Greer are both musicians and actors as are many of their friends so they thought it only appropriate to have an open mic the night before the wedding. The barn was set with a stage and guests enjoyed pizza, beer, and desserts while being entertained by a variety of songs, stories, toasts and a fun video celebrating Dylan and Greer. Outside, guests could sit around a campfire, make s’mores and catch fireflies. It was a very full day but the best was still to come.

Early Sunday, my team descended on the private barn that Greer and Dylan fell in love with many months before. It is an old Dutch barn that has recently been moved from the Mohawk Valley and erected in Columbia County. It measures 45 by 50ft. and stands so high it feels like a temple or a cathedral. It is surrounded by fields frequented by turkeys and deer and overlooks the Berkshires as well. A pristine, red Dutch house, an adorable chicken coop, a gated garden and a hammock complete the landscape.

We set up a 50 x 75 pole tent behind the barn for the buffet dinner. Greer wanted natural wooden chairs to go with the barn instead of white chairs. She also wanted plenty of long tables placed at an angle so that people could choose where to sit without a seating arrangement. The tables were draped with natural muslin and covered with garden flowers in a multitude of mismatched old vases and bottles. The poles were covered with Beech tree limbs and lights and the perimeter of the tent was illuminated with twinkle lights.

The barn was set for dessert and dancing. We covered the tremendous beams with twinkle lights and tree branches of every kind: evergreen, maple, oak, and willow branches cascaded down over the dance floor. Then we placed Chinese lanterns of various sizes and shapes at different levels creating a forest wonderland. It was truly magical.

The guests started arriving at 3:30 and were greeted with refreshments by the garden. At 4PM sharp Greer and Dylan, escorted by their families processed from the house and between 2 gigantic maple trees where we had suspended a ring of candles from the branches. The flower girls carried blue enamel pails full of pink rose petals.

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed cocktails on the lawn, in the field and the garden entertained by Kitchen Kallie, a quartet of blue grass musicians. An old chalk board announced the children’s activities: pony rides in the field, hay fort by the barn, make your own cupcakes after dinner and then movies in the “club house.”?

Dinner was announced with a dinner bell and guests made their way to the tent. Kitchen Kallie continued to serenade the guests as they dined on pan seared tuna and filet megnon.

After dinner the Greg Wall Band struck up a tune to make anyone want to dance, and guests enjoyed the coconut wedding cake dripping with meringue.

I will never forget the sight of them doing the horah in that magical barn. Greer looked so beautiful floating over the dance floor, among the illuminated branches anddespite Dylan's 6 foot 5 height, the men hoisted him to dance among the trees with his bride. Dancing continued until the wee hours. Guests found their way to their cars following a path of luminaries. The giant maple trees where the ceremony took place looked even more beautiful at night with the hanging candles.

The weekend came to an end on Monday morning when guest convened once more at the barn at Racebrook Lodge for bagels and goodbyes. This barn is quite unique as well. It is not an old structure but made of old things varying from sail cloth to scrap metal, to antique hardware.

Greer and Dylan’s wedding was exceptionally memorable because they put a lot of thought and effort into choosing magical locations and planning fun activities for all of their guests, even the little ones.